Superintelligence
Is it mean to say that most of Melissa McCarthy’s worst films were under the direction of her husband Ben Falcone? Cause…with a track record like Tammy, The Boss, and Life Of The Party, I’m certainly not gonna hold my breath for Superintelligence. I mean, the thought of having to listen to James Corden talk for the entire movie is bad enough as is. Sorry, this doesn’t really appeal to me, the idea is one that I feel has already been mined in stories before, but if McCarthy’s brand of humor, at least in her collaboration with Falcone, does it for you, I hope you enjoy it.
Superintelligence hits HBO Max on November 26th.
Another Round
I haven’t gotten around to all of Thomas Vinterberg’s films, but the ones that I have seen are very well done, and effortlessly compelling. Then of course you got Mads Mikkelsen in the lead role, which great because he is one of the very best out there, and he did spectacularly in his last collaboration with Vinterberg in The Hunt. The premise here sounds really interesting, and I’m curious to see how they balance the serious consequences of their experiment with inherent humor to be found with it. Looks good, can’t wait to see it.
Another Round opens in select theaters on December 4th before hitting VOD platforms on December 18th.
Wild Mountain Thyme
John Patrick Shanley is legit. I mean, Moonstruck, Joe Versus The Volcano, Doubt, We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story, the dude is clearly good at what he does. That said, I’m not so sure about this one. I guess it’s a cute enough premise, but I spent a good ten minutes laughing at the all the Irish people in the comments roasting the hell out of the trailer. I actually do like what Jamie Dornan is doing here, I’ve never seen him play a character so affable and dorky. I’m just not sure what to make of this as a whole.
Wild Mountain Thyme will be released in theaters on December 11th.
Happiest Season
I remember some time ago on Twitter coming across a post that said something to the effect of, “alert, everyone stop what you’re doing, there’s a Christmas rom-com coming out starring Mackenzie Davis and Kristen Stewart as a couple,” from then on, I was eagerly anticipating this. And the trailer absolutely does not disappoint, this looks nice and fun, and Stewart and Davis look great together. I can’t remember when the last really great holiday themed rom-com was. I was one of the few that didn’t seem to mind Last Christmas, but this looks significantly more interesting. I’m very excited for this.
Happiest Season hits Hulu on November 25th.
Mosul
I guess it’s refreshing to see one of these kinds of movies that don’t center on an American soldier for once. However, it is still made by white American guys, it’s produced by the Russo Brothers, and it’s written and directed by Matthew Michael Carnahan, who admittedly has written things I’ve liked – Dark Waters, 21 Bridges, State Of Play. I wish a film like this could have been given to someone who has a more intimate understanding of these people and their culture because otherwise it runs the risk of telling a story from one culture using tropes and shorthands that only apply to what westerners are familiar and comfortable with. Could be a decent action movie, I suppose, but I’ll remain skeptical.
Mosul well be available on Netflix on November 26th.
American Dream
I’m kind of puzzled by this honestly. This is not what I would’ve expected from the first film directed by Steven Spielberg’s go-to cinematographer for the past few decades now. I don’t get what Janusz Kaminski saw in this because to me, it looks like a fairly disposable crime thriller. It doesn’t even have any of the visual quirks that I’ve seen in films he’s shot (yes, I know he didn’t shoot this, but still). It’s weird, and it’s not that it looks kind of whatever. Hell, even Transcendence looked iffy from the get-go, but at least it made sense that that would be Wally Pfister’s first effort as a director. This I don’t get, especially considering the prestige behind so much of Kaminski’s work. Make it make sense!
American Dream hits home video and VOD platforms on January 12th, 2021.
Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!