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Counter-programming is the name of the weekend. With Christmas falling on a Friday, the box office for the second weekend of Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be record-breaking. Each of this week’s new releases will find that an unfortunate thing since they’ll each be trying to conquer holiday audiences with Joy, Concussion and Daddy’s Home fighting for second place. Point Break will struggle to make the top ten. I’m giving the edge to the best counter-programming: Daddy’s Home, the only comedy of the bunch in a sea of unsuccessful comedies. Of course, Joy may have a leg-up on Daddy’s Home simply because of its lead.

Our Highest Rated Films: The Hateful Eight, 45 Years
Our Best Awards Ratings: The Revenant (Oscars), 45 Years (Oscars), The Hateful Eight (Oscars)

OTHER LIMITED RELEASES

Expanding: The Big Short (Previously Reviewed in Looking at the Weekend)

Dec. 25-27, 2015

Film

Our Thoughts

Awards Chances

Concussion

(Wide Release)
See the original CinemaSight
Trailer & Poster Preview

4.8
Wesley Lovell: (4)
Peter J. Patrick: (5)
Tripp Burton: (3)
Thomas LaTourrette: (7)

3.8
Wesley Lovell: (3,Oscars)
Peter J. Patrick: (5,Oscars)
Tripp Burton: (2,Oscars)
Thomas LaTourrette: (5,Oscars)
Categories:

  • Actor (WL,PP,TB,TL)

Individual Commentary:

Wesley Lovell (WL): Apart from the Oscar prospects for Will Smith, I have little desire to see a sports exposรฉ.
Peter J. Patrick (PP): Early reviews have been on the light side, but Will Smith could eke out a third Best Actor nomination for his real-life portrayal of the Nigeria-born doctor who blew the whistle on the seriousness of football head injuries.
Tripp Burton (TB): This looks like a bland issue-driven drama.
Thomas LaTourette (TL): This sounds like a provocative and timely piece about NFL practices. Will Smith is said to be excellent in the leading role.

Film

Our Thoughts

Awards Chances

Daddy’s Home

(Wide Release)
See the original CinemaSight
Trailer & Poster Preview

3.5
Wesley Lovell: (6)
Peter J. Patrick: (4)
Tripp Burton: (2)
Thomas LaTourrette: (2)

Nil
Wesley Lovell: (Nil)
Peter J. Patrick: (Nil)
Tripp Burton: (Nil)
Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)
Categories:

  • None

Individual Commentary:

Wesley Lovell (WL): It might be quite amusing, but I can wait until it’s on home video.
Peter J. Patrick (PP): Routine looking comedy is probably not going to survive the busy holiday season.
Tripp Burton (TB): Oh my this looks horrible, with flat humor and dull characters.
Thomas LaTourette (TL): The pairing of the leads might be fun, but nothing about the trailer makes me want to sit through two hours of it.

Film

Our Thoughts

Awards Chances

Joy

(Wide Release)
See the original CinemaSight
Trailer & Poster Preview

6.8
Wesley Lovell: (6)
Peter J. Patrick: (5)
Tripp Burton: (9)
Thomas LaTourrette: (7)

5.3
Wesley Lovell: (5,Oscars)
Peter J. Patrick: (Globes)
Tripp Burton: (4,Oscars)
Thomas LaTourrette: (7,Oscars)
Categories:

  • Picture (TB,TL)
  • Director (TB)
  • Actress (WL,TB,TL)
  • Supporting Actor (TB)
  • Supporting Actress (TB)
  • Original Screenplay (WL,TB,TL)
  • Original Score (WL)
  • Film Editing (TB)
  • Production Design (WL,TB)
  • Costume Design (WL,TB)

Individual Commentary:

Wesley Lovell (WL): I like Jennifer Lawrence, but the early buzz hasn’t been kind and the trailer is a mess.
Peter J. Patrick (PP): This once highly anticipated year-end release looks extremely uneven and has probably achieved its highest level of awards recognition with its two Golden Globe nominations.
Tripp Burton (TB): The re-teaming of Jennifer Lawrence and David O. Russell looks like their most entertaining escapade yet, and one with a lot of heart.
Thomas LaTourette (TL): While the combination of David O. Russell directing Jennifer Lawrence usually produces interesting results, this one sounds more muddied than usual. Still, she is supposed to be very good in it.

Film

Our Thoughts

Awards Chances

Point Break

(Wide Release)
See the original CinemaSight
Trailer & Poster Preview

3.3
Wesley Lovell: (4)
Peter J. Patrick: (4)
Tripp Burton: (3)
Thomas LaTourrette: (2)

5.5
Wesley Lovell: (8,Razzies)
Peter J. Patrick: (Nil)
Tripp Burton: (Nil)
Thomas LaTourrette: (3,Razzies)
Categories:

  • Picture (WL,TL)
  • Director (WL,TL)
  • Actor (WL,TL)
  • Supporting Actor (WL,TL)
  • Screenplay (WL,TL)
  • Sequel/Remake (WL)

Individual Commentary:

Wesley Lovell (WL): I never saw the original, so I’m in no rush to see the remake.
Peter J. Patrick (PP): Warner Bros. has pulled the film from critics’ previews signaling that they anticipate largely negative reviews for this remake of the 1991 hit.
Tripp Burton (TB): No one needed this remake, and it looks as pointless as it sounds.
Thomas LaTourette (TL): This just looks like a bad over-the-top action picture without any redeeming features..

Film

Our Thoughts

Awards Chances

45 Years

(Limited Release)
See the original CinemaSight
Trailer & Poster Preview

7.3
Wesley Lovell: (7)
Peter J. Patrick: (9)
Tripp Burton: (5)
Thomas LaTourrette: (8)

7.0
Wesley Lovell: (7,Oscars)
Peter J. Patrick: (9,Oscars)
Tripp Burton: (5,Oscars)
Thomas LaTourrette: (7,Oscars)
Categories:

  • Actress (WL,PP,TB,TL)
  • Supporting Actor (WL)
  • Original Screenplay (WL)

Individual Commentary:

Wesley Lovell (WL): I’ve loved Charlotte Rampling since I first saw her in Swimming Pool, even in the lackluster season of Dexter in which she appeared. That gives me my only interest in seeing this.
Peter J. Patrick (PP): Never-nominated Charlotte Rampling’s most critically acclaimed performance of her 50-year career is not only a major contender for a Best Actress Oscar nomination, but a possible come-from-behind winner.
Tripp Burton (TB): This looks very pedestrian, but the buzz around the actors is great so I will check it out.
Thomas LaTourette (TL): This looks to be a thoughtful drama, anchored by two bravura performances. I am looking forward to it.

Film

Our Thoughts

Awards Chances

The Hateful Eight

(Limited Release)
See the original CinemaSight
Trailer & Poster Preview

7.8
Wesley Lovell: (10)
Peter J. Patrick: (6)
Tripp Burton: (8)
Thomas LaTourrette: (7)

6.8
Wesley Lovell: (7,Oscars)
Peter J. Patrick: (6,Oscars)
Tripp Burton: (7,Oscars)
Thomas LaTourrette: (7,Oscars)
Categories:

  • Picture (WL,PP,TB,TL)
  • Director (TB,TL)
  • Supporting Actor (TL)
  • Supporting Actress (WL,PP,TB,TL)
  • Original Screenplay (WL,PP,TB,TL)
  • Original Score (WL,PP,TB)
  • Editing (WL,PP,TB)
  • Cinematography (WL,PP,TB)
  • Production Design (WL,TB)
  • Costume Design (WL,TB)
  • Sound Mixing (WL,PP)
  • Sound Editing (WL,PP)

Individual Commentary:

Wesley Lovell (WL): With the exception of his half of Grindhouse, Quentin Tarantino has never turned out a film that I was disappointed in. That makes this a must-see.
Peter J. Patrick (PP): Tarantino’s films are always interesting, and this one looks like it will be, too, although its box office success is far from assured considering the tough year-end competition.
Tripp Burton (TB): This looks like a rebound for Tarantino, after his disappointing Django Unchained, although whether it does as well at the Oscars is still unseen.
Thomas LaTourette (TL): I have mixed feelings about Tarantino’s films, I can find some of them enjoyable but the gratuitous violence can be off-putting. And I am not certain that three hours of unchecked Tarantino will be a good thing. We shall see.

Film

Our Thoughts

Awards Chances

The Revenant

(Limited Release)
See the original CinemaSight
Trailer & Poster Preview

6.8
Wesley Lovell: (7)
Peter J. Patrick: (8)
Tripp Burton: (4)
Thomas LaTourrette: (8)

9.3
Wesley Lovell: (8,Oscars)
Peter J. Patrick: (10,Oscars)
Tripp Burton: (9,Oscars)
Thomas LaTourrette: (10,Oscars)
Categories:

  • Picture (WL,PP,TB,TL)
  • Director (WL,PP,TB,TL)
  • Actor (WL,PP,TB,TL)
  • Supporting Actor (WL,PP,TB,TL)
  • Adapted Screenplay (WL,TB,TL)
  • Editing (WL,PP,TB)
  • Cinematography (WL,PP,TB,TL)
  • Production Design (WL,TB,TL)
  • Costume Design (WL,TB,TL)
  • Makeup (WL)
  • Sound Mixing (WL,PP,TL)
  • Sound Editing (WL,PP,TL)
  • Visual Effects (PP,TL)

Individual Commentary:

Wesley Lovell (WL): Every new film from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu is worth checking out, but the trailer doesn’t give me as much interest in the film as I was hoping.
Peter J. Patrick (PP): Highly anticipated, heavily promoted year-end release from last year’s Oscar-winning Best Director looks like another winner albeit possibly a difficult one to sit through.
Tripp Burton (TB): I have little patience for Inarritu’s films, but this looks to be another Oscar favorite.
Thomas LaTourette (TL): Anchored by a strong performance by Leonardo DiCaprio, this sounds like an interesting, if brutal, take on life in the wild west.

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