Samaritan
Not gonna lie, this looks fun, and right up my alley. I like that it has the vibe of a 70s revenge movie, but with modern effects and tropes. This also looks like the kind of movie I wish Hancock was, but minus the whole PR element. I’ve always been a Stallone fan, so I’m always up for whatever he has going on, and it looks like he’s really committing to this. This is from Julius Avery, whose film Son Of A Gun was alright, but I was blown away by Overlord. I’m hoping he can capture the same energy and intensity here, though I do wish this was an R instead of a PG-13. We’ll see how this turns out.
Samaritan will be released exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on August 26th.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
This looks so lovely. I’ve been excited for this ever since it was announced. And it’ll be interesting to see how this compares to Robert Zemeckis Pinocchio film coming to Disney+ later this year. I feel it’s obvious this will have some more mature qualities, especially since the whole thing about this that I hear people talk about is its thematic connection to fascism in Italy. I’m curious how that theme will come into play. Very excited for this, can’t wait.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio hits select theaters and Netflix on a currently unspecified date in December.
Me Time
I don’t know why I find it so weird seeing a modern comedy trailer playing Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is)” like it’s 1993 or something. This could go wither way. It could be fun, I did enjoy John Hamburg’s I Love You, Man, but not so much with the other couple films of his that I’ve seen. I haven’t seen his early stuff, so maybe he does have a better batting average, but for the time being, I’ll be cautiously optimistic. There’s potential here for some zany shenanigans. Just wished some of the stuff here didn’t look so cheap, especially effects wise.
Me Time will be released on Netflix on August 26th.
Pearl
I believe they showed a shorter version of this after the credits of X, which is still one of my favorite films of the year so far, and it looks like a hoot. Although, if I have to criticize something, it visually looks like they made this with the pocket change left over after making X. It looks more like an SNL digital short than a real movie. Granted, some of that could be the way it’s put together and the YouTube compression, but it’s weird considering how Ti West is usually meticulous in making X look and feel like a 70s grindhouse picture, yet this film taking place decades earlier looks like it was made yesterday on his phone. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still very pumped for this, and Ti West has yet to disappoint me, so this is still one I’m very much looking forward to, especially for Mia Goth’s performance.
Pearl opens in theaters on September 16th.
Rogue Agent
This is really interesting, apparently this story was covered on a Netflix documentary not too long ago. I haven’t heard of it myself, so a lot of this is new to me. I almost wished this trailer kept the facade that this wwas a legit guy who worked with MI5 while hinting at something weird lurking below the surface, but I guess it wouldn’t work if you knew the name of the guy he was playing. I’m a huge fan of Gemma Arterton, she tends to make really interesting and unpredictable choices that continue to stretch her abilities as a performer, so I’m up for whatever she has coming up, and this looks to be a pretty good one.
Rogue Agent will open in theaters and on AMC+ on August 12th.
Secret Headquarters
This actually isn’t a bad idea for a kids movie. It’s a fun premise, there are some good jokes here, and while it can look a bit TV-movie-ish, it doesn’t look bad. I was surprised by two things though, first is that this is directed by the guys behind Catfish, Paranormal Activity 3 and 4, Nerve, and Project Power. And second, this is a Jerry Bruckheimer production. I can’t say that it looks like one, but hey, those are some interesting names attached, not to mention the cast involved here. I won’t be holding my breath for this one, but considering who the audience is for something like this, it doesn’t look half bad.
Secret Headquarters will premiere exclusively on Paramount+ on August 5th.