The Kid
I’m always up for a good western, so of course, this has my attention, but what the trailer oddly leaves out is that this is directed by Vincent D’Onofrio. It’s not his first film, that one is a 2010 film called Don’t Go Into The Woods, which is a…horror musical(?). By the looks of it, this looks like a huge improvement of his craft behind the camera. I also dig the casting of Chris Pratt as the slimy villain. I’m curious if that’s a nod to Sergio Leone casting Henry Fonda as the villain in Once Upon A Time In The West at a time when he was a beloved leading man. Anyway, this looks cool, and I can’t wait to see it.
The Kid will open in theaters on March 8th.
The Souvenir
I’m gonna be honest, the trailer isn’t doing much for me. This isn’t the kind of stuff I usually gravitate towards unless it’s from someone I really like, and I’m unfortunately not well versed in writer/director, Joanna Hogg’s filmography. But the word from its Sundance premiere was excellent, and it’s been on the top of many lists from critics I admire, so I’m going to put this in my radar. Plus, it’ll be interesting to see Tilda Swinton’s daughter take the lead for the first time. Also, there’s apparently plans for a sequel (?), so might as well get on this.
The Souvenir will be released on May 17th.
Photograph
Ritesh Batra is a terrific filmmaker. Although, I can’t speak for The Sense of an Ending, which I haven’t seen, The Lunchbox and Our Souls At Night are wonderful films that express so much through the smallest and most intimate of gestures and looks. Like Richard Linklater, he can make extended scenes of conversation so effortlessly engaging, and the way he shows a connection between two people is very moving. This can be considered familiar ground for him, with easy comparisons to The Lunchbox, but it’s hard to complain when you got actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sanya Malhotra at his disposal. I can’t wait for this.
Photograph will hit select theaters in the US on May 17th.
Dragged Across Concrete
I’m annoyed that I’m excited for a movie that stars Mel Gibson, but S. Craig Zahler has yet to let me down, assuming we’re not counting that recent Puppet Master movie. I like my down-and-dirty crime movies, and if anyone is going to deliver one with a distinctive, idiosyncratic, and morally dubious flair, it’s going to be Zahler. That alone is getting me intrigued, the rest of the cast looks solid too, it’s cool seeing some faces from Brawl In Cell Block 99 return. I am curious to see how this turns out.
Dragged Across Concrete will hit select cinemas and VOD platforms on March 22nd.
Long Shot
This looks charming enough. Jonathan Levine isn’t the most consistent director out there, but he’s made some movies I really like, and sure enough, the ones I liked the most have Seth Rogen involved. Plus, this was written by Liz Hannah, the co-writer of The Post, and Dan Sterling, who wrote The Interview, which are two other movies I really liked. Doesn’t look like it’ll blow me away, but it’ll be cool to see Theron and Rogen hang out and shoot the shit together, so I’m game.
Long Shot opens in theaters on May 3rd.
Leaving Neverland
Another film that premiered to acclaim at Sundance this past January, and boy, oh boy, people are gonna have some opinions about this. I mean, just look at those dislikes. I’m not really sure what to even say here. If someone says something bad happened to them, I’m inclined to believe them, and I think that takes precedence over some songs that you like to listen and dance to. That’s all I really have to say about that for now.
Leaving Neverland will air in two parts on HBO on March 3rd and March 4th.
The Highwaymen
This looks pretty cool, but I wished it was helmed by pretty much anyone other than John Lee Hancock. There’s a gloss and cleanliness to his direction that I often find to be at odds with his material. I had a similar issue with The Founder, and while I’m into the story, I can’t help but feel a distinct lack of grittiness to what I’m seeing on screen. Perhaps it will play out better, and I hope it does. This is a neat perspective on a very overdone story.
The Highwaymen will open in select theaters on March 15th before hitting Netflix on March 29th.
The Dirt
I somehow didn’t know this was a thing. Now, I like Mötley Crüe, but I’ve grown very frustrated with biopics, especially of musicians, that takes zero effort with crafting a narrative that isn’t just like reading a Wikipedia article with visual aids. The success of Bohemian Rhapsody is the most relevant example at the moment, and while I have a feeling this will stay true to some of the really dark stuff that went down in Mötley Crüe’s history, I’m not sure if I currently have faith that they’ll go the extra mile and stray away from the formula. Although, the people behind this intrigues me, it’s co-written by the guy who created Californiacation and Lucifer, and the director is known mostly for his work on Jackass. So, that’s interesting.
The Dirt will hit Netflix on March 22nd.
Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!