Oxygen
I felt Crawl was by far the best film from Alexandre Aja, it’s tight, tense, and one of the more underrated films of 2019. From the looks of this teaser, it seems like, in addition to going back to his native French, he’s remaining in contained survival thriller territory since we don’t see anything outside of this box that Mélanie Laurent is stuck in. I really like Mélanie Laurent, and it’s cool to see her carry a film by herself like this, and given how well done I felt Crawl was, I don’t see how Aja could mess this up. Count me excited for this.
Oxygen hits Netflix on May 12th.
Moffie
I think there is something to be said about having a film set during the apartheid, and centering it on two white characters and explore something totally unrelated to the racial element. I’m not the one to do that, though I’m curious if someone else has written about it, though it’s festival run has seemingly garnered good word-of-mouth, but I wonder how many of those are Black critics. That said, this does look really engaging and very well made. I haven’t seen anything else from Oliver Hermanus, but it looks like he does have a vision here, and I am interested in seeing it.
Moffie opens in select theaters and VOD platforms on April 9th.
About Endlessness
Speaking of having a vision, I don’t really need to be sold on this. While, A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence is the only film from Roy Andersson that I have seen, it was one that really impressed me, and I have been meaning to catch up on his earlier work. His humor and philosophical musings really click with me, and this looks like more of what I liked about his last film. I’m sure it won’t be for everybody, but this is one I’m highly anticipating.
About Endlessness hits select theaters and VOD platforms on April 30th.
City Of Lies
This was supposed to come out in September 2018. That’s how long this thing has been floating around. I recall reading about Johnny Depp being sued by some crew member that he allegedly hit while drunk on set. I don’t know about this. It looks so…cheap, and I think the subject matter here is one worth exploring cinematically, but this doesn’t seem like the way to go about it. Brad Furman has made good stuff before, but this isn’t doing it for, at least, the trailer isn’t selling me.
City Of Lies opens in select theaters on March 19th and VOD platforms on April 9th.
Amundsen: The Greatest Expedition
This looks alright, I guess. The trailer has the format of a typical prestige picture, but I think it’s a bit too late for this to make its mark on Academy voters. I did enjoy the moments when it explored the relationships between the folks on the expedition and how conflicted it seem like they were. I don’t know how much truth is in this film, I don’t know much about Roald Amundsen, but I do like Katherine Waterston, and the film does look very pretty. I might just give this a chance.
Amundsen: The Greatest Expedition hits virtual cinemas and video on demand on April 2nd.
The Power
As someone who still sleeps with a night light, yeah, this is pretty much guaranteed to creep me out. There’s definitely some fun ideas for the filmmakers to make the most of the environment as well as the period setting. I wonder what’s behind all the happenings in the facility, I’m guessing that’s the main mystery of the film. I don’t have much else to add here, I am not familiar with the people involved either in front of or behind the camera. I am very curious about this, and Shudder typically makes solid acquisitions, so I will probably check this out.
The Power hits Shudder on April 9th.
Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!