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Posted August 24, 2016 by Scott Davis in Features
 
 

The Preview Reel: Don’t Breathe to Win Weekend

Welcome to another “Preview Reel” column, where we look at the week’s upcoming wide release movies. The dog days of August are officially upon us and things really slow down at the cineplexes. Suicide Squad continues to dominate the box office, but three newcomers (all with an R-rating) look to take its crown. There’s the new horror flick, Don’t Breathe, from the director of 2013’s The Evil Dead, another Robert De Niro boxing movie, Hands of Stone, and the latest Jason Statham action vehicle, Mechanic: Resurrection.

 

Don’t Breathe

Don't Breathe PosterWhat we are excited about:
Besides The Conjuring 2, there has not been a worthy R-rated horror movie in theaters in quite some time. Director Fede Alvarez delivered the goods with his remake of The Evil Dead back in 2013 and showed audiences he is not afraid to go to some dark and violent places to get some scares. Hopefully he brings that attitude to this movie, and based off the trailers, it looks like he has. The trailers set up the premise very nicely but also do a nice job of not giving away too many of the scares. With an up-and-coming director and an intriguing trailer, Don’t Breathe looks like it can be the R-rated horror flick we needed this summer.

What we are worried about:
Horror movies are hard to judge by trailers because we have been burned before in the past. You can squeeze effective scares into two minutes, but can you do it throughout a feature length runtime? We are a little concerned that Don’t Breathe can’t be effective for its full 88 minutes without using too many gimmicks. Hopefully there are enough twists and turns along the way to keep us entertained (and scared).

The Buzz:
There is strong buzz around this movie as it has been receiving very positive reviews since it premiered at South by Southwest back in March. It has a good chance of knocking off Suicide Squad from its throne and is projected to make $15 million in its first weekend.

Final thoughts:
This looks like one of the horror highlights of the year, and with nothing too intriguing being released this week, look for it to debut number one at the box office.

 

Hands of Stone

Hands of Stone PosterWhat we are excited about:
Robert De Niro in a boxing movie might sound like a cliché, but you never take a performance for granted from one of the greatest actors to ever live. He has made some questionable decisions as of late (looking at you Dirty Grandpa), but this looks to be more in his wheelhouse. The rest of the cast looks solid too, especially with pop superstar Usher looking to try his hand at acting (yes we know he was in the little seen movie In the Mix, we try to forget about that).

What we are worried about:
The trailers look generic. Much like last year’s Southpaw, the trailers don’t necessarily show any potential weaknesses, but there does not seem to be anything new here. We know it is based on a true story, but this looks by-the-numbers and that worries us.

The Buzz:
Another comparison to Southpaw, Hands of Stone is receiving mixed-to-good reviews. Despite that, there does not seem to be much buzz around it and should only finish with around $9 million for the weekend.

Final thoughts:
It might showcase Robert De Niro, but the trailers have been generic and reviews have not been overwhelmingly glowing. Wait to catch it on Blu-Ray/DVD.

 

Mechanic Resurrection

Mechanic Resurrection PosterWhat we are excited about:
Jason Statham has made his fair share of action movies, and even though they aren’t always home runs, he’s usually pretty solid in them. He usually plays the same character, so it’ll be interesting to see him literally play a character he’s played before. Tommy Lee Jones is doing the complete opposite as it looks like he’s doing something drastically different. Plus, after a summer of big budget summer tent pole flicks, it might be refreshing to see a simple, R-rated action thriller.

What we are worried about:
Remember 2011’s The Mechanic? Yeah, we barely do too. If memory serves, it was not an awful movie but it certainly was not worthy of a sequel. In a summer full of sequels, this certainly feels the least needed.

The Buzz:
Almost no buzz for this Jason Statham sequel. There are no reviews as of yet and should finish behind Don’t Breathe and possibly Suicide Squad with $11 million on its first weekend.

Final thoughts:
No one was really asking for a sequel to The Mechanic, but if you were a fan of that, then here you go. Everyone else should probably pass.

Scott Davis

Scott Davis

Scott Davis is a recent graduate of Oakland University where he earned a degree in journalism. He worked for the student newspaper on campus, The Oakland Post, where he became the paper's managing editor. He also earned a minor in Cinema Studies at OU. Scott enjoys all things film and TV related, especially the blockbuster kind. He might be the biggest Christopher Nolan fan you know.