Feb 21, 2020

Movie news you can use

Posted Feb 21, 2020 1:00 AM

[ By DAN DEMING ]

[ ENTERTAINMENT CONTRIBUTOR ]

The classic Jack London 1903 novel comes to life this weekend as "Call of the Wild" debuts in Hutchinson and nationwide. In case you forgot your reading history, it's the story of a dog named Buck, taken from his California home to Canada and then on to the Alaskan Yukon in the 1890's to become a rookie mail delivery sled dog.

Buck meets up with John Thorton, a true Klondike gold rusher, played by Harrison Ford. You may be surprised after seeing the exotic wilds of Alaska that the movie was not filmed on location, but largely in California. It was scheduled to come out on Christmas day, but delayed to make room for "Star Wars" and other features after Fox Studios was acquired by Disney. There have been mixed national reviews but Rotten Tomatoes carries a 72 percent thumbs-up among critics.

It could be a real family adventure treat, and needs to be because of its $125 million production budget. This is considerably more than the first "Call of the Wild" movie in 1935.

If you are not called to the wild, other carry-over options at B&B Theaters include: "Sonic the Hedgehog," (premiering bigger than expected last weekend with more than $62 million in ticket sales); "Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey," "Fantasy Island," "1917," "Downhill" and, believe it or not, "Jumanji: The Next Level" is still here.

ā€œMovie news you can useā€ is a weekly feature submitted by Dan Deming. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of Hutch Post or its affiliates.