Trailer Talk: Bad Boys For Life, Just Mercy, and more!

Bad Boys For Life

God, I really hope this doesn’t suck. I was very hesitant to get into this because Michael Bay isn’t directing, and I feel like this franchise wouldn’t totally work without his unique, immoral, and hyperstylized sensibilities. Having said that, just based on some of the shots here, this is definitely one of the better Bay imitations I’ve seen. And yeah, I did end up loving this trailer. I don’t know how the movie will end up, that’s still up in the air, but I hope it’s fun.

Bad Boys For Life hits theaters on January 17th, 2020.

Just Mercy

Destin Daniel Cretton has earned a lot of goodwill from me with his debut, Short Term 12, so even though his following film, The Glass Castle, was a bit of a disappointment, I’m still excited for whatever he does next. This very much falls in line with what I would expect from him, and the material suits him well. Plus, it’s hard to go wrong with a cast like this.

Just Mercy opens in theaters on December 25th.

The Aeronauts

This looks pretty cool. I like Felicity Jones quite a bit, and Eddie Redmayne is…also here. The story looks compelling, equal parts whimsical and thrilling. I’m not expecting it to blow my mind, but as fact-based period fluff, it looks like it’ll do the job.

The Aeronauts will open in select theaters December 6th, and Prime Video on December 20th

Between Two Ferns: The Movie

I liked the “chicken strip” line, I like me some good wordplay. I don’t have a ton of history or attachment with the Between Two Ferns web series, I’m sure I’ve seen a couple, but they were never really my thing. I had a couple chuckles with the trailer, but nothing huge. Although, it’s weirdly nice to see Zach Galifianakis again. I feel like I haven’t seen him in any movies for a while. I feel like this is gonna be a lot of Hollywood in-jokes and awkward humor, which doesn’t totally appeal to me, but it seems harmless enough. I do hope it’s successful, so when they make the sequel, they can simply call it “Between 2 Ferns.”

Between Two Ferns: The Movie will be available on Netflix on September 20th.

Gretel & Hansel

Oz Perkins has really impressed me with his work on The Blackcoat’s Daughter and I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House, so I’m into whatever he does. He has a distinct quality to his horror films. This looks no different. This looks really cool, and I really liked Sophia Lillis from It, so this is something I will be very much looking forward to.

Gretel & Hansel opens in theaters on January 31st.

Lucky Day

Roger Avery, now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. When I heard he had a new movie coming, my curiosity got the best of me. Now, having seen the trailer, it sure does look like something you’d get from the co-writer of Pulp Fiction. Whether that’s in a good or bad way, that we’ll have to wait and see. It does look amusing enough, the last gag was pretty funny, and it does seem to have a good energy going. Expectations are to be kept in checked, but I’m curious about this one.

Lucky Day will release in select theaters and VOD platforms on October 11th.

The Dead Center

The only reason I knew about this is because it popped up somewhere that Shane Carruth (of Primer and Upstream Color fame) is involved, and yes, he is starring and producing this. And I’m glad I caught wind of it because it looks interesting. I am not aware of what else this director has done, but I imagine Carruth’s involvement must be some sign of confidence. I especially like the sound design here, which seems appropriate given the subject matter. This is one I’ll keep an eye out for.

The Dead Center will be released in select theaters and VOD platforms on October 11th.

Terminator: Dark Fate

OK, I guess it looks a little better than what I saw in the teaser, but I’m still not convinced. At best, it looks like a perfectly adequate action movie, but aside from that, I’m getting nothing out of this. I hope I’m wrong, but this franchise does not have a good track record with this stuff.

Terminator: Dark Fate will hit theaters on November 1st.

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