Weekend Movies: A Horrifying Slate

Want them or not, this weekend’s two big movies consist of a (sort of) remake and a 3D re-release – and this isn’t even the slow time of the year yet!

As a fan of Sam Raimi’s original trilogy, the last thing I want to see is an attempt to remake ‘The Evil Dead‘. When you think about it, ‘Evil Dead II‘ was already a remake of the first movie, so the new ‘Evil Dead‘ is actually a remake of a remake. Starring a cast five mostly no-name actors, this rendition of the demonic tale strays from the cult classic by landing in the torture porn sub-genre. While it’s full of references to the original films, don’t expect the campiness or tongue-in-cheek humor to return. The “I can’t believe it’s not NC-17” gore might make you giggle, but this ‘Evil Dead’ isn’t anywhere close to being as entertaining as Raimi’s movies.

While ‘Evil Dead’ storms 3,000 screens this weekend, ‘Jurassic Park 3D‘ follows hot on its tail with 2,600+ screens. I haven’t had much faith in the box office draw of 3D re-releases (most likely because I’m not racing out to see them), so the wide release might seem overkill. But I caught an IMAX press screening three weeks ago and can’t believe how many non-press folks turned out for it. From all age ranges, the general audience was genuinely pumped to see the movie on the big screen. Adults who saw it twenty years ago as teenagers brought their own teenage kids out to experience this classic film on the big screen for the first time. With a top-notch remaster (which appears cleaner than the previously-released 2D Blu-ray), a brilliant 7.1 audio mix, the grandeur of IMAX and near-perfect 3D conversion, dinosaurs just might rule the land again.

Fox Searchlight’s platform release of Danny Boyle’s new thriller ‘Trance‘ kicks off on four screens this weekend. I’ve seen the mind-effing trailer several times now and have no clue how to describe this film. Hypnosis, trickery, gangsters and discombobulation… Who knows where this is going? ‘Trance’ stars James McAvoy and Rosario Dawson, but Boyle’s name is all I need to be excited for it.

Who knew that Robert Redford had a new film coming out? Sony Pictures Classics is releasing ‘The Company You Keep‘ in select cities. Pitting a journalist against a criminal activist, Redford not only directs but stars in the film. The massive supporting cast includes Shia LaBeouf, Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper, Terrence Howard, Stanley Tucci, Richard Jenkins, Anna Kendrick, Brendan Gleeson, Brit Marling, Sam Elliott and Stephen Root. Here’s hoping that it’s better than ‘Lions for Lambs’.

6 comments

  1. I wonder … could ‘Jurassic Park 3D’ do big business? Will it become a 1 billion dollar movie? I still love the movie to bits (I was 9 when I first saw, the ideal age) … and I’m glad it’s even coming to Belgium! Not in IMAX, though. 1 May 2013, I know where I’ll be …

    • JM

      The point of ‘Jurassic Park 3D’ like ‘Titanic 3D’ is to make $150M in China.

      China brought in 50% of the re-release gross.

      Belgium kicked in $2M for Kate Winslet’s left breast, so we’ll see how you value dinosaurs in comparison.

      3D could bump ‘Jurassic Park’ to $1.15 Billion, to become #5 All Time.

  2. NJScorpio

    Jurassic Park has been the only movie rereleased in 3D that I has caught my interest. I saw the original in theaters, so the movie has a big place in my childhood. I may go see it in theaters, as I know I’ll enjoy it (unlike the 2nd & 3rd, which has prevented me from buying the box sets).

  3. William Henley

    I am so excited about Jurassic Park. This is just a movie that has to be seen on the big screen! And now there is an IMAX 3D version? I was going to go yesterday, but schedule didn’t allow for it, so I will probably go Thursday morning when I am off work. In fact, if this stays in the theater for a few weeks, I may go see this a few times – its my second-favorite movie of all time, and it just rocks on the big screen. I saw it 8 times at the theater as a teenager, i will probably go at least twice (2D and 3D) now, and I got the 3D preordered on Blu-Ray. Own the movie on VHS, Letterbox VHS, DVD, DTS DVD, Laserdisc and Blu-Ray.

    Just hearing excitement from my friends, this could end up being one of the most successful catalogue 3D conversions to date. It seems to have more interest than Titanic or Star Wars did.

  4. Evil Dead was awesome plain and simple, it will sit proudly on the shelf next to the original. Dont forget the camp and humor of the original only exists more so now, not so much back then, it was made to be a straight up horror film and only recently has the camp and tongue in cheek humor really been a stand out, I read reviews of the new one that talked about their love for the original and being terrified from seeing it for the first time.

    I’m a big fan of Ash, Raimi and the trilogy of films in the Evil Dead world and the new remake was all its own while still fitting perfectly into the Evil Dead universe, I was proud to call it an Evil Dead movie and that I never thought would happen when it was first announced.

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