Lamb

Yes. That’s it. Just yes. A24 has distributed a lot of weird things over the years, but this might be the top dog, or top lamb if you will. And I think that’s saying something. I was wondering for a bit if this was gonna take an approach similar to The Wolf Children, or if it was gonna lean on the horror angle, and it looks like it’s going to be the latter. It looks unnerving as hell, but also really hilarious. The director, Valdimar Jóhannsson, has only been known as an effects guy prior to this, so I have no idea what to expect here, but it’s nice to see someone come out of the gate swinging hard. Whether it’s a swing and a hit or a miss, I guess we’ll find out. I can’t wait to see this.

Lamb hits theaters on October 8th.

 

King Richard

I don’t know about this. I’m getting some weird vibes. Like, a father writing a “78 page plan” for his daughters’ careers before they’re born…that’s not a good thing, right? There’s no way the movie lets something like that go by without at least a little interrogating, especially when you add on the pressure of having the girls represent so much for other black girls. It seems strange to center the achievements and agency of these two iconic athletes squarely on their father. The trailer certianly thinks this is totally cool way for a father to act, but I’m hoping the film is at least a little smarter and more interesting than that because otherwise it feels like wasted potential, and honestly, kinda iffy from moral standpoint.

King Richard opens in theaters and on HBO Max for 31 days starting November 19th.

 

The Card Counter

Call it a hot take, but that Paul Schader is a pretty good filmmaker, and all around interesting person, so long as he stays far away from Facebook. I’m just happy to see another film from him, especially with a cast like this. First Reformed was a film I admired more than I enjoyed, but this looks more my speed. Though, it wouldn’t surprise me if the people who cut the trailer are making it a bit more snazzy for the sake of marketing. I don’t need much to be sold on this, Schrader is someone that will always have my interest. I’m not sure if I would put this among my most anticipated, but I am looking forward to it.

The Card Counter opens in theaters on September 10th.

 

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

So…I’m pretty sure I touched upon this with the teaser, but, like…there are jokes in this movie, right? This sequel to a beloved comedy. Like, there’s moments here that indicates the film will have humor, but the trailer is not advertising it at all. It’s so baffling to see a movie like this being advertised like The Force Awakens with all its reverence for that original film, except here it’s for a silly 80s comedy. I’m honestly not as hung up on the whole “why doesn’t anyone remember the Ghostbusters, they saved NYC twice!” thing I’ve heard from a lot of people. I mean, there’s tons of people out there who think the moon landing was a hoax, that other big events were hoaxes and coverups, I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to say some folks don’t buy into what the Ghostbusters accomplished back in the day. Hell, Ghostbusters II did something similar. I just find the trailer’s worship of the original film to the point of having a more serious tone is a choice that I don’t think I’ll ever make sense of.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is set to hit theaters on November 11th.

 

Army Of Thieves

This looks fun! It seems like I enjoyed Army Of The Dead more than most, and I suppose I can see why, but even as someone who liked that film, I can’t say I saw “franchise potential” in there. It seemed like a good one-off, but the machine was already at work with spin-offs and an animated series in the works. And I gotta say, this looks cool. I liked Matthias Schweighöfer’s character, and I’m curious to see what his directing style is like compared to Snyder’s. I think there’s a cool setup here, and I’m curious to see how it pans out.

Army Of Thieves will be released on a currently unspecified date this fall on Netflix.

 

Vacation Friends

Meh. It doesn’t look terrible, but it doesn’t look like my cup of tea. I do think Lil Rel Howery is great, and John Cena has terrific comedic timing, but this just isn’t grabbing me. Admittedly, and I have said this plenty of times before, trailers for comedy movies rarely seem to do much for me, so maybe the film as a whole will be more enjoyable. I can’t say this is one I’ll be rushing to see though.

Vacation Friends will be available to stream on Hulu on August 27th.

 

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