It: Chapter Two
While I didn’t necessarily loved It: Chapter One like most people did, I did enjoy it a lot. I haven’t experienced that kind of audience investment and crowd-pleasing impulses in a mainstream studio horror film since the first Conjuring. It did help that I did love spending time with those characters, and I was worried the lack of the kids being back would lessen the charm for the sequel. Granted, I do love the actors they brought in, so I doubt that will end up being an issue. This is a pretty effective teaser, and I find it kinda interesting how the final montage is scored like it’s a trailer for a superhero movie or something. I’m definitely excited to see how this ends, since I haven’t read the book or saw the miniseries.
It: Chapter Two will release in theaters on September 6th.
The Farewell
I heard so many wonderful things about this when it premiered at Sundance earlier this year, I was sold very early on. This is a great trailer, and it just makes me look forward to it even more. It’s cool to see Awkwafina play a more dramatic role, and it’ll be interesting to see a film like this explore different cultural perspectives on a fairly grim subject matter. I really like what I’m seeing here, and I hope it lives up to everyone’s expectations.
The Farewell will open in theaters on July 12th.
The Lodge
This is cool and all, but I was seriously distracted by a mad case of déjà vu while watching this. I couldn’t find any entry on Cinema Sanctum for this, so I had to look it up, and apparently, there was a trailer that was floating around mid-April, so maybe I saw it back then before Neon had it removed. So, now that’s out of the way, I like the vibes I’m getting from here. I haven’t gotten around to seeing Goodnight Mommy yet, but I’ve been meaning to since I heard it was quite good. Riley Keough is always reliable, and I like its chilly and weird atmosphere. I’m definitely looking forward to this one.
A release date for The Lodge has not been officially announced yet, but it will come out in the fall.
Spider-Man: Far From Home
I mean…it does look fun, and it does look like it will touch on some of the implications of the world post-snap/return. I dig this take on the Mysterio, where he is seemingly an ally, at least in the beginning. I’m just a little worried about the whole “Peter being under the shadow of Iron Man” thing. That was a thread that I understood in its significance in Homecoming, but I just don’t like the idea of Peter wanting to be or having to become “the next Iron Man,” whatever that means. I’m not quite as bothered to see something so light after Avengers: Endgame, but I do like these actors and characters a lot, so I’m just happy to see them again. Also, I know this technically gave a spoiler warning in the beginning, but it would’ve been nice if they saved the whole “MJ knows Peter is Spider-Man” moment for the actual movie.
Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters on July 2nd.
I Am Mother
The metaphor is strong with this one. I’m sure this will be fine enough, standard Netflix fluff, I guess. I’m honestly just lacking patience with a lot of sci-fi movies that can’t seem to think beyond the “evil robot” trope. Who knows, maybe this might throw us for a loop, but I can pretty much see where this movie will go, and how it will get there. It’s got people in it that I like, so I will still check it out, but I’m keeping my expectations at check.
I Am Mother will be available on Netflix starting June 7th.
Rim Of The World
I feel like I’d find this much more charming if it were in hands more delicate than that of McG. I dug 3 Days to Kill as a dopey dad action movie, but aside from that, his work hasn’t really resonated with me. But I’ll give it a shot, the writer, Zack Stentz, has done stuff I liked before, and based on his tweets, he seems real proud of this. I liked the last line here about the wine. Hopefully, it’ll be fun.
Rim Of The World will hit Netflix on May 24th.
Funan
This looks very promising. The Khmer Rouge is one of those genocides that I don’t feel gets as much attention in the grand scheme of things, compared to other major historical atrocities, but it is worth reading about if you don’t know much about it. It’s haunting stuff, and it’ll be interesting to see a story in that regime being told through animation, and seemingly based loosely on the experience of the director’s mother, based on some research I did. I like seeing animation takes big swings, and this looks like something worth supporting.
Funan will open in select theaters starting on June 7th.
Watchmen
I’m glad that Damon Lindelof is very much doing his own thing with this because I’m an avid defender of Zack Snyder’s film, warts and all. I mean, this looks nothing like the graphic novel, and that’s actually pretty enticing. It looks like Regina King might be beating a bunch of right wing Rorschach wannabes, which is just amazing. I have no idea what to expect from this, and while I was initially hesitant to be excited because most of my exposure to Lindelof is from his work in films, everything I hear about how he handled The Leftovers makes me think TV might be more suited to his style. I’m cautiously optimistic about this one.
A release date has not been officially announced for Watchmen yet, but it will premiere on HBO later this year.
Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!