We have a pretty slow week ahead, with only two movies hitting the big screen. Both films look safe and geared toward the family or romantic crowds. We’ve got a little boy with some cool powers, and a woman who doesn’t age.
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
It’s not every day that we come across a film labeled as a "war comedy-drama" with hints of super powers. I had a nearly impossible time getting a hold on Little Boy, and what exactly it was shooting for. What did happen, almost in spite of myself, was getting some chills watching how the plot might unfold. What can I say? I’m a sap.
See if you get chills in the trailer for Little Boy
So if I understand what is happening here, a little boy has an unbreakable bond with his father. His pops is called off to World War II. The boy, on the power of faith and love (presumably) is able to begin making some serious shit happen. It starts with moving a bottle with his mind, graduates to creating an earthquake, and culminates (I think) with him putting a stop to the Great War. Again, all with his mind. It’s preposterous, but I kind of think it might work.
This is clearly a "suspend your disbelief" flick, so you can focus on the heart-warming nature of the story. I’m fine with that kind of thing if it is done well. While elements of the trailer look quite hokey (mostly the dialogue in spots) the ideas behind the story might play to the family crowd. It looks wholesome enough and has just enough in the way of cast that I think it ends up working.
Director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde’s only other directorial work is Bella (44%) and the score on that doesn’t lend a great deal of weight to this current movie. And I of course don’t think Little Boy breaks it out of the box in terms of critical reception. But I think it finishes on the plus side mostly because of the content and the "safe" nature of the story.
PREDICTION RATING HERE, LINK IT TO ROTTEN TOMATOES PAGE
Rotten Watch Prediction
Oh man, if I was stuck at the age of 29 forever it would be like living in a perpetual nightmare. That was right around the time I figured out my hairline was receding, which was a level of trauma unlike many have ever seen. Age 29 was also when my unwanted body hair ratio really started to climb to unacceptable levels. All in all, it was the beginning on the end. Having to live that year out infinitely would be more than I think I could handle, so I’m pretty happy not living in the Age of Adaline.
See how Blake Lively deals with it in the trailer below:
In Age of Adaline the titular character is stuck on 29 forever. While this may seem kind of cool, her circumstance seems it is its own particular version of hell in which she must watch everyone she knows and loves (her own kids included) age and pass on while she keeps her youthful good looks. The story appears cute enough, a love story about Adaline finding a new man and reconnecting with a love from the past.
Directed by Lee Toland Kreiger (Celeste and Jesse Forever-70%), this film is garnering some solid early praise from critics. Most will admit that it is a cheesy romance film with some supernatural-ish themes, but that doesn’t seem to stop it from being entertaining. This flick is catering to a certain demographic (that will invariably want to drag a significant other to it on date night), and for that group it seems to work. Blake Lively appears a big part of why the flick is testing well. Critics think she gives a strong performance as an ageless wonder.
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Not a great week for the Rotten Watch, but worth it almost just to talk about Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (Predicted: 31% Actual: 0%). Wow. A goose egg isn’t easy. Those are reserved for a very special kind of movie. The kind that every single person hated. It’s almost an accomplishment. Movies have to actively try in order to be this bad, but Paul Blart pulled it off. Kevin James and company turned in a movie that critics just shrugged their shoulders at and moved on. That’s almost a worse fate than being outright abhorred.
Meanwhile, I was close on Unfriended (Predicted: 72% Actual: 65%) thanks to some early reviews. I very much doubt that, without the head start, I would have gone anywhere close to this high. After all, it’s a movie told through Skype and social media about a killer stalking a group of high schoolers. Cool concept, but I would have almost definitely predicted a much lower score. That it finished this high is sort of remarkable considering how boxed in it could have been by the concept.
And finally, I whiffed on Monkey Kingdom (Predicted: 75% Actual: 93%). I’m annoyed at myself here as I went way too low for a documentary about monkeys. Everyone loves monkeys. Like loves them, loves them. It was inconceivable that a group of critics would have gone as low as 75% across the board with monkeys. That was my bad and I won’t let it happen again.
Next time around it's the Age of Ultron. It's going to be a Rotten Week!
