On The Basis Of Sex
RBG was a hit documentary that came out a few months back that I heard nothing but great things about, so I guess it shouldn’t be surprising to see a film being made on the early life of the second female to be a justice on the Supreme Court. It does look a bit paint-by-numbers prestige to me, but if it works, it works. The cast is great, and it seems like a change of pace for director, Mimi Leder, who directed films like Deep Impact, The Peacemaker, Thick As Thieves, and recent TV work with The Leftovers. Can’t say I’m excited, but it could be good.
On The Basis Of Sex will be released on Christmas Day.
Boy Erased
Two things. First, this is the second movie coming out this year that involves a lead character being sent to gay conversion camp, the other being The Miseducation of Cameron Post (which I discussed here). Boy Erased definitely looks a bit more conventional compared to the other, but it still has my curiosity. And the second thing, there’s a lot of Australian folks involved here for something that is about the deep American south. I know it’s based on a book, but I wonder if Joel Edgerton can still capture the south in a way that is authentic. It’s definitely a far cry from something like The Gift, and I’m glad to see he’s behind the camera again.
Boy Erased will be released in theaters November 2nd.
Overlord
What genius got a studio to pay for this? This looks like some straight-to-video nonsense, but it could be some really fun nonsense. I remember a rumor about this being a fourth installment to the Cloverfield series, which I believe was denied, but coming from J. J. Abrams, a denial doesn’t mean much. It seems like it would fit fine, and be a refreshing departure from the more sci-fi oriented stuff that they did before. Plus, I’m sure they’ll need a palate cleanser after The Cloverfield Paradox, which I honestly didn’t mind. This could be a good time. A November release feels odd for something like this, but either way, action-horror is a subgenre that could use some fresh blood. The director, Julius Avery directed a film in 2014 called Son Of A Gun, which I remember being solid. I imagine he’s improved over time, especially working alongside folks like Abrams.
Overlord will hit theaters November 9th.
Second Act
Something I always seem to forget – Jennifer Lopez is a really good actress, and we kinda take her for granted. Obviously, this doesn’t look like it’s going to make her really stretch, but she still looks quite good in it. This movie actually looks kind of fun. It takes a premise that could easily be over-the-top under any other big name or studio, and it instead plays it a little cooler, and little more muted, and not as obnoxious as other movies of this type tends to be. It doesn’t look bad at all.
Second Act will be released in theaters on November 21st.
Assassination Nation
Boy, that sure escalated quickly. Like with the teaser, I dig the vibe of this a lot. It seems like a sort of scrappy, independent Purge movie by way of the American midwest. The violence definitely looks gnarly as hell. However, with the Purge movies, I at get what they’re trying to say, and I know they go out of their way to make the message unambiguous, but I don’t see that as a bad thing necessarily. Here, I’m not entirely sure what the film is trying to get at. It looks like there’s more on its mind, but what is it ultimately trying to say about society and privacy? Maybe the movie will make a case for itself, and it certainly has my attention.
Assassination Nation will be released on September 21st.
Robin Hood
Man, I was willing to pass off the teaser (which I talked about here) as just a badly put together teaser, but…yikes. This is trying so hard to be cool, and it just isn’t. It’s really painful to watch. It looks like one of those BBC shows that would’ve came out for one series in mid-2000s, and no one would remember it a couple years after it aired. I can maybe appreciate the sly performances, and the attempts at style, but it does not look like it will carry the whole thing. I think we’re about good on Robin Hood movies for the next several decades.
Robin Hood will be released on November 21st.
A Simple Favor
This is looking more and more like a Gone Girl riff than ever before, and I’m actually really interested to see Paul Feig tap into his “darker side,” as silly as that intertitle was. I did take a quick look at the Wikipedia page for the novel that this is based on, and as soon as I saw that the first review listed in the Reception section said that the book was “Gone Girl gone nuclear, Gone Girl on steroids, amphetamines and cocaine,” I closed the tab because that sounds amazing. Granted, there’s always a chance that screenwriter, Jessica Sharzer, may have toned it down, but I hope she doesn’t. This could be a fun departure from standard Feig, and I can’t wait to see if he pulls it off.
A Simple Favor hits theaters on September 14th.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Yeah, it’s about the same thoughts that I had with the teaser. It’s still just selling us on the music, but not so much as to what the story will actually be about, and whether it will dive deeper into the private life of Freddie Mercury, or if it will toss that to the sidelines, and focus on making a crowd pleaser about the rise of the band? I’m not interested in a Queen movie if it’s just going to be like every other biopic. If Dexter Fletcher was given this project from the get-go instead of having to replace Brian Singer, maybe this could’ve been something interesting. Oh well.
Bohemian Rhapsody will hit theaters on November 2nd.
Patient Zero
This looks…kinda silly. But it could be the right kind of silly. I mean, Stanley Tucci as a hyper intelligent, condescending zombie? That could be a lot of fun. Any trailer that ends with someone being stuck while a crazy rat lunges at them is something that is bound to get my attention. I do think the trailer is well edited, and the cast is strong enough that it might make the proceedings an interesting watch, even if it likely won’t be as clever as it thinks it is.
Patient Zero will hit VOD platforms on August 14th before hitting select theaters on September 14th.
Galveston
Not entirely sure what is going on here, but it certainly looks intense. Unfortunately, the word coming out of its SXSW premier isn’t the most promising. However, even with that, Ben Foster and Elle Fanning are always reliable to deliver some good performances. Plus, I haven’t seen any of the other films directed by Mélanie Laurent, so I’m curious as to what she can do behind the camera.
Galveston will release in theaters in France on October 10th, but no U.S. release date is set yet.
Any thoughts on the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments below!
And be sure to keep a lookout as we’ll be covering some of the big trailers coming out of San Diego Comic Con right here on Cinema Sanctum!