After a big week with a Marvel movie hitting the big screen, things tend to quiet down a bit - and this week is a perfect example following Spider-Man: Far From Home. All the same, we've got killer alligators, and an Uber driver/cop buddy comedy. Get ready for Crawl and Stuber.
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.
As we see every year during hurricane season, storms can be incredibly destructive and terrible all by themselves. Now imagine a category-5 bad boy bearing down on you and with it came a congregation of alligators in your dad’s basement, and you have the general premise of Crawl. FEMA isn’t prepped for this kind of insanity, so it’s up Kaya Scodelario's character and her pops, played by Barry Pepper, to figure out how to survive.
Alexandre Aja directs after helming Horns (40%), Piranha 3D (25%) and The Hills Have Eyes (51%). This latest, I expect will get a critical response similar to those other films. It looks moderately interesting without offering much new. I suspect the premise and location is a bit too limited to keep folks interested throughout the entire run time. It's a fine enough idea, but has more of a TV movie feel to it.
The ride along/unsuspecting buddy comedy setup seems to inspire a new release every other year or so. There are plenty of examples of the dweebish/nerdy type unwittingly paired with the buff law enforcement dude, and it’s a vehicle (pardon the pun) to grab some cheap laughs at the expense of the dichotomy between the two characters. But that’s usually all it’s good for, and as a result I don't have high expectations for Stuber.
In this one, we get Kumail Nanjiani teamed up with Dave Bautista on a mission to do, well... that's not entirely clear from the trailer. The former is an Uber driver (named Stu, hence the title) and the latter is an all-about-the-job cop intent on yanking him along for the ride. It looks silly, but critics don't seem to be loving it. Stuber is currently sitting at 44% with 18 reviews posted. It's not a good start, and unlikely to get better for the new feature from director Michael Dowse, whose previous films Goon (82%) and What If (73%) were pleasant surprises.
Last week was something of a bounce back for This Rotten Week, with the two movies missing by only a combined 2% in the predictions - albeit I had head starts with both releases. Spider-Man: Far From Home (Predicted: 91% Actual: 92%) was another huge win for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, culminating its Phase 3 period with a critically acclaimed hit. It’s been an epic run for the franchise, and though this isn’t the end, the stretch of flicks produced from 2016's Captain America: Civil War through now was, well, a marvel.
Meanwhile, Midsommar (Predicted: 83% Actual: 82%) finished quite high with critics and is especially a win considering that the horror genre doesn't always get love from some writers. The trailer appeared off-putting and creepy, but in a way that could land on the positive side of the Tomatometer. That it had some smart themes and critiques made it even more of a win.
Next time we’ve got The Lion King It’s gonna be a Rotten Week!
