Five new films hit theaters on Friday to save last week’s less than stellar box office: Dredd 3D, The Master, Trouble with the Curve, House at the End of the Street, and End of Watch.
Despite how fans only had two main options last week at the box office in Resident Evil: Retribution and Finding Nemo in 3D, this week has comic book sci-fi, drama, horror, and thrilling intensity.
With so many choices, however, will audiences be too indecisive?
Interestingly, Finding Nemo in 3D and Resident Evil: Retribution are still in play.
Although Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master may have a hard time attracting audiences (especially with less than 800 theaters), the Joaquin Phoenix topped drama may be the best bet of the bunch for those looking for more serious subject matter.
Here’s a quick rundown of the new Friday releases:
Trouble with the Curve
Starring Clint Eastwood, Justin Timberlake, and Amy Adams, the baseball themed Trouble with the Curve tells the story of Gus Lobel (Eastwood), an aging talent scout for the Atlanta Braves who gets one last chance to prove he still knows how to pick ‘em.
Gus’s daughter, Mickey (Adams), joins her dad on his final scouting trip where she helps him with his failing vision and proves that after years of being around America’s pastime, she knows plenty about baseball as well.
After his curveball at the Republican National Convention, Clint Eastwood is back to what he does best, making movies.
House at the End of the Street
Although Halloween is still six weeks away, House at the End of the Street could be the surprise sleeper hit this weekend. Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Elisabeth Shue, the story follows Sarah (Shue) and her daughter Elissa (Lawrence) who move into the upscale house of their dreams only to discover that the new home holds a terrifying secret.
There’s something going on in the house. It’s a horror movie, I’ll let you figure it out. Don’t be surprised if House at the End of the Street has a padded box office due to crossoverw appeal from The Hunger Games and fans of Jennifer Lawrence.
Dredd 3D
Almost twenty years after Sylvester Stallone hit the big screen as Judge Dredd, Karl Urban tries his hand at reinvigorating the character for a new generation of fans. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is equal parts law enforcer, judge, jury, and executioner in the metropolis of Mega-City One. Dredd must restore order to a much feared 200-story slum and defeat the druglord who runs it, Ma-Ma (Lena Headey).
Most people who go to see this won’t have any knowledge or memory of the first Judd Dredd film. Let’s just say, it can’t be any worse.
End of Watch
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena as two cops who find themselves the unlikely targets of a drug cartel, the duo fights to protect each other and deliver justice with plenty of car-chasing, adrenaline charged, explosive fun. And yes, I just said “adrenaline charged,” so forgive me!
Don’t be surprised if this one gets lost in this week’s sea of cinematic goodness.
The Master
The most controversial movie of the weekend (and among the most for 2012), The Master has taken a lot of flack for its ties to Scientology. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman, the story centers around “a charismatic intellectual (Hoffman) [who] launches a faith-based organization and taps a young World War II drifter (Phoenix) as his right-hand man.” Said to be rooted in Scientology, Hoffman’s character is allegedly inspired or based on the religion’s founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Despite the controversy, The Master has already racked up several awards and has broken records at the box office. It appears that a lot of people will miss a darn good movie this weekend.
What are you going to see this weekend?