Man, there are a lot of movies coming out this weekend! I’m hoping to do this Weekend Outlook on a weekly basis to highlight the films that are hitting theaters each week. Alternatively, I’m thinking about posting about movies coming out on DVD so you can see what will be hitting stores, your Video on Demand service, or Redbox. I know that not everyone watches movies in theaters like I do.
These are all nationwide releases that should be coming to a theater near you. I’m most excited about Battle of the Sexes, but none of the others look awful, It should be a good week.
BATTLE OF THE SEXES
Starring: Steve Carell, Emma Stone, and Sarah Silverman
Rated PG-13
The electrifying 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) was billed as the Battle of the Sexes and became the most watched televised sports event of all time. The match sparked a global conversation on gender equality, spurring on the feminist movement. Trapped in the media glare, King and Riggs were on opposites sides of a binary argument, but off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. With a supportive husband urging her to fight the Establishment for equal pay, the fiercely private King was also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, while Riggs gambled his legacy and reputation in a bid to relive the glories of his past. Together, Billie and Bobby served up a cultural spectacle that resonated far beyond the tennis courts and animated the discussions between men and women in bedrooms and boardrooms around the world.
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
Starring: Taron Egerton, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Mark Strong, Jeff Bridges, and more…
Rated R
Kingsman: The Secret Service introduced the world to Kingsman – an independent, international intelligence agency operating at the highest level of discretion, whose ultimate goal is to keep the world safe. In Kingsman: The Golden Circle, our heroes face a new challenge. When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, their journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US called Statesman, dating back to the day they were both founded. In a new adventure that tests their agents’ strength and wits to the limit, these two elite secret organizations band together to defeat a ruthless common enemy, in order to save the world, something that’s becoming a bit of a habit for Eggsy…
THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE
Starring (the voices of): Jackie Chan, Dave Franco, and Michael Peña
Rated PG
In this big-screen NINJAGO adventure, the battle for NINJAGO City calls to action young Master Builder Lloyd, aka the Green Ninja, along with his friends, who are all secret ninja warriors. Led by Master Wu, as wise-cracking as he is wise, they must defeat evil warlord Garmadon, The Worst Guy Ever, who also happens to be Lloyd’s dad. Pitting mech against mech and father against son, the epic showdown will test this fierce but undisciplined team of modern-day ninjas who must learn to check their egos and pull together to unleash their inner power of Spinjitzu.
BRAD’S STATUS
Starring: Ben Stiller, Michael Sheen, Luke Wilson, and Jermaine Clement
Rated R
When Brad Sloan (Ben Stiller) accompanies his college bound son to the East Coast, the visit triggers a crisis of confidence in Brad’s Status, writer and director Mike White’s bittersweet comedy. Brad has a satisfying career and a comfortable life in suburban Sacramento where he lives with his sweet-natured wife, Melanie (Jenna Fischer), and their musical prodigy son, Troy (Austin Abrams), but it’s not quite what he imagined during his college glory days. Showing Troy around Boston, where Brad went to university, he can’t help comparing his life with those of his four best college friends: a Hollywood bigshot (White), a hedge fund founder (Luke Wilson), a tech entrepreneur (Jemaine Clement), and a political pundit and bestselling author (Michael Sheen). As he imagines their wealthy, glamorous lives, he wonders if this is all he will ever amount to. But when circumstances force him to reconnect with his former friends, Brad begins to question whether he has really failed or is, in some ways at least, the most successful of them all.
STRONGER
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, and Miranda Richardson
Rated R
Stronger is the inspiring true story of Jeff Bauman, an ordinary man who captured the hearts of his city and the world to become a symbol of hope following the infamous 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. It is Jeff’s deeply personal account of the heroic journey which tests a family’s bond, defines a community’s pride and inspires his inner courage to overcome devastating adversity.
Which one of these will get you into the theater, or do you have other plans? Let me know in the comments below.