Strap in folks! For some reason the studios decide to unload all of the trailers this week, so there’s a lot to talk about.
Bumblebee
So…this looks kinda good, right? Honestly, I feel like we shouldn’t be this surprised that this doesn’t look terrible (not just because Michael Bay isn’t behind the camera) because the guy behind this is Travis Knight, who is an animator and producer from Laika, you know, the stop motion company who made films like Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, and he made his directorial debut with Kubo and the Two Strings. Plus, he’s working with cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, so you know it will look amazing, and Hailee Steinfeld is great (by the way, if you haven’t seen The Edge of Seventeen, check it out, it’s one of 2016’s best films, and she was incredible in it).
I was never able to get into Transformers, the property. The 80s cartoon was before my time, and I simply never got into the other versions that came out afterwards. I only know about the films, and whatever I soaked up through cultural osmosis. Sure, this might only seem good compared to what we got before, but I think the basic setup we see here is exactly the kind of thing this series desperately needed. I’m curious what the fan response is going to be. As someone who doesn’t know much about the lore, this actually looks fun.
Bumblebee will come to theaters December 21st.
Halloween
Yes! This looks really good. What a relief. I know this was one of those projects that’s been going around for a while, just waiting to happen. Who’ve thought Danny McBride and David Gordon Green would be the ones to finally bring it to life? I’m typically iffy on late sequels that selectively ignore previous films, like how this will ignore all the sequels in the Halloween franchise, and instead being a direct sequel to the original 1978 classic. But then again, I think suppose this is a special case, considering the weird places the sequels eventually went.
I’m really looking forward to this if it wasn’t obvious enough. It’s cool to have a fairly straightforward slasher movie come out in 2018, and I’m curious to see what the filmmakers add to that genre. It certainly looks tense and frightening, and Jamie Lee Curtis looks great. Yeah, there was no way this wasn’t going to be one the most highly anticipated films of the year for me. I do wish that the trailer noted that John Carpenter was doing the music, that would’ve been nice to see.
Also, little pet peeve, why make a direct sequel to a movie called Halloween and call it “Halloween?” That’s so bizarre.
Halloween will be released in theaters on October 19th.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
I know we’ve only just seen the trailers, but even with just that, this looks like one of the most gorgeous movies I’ve ever seen. Part of it is definitely due to the fact that there’s never been anything animated like this before. I just want to pause and go frame by frame, just to soak in all the artistry at display here.
As far as the movie itself? Yeah, it looks really cool. I’m not familiar with the comic book story they’re pulling from here, but that makes it more interesting to me because I have zero clue what to expect, especially considering that we see multiple versions of Spider-Men in this. I wonder if Spider-Ham shows up. But yeah, I can’t be more excited for this.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse will hit theaters December 14th.
A Star Is Born
Well, we’re doing this story again, this time with Bradley Cooper behind the camera, and co-starring Lady Gaga. Looks fine. I’m still not entirely sold. I’ve heard some rumblings that the production was messy as hell, but that could be nothing. It’s a solid, well-edited trailer. I’m not entirely convinced we needed another version of this story, though, considering how many times it’s been remade, I guess it’s like a tradition now. So, who knows, maybe this will be a lovely surprise.
A Star Is Born will be released October 5th.
Bad Times At The El Royale
Ever since The Cabin In The Woods, I’ve been eagerly anticipating whatever Drew Goddard does next, and ever since this was announced to be his follow up, I was excited. This looks rad as hell. I can’t really tell what’s going on, but everything that I’m looking at is really cool, and stylish, and the cast is great. Interesting that this is the second film of his that includes a two-way mirror as a plot point. Anyway, not a lot to talk about with this one right now, but it does look like a blast.
Bad Times At The El Royale will hit theaters October 5th.
Mortal Engines
I have no knowledge of the books that this is based on, but this looks really cool. I think it does a great job at selling you on the world they created here, and it looks unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a live-action movie. I do wish they let Robert Sheehan keep his accent, instead of making him do a vaguely American one, but whatever. I’m a huge Peter Jackson fan, so I hope this is a winner for him, since he clearly put a lot of effort here as a producer and co-writer. I just hope I don’t keep accidentally referring it as “Mortal Instruments” by accident.
Mortal Engines will be released on December 14th.
Suspiria
Who would’ve thought that a remake of Dario Argento’s horror masterpiece, Suspiria would be this highly anticipated? Admittedly, there would probably be more concern if this wasn’t helmed by the incredible Luca Guadagnino, who is clearly bringing his own flavor here. I find it funny how the stylistic approach seems to be, “we don’t want to copy the aesthetics of this iconic 70s horror movie, so…we’ll just copy the aesthetics of a *different* kind of 70s horror movie!” This looks like it has more in common with something like The Exorcist, or one of the classier Hammer Horror productions than with the vibrant fairy tale quality of the original.
I do think the muted colors do, unfortunately, make this look like many other horror films that come out today. I wish the filmmakers were able to include more color, which could easily be done without seeming like it’s aping the original. But aside from that gripe, I’m excited for this. That title card? *chef kiss*
Suspiria will hit theaters November 2nd.
How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I remember being very disappointed in How to Train Your Dragon 2 after loving the first one, and I haven’t seen it since. So, a part of me is a bit skeptical with this one. It certainly does look beautifully made, the environments, the textures, the lighting, it’s all gorgeous. I mean, this is Dreamworks’ flagship franchise. The story as presented looks fine enough, if a bit basic. Though, there were some cute moments with Hiccup here. I hope this puts the franchise back on track.
How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is slated to release on March 1st.
The Old Man And The Gun
This is apparently meant to be the final performance from Robert Redford, who stated a while back that he will be retiring. I sincerely hope that isn’t the case because he’s been doing some stellar work recently. It’s also interesting that he’d choose his final film to be another collaboration with writer/director, David Lowery, who he worked with on Pete’s Dragon a couple years ago. I think Lowery is a terrific filmmaker, and I love the old school vibe that this is going for. So, I think this is looking pretty great. Could do without Casey Affleck, but hopefully, he’s only a small part of the overall picture.
The Old Man And The Gun will be released on September 28th.
The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
I adore the first LEGO movie, so despite Lord & Miller not being directors on this (they’re producers and I believe did the first pass at the script before it was rewritten by Raphael Bob-Waksberg – the creator of Bojack Horseman), I think this looks like it will turn out pretty good. Obviously, given what we see with those planet mobile things you hang over a crib, it looks like the real world story involves an infant, maybe a new addition to the family we saw in the first LEGO movie. That could be an interesting angle. Too bad we have to wait until next February to see it! It’s gonna be a long wait.
The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part will hit theaters February 8th.
Widows
A new film written by Gone Girl’s Gillian Flynn? Yes! That’s also directed by Steve McQueen? Yes, please! And a cast that includes Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, and Brian Tyree Henry? Put this in my veins now! This looks so cool.
The trailer seems rather dour, so I’m curious if it’s going to be like a Gone Girl situation where the film itself is actually really darkly funny. There is certainly potential for humor here, which I’m sure Gillian Flynn can pull off without undermining what the women are doing. It’s also neat to see McQueen direct something that leans heavily on genre, compared to his early dramas. This is just a really amazing collection of people, so I’m very much looking forward to this one.
Widows will be released on November 16th.
The Girl In The Spider’s Web
So, is Lisbeth Salander some kind of goth superhero who goes after abusers now? Neat. I haven’t read the books in the Millennium series, but I have seen the Swedish trilogy, and the David Fincher film, and I’ve enjoyed all of them. And like a lot of people, I was initially resistant to the idea of someone else continuing this story without Fincher’s involvement. However, I kind of dig this. At the very least, I’m excited to see Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe director, Fede Alvarez, make another mean and nasty thriller. Plus, this cast is rock solid; I had no idea Lakeith Stanfield was in this. I’m actually interested in this. It looks like fun.
The Girl In The Spider’s Web will be released November 9th.
White Boy Rick
Oh, another movie featuring Brian Tyree Henry, it makes me so happy seeing him just pop up here and there. This movie looks like a blast. I’m totally game for crime stories about trashy people getting in way over their heads. I don’t know much about the true story, but it looks like the trailer gives you the gist of it.
The big reason I’m excited for this is because of the director. His name is Yann Demange, and he made his film debut with the 2014 film, ‘71, which is fantastic. It’s a masterclass in tension building, which I can see him applying here, and with a cast this good, I can see this being one hell of an experience.
White Boy Rick will be released on September 14th.
Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2
I gotta make a confession. I wasn’t crazy about Wreck-It Ralph. I think it’s a fine film, but it felt very basic to me, and offered little in terms of surprise and ingenuity. So, I can’t say I’m necessarily pumped for this, but I do think it looks a lot more fun, and way more meta than I was expecting. My only real issue with this trailer is that it’s constructed exactly like the teaser that came out a while ago. Ralph and Vanellope go to the internet, and we get some gags; that’s it. I wish it was at least more clear on what the actual story is and what the conflict is, which I’m sure will be addressed in a later trailer, so I don’t have much to say about this. Looks fun. The princess sequence is pretty killer though.
Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 will be in theater on November 21st.
Serenity
No, don’t worry, this isn’t a remake of the Firefly film, this is the latest film from writer/director, Steve Knight, who is most well known for making Locke, as well as writing a crap ton of other films like Eastern Promises, Allied, The Girl In The Spider’s Web. This looks interesting, though I can easily see it becoming one of those indulgent, self-serious, labyrinthian thrillers that don’t add up to much, which wouldn’t be too surprising since Knight has actually written a few of those types. I do like the cast, but I don’t know, my bad movie sense are tingling on this one. Hopefully, I’m wrong.
Serenity will be released on October 19th.
Operation Finale
This looks like it could be interesting. I don’t recall many holocaust films that revolve around the capture of Nazi figures long after the fact. It’s a neat angle, and it looks about as good as you’d expect one of these movies to be. The presence of Nick Kroll is interesting, and it’s nice seeing him step up in these more dramatic features. I thought he was solid in Loving, so I’m curious to see what he brings here. And it sure doesn’t help having Oscar Isaac as the lead. This trailer doesn’t leave a huge impression on me, but I’ll keep my eye out for it.
Operation Finale will be released in theaters September 14th.
London Fields
So, this movie looks kinda whatever, except for Amber Heard, who can pull the whole ambiguous, femme-fatale-esque seductress type off in her sleep and with her hands tied behind her back. It looks fine, I suppose, but that’s not what I want to talk about. What makes this interesting is actually what’s been happening behind the scenes. I did some digging after seeing Johnny Depp in the trailer and being instantly weirded out.
So, this film was going to premier at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015, but was pulled out because of some legal issues. One, producers sued Heard because she failed to complete some work for the film. Two, the director, Mathew Cullen, sued the producers for taking away his final cut privileges as well as some pay dispute (the version that was supposed to premiere was a producers’ cut). And three, Heard countersued the producers for violating a nudity clause in her contract (and apparently keeping nude photos of her, yikes). Plus, between then and now, there was the whole “Johnny Depp being revealed as an abuser, and the two got divorced” thing. Yeah. Now this film is coming out, and I’m not sure if this new version, which is confirmed to be re-edited, is something that Cullen worked out with the producers or not.
London Fields is being released sometime during the summer, no release date has been put out yet.
Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!