By Chris Kavan - 04/25/13 at 03:46 PM CT
Although Oblivion didn't open as highly as I was anticipating (nor was it as interesting as I'd hoped) it still made for one of the better opening for 2013. This week as April draws to a close with have a muscle-bound action/comedy, a straight-up comedy aimed at adults and limited release that has been getting a lot of buzz and should find a nice audience. Oblivion has a decent chance of keeping it's top title, but don't count out the power of comedy.
PAIN & GAIN Michael Bay is usually more associated with big, loud movies (Armageddon, Bad Boys, Transformers) rather than, you know, actual fully-formed movies. Pain & Gain, however, looks like it does have actual characters and it's "based-on-a-true-story" premise looks like it has good development. I find it quite ironic that Dwayne Johnson
missed the premiere due to injury suffered during a WWE event. I guess it's more pain than gain at this point in his wrestling career (really, he's still doing that? I'm guessing they threw a lot of money at him). Anyway, the movie itself looks a lot better than what I initially had envisioned it - a lot deeper than what's on the surface (much like Spring Breakers in that aspect). But I have a feeling it will divide audiences who are looking for mindless entertainment and get treated to "GASP" an actual story! Especially with names like Mark Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, Rebel Wilson and Anthony Mackie attached. I don't know how it will end up, but I admit I look forward to streaming it some day.
THE BIG WEDDING Ugh - this is the type of "comedy" I actively try to avoid. Fake marriage, crazy parents (doing wacky things) and Robin Williams as a priest (because that worked out so well
before). You have a mix of old school (Robert De Niro, Susan Surandon, Diane Keaton) and new (Topher Grace, Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried and Ben Barnes) but to me mixing all these together just looks like a headache-inducing mess. Romantic comedies are my movie kryptonite, which is why I actively avoid them like the plague. Nothing about this makes me one iota interested in watching it - not even streaming. Still, if the right audience shows it, it could have a surprisingly strong opening - but these kind of films are also notorious for doing terrible - and that's where I'm thinking it's going to wind up.
MUD There are a number of films opening in limited release this weekend, however, the only one I am truly interested in Jeff Nichols' Mud. It has been getting heaps of praise - many due to the performance from lead Matthew McConaughey. The story looks like it mixes in a bit of Tom Sawyer with some modern-day grit to spice things up. It has been on my radar for awhile, and if it does well, I have to imagine it could make it to my local theaters. Here's hoping it has an excellent limited opening to encourage greater expansion. Most movies haven't impressed me all that much this year - but this is one I think has major potential. We'll see what the weekend brings for my hopes of availability in the future.
It should be a nice showdown between sci-fi and comedic crime action. Oblivion certainly has a chance to repeat, but don't count out Bay and crew to put up a fight - I can see it going either way at this point.
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