The Garfield Movie
Man, this sucks. Not to be a negative Nancy, maybe the movie will be fine. But wow, does Chris Pratt’s energy feel so incompatible with Garfield. It just doesn’t sound right. At least he tried to put on a Brooklyn accent in the Mario Brothers movie, but it doesn’t seem like he’s adding much here. The animation looks good. It’s directed by Mark Dindal, who has two absolute bangers under his belt – Cats Don’t Dance and The Emperor’s New Groove, and hell, even the one movie of his that didn’t totally land, Chicken Little, was at least trying to do something kinda interesting. I feel like I already know every beat that this film is going to take, even though it didn’t necessarily show a whole lot. But who knows, maybe there’s more to this than meets the eye, I’m open to being wrong here.
The Garfield Movie is set to hit theaters on May 24th, 2024.
Damsel
This looks solid, it’s from the guy who did 28 Weeks Later, and I think Millie Bobby Brown generally has pretty good instincts with her projects outside of Stranger Things. From the little bit I can get about the plot, it basically seems like a similar premise to the film Ready Or Not, but instead of a family curse, it’s sacrificing to a dragon to appease a debt or something. It looks like there’s some money behind it, it looks well made, and I’m curious to see how they approach this tonally. Definitely one I’ll be interested in seeing more of.
Damsel is set to stream exclusively on Netflix on a currently unspecified date in 2024.
Sometimes I Think About Dying
That title certainly is a mood. Anyway, I’m surprised by Daisy Ridley here, not only with her accent work, but her overall presence feels so much more refined. It’s cool to see people actively improve over a period of time, not that I ever thought she was bad, just that I don’t think she could have pulled off a role like this around the time of something like The Force Awakens or maybe even something as recent as Murder On The Orient Express. I have not seen The Marsh King’s Daughter yet, so I can’t speak to her performance there, but this looks pretty cool, and a great role for her to really sink her teeth into. I’ll be checking this out for sure.
Sometimes I Think About Dying opens in theaters on January 25th, 2024.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
I did not like Ghostbusters: Afterlife one bit. I felt on a spiritual level (tee-hee) that I just fundamentally could not abide by it. While I can’t say I’m excited for this, I’m at least glad it’s doing something kinda different. It’s doing the whole Force Awakens routine, it’s just a new threat for the characters to deal with (and I’m sure it might be a reference to something from the cartoon or whatever, I don’t particularly care, that’s all fine and good). However, I’m still annoyed they’re keeping the same tone, even with a new director behind the camera. Having this Amblin-esque take on the material is so weird to watch when I just want a comedy, which is what these movies were, and it doesn’t feel like this take is an organic evolution of the material so much as a way to cash in on the popularity of the Amblin revival through nostalgic media like Stranger Things, which makes it feel all the more cynical to me. I know many would disagree, but that is just how I feel. But who knows, maybe by the time I see this, I’ll get used to it, and appreciate it on its own terms. We’ll see.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire hits theaters on March 29th, 2024.
Inside Out 2
Inside Out is definitely one of my favorite Pixar films, and while I feel like I’d be hesitant about the idea of a sequel, I think it actually works really well with this concept. But only if they actually commit to it, and release a sequel every 10 years or so, covering various stages of Riley’s life, perhaps even to her own death. Too dark? Maybe, but I’m sure the folks at Pixar are smart enough to work that in a way that is palatable to a wide audience. Anyways, this is a cute teaser, it’s not hard to see what is being explored here, but I’m sure the filmmakers will be having plenty of fun with it.
Inside Out 2 will open in theaters on June 14th, 2024.
Mean Girls
I haven’t seen the most recent Wonka trailer, so maybe this doesn’t apply to it, but it does with the earlier ones – what is it with these trailers for musicals that don’t advertise the music??? It should be the selling point, not something you hold off for a surprise. Are they worried about the abilities of the actors? The little bit of dancing we see looks fine. I get the impulse to put Olivia Rodrigo music in your teen high school movie, but come on, you make a musical, you show it off, otherwise it makes me think you don’t have faith in it, and that’s not helping anyone.
Mean Girls is set to release in theaters on January 12th, 2024.
Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!