The Favorite
It’s honestly taken me a bit to warm up to Yorgos Lanthimos. I wasn’t fully on board with all the love that Dogtooth or The Lobster got (and I haven’t seen his other films), though I did very much admire them on many levels. However, with The Killing of a Sacred Deer, I was won over. It’s so far the best blend of all the elements that people have latched onto with his previous work (dark themes, awkward humor, etc.), so I’m now far more interested in whatever he does next.
This definitely looks like a lot of fun. Although, it is worth noting that he does not have a writing credit on this, which looks like a first for him. The humor does seem more broad than usual, but the vibe and straight-faced delivery is totally his wheelhouse. I’m definitely into this.
The Favorite will be released in theaters November 23rd.
Wonder Park
I haven’t heard of this movie before this trailer came out, so I tried to do some research as to who is behind it, and the weird thing is that no director (as of me writing this) is listed on IMDb for this movie. It took a bit of digging for me to finally find a Hollywood Reporter article from back in January that mentions the director of (the previously titled) Amusement Park, Dylan Brown, being fired due to “inappropriate conduct,” and…I guess they have yet to officially announce a replacement?
So, aside from that bit of weirdness, this looks…fine? I suppose. It is written by Josh Appelbaum André Nemec, who were the duo behind Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the recent two TMNT movies, and a ton of TV shows. I can see this being fun, but there’s not enough to really get much of a vibe from this. Maybe they’ll announce a director once that first official trailer hits.
Wonder Park will hit theaters March 15, 2019.
Tales From the Hood 2
I never thought I’d see the day when Tales From the Hood would get a sequel, and it honestly couldn’t come at a better time. It’s admittedly been a very long time since I’ve seen the original, so I don’t know if it holds up or not, but I remember that sense of watching something that is unlike anything else out there. It’s also really cool that the same filmmakers are back for this, and the inclusion of Keith David is simply icing on the cake
Tales From the Hood 2 will go straight to home media and digital on October 2nd.
Mary Queen of Scots
I will be the first to admit that my interest in history does not make me an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but this trailer is enough to give any historian a brain aneurysm. I’m personally not bothered by details like that, but it does seem…odd…that they frame their relationship in a way that suggested they were somehow good friends before getting manipulated into hating each other by the men around them, which…yeah, not the best look. Aside from that, it seems about what one would expect from a movie like this, and with Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie taking the lead here, I’m definitely interested. Also, put a damn comma in that title!
Mary Queen of Scots will be released on December 7th.
Life Itself
Not that it’s some big deal or anything, but I wished they didn’t use the same name of the Roger Ebert documentary for this. Aside from that, this looks like it could work. It’s honestly been a while since we’ve gotten one of these emotionally weighty ensemble dramas about love, family, relationships, and life that didn’t look like it was made for $15, starred a bunch of B/C-list actors, and dealt with heavy material in the most hacky manner possible. I’ve seen my fair share of this stuff, but I’d like to think Dan Fogelman is a smarter filmmaker than that, that is unless my favorable memory of Danny Collins is deceiving me.
Life Itself will hit theaters September 21st.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
This is one that I heard some really good things about when it premiered at Sundance earlier this year. It definitely looks solid. I can’t think of many films that explore the world of gay-conversion camps, so this looks like it will be an interesting – and hopefully authentic – look into what it’s like for LGBTQ kids getting stuck in places like that. And despite not being the biggest fan of American Honey, I thought Sasha Lane is a compelling presence, so I’m curious to see what she does here. Could be the kind of story that really resonates at this specific moment in time.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post will be released in theaters August 3rd.
Colette
If Mary Shelley was disappointing to you (it definitely was for me), then it looks like Colette will scratch that “period piece about female author trying to make her mark in literature” itch that you’re having. It’s directed by Wash Westmoreland, who is making his first film solo after his directing partner/husband, Richard Glatzer, died of complications from ALS. They have worked together on five films over the years, their most recent being Still Alice, and Glatzer does have a co-writing credit on this. I’m not sure what this will contribute to this kind of story that hasn’t already been done with stuff like Big Eyes, a very underrated film, but I’m still interested. The cast certainly looks great, and since I’m not totally familiar with the story of this author, it will be a neat little to learn a few things.
Colette will be released on September 21st.
Extinction
If you saw the trailer and thought, “hey, this looks a lot better than Netflix movies tend to look,” that’s because this was a studio release at one point. This was meant to be released through Universal Pictures back in January, but it was taken off schedule rather suddenly, and without any explanation. This is the first I’ve heard or saw anything of it since. Perhaps, the executives didn’t like what they saw, and wanted to wipe their hands clean of it. It honestly doesn’t look terrible. If anything, it just seems generic, with the only mildly interesting element is the fact that this guy basically sees the future in his dreams. I hope there’s an interesting payoff to that, and isn’t forgotten about once the invasion begins. I like Michael Peña, Lizzy Caplan, and Mike Colter, so even if it does end up being not great, I can at least be assured I’ll be invested because of these actors.
Extinction hits Netflix on July 27th.
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
The first Goosebumps was a solid throwback to the kind of family movies of the 90s that I didn’t particularly care for, the sort that involves a group of kids running around and screaming for 90 minutes. But hey, it found an audience and made back a modest return, so now there’s a sequel, and it looks…like more of the same. I don’t think that’s inherently a bad thing, but given that none of the creatives involved with the first film are back, plus the fact that Jack Black isn’t in it, doesn’t inspire too much confidence. I am somewhat curious as to how fans respond to this.
Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween will be released in theaters October 12th.
Sierra Burgess Is A Loser
I don’t know…I always have a tough time with coming-of-age movies about outsider kids where they’re treated like these monstrosities when by all accounts, the actor looks – at the very least – perfectly fine. I may not be completely in touch with what counts as “conventionally attractive,” but Shannon Purser would never be considered “the ugly one” in any high school in the real world. This is the same issue that a lot of people had with The DUFF (which, oddly enough, has the same director as the Goosebumps sequel), which treated Mae Whitman as if she would naturally be the “dumb, ugly fat friend” in her circle.
But I’m not a teenage girl, so my thoughts probably don’t mean all that much. The movie certainly looks earnest, so if it does end up helping even just one person out of some personal struggles, then it would have been worth it. But aside from that, it does look like a lot of movies I’ve seen before, and I don’t see where it might bring in any new, fresh ideas or themes.
Sierra Burgess Is A Loser will begin streaming on Netflix on September 7th.
The Package
What kind of losers go camping in the woods on Spring Break? That’s honestly all I could think about watching this. It feels like standard raunchy teen comedy shenanigans, but with 100% more dick mutilation. It’s cool to see Geraldine Viswanathan in this, since she was a highlight in Blockers earlier this year, but this trailer really doesn’t do much for me.
The Package will hit Netflix on August 10th.
Ghoul
As I mentioned in my “Some Thoughts On…” post on the new Netflix series, Sacred Games, the streaming service has commissioned a total of seven original shows in their attempt to gain an Indian audience. Sacred Games was the first original series made in India, and this is their follow up, Ghoul.
Gotta say the involvement of Phantom Films, Ivanhoe, and Blumhouse is a wild combination, and I’m definitely intrigued by this. It’s apparently going to be three episodes, which makes sense, I suppose, given it doesn’t seem to be the kind of thing that would require a lot of time to tell its story. It does look really cool, and I’m being continuously impressed by Radhika Apte’s range. So, count me in.
Ghoul will be available on Netflix August 24th.
Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!