CinemaNerdz

The Preview Reel: The Beauty and the Belko Experiment

Scott Davis
The Preview Reel

Welcome back to the “Preview Reel” column, where we look at the week’s upcoming wide release movies. We’ve been away for a few months, but we’re excited to be back and continue to help you make decisions on what to check out at the cineplexes this weekend. It’s a great weekend to come back as one of the biggest movies of the new year opens in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. That will no doubt dominate the box office, but there is a little counter-programming with The Belko Experiment. Let’s break each movie down.

 

Beauty and the Beast

What we are excited about:
Disney has proven that they can remake their classic animated films into visually stunning live action blockbusters with Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Pete’s Dragon, and Alice in Wonderland all being huge hits at the box office recently. When it was announced that they would be remaking one of their most beloved animated movies of all-time, it was met with a lukewarm response. Then the first trailer dropped and it broke all sorts of YouTube and streaming records. The trailers have seemingly nailed the feeling of the original and the film seems perfectly cast. Let’s hope it is more Jungle Book than Alice in Wonderland.

What we are worried about:
While the movie looks like it will prove visually stunning (this said with very few looks at the Beast), we do have some questions as to why this movie needed to be remade in the first place. The Jungle Book worked so well because it not only seemed to be a giant leap forward for CGI, but the story seemed as relevant as ever. Jon Favreau did wonders with that movie, and we are hoping that director Bill Condon can do the same with Beauty and the Beast. It’s hard to see if there is any relevancy to the story, however, and we are concerned that this could be just a cash grab.

The Buzz:
The buzz for this movie was very strong since the trailer debuted and has built steadily over the past couple of months. There has been some controversy over the change of one character’s sexuality, and although that has garnered some internet headlines, it does not seem to be hurting the film’s box office projections. Even with two other blockbusters out right now – Kong: Skull Island and Logan – the opening weekend numbers should still be high since it is aiming for a completely different audience. Look for an opening around $140 million, which would be the biggest in 2017 so far.

Final Thoughts:
Given the family appeal and mostly positive reviews, we think Beauty and the Beast will open huge at the box office, even though we are a little concerned about what the final product could be.

 

The Belko Experiment

What we are excited about:
Did you love Guardians of the Galaxy? Yeah, so did we. Well, the writer/director of that movie, James Gunn, wrote this hard-R office thriller. The concept seems so ridiculous (an office building is locked down and they are forced to kill each other or they’ll die) that it might work. Gunn also wrote Slither and Super, which poke fun at the horror and superhero genres, respectively. This seems to be a violent office satire which is hopefully as sharp as those previous works.

What we are worried about:
Like we said, this movie looks ridiculous and could be an example of a movie that is too much so for its own good. The cast looks strong, but we can see this movie going from bad to worse if the story doesn’t have surprises other than violent deaths to keep us engaged. This could just be a cool concept of a movie and nothing else.

The Buzz:
The film debuted with huge buzz at the Toronto Film Festival last fall, but that excitement has died considerably in the last few months. Even though it was positioned as counter-programming to Beauty and the Beast, it looks like Kong: Skull Island and Logan will again be that this weekend. Look for a soft opening around $5 million for this low-budget thriller.

Final thoughts:
We might be more excited for this movie if it had better reviews, and with a very crowded marketplace, don’t look for it to make that big of a splash this weekend.

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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