By Chris Kavan - 07/28/16 at 06:44 AM CT
Star Trek beamed away with a pretty impressive win last weekend. Animated films continue to show impressive staying power and even a little horror-film-that-could opened to big numbers. Which is funny, because this weekend brings us a big action film, another horror film and, to shake things up a bit, a female-driven R-rated comedy. I have a feeling the Matt Damon's return as everyone's favorite super-amnesiac will dominate the weekend but a crowded market is becoming even more so, so the bigger story is going to be where last week's big films wind up when the dust settles.
JASON BOURNE Last time we had a Bourne movie, it had a surprising lack of, well, Jason Bourne. Granted, Jeremy Renner tried his best but he couldn't save The Bourne Legacy from being the lowest-grossing domestic release of the series. That's why I'm happy that Matt Damon is returning to the role that proved the cherub-faced guy from Good Will Hunting could also kick you ass five times over and look good while doing it. Damon is simply great as Jason Bourne and this film looks like it's going back to what made the films good in the first place. Paul Greengrass is back in the director's chair (so, you know, prepare for some super-cut action scenes and plenty of shaky cam!) but his style is really suited to this series. Plus, we get the red-hot Alicia Vikander, the solid-as-a-rock Tommy Lee Jones, the versatile Vincent Cassel and, hey, Julia Stiles is even back. I've got to say, even though super heroes and sci-fi may have dominated the sequel game this summer, Jason Bourne is right up their with my most anticipated sequels. I hope it lives up the previous films.
I won't lie, I'm not going to watch Bad Moms in theaters. On the other hand, I'm not going to lie, the previews make this look pretty hilarious. Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Bell play three harried mothers who are fed up with living up the "perfect" standards set by queen PTA bee Christina Applegate and her cadre of followers. So, they decide if they can't join them, they're going to beat them - essentially by doing the exact opposite of motherhood. Parties, booze, fun, drugs, sexing things up - it's called Bad Moms for a reason, people. It looks to me like the film is going to earn that R rating and it also looks quite entertaining too. I kind of feel bad for the kids (Oona Laurence and Emjay Anthony among them) but, hey, it's a great life lesson to learn. Co-stars include the likes of Jada Pinkett Smith, Annie Mumolo, Clark Duke, Jay Hernandez and Wendell Pierce. If this can entice as many men as the women I'm sure it's mostly targeting, I think it will do pretty good in theaters.
Having already opened up a few days early to beat the crowds, Nerve scored a decent $1.1 million Tuesday night opening. Starring Emma Roberts and Dave Franco, Nerve follows Vee (Roberts) playing a popular online version of Truth or Dare, not knowing that the proceedings are being manipulating by anonymous "watchers" who want the game to end in just one way: death. There have been grumblings that the film, directed by horror vets Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman, draw too much from the Thai film 13: Game of Death (which itself was remade in 2014 into 13 Sins). Still, even if the films share a similar theme, I would think Nerve can stand on its own. With the young cast and PG-13 rating, the film is clearly seeking to attract a young-adult audience - both men and women. Horror has been a big his this summer with good results from The Conjuring 2, The Purge: Election Year, The Shallows and, just last weekend, Lights Out. Nerve has a good chance of joining the club as the budget on it is likely on the low end and it should have a decent weekend.
It should be another knock-out weekend for new releases, as all the new films look to have great-to-solid debuts. I'll be back on Sunday with the results.
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