Opening this week at a theatre near you:
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Photo courtesy of Disney
Set shortly before Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), the Rebel Alliance recruits Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) to join a team including Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) to steal the design schematics of the Empire’s new Death Star. Rogue One Website
What to Watch For: Rogue One is the first of the Star Wars Anthology series. These stand-alone films will not crossover with the sequel trilogy.
Word on the Street: The film will not feature the opening crawl notorious of other Star Wars films.
My Take: When tickets first went on sale, Fandango, the ticket outlet, crashed after only ten minutes.
La La Land (2016)
Photo courtesy of Lionsgate
A musical about a determined jazz pianist (Ryan Gosling) who falls in love with an aspiring actress (Emma Stone) in Los Angeles. La La Land Website
What to Watch For: Writer/director Damien Chazelle, has been trying to get this film made since 2010. After the success of the three-time Oscar winning film Whiplash, he was able to get a studio to back the picture.
Word on the Street: The film opened in five theatres on Sunday and set a record for the highest per-location average of all time in five theatres.
My Take: I love musicals, so I can’t wait to see this one.
Jackie (2016)
Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight
Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman) has to deal with the grief and trauma of the event while trying to regain her faith, console her children and fight for her husband’s historic legacy. Jackie Website
What to Watch For: Most film critics feel that Natalie Portman is a sure thing for an Oscar nomination.
Word on the Street: Director Pablo Larrain says that a third of the takes in the finished film are first takes, an incredibly high number.
My Take: The supporting cast is one of the strongest that I have ever seen with Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, and John Hurt.
Collateral Beauty (2016)
Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers
A successful New York advertising executive’s (Will Smith) life has been in a downward spiral since he suffered a tremendous loss. When he writes letters to Love, Time and Death, he is surprised when each of them appears in front of him to talk about the letters. Collateral Beauty Website
What to Watch For: Initially, it was Hugh Jackman and Rooney Mara in the lead roles. Smith replaced Jackman, and Keira Knightley replaced Mara.
Word on the Street: The cast includes two Oscar winners, Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren, and three Oscar nominees: Will Smith, Edward Norton, and Keira Knightley.
My Take: It’s always fun to watch Helen Mirren, who plays Death, on the screen
If you can’t make it to the theatre this weekend, then stay at home and watch movies on Atlanta’s CW:
Saturday
1:00 pm
Multiplicity (1996) Doug (Michael Keaton) has a good job and a lovely wife (Andie MacDowell), but he never seems to have enough time to get everything done. He meets a doctor (Harris Yulin) who can solve all his problems. He’ll just clone Doug, and he will have time to do everything.
3:00 pm
Lake Placid (1999) A quiet lake in the wilderness becomes the focus of an intense search to capture a terrifying, 30-foot crocodile partial to eating humans. Cast includes Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt.
Sunday
1:00 pm
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) Lucy and Edmund Pevensie (Gorgie Henley and Skandar Keynes) return to Narnia for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship, The Dawn Treader. They are sent on a mission to find The Lone Islands, and, hopefully, the Lords of Telmar.
3:00 pm
Multiplicity (1996) Doug (Michael Keaton) has a good job and a lovely wife (Andie MacDowell), but he never seems to have enough time to get everything done. He meets a doctor (Harris Yulin) who can solve all his problems. He’ll just clone Doug, and he will have time to do everything.