CinemaNerdz

The Preview Reel: Cars 3, All Eyez on Me, Rough Night, and 47 Meters Down

Scott Davis
The Preview Reel

Welcome to this week’s “Preview Reel” column, where we look at the week’s upcoming wide release movies. Last week saw Tom Cruise and The Mummy stumble with a disappointing $30 million opening, while Wonder Woman continued to show her muscle with one of the best holds for a blockbuster ever. This week features a very crowded marketplace as four new releases hit the screen. There seems to be something for everyone as Pixar revs their engines with Cars 3, Tupac gets a biopic with All Eyez on Me, Scarlett Johansson’s bachelorette party goes terribly wrong in Rough Night, and Many Moore fights sharks in 47 Meters Down. Let’s see which one of these is the right movie for you.

 

Cars 3

What we are excited about: There’s only one reason to be excited for a third Cars movie: Pixar. The top animation studio has proven time and time again that even when you doubt them, they can make a great movie. A rat who cooks in a five-star Italian restaurant, Best Animated Feature Oscar winner. Want to see an old man fly his house with balloons to South America and have to fight off an army of talking dogs? Sure you do. Oh, and it’ll not only win Best Animated Feature, but be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars as well. You could argue that Pixar is at its best when they stick to original material, but who didn’t cry at the end of Toy Story 3? Oh, that film also won Best Animated Feature and was nominated for Best Picture. I usually don’t Pixar until I’ve seen their film, and neither should you.

What we are worried about: Everyone complains that the Cars franchise is their least favorite Pixar vehicle (pun intended), and that’s probably for good reason. The first Cars is not all that bad, but isn’t particularly up to Pixar snuff either. Cars 2, however, is almost universally agreed upon as the worst Pixar film, by far. Pretty much the only reason this series exists is to sell toys. No one was really asking for a second Cars, let alone a third one, but because of the toy sales, Disney and Pixar could not say no. So when toy sales are driving (pun, again, intended) the series forward instead of story or public interest, then you know there’s a problem. Apparently The Incredibles didn’t sell toys fast enough to get a sequel right away, we have to wait almost 15 years the second installment.

The Buzz: The buzz is considerably low considering this is a Pixar film, but the reviews have surprisingly been mostly positive. The film is hovering around 69% on RottenTomatoes and 63 on MetaCritic, which is good but not up par with other Pixar films. Look for this to debut around $55 million, which would be under the first film’s debut of $60 million back in 2006.

Final Thoughts: Pixar is Pixar, but we’re more excited for their other offering later this year, Coco, more than this unwanted sequel.

 

All Eyez on Me

What we are excited about: Tupac is one of the most influential rappers of all time, and it’s about time he got his own biopic. It seems that enough time has passed for a story about his career where it can be both informational and hit the nostalgic bone just right.

What we are worried about: Biopics can be tricky. You run the risk of being too familiar with fans or completely losing audiences who aren’t familiar. 2015’s Straight Outta Compton showed how you can do a rapper biopic, even though that was a group, which is the formula we hope All Eyez on Me takes. That being said, this film is being directed by Benny Boom, whose other directing credit is 2009’s Next Day Air, which was poorly received and you probably didn’t know existed. That film was a comedy so we’re not sure how his dramatic chops are, which makes us a little concerned.

The Buzz: There is a mild amount of buzz around this film, mainly because Tupac is so beloved. There are no reviews out yet for this movie, which has us concerned, but look for an opening around $20 million.

Final Thoughts: If you’re a Tupac fan, you probably already have your tickets, but we’ll wait for the reviews to see if this film is worthy of a trip to the cinema.

 

Rough Night

What we are excited about: Last year’s Bad Moms was actually an entertaining comedy featuring a talented female ensemble. Rough Night has the same thing going for it with the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Ilana Glazer, Zoe Kravitz, and the always funny Kate McKinnon headlining the ensemble. The plot of the movie, a bachelorette party that goes terribly wrong, has the potential to give all of these talented women the chance to shine.

What we are worried about: The trailers have shown that there are plenty of funny women, but they haven’t been particularly funny. It seems to want to hook the audience with its plot and show the talent involved, but save all the best jokes for the movie. At least that’s what we are hoping, but comedies should show at least one killer joke in the trailer.

The Buzz: There’s mild buzz around this movie, and it’s the first R-rated comedy to hit theaters since Memorial Day’s Baywatch, so people are clamoring for a good comedy. Reviews have been mostly below average as the film sits at 45% on RottenTomatoes and 56 MetaCritic, which might hurt its longevity but look for an opening anywhere from $15-20 million.

Final Thoughts: Like Bad Moms, this might make for a fun girls night out, assuming there’s actually comedy not shown in the trailers.

 

47 Meters Down

What we are excited about: Shark movies can make for shallow (pun intended) entertainment, meaning they are exciting in the moment but then have no lasting impression on you. That’s what happened with last year’s The Shallows, which was entertaining but nothing special. We have a feeling 47 Meters Down is going to be the same thing, which isn’t a bad thing. Many films struggle to be entertaining, especially this summer’s lineup.

What we are worried about: Shark movies are also a one-trick pony, where people are in danger and they must outsmart the beast. Luckily these films tend to be on the shorter end, which 47 Meters Down is, but even then it can get tedious. We’re just wondering what 47 Meters Down can bring to the table that hasn’t been brought before.

The Buzz: Reviews for this movie have been surprisingly positive as the film sits at 75% on RottenTomatoes, which could be a good thing for studio if the audiences aren’t interested in the other three mostly mediocrely received releases. Still, this feels like the fourth option in a busy weekend at the cineplexes, so a debut around the $6 million mark seems likely.

Final Thoughts: Seems like this might be a decent thriller, but this would probably work just as well as a rental in a couple months.

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.
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