By Chris Kavan - 12/18/19 at 08:40 PM CT
It's almost the end of the year and Disney, already setting records for how much a studio can make in a given year, isn't done yet. Star Wars is set to yet again dominate the year-end box office as J.J. Abrams is back on board the finale of not just the new trilogy, but over four decades worth of what is arguably the most popular sci-fi franchise of all time. But, if seeing the culmination of George Lucas' vision is not your cup of tea, don't worry, there will also be creepy-looking cat-people hybrids in the film adaptation of the long-running Broadway production Cats. I don't care if they tried to fix things - it still looks damn weird. And while I covered it last weekend - Bombshell also looks to expand.
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER It hasn't been the smoothest of ride for the most recent Star Wars saga. The Force Awakens was all about nostalgia - and maybe followed A New Hope a bit too closely. Rian Johnson tried to shake things up with The Last Jedi, only to invite the wrath of the all-too familiar toxic community with his choices. Now, J.J. Abrams returns, hoping to send the series off with a bang with The Rise of Skywalker. But, if the early reviews are any indication, by playing things safe and trying to fix what a loud, vocal minority didn't like about the The Last Jedi, the series goes out with more of a whimper than a bang. As it stands, right now the film stands just above The Phantom Menace in terms of critics - but that film still went on to make nearly $475 million domestic and over $1 billion worldwide. Considering this may be the last Star Wars film in theaters for quiet awhile - I'm going to say it doesn't matter what the critics think, it's going to be huge. I still have yet to write a synopsis for the film because I want to go in with as little knowledge as possible. From the trailers, there are epic showdowns, space battles, Lando and some big goodbyes (including one for the late Carrie Fisher). New faces, new droids, new aliens - it's all here and even if the conclusion isn't as epic as it deserve - well, I just hope it answers some questions and manages to at least wrap things up in a satisfying conclusion. I have no doubt this is going to be the biggest film of the weekend by far - the question is will audiences be more receptive than critics and how long will it last.
So Jedi and Sith aren't your thing, huh? Well then, do I have the counter-programming film to end all counter-programming films. Cats, the long-running Broadway production, is getting a big-screen debut and the talent is here: Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, Idris Elba, Rebel Wilson, Taylor Swift, James Corden, Jason Derulo, Laurie Davidson, Francesca Hayward and Ray Winstone are just some of the names who headline this musical. The plot seems to be the same - a tribe of cats called the Jellicles hold a yearly gathering where the wise Old Deuteronomy (Dench) chooses who will ascend the Heavenside Layer and be reborn anew. Thus we are introduced to a variety of candidates, who all make their case to be the chosen one. That's all well and good, but the thing that stands out most in this adaptation is the look. That's right, director Tom Hooper decided the best look was to anthropomorphize the cast, resulting in a completely insane-looking cat/human hybrid that, while a step above the cat-costumed live show, is still just really, really strange. Also, these cats are, cat-sized, walking around human-sized set pieces that dwarf them. All in all, I think more people will watch this out of morbid curiosity rather than anything else. This could do really good or it could crash and burn - but one thing if for certain... you won't be able to look away.
The weekend is going to be dominated by Star Wars - as should the rest of December. We'll see how The Rise of Skywalker compares to the other films in the series on Sunday.
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