No other movie dares race this weekend’s biggest new release down the track.
All eyes are on ‘Furious 7‘ this weekend. Those who have turned the street-racing ‘Point Break’ rip-off into an intentionally absurd, internationally successful franchise will definitely be back for the latest installment. Incidentally, it might even pick up a few extra viewers curious to see how the whole thing comes together given that star Paul Walker passed away mid-production.
At this point, there’s a lot that you can expect from a ‘Fast and Furious’ movie: fast cars, scantily clad women, MTV-like quick editing, quip-filled dialog and loads of over-the-top action. With ‘Furious 7’, there’s one area where you’re not sure what to expect. A large and lingering question fills the air from the opening Universal logo. No matter what’s happening on-screen, this thought will always be in your head: How will the movie end Walker’s character? You’ll spend more time contemplating that than paying attention to the plot (which is definitely weaker than ‘Fast Five‘ or ‘Fast & Furious 6‘, presumably due to the fact that much of the movie had to be rewritten and reshot to make the Paul Walker footage work). As usual, expect large and loud stupid fun – only this time with the addition of a very sentimental and complimentary goodbye to the franchise’s longest-appearing actor.
The only movie to debut on a double-digit screen count (28 in all) against that 4,000-screen behemoth is a little Weinstein picture by the name of ‘Woman in Gold‘. Helen Mirren stars as a Jewish woman who hires a young lawyer (Ryan Reynolds) to sue the government in an underdog case to retrieve her family’s art that was stolen by Nazis during World War II. The supporting cast includes Daniel Brühl (‘Inglourious Basterds’), Tatiana Maslany (‘Orphan Black’), Katie Holmes and Elizabeth McGovern.
Opening on just two screens is IFC’s romantic dramedy ‘5 to 7‘. Anton Yelchin stars a love-hungry aspiring writer who finds himself in an unbelievable relationship with a French woman (Bérénice Marlohe from ‘Skyfall’). Because she’s a married mother of two, their relationship can only exist within the twilight hours of 5 and 7 PM. Oddly, her children and husband – who also has a mistress of his own, of course – are somehow all right with the relationship. Frank Langella, Glen Close, Eric Stoltz and Olivia Thirlby co-star.
