If you like dogs, cloning, and/or buddy comedies, then this is the kind of week for you. While none of the movies look all that good, the themes on hand will probably appeal to at least some moviegoers. Get ready for A Dog's Way Home, Replicas, and The Upside.
Just remember, I'm not reviewing these movies, but rather predicting where they'll end up on the Tomatometer. Let's take a look at This Rotten Week has to offer.
I suppose if you like dogs or are five years old (or both) then A Dog's Way Home is right up your alley. Anyone else? Woof, I don't know. Plenty of good dog-voiceover movies have been made in the past, but this sure doesn't look like one of them. It looks as sappy and contrived as it gets. An extra good dude loses his extra amazing dog because of a complicated set of circumstances, and we must now root for the canine until he eventually finds his way home for a tearful reunion.
Director Charles Martin Smith has some experience with uplifting animal flicks, having helmed A Dolphin's Tale and its sequel (81% and 65% respectively). A Dog's Way Home seems to touch on a lot of the same notes, though I don't think it finishes as well with the critics. There just doesn't seem to be enough meat on this bone.
You know you are in a futuristic movie when the scientist/protagonist uses those computer monitors that project all around a person's face rather than a good old-fashioned keyboard and dual monitor set up. If they've got that rig, you are either dealing with Tony Stark turning his Iron Man suit into all kinds of awesome or Keanu Reeves reincarnating his dead family through the power of cloning. In this case, it's the latter, as audiences prepare for Replicas.
Frankly, this thing looks rather ridiculous. It looks like it wants to make some point about cloning while also throwing in some government intrigue and Reeves signature scowling and brooding. But I can't imagine its anything close to good based on the marketing. The trailer for Replicas has this sense of "trying too hard," and I bet the critics see it the same way.
The Upside looks like it is a paint-by-numbers dramedy about two unlikely guys, a billionaire quadriplegic and a recently released felon, who strike up a friendship after the former hires the latter to take care of him. It seems like just the kind of flick a movie studio would love while the rest of the world finds it almost completely implausible (and yes, I get it's based on a true story). Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston star as the "odd" pairing and I suppose the goal is to offer some laughs while pulling on the old heartstrings. Critics are meh on the film so far with it sitting at 55% through 11 reviews, and I don't see the score changing that much over the course of the week.
Director Neil Burger's track record has been hit or miss up until this point with Limitless (69%), Divergent (42%), The Lucky One (37%), and The Illusionist (73%). I suspect this latest lands more toward the negative side once things are all said and done.
We only had one movie last time around, and it was a miss for the Rotten Watch. Escape Room (Predicted: 34% Actual: 53%) didn't come within range of my prediction thanks to some critics enjoying the film a bit more than I thought they would. No one seemed to think it was all that good, but some were more forgiving about the premise and writing than others. It led to a few more positive reviews for a movie about a bunch of hip, young folk doing the hip young thing young people do, except this escape room has life or death consequences. It's silly, but the majority of critics saw it that way and trended just on the right side of positive.
We'll be back next time around with Glass. It's gonna be a Rotten Week!
