POKÉMON: Detective Pikachu
Um…this looks really fun? Despite the peak of the show and game’s popularity happening at the perfect age for me way back in elementary school, I was never able to get into Pokémon. I didn’t hate it or anything, I just couldn’t connect to it the way a lot of my peers did. I have no idea what “Detective Pikachu” is, it seems like a weird fanfic thing, but I really liked what I saw here. It certainly helps that Monsters Vs Aliens and Goosebumps director, Rob Letterman, knows how to make a movie look interesting, and I’m all for more Justice Smith in movies, especially after being wasted in the latest Jurassic World. But yeah, I already dig detective stories, and I find Reynold’s particular brand of snark amusing, so consider me intrigued.
POKÉMON: Detective Pikachu will open in theaters on May 10th, 2019.
Toy Story 4
Toy Story 3 felt like such a perfect end to that story that I’m not entirely convinced that a fourth one is necessary. This is a teaser, so there’s not much to go on aside from the introduction of a new character, and the plot description below the video mentioning that it’s a road trip, which feels far too familiar with Pixar and their usual bag of tricks. I was more interested back when Rashida Jones was involved in the writing, but she ultimately left on complicated terms. Not much else to say until we see more, so for the time being, I’ll remain cautious.
Toy Story 4 will hit theaters on June 21st, 2019.
Mirai
I recently received a screener for this, so you’ll probably get a review for this pretty soon. I’m very excited to check it out because I adore the works of Mamoru Hosoda – The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Boy And The Beast, all great films you should check out. This looks really cool, and seems to fall perfectly in line with the kind of themes, imager, and ideas you’d expect from Hosoda, and still executed in ways you don’t expect. I’m expecting great things from this.
Mirai will be released in select theaters starting November 29th.
Fighting With My Family
Hell yeah, written and directed by Stephen Merchant! I’ve been looking forward to this for a while, which is a bit odd since I haven’t watched any wrestling since I was really young. But still, the idea of exploring the rise of a wrestling star with this cast, and this particular director, is really cool. I can’t wait to see this.
Fighting With My Family will open in theaters on February 22nd, 2019.
Dumbo
The teaser for this was wonderful, even if I am still keeping my expectations in check, and it’s no different here. If anything, this solidifies that the filmmakers are very much doing their own thing, and not just doing the same thing as the original. These live-action Disney stuff has been hit-and-miss, so I’m not sure what to expect here. I really hope it doesn’t suck, not just as a fan of the original, but as a fan of Tim Burton.
Dumbo will hit theaters on March 29th, 2019.
Gloria Bell
Sebastián Lelio is having one hell of a year. Not only did his film, A Fantastic Woman, take the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, but he’s gotten acclaim for Disobedience, which is getting some low-key awards hype, and now he has this coming in several months. Interestingly enough, he’s remaking his 2013 Chile/Spanish film, Gloria. It does seem like the kind of subject matter that would translate rather easily, especially when you have a cast as talented as this.
Gloria Bell will open in theaters on March 8th, 2019.
Captive State
Says about as much as the first trailer did, so I don’t have much else to add that I haven’t said already. The combination of political dystopia and alien invasion is really neat and interesting, and I have enough faith in Rupert Wyatt to deliver.
Captive State will open on March 29th, 2019.
Buffalo Boys
This is Singapore’s submission for the Oscars. I don’t see this getting nominated, but it still looks like a damn good time. I’m always interested to see how different cultures tackle what is the most distinctly American genre – the western. The results are usually super interesting, so I’m definitely curious to see what director, Mike Wiluan, has in store.
Buffalo Boys will hit select cinemas and VOD platforms on January 11th, 2019.
Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!