Alita: Battle Angel
There are just some movies that when you look at them, you go, “that movie bombed big time, didn’t it?” I’m actually really looking forward to it. After all, it’s a collaboration between James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez. Sure Rodriguez’s last several films haven’t been good, but I think that might be due to his instinct to do everything. This time, he is actively collaborating with another creative, so perhaps he’ll be reigned in this time around in a way he hasn’t been before. I’m really curious to see how this turns out. I’m not familiar with the source material, but I like how weird this looks, and the world seems interesting. It looks like it could make for a really good time. But yeah, releasing this on the same day as Aquaman, Bumblebee, and Mary Poppins Returns is basically a death wish.
Alita: Battle Angel will foolishly hit theaters on December 21st.
What They Had
This looks…fine? I’m sure it’ll be at least good. I mean, the cast alone will make it more than watchable. However, it takes a lot to get me interested in one of these family crisis movies, and there’s already been plenty of movies I’ve seen that center on people dealing with a member of the family who has Alzheimer’s or Dementia. I just don’t see what is supposed to really hook me in that separates this from similar films, aside from the cast. I don’t think it looks bad by any means, but it does seem rather run-of-the-mill.
What They Had will be released in theaters October 12th.
Mid90s
We are so close to blowing the doors of 90s nostalgia wide open, I can feel it. Will this be the one to kick it off, I’m not quite sure of that, but it does look compelling. And with Jonah Hill being the creative force behind it as writer and director, it can’t help but grab my attention. It seems like a long time coming, considering he seems to really opened himself up to the kind of movies he will perform in, earning two Oscar nominations. This seems like a neat look at skater culture, which could make for an interesting comparison to Skate Kitchen (which I talked about here), in the sense that they deal with a similar subject matter, but tackle them in their own distinct way. I think this has potential.
Mis90s will be released in theaters on October 19th.
Slender Man
This looks way better than a Slender Man movie should look. It’s nice seeing one of these disposable teen horror movies actually look like it’s being made by a filmmaker. Also, it’s written by the guy who wrote the Paul Verhoeven movie, Elle, which is…interesting. I’m not totally sure what to make of this, but I am somewhat curious. I always felt a better movie about Slender Man would be closer to the actual attempted murder case that happened a while ago, where Slender Man is fictional, but he still seeps into the minds of impressionable teens, and dire consequences come out of it. But hey, this could be a cool surprise.
Slender Man will be released in theaters August 10th.
Hunter Killer
Hunter Killer is such a dopey name, I have to admire any movie willing to use it. I’m actually kind of into this. We don’t get many submarine action movies, and they clearly put…some…money into this. The cast looks game, and it’s going to feature one of Michael Nyqvist’s final roles, so yeah, this could be a good time. Not holding my breath, though.
Hunter Killer will hit theaters October 26th.
Final Score
So, we just had one Die Hard knockoff with Skyscraper just weeks ago, but it looks like we got another one just around the corner. The gimmick? It’s “Die Hard…in a stadium!” I guess I’ve heard worse. Though, to be honest, this actually doesn’t look bad at all. It seems like they’re really going all in on the strange premise, and making the most of it. Plus, when you have Dave Bautista as the lead, Ray Stevenson as the vaguely Eastern European villain, and Pierce Brosnan as the MacGuffin, you might actually have enough to make this work. The R-rated action is just icing on the cake at this point.
Final Score will hit select theaters and VOD platforms on September 14th.
Cut Throat City
Wow! RZA directed this? That’s fascinating. Definitely a far cry from The Man With The Iron Fists, which I was initially excited for, but ended up not seeing because the word of mouth wasn’t great. However, after seeing this trailer, I’m considering checking out his debut. Though, it is worth noting that RZA isn’t a credited writer on this like he was with TMWTIF. But anyway, a heist film set in post-Katrina New Orleans? Sounds like it could be really interesting. Plus, with folks like Wesley Snipes and Shameik Moore involved, it just seals the deal.
Cut Throat City will be released in 2019, but a date has not been announced yet.
I Think We’re Alone Now
Low budget sci-fi movies like this can go either way. The teaser doesn’t dig in enough for me to figure out which way it could lean, but it at least does what every good teaser should do, and that is to catch my interest. It’d be hard not to with a cast like Peter Dinklage, Elle Fanning, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Paul Giamatti working with a filmmaker who has been building some clout over the past several years in Reed Morano. Again, not entirely sure what to expect from this, there’s been plenty of low-fi post apocalyptic films recently, and I hope it brings something new to the table.
I Think We’re Alone Now will be released in select theaters on September 14th before going nationwide the following weekend.
Peterloo
A new Mike Leigh film? Hell yes! Though he might not be a household name, at least here in the States, Mike Leigh has been one of those guys quietly churning out some of the very best films out there. His last film, Mr. Turner, was excellent, and this is one I’ve been highly anticipating. I don’t know a lot about the history that this story is inspired by, so it’ll be interesting to see this unfold. This is a solid teaser.
Peterloo will be released in theaters on November 9th.
Apollo 11
On the off chance that First Man ends up being a little too Hollywood, it looks like documentary filmmaker, Todd Douglas Miller, has us covered. This apparently features “never-before-seen, large-format film footage.” For a space nut like me, that sounds like an essential big screen experience, so I’m already excited to see what they have in store here. Though, it is still in post-production, so we’ll have to wait until we see any more.
Neon has picked up Apollo 11 for distribution, but has not announced a release date.
Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!