Trailer Talk: Mandy, Assassination Nation, The Hate U Give, and more!

Mandy

I’ve been waiting to see footage from this for so long, and man, it does not disappoint. I want to check out the director’s last film, Beyond The Black Rainbow, since he has an aesthetic just really does it for me, and I’ve been meaning to see it for a while. This looks amazing, with all the colors, the cast, the action, the mood. You don’t see a lot of movies like these, even in genre circles. Plus, it’s one of the final scores by the late Jóhann Jóhannsson, so I’m excited not just for the film, but his specific contributions. Also, like you saw that chainsaw fight at the very end, right? Come on, how can I not be excited for this.

Mandy will hit theaters September 14th.

Assassination Nation

This is a pretty wild teaser. I like the vibe of it, and I hope it actually has something interesting to say and it isn’t just putting up a front of relevancy without putting in the effort. It’s kind of reminding me of Bobcat Goldthwait’s God Bless America, which was thematically muddled and was kinda going for this same kind of feel, though that one I found just funny enough to sit through OK. I don’t know how this will turn out, but I believe the word from its Sundance premier was solid, so fingers crossed.

Assassination Nation will be released in theaters September 21st.

The Hate U Give

It’ll be interesting how something like this differentiates itself with two other films coming this year, Blindspotting, and Monsters And Men. Both involve the main character witnessing a police shooting and the toll it takes on them, and the people around them. I’ve heard great things about the book this is based on, and the casting is great. The director, George Tillman, Jr., has done some good work before, and this is definitely tapping into the kind of material that is often found in his better films. I know a lot of people are hyped for this one, so I hope it lives up to that.

The Hate U Give will be released on October 19th.

Madeline’s Madeline

There’s a brief plot summary in the description under the video, but I didn’t bother looking at it because I’m sold on the wacko atmosphere of this trailer. This is legitimately one of the best trailers I’ve seen in recent memory, and it’s not often that I see one that is actually unique in its presentation. I don’t know what to expect, but I suspect that will only make the viewing experience even more enriching. I can’t wait.

Madeline’s Madeline will release in select theaters August 10th.

We The Animals

Ah, so like what if you took the first segment of Moonlight and crossed it with Terrence Malick, with maybe a dash of the childish shenanigans of The Florida Project? Interesting.This looks gorgeous, and it seems like the word out of Sundance is that it’s a real stunning piece of work. It’s good to see films about boys growing up that treats their stories with sensitivity and empathy as opposed to these overly masculine exercises in machismo, I’m glad we’re slowly getting out of that mode. This definitely looks like something to keep in your radar.

We The Animals will be released in select theaters August 17th.

The Predator

Hey, they finally made a good trailer for The Predator! Took ‘em long enough. I still think it would come across better if it was marketed like it as a Shane Black movie, and not as a Predator movie. Having the characters tell jokes while intense trailer music plays in the background is really weird to watch. But hey, still a vast improvement over the teaser we saw before. I’m still unabashedly excited for it.

The Predator will be released on September 14th.

Beautiful Boy

This sure doesn’t look like a fun time, does it? I’ve seen one film by director, Felix Van Groeningen, called The Broken Circle Breakdown, which was really good, and this one is written by the guy who wrote Lion, so it definitely looks like the kind of film that is an emotional powerhouse. Plus, these actors have all shown that they can handle this kind of material, so it’s definitely gotten my interest.

Beautiful Boy will be released October 12th.

Support The Girls

This looks utterly delightful! I’ve seen most of Andrew Bujalski’s work, and have enjoyed them for the most part, though his last film, Results, was rather rough around the edges for me. It’s cool seeing Regina Hall in one of these smaller movies, and I think Haley Lu Richardson is one of the biggest emerging talents out there. This seems to go along his style of low-key hangout movies, so I’m definitely curious about this one.

Support The Girls will hit theaters August 24th.

The House With A Clock In Its Walls

We got a teaser for this a while ago, and it’s still shocking to know that this is directed by Eli Roth, who I honestly don’t even dislike as much as most people seem to. This is definitely a more adventurous tone compared the eeriness of the teaser, but I think that was to be expected. And yeah, it still looks like a lot of fun. I’m all for family movies that dip their toe into straight up horror, and given that horror has been Roth’s playground his whole career, it will probably give this movie a certain edge that something like Goosebumps – as enjoyable as it was – lacked. I hope this turns out good.

The House With A Clock In Its Walls will be released in theaters September 21st.

The Legacy Of A Whitetail Deer Hunter

Even though the word-of-mouth following this film’s SXSW premier wasn’t the best, I’m still up for anything from Jody Hill. I think he’s a great comedic filmmaker who has a knack for crafting weird characters without resorting to one-joke performances. I like that the scale of this seems really small as we follow a small group of guys in the woods, and I like seeing Brolin do comedy, which he’s really good at, but hasn’t totally been taken advantage of enough. I can’t say it looks anything beyond simply amusing, but sometimes that’s all you need.

The Legacy Of A Whitetail Deer Hunter will stream on Netflix July 6th.

Blaze

I haven’t seen Ethan Hawke’s other efforts as director, Chelsea Walls and The Hottest State, so I don’t know what his reputation is behind the camera, but this looks really charming and fascinating. I have no idea who this Blaze Foley guy is, so it’s going to be interesting to learn about this guy and what he’s all about. The word of mouth seems solid, so yeah, this looks like one to keep an eye out for.

Blaze will be released in select theaters starting August 17th.

Iceman

I think this looks really cool. It’s like the neolithic, spiritual successor to Apocalypto, and if this is anywhere as violent and visceral, I’m sure this will be a great time. I haven’t seen anything else by this director, but he seems like the kind of guy who really takes his time (his last film was in 2007). Though, I do like the cast, who I have seen in various other European films. Franco Nero is an especially cool addition. This looks compelling, I hope it lives up to the premise.

Iceman will be released in select theaters and on VOD platforms July 27th.

How It Ends

It’s got an interesting hook. Apocalypse happens, and a guy has to go across the country to get to his wife. I’m not sure what they’ll do to make the various incidents and obstacles not feel repetitive, but that could be something that might hold it back. I do also hope that they don’t try to explain the event causing all this chaos, since that will ruin the vibe of the whole thing, and unnecessarily push the thing into weird conspiracy territory. It looks fine, but it’s definitely something that will require good execution to totally work.

How It Ends will hit Netflix July 13th.

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