Billy Bob Thornton and Sandra Bullock tried, but costumes may have worked better with 'Crisis.' (Photo Courtesy Warner Bros.)
Billy Bob Thornton and Sandra Bullock tried, but costumes may have worked better with ‘Crisis.’ (Photo Courtesy Warner Bros.)

By DONNA BALANCIA – Halloween weekend.  The perfect time to watch a political satire! About a Bolivian presidential bid no less. Bring the kids?  Oh, wait, the new Sandra Bullock pic, Our Brand is Crisis, is rated R.

Seems like a jumbled mess from the get-go. Supported by major ad bucks — bucks that young filmmakers with something important to say would kill for — the pic still looks boring.

Well, let’s be honest.  Warner Bros’ marketing campaign for Our Brand is Crisis has taken a turn with days to go until the Halloween weekend opening.  A left turn to nowheresville, now focusing on the snarky “frenemy-ship” between Billy Bob Thornton and Bullock.

But since George Clooney is involved, the movie-goers will have to take one for the theatre-going team.  After all, in Hollywood it’s all about the relationship.  Warners must want Clooney back pretty bad.  After all, if anyone knows “crisis” it’s Clooney, who tried to rally support for Sony after the hacking incident that followed yet another terrible big studio green-light decision that provoked a North Korean dictator.  That was another green-light decision based on keeping a relationship — with Seth Rogan?  More research needed here to find out who his parents are.

But, fortunately, as Anthony D’Alessandro of Deadline wrote, Our Brand is Crisis will probably pull a disappearing act soon after its bow, as weekend B.O. expectations are low.  Few expect even the non-trick-or-treaters to show up for this one.

Other new pics this week include Scouts Guide to the Zombie, Freaks of Nature, and Bradley Cooper’s rendition of Top Chef, Burnt.

Read the San Jose Mercury News Review here on the Sandra Bullock fare:

…Bullock plays “Calamity” Jane Bodine, a burned-out campaign veteran coaxed back into the game by the chance to take on former rival Pat Candy, played by Thornton. Candy is managing Victor Rivera, the current favorite in the Bolivian presidential race. Bodine’s job is to revive the campaign of former President Pedro Gallo (Joaquim de Almeida), an unpopular former president who’s running 28 points behind.

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For more caustic fare read the review at ComingSoon.net