The Outfit
While I wasn’t necessarily that into The Imitation Game, I found myself quite intrigued by Graham Moore’s directional debut here. I like how it seems to all take place in this one location where a secret must be kept from all these colorful characters who pop in trying to uncover it. It’s a cool setup, and it also helps that you got someone like Mark Rylance in the lead. It’s also neat seeing the older, established actors working alongside some of the relative new comers, or at the very least, younger ones who are establishing their space in Hollywood like Deutch and O’Brien. I’m definitely in for this.
The Outfit hits theaters on February 25th, 2022.
American Underdog
Looks fine, I guess. I don’t know much about Kurt Warner, so I suppose I could learn a thing or two from this. I was wondering, as I was watching this, why it has a vaguely Christian film vibe, and after looking it up, I was somewhat correct in my intuition, since it’s directed by the Erwin Brothers, who made Christian films like Moms Night Out, Woodlawn, the upcoming The Jesus Music documentary, among others. This certainly looks the most secular of their work, which is interesting, I suppose. It still doesn’t really look like my cup of tea, though it looks solid enough.
American Underdog opens in theaters on December 25th.
Dog
Do I wanna see a film where Channing Tatum co-directs himself as a dude who bonds with a dog? Of course, I want to see that! This looks charming as hell, and actually pretty funny without going over-the-top with being all cutesy about it like other dog movies would, not that I would necessarily complain about that. I can’t say I’m expecting a lot from this, but it could be a fun and endearing watch. I’m a sucker for dog movies anyway.
Dog will be released in theaters on February 18th, 2022.
National Champions
This looks way better than I thought it would going in. Granted, I had no idea what it was about, I figured it was just another sports movie, but there’s actually a really interesting dynamic that this is exploring in regards to the power structures and uneven playing field, so to speak, when it comes to the financial compensation difference between college athletes and the suits behind them. It shouldn’t be that big of a surprise that this looks good since it’s directed by Ric Roman Waugh, who made last year’s Greenland, a film I loved, and a number of fairly solid films, most of which are gritty crime films, and he brings that energy here, despite the differing subject matter. And with the cast assembled here, I can’t wait to check this out.
National Champions opens in theaters on December 10th.
Mothering Sunday
The actors here look terrific, and it seems very well made. But I don’t know, it’s just not grabbing me the way I would have hoped. I’m not super familiar with the works of director Eva Husson, but I do know of the screenwriter Alice Birch, she wrote Lady Macbeth, which I liked a lot. So, her involvement here feels a bit more appealing than the director. Though, this probably isn’t something I’d rush out to see, not because it looks bad, but just that I can recognize when a film might not be my thing. But I’ll go in with an open mind.
Mothering Sunday is set for a qualifying run in Los Angeles starting today before opening wide on February 25th, 2022.
Don’t Look Up
Honestly, the more I see of this, the more I’m sold. I mentioned before that McKay has become a bit divisive, but this looks way closer to his earlier comedies than I anticipated. There’s some funny stuff here, and it’s great seeing DiCaprio play someone so awkward and neurotic. I’m really digging what I see here. Now, I’m just curious if they’re gonna go for the crowd pleasing ending or the cynical one, and I feel like that might make or break a movie like this.
Don’t Look Up hits select theaters on December 10th before being released on Netflix on December 24th.
Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!