Three new wide releases this week, but nothing looks poised to unseat Deadpool as the king of the multiplex. The three, for the most part, look like typical dead-of-winter filler that are unlikely to endure — though if anything does, I suspect it will be the week’s most under-the-radar title, which has actually been waiting over a year for a public release since its festival debut last year.
Right in time for Lent, the widest new release of the week is Risen, a historical epic set in Biblical times. Directed by frequent Kevin Costner collaborator Kevin Reynolds (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Waterworld), the film stars Joseph Fiennes as a Roman centurion sent by Pontius Pilate to investigate rumours of a risen Jewish messiah. The supporting cast includes erstwhile Draco Malfoy Tom Felton, British TV actor Peter Firth (Spooks), and Cliff Curtis (Fear the Walking Dead). This is not an especially exciting filmmaker or cast, but framing the resurrection of Jesus from the perspective of a non-believing Roman is a refreshing change. Faith-based dramas have their hearts in the right place, but usually tend to come on so strong with their catechism, so I’m curious to see what this story looks like from more of an objective place. Early reviews are mixed, so who knows what happens with this one?
Also opening this weekend is Race, an earnest-looking biopic of African-American Olympic runner Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Games, despite facing racism and discrimination at home. Stephan James (Selma) stars as Owens, and the ensemble includes Jason Sudeikis (in an odd but welcome bit of casting) and Academy Award winners Jeremy Irons and William Hurt. Director Stephen Hopkins (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers) is known mainly for his television work, though he also directed Predator 2 early in his career. Everything about this production looks handsome and elegant, but biopics simply aren’t exciting to me. Reviews so far are positive but not passionate, which sounds about right.
The final wide release this week is the one that looks most enticing to me. The Witch is a horror film set in the 1600s, in which a Puritan family in New England becomes terrorized by evil forces in the woods. This film premiered over a year ago at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, where it won rave reviews and a Directing Award. First-time writer-director Robert Eggers has made a film that is by all accounts tense and terrifying. I. Can’t. Wait.
Among the films opening in limited release this weekend are Mexican marital comedy Busco novio para mi mujer; Chinese rom-com fantasy The Mermaid, about a womanizing businessman who falls in love with a mermaid sent to assassinate him, which comes from director Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle); and Neerja, a Bollywood biopic of Neerja Bhanot, who was killed by terrorists while trying to save hostages on a hijacked airplane in 1986.
What are you planning to see this weekend?
