On behalf of the whole staff of This Rotten Week (me), we’d like to extend a big Happy Mother’s Day to everyone out there it applies to. And to honor those mothers out there, I see no more fitting tribute than to talk about a Mad Max remake and a Pitch Perfect sequel. Happy Mother’s Day!
Just remember, I'm not reviewing these movies, but rather predicting where they'll end up on the Tomatometer. Let's take a look at what This Rotten Week has to offer.
POSTER HERE, LINK IT TO PREVIEW PAGE
PREDICTION RATING HERE, LINK IT TO ROTTEN TOMATOES PAGE
Rotten Watch Prediction
In the hardcore and ever-changing world of competitive a capella singing, one must always be on his/her game. It’s a cutthroat world of polyrhythms and counterpoints, arrangements and codas it pays to be on top of your game. When harmonies and melodies are the name of your game you better be hardcore to the bone. And hardcore is the exact word to describe the Barden Bellas. When we last saw them they had crooned their way to the top. But this sequel has them having to start from the bottom again. The classic a cappella tale.
Check them out in the trailer for Pitch Perfect 2
Pitch Perfect (81%) was a surprise hit that garnered a fair amount of critical acclaim. A movie that poked fun at the world of college a capella, while also celebrating it meant a flick long on laughs while also featuring some good tunes. It was an enjoyable watch, far from a great film, but accomplishing what it set out to do. The question now is whether a good first effort is enough to carry a sequel.
One reason Pitch Perfect worked was that it snuck up on you. The bar is higher now, and that could lead to some lower critical marks. That and I think it will be difficult for the movie to avoid going back to the same well for jokes and story lines. Of course, I wouldn’t blame anyone for giving it another go around, but there’s a good chance this is just a repeat performance with diminishing returns. It’s a trap many sequels fall into and from watching the trailer, I think Pitch Perfect 2 might fall victim. It won’t dumpster dive of course, but I think there’s a hard ceiling on how much mileage you can get out of competitive a cappella singing.
PREDICTION RATING HERE, LINK IT TO ROTTEN TOMATOES PAGE
Rotten Watch Prediction
When the world ends, and we are all reduced to a society of psychotic tribes living in the desert, I’d like to think I’d maintain a level sanity and decorum in line with how I live my life now. But I’m not so sure. There’d be a temptation to soup up my 2014 Honda Civic with some bad ass features like spiked wheels, massaging front seats (for comfort), mounted cannons, tinted windows (to keep out the pesky desert glare) and some super scary decals so everyone knew I meant business. Mad Doug roaming the desert at 33 miles per gallon. Not a bad idea.
Check out some other desert rides in the trailer for Mad Max: Fury Road
It’s been quite some time since Mad Max roamed the scarred, desert post-apocalyptic world. Thirty years ago Mel Gibson ventured beyond Thunderdome and we’ve been with Mad Max ever since. But three decades later Tom Hardy brings the role back with George Miller once again at the helm. I don’t know if this movie has much in the way of plot, and I’m not entirely sure it matters. Visually, from the trailer, this film looks spectacular. The images, vehicles, and really everything else give a dried out and sunburnt psychotic feeling that’s tough to take your eyes off of. It looks over the top, maniacal and god-damn entertaining.
It appears a tour-de-force of action with Hardy taking over Gibson’s role as he escorts Charlize Theron and a small band of women across the desert escaping the nightmare inducing Immortan Joe. What appears to transpire is ever-escalating chase scenes, fireballs, an orgy of special effects with the desert never seeming more exciting. Early screenings came back positive and I think critics follow suit. It appears wall-to-wall action.
George Miller hasn’t had an action film like this on his resume for quite some time, instead opting for a much more conservative approach. It’s all let out here with very few holds barred. Just get ready to sit back and watch the madness unfold. I’ll be imagining my Civic rolling roughshod over that desert.
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There was only one movie on the docket last time around with Hot Pursuit (Predicted: 40% Actual: 6%) tanking in the critical department. Even though I pretty much trashed this movie in my write up last week, knowing there were very few laughs and the whole thing appeared lazy, I still went too high with the score. I do this from time to time, hedging because of the names associated with a film even if the rest of it looks like garbage. That was definitely the case here. Hot Pursuit bombed in a big way as critics ripped it from head to toe. It was a bludgeoning if you read the reviews as most critics took to spewing an enormous amount of hate on a film they called "laughless", "embarrassing" and "stupid" among other vitriol. All in all a bomb for Witherspoon and Vergara. I saw it coming and didn’t have the guts to pull the trigger in predicting it in the basement.
Next time around we revisit the Poltergeist and head to Tomorrowland. It’s going to be a Rotten Week!
