Hobbs And Shaw
Oh, my bad – Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. There. The internet went wild for this one last Friday, and for good reason, this looks like an absurd amount of fun. It’s like they took the buddy formula, and applied it one of those super low budget, trashy sci-fi actioners from the 80s (the kind of film that Upgrade was the good version of), and gave it a Hollywood polish. I mean, Idris Elba is basically evil Captain America, what’s not to love about this? Plus, with David Leitch at the helm, the action has the potential to be the most exciting and inventive out of all the Fast & Furious movies. I’m excited for this.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw will hit theaters on August 2nd.
The Wedding Guest
Nice! I forgot that Michael Winterbottom had a new flick coming out. This looks really cool, and it’s nice seeing folks like Dev Patel and Radhika Apte take the lead in a story like this. I love that the use of India as a backdrop for this story doesn’t feel exploitative, or like it’s being fetishized, which has often been the case whenever western filmmakers film there. Winterbottom is a smart and intuitive filmmaker, and while not everything he makes totally lands, he’s always putting himself out there, pushing things in interesting directions. So, I’m very curious about this one.
The Wedding Guest will open in theaters on March 1st.
Shaft
Ah yes, Shaft, the sequel to the 2000 film, Shaft, which was the sequel to the 1971 film, Shaft. I feel bad because this looks awful. I’m hoping the trailer doesn’t fully represent the whole film. A comedic approach to this property is fine, but I think should, at the very least, keep the same level of style, attitude, and grit that the previous versions all had. This looks, feels, and sounds like any safe studio comedy, and that’s a real shame considering the potential for a new Shaft. Plus, last year’s Superfly showed how you can modernize a Blaxploitation classic without losing what made the original so special. I’m very disappointed in how this trailer looks, but I hope I’m wrong once the film comes out.
Shaft will open in theaters on June 14th.
Missing Link
This isn’t all that different from the first trailer that came out a while back, so my thoughts are still the same here. It looks like it could be fun, even it seems to be leaning on a much younger audience than previous Laika films, which is fine, and probably for the best since they don’t make big box office hits, which is unfortunate. I hope this turns out well for them because they’re pushing stop motion animation into some amazing places, and I’d hate for their efforts to be undone by lack of financial success.
Missing Link will release in theaters on April 12th.
Ash Is Purest White
I believe I talked about this way back when it was premiering at Cannes, where it had a pretty great reception, and later did very well in China. We now have a US trailer, and yeah, it looks really good. The only other film from this director that I’ve seen is A Touch Of Sin, which is excellent, and given the word of mouth of this, I’m expecting this to be just as great.
Ash Is Purest White will open in select cinemas on March 15th.
Penguin Highway
I got the trailer, along with other publicity info, in an email a couple days ago, and initially ignored it, but then I watched the trailer, and well…I’m a little confused. But I guess that’s anime for you. I’m not entirely sure if there’s something I’m missing cause I don’t fully get it. Why soda cans? Why penguins? Maybe it’s all explained in the movie. Perhaps I’ll give it a shot, especially because penguins, even in animated form, are incredibly adorable. If you’re into anime, does this look like something you’d be interested in? I’m curious to know.
Penguin Highway will hit select theaters starting on April 12th.
Do you have thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!