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The Preview Reel: Coco and Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Scott Davis
The Preview Reel

Welcome to this week’s “Preview Reel” column, where we look at the upcoming wide-release movies. Last weekend saw Justice League pull in $94 million, which might seem like a lot of money to you and me, but it was a bit of a disappointment given the film’s $300 million production budget. Poor reviews will not help its legs, and neither will the opening of a new Pixar movie, Coco. By the way, Roman J. Israel Esq., starring Denzel Washington will also be opening on Wednesday. So, let’s take a look at what you should see over the holiday weekend.

 

Coco

What we are excited about: It’s new Pixar, and even better, it’s original Pixar. Cars 3 came and went without making much noise, but we fully expect Coco to be a family hit over the Thanksgiving weekend. Pixar is arguably the best studio in creating original concepts; from a rat who cooks to a futuristic robot going on a space adventure to embodied emotions trying to help a teenage girl, Pixar knows how to entertain and hit you in the right ways. Coco looks like another hit with beautiful animation, a unique setting, and a story that will most likely having you reach for the tissues in the last 10 minutes. It doesn’t hurt that the film is also directed by Lee Unkrich, the guy behind Toy Story 3 (2010), which was nominated for Best Picture Oscar.

What we are worried about: There’s not much to be worried about with this movie, but Pixar’s track record hasn’t been the greatest as of late. Inside Out was fantastic, but movies like Finding Dory (2016), The Good Dinosaur (2015), and Monsters University (2013) were fine, but none of them were great, at least by previously set Pixar standards. We hope Coco is in line with movies like Toy Story (1995), Finding Nemo (2003), or The Incredibles (2004), but the recent Pixar track record suggests it might not be.

The Buzz: Pixar movies tend to receive a huge amount of buzz, and Coco is no different. Already being claimed by critics as the favorite to win Best Animated Feature at this year’s Academy Awards, the film currently sits at 96% on RottenTomatoes and 79 on MetaCritic. Coco is already Mexico’s highest grossing movie of all-time in just three weeks of release, which bodes well for its stateside run. The movie is going for a more family-friendly demographic than Justice League and should have no trouble reaching $70 million for the five-day weekend.

Final Thoughts: Coco seems like the Pixar movie you need to go see in theaters, whether you have kids or not.

 

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

What we are excited about: Dan Gilroy directed one of 2014’s most underrated movies in Nightcrawler. It featured a tour de force performance from Jake Gyllenhaal and a thrilling premise that kept getting crazier as it unfolded. It was exciting to see Gilroy helm a good thriller after spending most of his career penning scripts. Roman J. Israel, Esq. is his next directorial effort and he landed Denzel Washington as the film’s lead and titular character. That’s not a bad call as Washington is one of the few bankable stars left in Hollywood these days. We’ll see if this is match made in heaven.

What we are worried about: While we were excited for Gilroy’s next film, the trailers for Roman J. Israel, Esq. have been incredibly subpar. The movie doesn’t look very exciting and it seems like Washington made an interesting acting choice which could hurt the film. We’ll give the Nightcrawler director the benefit of the doubt until we’ve seen this one, but the trailers have not impressed us.

The Buzz: The internet loved Nightcrawler, so there has been some buzz surrounding Roman J. Israel, Esq., but that seemed to die after the movie premiered. The movie currently sits at 56% on RottenTomatoes and 60 on MetaCritic, which is a big disappointment. Look for an underwhelming opening of around $5 million.

Final Thoughts: The reviews have us a little worried, but Nightcrawler was so good that we might be willing to give Gilroy the benefit of the doubt here.

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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