New Releases: The Weight & Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom
September is the month when not many hits come out in movie theaters, but if you're willing to take a chance, you can still find a few hidden gems.
Let me introduce you to a couple of movies that might be worth a $5/$6 movie night if you want to head to your local theater. This weekend, The Weight and Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom came out, and I think both are worth sitting down with a bag of popcorn, turning off the phone, and relaxing for a couple of hours.
The Weight, starring Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe, is set in 1933, during the height of the Depression, when homelessness, greed, and desperation weigh heavily on both. Prisoners are tasked with moving gold bars from one location to another through Oregon's wild forests. It feels like a modern-day Lord of the Rings mixed with The Shawshank Redemption. With two powerhouses like Hawke and Crowe, audiences can expect top-tier acting, and along with the breathtaking forest scenery, it makes for a fast 1 hour 53 minutes. The movie falls apart in the last 10ish minutes. A small gripe, in my opinion, but the way this movie and its plot wrap up at the end makes it feel hollow. You spend a tense couple of hours with these characters only to have everything tied neatly with a bow. The beauty of The Shawshank Redemption is that you weren't sure whether Andy Dufresne would escape and whether he or Red would ever be reunited; it makes you feel like you've earned the payoff. The Weight just doesn't carry that kind of...well, weight all the way to the end. Still, it's a good time at the theater watching Ethan Hawke enjoy his groove in these later years. 3/5
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is a must-see for any fan of Wallace and Gromit or Aardman movies, in general. Full confession: I love Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The number of times I've watched that movie and STILL laugh...I never get tired of it. It will make our Halloween watch list every year. So I couldn't wait to go see Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, especially with Halloween right around the corner. It's pumpkin-growing season in Mossy Bottom, and everyone is getting ready for Halloween, but when some pumpkins are destroyed, Shaun decides to create a serum that regrows not only the pumpkins but also accidentally creates a Bigfoot monster who horrifies the townspeople. Much of what audiences love about Aardman Animated movies shows up in this film too: amazing animation, goofy characters, jokes for kids, and winks for the adults. Is it as good as Were-Rabbit? Probably not, but I would definitely add this to my Halloween rotation in the future. 3.5/5
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