After Yang

I adored Kogonada’s directorial debut, Columbus, and I’ve been excited for this ever since it was announced. After seeing the trailer, I am not disappointed. This looks wonderful, and man, it’s so nice and refreshing to see a movie about a robot that isn’t the same fear mongering, A.I. uprising nonsense we keep getting over and over. The word of mouth from Cannes and Sundance has been mostly good, but not as glowing as it was on Columbus, but I’m still looking forward to this.

After Yang will be released in select theaters and streaming via Showtime on March 4th.

 

No Exit

Ah yes, the classic spin on the whodunnit formula, the “whosdoinit.” Jokes aside, this is a really great premise, and it’s surprising that the trailer doesn’t give too much away.  Not familiar with the book, but I can definitely see how this might be a compelling read. But it’s cool to see a thriller like this still being made. Not much else to say except it looks really solid, and I’m looking forward to checking it out.

No Exit hits Hulu on February 25th.

 

Huda’s Salon

Hany Abu-Assad is a filmmaker I’ve been meaning to check out more. I think I’ve only seen The Mountain Between Us from him, which is…probably not the ideal place to start his filmography. This looks pretty engaging, and the conceit is pretty clever and intense, especially if it’s based on factual material. The trailer is certainly intriguing, and got me invested in the situation fairly quick, so I’m curious if the film itself will be as strong.

Huda’s Salon opens in select theaters and VOD platforms on March 4th.

 

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

I think I discussed the teaser a while back, but there wasn’t much to talk about. Now that there’s a full trailer…I honestly don’t know what to make of this. It looks well made, and Fede Álvarez having a story and producer credit certainly guarantees this will be a grimy as hell experience. But after two other horror franchises already doing this trope, I’m already getting tired of the “bring back the survivor of the original movie as a hardened badass” conceit, at this point, it’s starting to feel lazy and uninspired, and for this movie, it just feels weird and unnecessary. I mean, what exactly is happening here? Are a group of people going to a random ghost town to revive it? I have so many questions. I’ll give it a shot, but I’ll keep my expectations in check.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre hits Netflix on February 18th.

 

Asking For It

Man, I’m getting mad Assassination Nation PTSD flashbacks. Halfway through watching this trailer, I thought to myself, “wait, this has to be directed by a guy, right?” So, I looked it up, and sure enough, a male writer/director is behind this. Now, I’m not saying that guys are incapable of making feminist movies, even ones that go for a pulp, culty vibe, but this looks very…not great. I was curious how a movie as cheap looking as this got all these names, but then I saw two of them listed as producers in the end. That definitely explains it. I mean, as much as Sam Levinson is a menace to society, at least he’s got style.

Asking For It hits select theaters and VOD platforms on March 4th.

 

The Offer

I think the story behind The Godfather is a very interesting one, so I’ll definitely give this series a shot. I have my worries, some of the voices here sound like caricatures, and it makes the whole thing feel like a cartoon, plus I’m always weary of any dialogue that that tries to foreshadow something that we know is going to happen, “this is gonna become a cultural phenomenon.” Like, really? Did someone really hear the pitch for The Godfather, and think that? I doubt it.. I also wish it didn’t have that clean, digital look, a story like this needs some grit. However, Dan Fogler as Francis Ford Coppola is just an inspired choice, and with Michael Tolkin writing and Dexter Fletcher directing, I’m going to be cautiously optimistic about this.

The Offer will premiere on Paramount+ on April 22nd.

 

Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!