Welcome to the first of our recurring feature Weekend Movie Alert, where we let you know about some of the more anticipated films opening this weekend. First up: Disney’s “Race To Witch Mountain”.
Now, you may or may not remember the original Witch Mountain series of flicks (Escape To…, Return From…, and Beyond Witch Mountain), but for today’s audience, that hardly matters. What people will come see this movie for are a few things. One: it’s a big-budget SFX fest that will appeal to those who are able to enjoy a movie for what it is, which is entertainment first. Regardless of the storyline, it’s going to be a fun ride watching this cross-country chase after two teens who possess fantastical powers.
Two: it appeals to the Tween crowd. Older teenagers might cast aspersion, being too cool to enjoy a simple adventure without copious swearing, gratuitous gunplay, and a hiphop soundtrack, but it’ll still appeal to younger ones who are very into the latest trend of Young Adult fiction translations. Three: it’s got The Rock in it. Oh, I’m sorry, I mean Dwayne Johnson. That guy’s just watchable. True, the actual lines he’s delivering are the by-now standard regular-guy-who-quips-to-himself staple, but whatever. It’s also got Carla Gugino in it, and she’s even more watchable.
Next, we’ve got The Objective, from the director and writer of The Blair Witch Project, Daniel Myrick. The trailer for this movie doesn’t really present anything thematically different from the Blair Witch, but it’s got a bigger budget, better effects, and instead of the tangle of woods, the locale is the wide open emptiness of Afghanistan. Sure, it’ll feature a small entourage of soldiers who slowly lose their composure over the course of the movie, and a series of weird, barely-glimpsed phenomena, and it’ll probably stop just short of giving you the full story. But you ought to be able to enjoy it for what it is: an excuse to cozy up to your date and get some cheap thrills. Who knows? Maybe The Objective will surprise, but at this point, we don’t really need it to.
So there you go, our two picks for best weekend movies for the weekend of March 14-15. Tune in next week for another look at what next weekend offers!
I agree with your assessment that this movie targeting the teeny boppers. I do have a feeling that this movie will do a lot better than expected in the box office though. I’m quite tempted to actually watch it!