Posted by New week! New movies! There is one big release, one wide expansion from last week (Fighting with My family) a few limited runs. As always, you can check out the group’s thoughts of the week on our Winter Preview podcast here.
Wide Release
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World; Animated fantasy/action; written and directed by Dean Delois, based upon the book series by Cressida Cowell. Voiced by: Jay Bauchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchet, Gerard Butler. PG; 104 minutes
This is a series I really enjoy. Taking an alright book series (I’ve read about half of them) and making them into a series of heartfelt, beautifully animated series is a triumph as so far. I’ve not seen the either of the TV shows, but I don’t think I need to see them to best understand the movie series. It looks like everything is bigger and coming to a cap, it’s been a good build in larger plots as the series has gone on. The animation is even more detailed and gorgeous.
So far the reviews are incredibly positive – 70 on metacritic at 16 reviews as of 2/20 at 1:33 in the afternoon. Bob will be seeing it soon, once the disc he ordered to rewatch the second film. That’s the weakest of the three so far but 70 is great.
In Limited Release
Prosecuting Evil; documentary; written and directed by Barry Avrich; 84 minutes
A look at the last surviving procesuctor for the Post WWII Nuremberg Trials, Ben Ferencz. Definitaely intereted in checking this out. I don’t expect to see theatrically but I’ll keep an eye out. BTW, go watch Judgement at Nuremberg if you haven’t’ yet. It’s fantastic.
No reviews posted on Metacritic.
Run the Race;
Two brothers are involved in different sports: football and track. The football one is set for a scholarship until he breaks his knee. The track one then works extra hard to get one of his own. Looks positive and a bit schmaltzy. I feel like I saw the whole movie from the trailer, but for a movie like this no surprised are to be found. It’s produced by Tim Tebow if you’re into that sort of thing. One final note: I’m concerned for a advice-giving-black-man character we see. Don’t Magic Negro, please. He and the black man who beats up the football brother seem to be only POC in the trailer. Not cool.
No reviews on Metacritic.
That’s it for this week – How to Train Your Dragon is enough of a juggernaut to really go up against so not much of a surprise.
