Free Guy
Has Ryan Reynolds somehow managed to squeeze himself fairly late into his career as one of the last few full blown movie stars that are still left? Because that’s pretty fascinating. I doubt you’d see a gag like that Disney jab in the beginning if this starred someone else. He sort of has his own comedic signature that extends the film itself and often bleeds into the marketing. This is just me finding something interesting to talk about because the trailer itself didn’t do much for me. It doesn’t look terrible by any stretch, I am glad we’re getting a blockbuster that isn’t based on pre-existing IP, but as much as I dig the premise here, I’m not totally into the execution from what I see.
Free Guy hits theaters on July 3rd, 2020.
Promising Young Woman
Love this trailer, easily the best of the bunch here today. The story is intriguing, it’s cool to see Carey Mulligan again, I feel like she’s been out of it for a while, and this is one hell of a role. Also that orchestral version of “Toxic” they’re using here is just…that deserves a chef’s kiss. This is climbing up my hotly anticipated films of 2020 list. I know it will be premiering at Sundance before its release, so hopefully, we’ll be hearing if it’s as good as it looks soon enough.
Promising Young Woman opens in theaters on April 17th, 2020.
Wonder Woman 1984
This looks like a ton of fun! I was initially worried about this because I feel like we’re pretty much at the peak when it comes to 80s nostalgia in pop culture, and I was hoping this would transcend that. And for the most part, it looks like it does – though, I would’ve preferred the 70s. I’m curious to see how they bring back Chris Pine as Steve, considering his fate from the last film, but I am happy to see him back – the two have such a charming dynamic. This just looks really good, and I hope it lives up to its potential, I certainly have faith in the team behind this. I can’t wait.
Wonder Woman 1984 opens in theaters on June 5th, 2020.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Pretty weird to make a sequel to a beloved, iconic comedy, and…not feature any jokes in your teaser. I can’t say I’m totally into them going full Amblin with this movie, it doesn’t seem like something that would work with this franchise. Jason Reitman can be a bit hit-and-miss, but I do generally like him, and I dig this cast, so I’ll give this a shot, but it does feel like some kind of unnecessary overcorrection based on the toxic response to the reboot from a few years back. Hopefully, the full trailer will be better.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be released in theaters on July 10th, 2020.
In The Heights
This looks like a delight. Every year there seems to be one really high profile musical, typically saved for near the end of the year, but In The Heights is – appropriately enough – coming in right in the middle of the summer. Not really sure what the hook is, but Jon M. Chu is directing the hell out of this, tapping into some of his experience with those Step Up movies he did way back. I’m digging this. I love musicals, and I have a feeling Cats won’t satisfy that itch, so this will have to do.
In The Heights hits theaters on June 26th, 2020.
VFW
A low budget, hyperviolent genre film drenched in neon lighting…how original, what’s next, a synth score? Jokes about derivative aesthetics aside, this does actually look like a good time to me. Like, who am I to trash talk when this stuff is normally my jam anyway? The word-of-mouth from its festival run has been pretty good from what I’ve heard, and Stephen Lang is a hell of a performer in gnarly stuff like this. Also, this is from the guy who made Bliss, which was one intense and weird experience, so I’m definitely curious to see what he brings to an Assault On Precinct 13 style action thriller.
VFW will hit select theaters and VOD platforms on February 14th, 2020.
The Corrupted
Seems pretty basic for one of these British crime films, but it looks solid enough, I suppose. Sam Claflin has made some pretty bold and interesting choices recently like with The Nightingale, so maybe there’s more to this here than the trailer might be getting across. Hell, the cast as a whole is pretty stacked. It could be good. I mean, it’s not every day you see Hugh Bonneville straight up push a dude off a tall building.
The Corrupted opens in select theaters and VOD platforms on January 10th, 2020.