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The Preview Reel: Mother and American Assassin

Scott Davis
The Preview Reel

Welcome to the “Preview Reel” column, where we look at this week’s upcoming wide-release movies. It was the “it” movie last week as it debuted with a stunning $123 million, smashing numerous fall and horror movie records. There is no doubt it will stay number one this week, but there are two intriguing releases – Darren Aronofsky’s latest mind-bending thriller, Mother!, and a Michael Keaton spy thriller, American Assassin – that it will need to fend off to stay on top. There are a lot of thrills to be had at the Cineplex this weekend, but which one should you see?

 

Mother!

What we are excited about: Darren Aronofsky is one of the most unique filmmakers working today. Movies like Requiem for a Dream (2000) and Black Swan (2010) show that when his crazy vision works, it works very well. When it’s off, however, like in Pi (1998) or The Fountain (2006), it’s “really” off. The thing that has us most excited about mother! is that it feels incredibly ambitious. It looks like a movie Aronofsky really wanted to make and Paramount was willing to give him $30 million to bring his bonkers vision to life. It could be a crazy experience that ends up polarizing audiences and critics, but if it’s anything like Black Swan, it could be one of the more memorable movies of the year. The cast, which includes Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, and Michelle Pfeiffer, is stellar and could elevate the movie even more.

What we are worried about: Black Swan kind of seemed like a lightning in a bottle kind of movie. Everything worked well on so many different levels, and it kind of seems like Mother! is trying to replicate that. Maybe Aronofsky can pull it off again, but it might also feel like a re-hash of arguably his best movie.

The Buzz: The film debuted last week at the Venice Film Festival and has received mostly favorable reviews. With favorable reviews, the movie has gained some major online buzz with its unique looking trailers. The movie currently sits at 75% on RottenTomatoes and 82 on MetaCritic, but it likely won’t break out this weekend due to the ongoing popularity of It. The success of Mother! will come down to its legs and how it performs over the coming weeks, which means it will rely heavily on positive word of mouth. If the moviegoing audience likes this movie as much as the critics do, it might become a hit over time. Until then, look for an opening weekend of around $13 million.

Final Thoughts: If you’ve already seen It and are still in the mood for a freak out, it looks like Aronofsky’s Mother! will do the trick.

 

American Assassin

What we are excited about: The only thing to be excited with about this movie is Michael Keaton. He’s enjoyed a career resurgence the last couple of years with impressive turns in Oscar-winning movies like Birdman (2014) and Spotlight (2015), and was one of the best parts of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). The trailers lean heavily on his involvement, even though Dylan O’Brien seems to be the film’s main lead, but we understand. Michael Keaton rocks and he is very likely to be the best part of what could be a middle-of-the-road spy thriller.

What we are worried about: This has “generic” spy thriller written all over it. Yes, it’s based on a bestselling book, but this looks like a Jason Bourne wannabe. It seems to be coming out about five years too late and the trailers do almost nothing to excite us. Maybe it will be a surprise and this could lead to the next Bourne-like franchise, but we doubt it.

The Buzz: There is almost no buzz regarding this movie, and it currently sits at a mediocre 42% on RottenTomatoes and 45 on MetaCritic. There is a fan base here and action movie fans haven’t had even a mediocre movie in a while, so look for a decent opening around $15 million.

Final Thoughts: This might be a decent spy thriller, but we’re willing to bet it’s more like a rental than a trip to the theater.

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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