Looking at the Weekend: Aug. 19-21, 2016

It’s been awhile since a Biblical epic had the potential for long legs at the box office. This film, a re-adaptation of the Lew Wallace novel follows distantly on the heals of a 1925 silent version and a much more famous 1959 version starring Charlton Heston. That film, which won a record-setting 11 Oscars is so incredibly famous that it frequently re-runs on television around Easter. The big question is whether fans of that version see any need for this latest version. Some will check it out, but the fact that it’s being advertised to a younger generation may showcase how little faith it has in turning out older audiences who revere the William Wyler version and how few prospects they really think they have. It’s possible that audiences instead turn to war comedy War Dogs for entertainment, though I doubt any of them will have sufficient interest to accrue massive weekend dollars.

Our Highest Rated Films: Kubo and the Two Strings, Mia Madre
Our Best Awards Ratings: Kubo and the Two Strings (Oscars), The People vs. Fritz Bauer (Oscars)

OTHER LIMITED RELEASES

Down By Love
Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World
Spa Night
The Student and Mr. Henri
A Tale of Love and Darkness

Aug. 19-21, 2016
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Ben-Hur (Wide Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	3.3 Wesley Lovell: (2) Peter J. Patrick: (2) Tripp Burton: (3) Thomas LaTourrette: (6)	2.0 Wesley Lovell: (4,Oscars) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Tripp Burton: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (4,Oscars)	Categories: Original Score (WL) Film Editing (WL,TL) Cinematography (WL,TL) Production Design (WL,TL) Costume Design (WL,TL) Makeup (WL) Sound Mixing (WL) Sound Editing (WL) Visual Effects (WL,TL)
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): The second adaptation is a good enough movie. There was little need to re-adapt the novel and the end results don’t look too promising. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Frantic looking, unnecessary remake of a two-time classic. Tripp Burton (TB): It looks like this remake adds nothing new to the story of Ben-Hur, so I’m not sure why it was even made. Thomas LaTourette (TL): The trailer was all action and very little about the people. It may boast better visual effects than William Wyler’s 1959 version, but I doubt it will be better.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Kubo and the Two Strings (Wide Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	8.8 Wesley Lovell: (10) Peter J. Patrick: (9) Tripp Burton: (8) Thomas LaTourrette: (8)	7.5 Wesley Lovell: (8,Oscars) Peter J. Patrick: (7,Oscars) Tripp Burton: (7,Oscars) Thomas LaTourrette: (8,Oscars)	Categories: Animated Feature (WL,PP,TB,TL)
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): Even at their weakest, Laika is one of the best animation studios out there and the utter beauty of their stop-motion style is unparalleled. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Interesting looking stop-motion animated feature from a director with a proven track record. Tripp Burton (TB): The reviews for this have been dynamite, so I’m intrigued to catch it out. Thomas LaTourette (TL): I have always found Laika films more interesting than truly enjoyable, but the critics make it sound like they have a winner this time. If nothing else, it does look visually stunning.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
War Dogs (Wide Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	2.8 Wesley Lovell: (3) Peter J. Patrick: (0) Tripp Burton: (5) Thomas LaTourrette: (3)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Tripp Burton: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): Actors I don’t care about in a comedy that doesn’t look that funny. No thanks. Peter J. Patrick (PP): A war movie from the director of The Hangover – no thanks. Tripp Burton (TB): This looks mildly entertaining, and the ads make me chuckle a little, but I’ll wait until it is free on cable. Thomas LaTourette (TL): This may be based on a true story, but it looks incredibly dumb. Jonah Hill can make some good movies, but this one looks like one of his typical easy paycheck ones.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (Limited Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	3.3 Wesley Lovell: (7) Peter J. Patrick: (0) Tripp Burton: (4) Thomas LaTourrette: (2)	1.0 Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Tripp Burton: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (4,Razzies)	Categories: Picture (TL) Director (TL) Original Screenplay (TL)
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): Having played several of the Final Fantasy games, I have an inherent affinity to the project; however, the animation looks spectacular, which might encourage my further interest. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Were there really 15 live-action versions of these video games? I’ll pass. Tripp Burton (TB): This looks dense and too inside baseball for a non-video game fan like myself. Thomas LaTourette (TL): HBO and AMC may have provided the cast, but unless you are a gamer, I imagine that you would best avoid this film. Even then, I would proceed with caution.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Mia Madre (Limited Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	6.8 Wesley Lovell: (5) Peter J. Patrick: (9) Tripp Burton: (6) Thomas LaTourrette: (7)	1.8 Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (5,Oscars) Tripp Burton: (2,Critics) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: Picture (TB) Foreign Film (TB) Actress (TB) Original Screenplay (PP,TB)
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): It looks like it could be compelling or it could be lifeless. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Classically styled Italian drama from Nanni Moretti looks compelling. Tripp Burton (TB): Nanni Moretti is certainly an important filmmaker, but this one isn’t speaking to me as much as I hoped it would. Thomas LaTourette (TL): This Italian film looks like it could be interesting, though I wish the trailer had given me a better understanding of the main character. I wonder if it is being released too late to get an Oscar nomination.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Morris from America (Limited Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	5.8 Wesley Lovell: (5) Peter J. Patrick: (5) Tripp Burton: (7) Thomas LaTourrette: (6)	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 particular fan of this style of indie seriocomedy, but it could be ok. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Fish-out-of-water coming-of-age story has possibilities. Tripp Burton (TB): This appears charming, and the word out of Sundance was very positive, so I will certainly check it out. Thomas LaTourette (TL): It feels like a cute if forgettable coming of age saga of a young black boy whose father moves him to Germany.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
The People vs. Fritz Bauer (Limited Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	6.3 Wesley Lovell: (6) Peter J. Patrick: (7) Tripp Burton: (6) Thomas LaTourrette: (6)	3.8 Wesley Lovell: (7,Oscars) Peter J. Patrick: (4,Oscars) Tripp Burton: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (4,Oscars)	Categories: Foreign Film (WL,TL) Original Screenplay (PP)
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): The concept is interesting, but the trailer doesn’t give me much hope. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Audiences may find this award-winning German film one too many about the search for Eichmann. Tripp Burton (TB): I’m not quite sure what to make of this, but it looks intriguing enough. Thomas LaTourette (TL): The search for Eichmann should make for a fascinating film, though the early reviews make it sound more perfunctory than engrossing. Though if last year’s very good Labyrinth of Lies could not grab an Oscar nomination, I am not sure that this one will.