Looking at the Weekend: Jan. 19-21, 2018

There aren’t a lot of options this weekend, but war films, especially ones that look as manipulative as this one, tend to do well when there are no other options. Den of Thieves is likely to be a flop and Forever My Girl just isn’t the kind of film that becomes a runaway success.

Our Highest Rated Films: This Giant Papier-Mâché Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy
Our Best Awards Ratings: None.

OTHER LIMITED RELEASES

Phantom Thread (Expanding)(Read our previous Looking at the Weekend commentary here.)
Mary and the Witch’s Flower
A Ciambra
The Final Year
Kangaroo
Ridge Runners
The Road Movie

Jan. 19-21, 2018
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
12 Strong (Wide Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	3.8 Wesley Lovell: (2) Peter J. Patrick: (5) Tripp Burton: (4) Thomas LaTourrette: (4)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Tripp Burton: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): I’m not a big fan of war movies in general, but these cheaply patriotic ones are particularly aggravating. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Special Forces in Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11 looks a bit undercooked. Tripp Burton (TB): This looks very one-note, and not my thing at all. Thomas LaTourette (TL): A decent cast and what could be a decent story, but it looks to be a mostly typical war movie.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Den of Thieves (Wide Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	2.8 Wesley Lovell: (1) Peter J. Patrick: (5) Tripp Burton: (3) Thomas LaTourrette: (2)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Tripp Burton: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): Another cop-vs-criminal movie where you’re supposed to hate and love both sides. It looks cheap. Peter J. Patrick (PP): So-so looking crime drama. Tripp Burton (TB): This looks like a generic action film that I’m getting sick of. Thomas LaTourette (TL): Nothing about this cops and robbers film seems appealing, too violent, too trite.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Forever My Girl (Wide Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	3.0 Wesley Lovell: (1) Peter J. Patrick: (5) Tripp Burton: (3) Thomas LaTourrette: (3)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Tripp Burton: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): A young country singer falling in love. Not a movie worth checking out, IMO. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Romantic drama with a cute kid in the middle, could be an early Valentine’s Day treat. Tripp Burton (TB): Not my thing. Thomas LaTourette (TL): A singer is redeemed by his love for the small town girl he left behind. It’s been done many times. This will probably only appeal to major country western music fans.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
This Giant Papier-Mâché Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy (Limited Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	6.0 Wesley Lovell: (7) Peter J. Patrick: (4) Tripp Burton: (6) Thomas LaTourrette: (7)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Tripp Burton: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): The film looks cheap, but also appropraitely geeky, so it might be fun catching on video some day. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Dumb looking sci-fi spoof has “pass me by” written all over it. Tripp Burton (TB): I’m not quite sure what to make of this, but it looks like it could be a lot of fun. Thomas LaTourette (TL): It looks cheesy but fun. A low budget Galaxy Quest. It could fill a gap in the post Oscars doldrums.