Upgrade
This looks rad as hell! It’s cool to see Leigh Whannell stretch beyond his horror roots, while still embracing its sensibilities like he did with The Mule back in 2014, which was a dark comedy, and now with Upgrade, a sci-fi revenge movie.
Granted, it does seem a bit lightweight, seeming far more interested in the finding insane ways to kill the bad guys (hopefully they didn’t give away all the best shots) than exploring some of its ideas on a deeper level – or at least that’s the impression the trailer gives – but I’m honestly kind of OK with that. Whannell is a talented writer, and like his old partner-in-crime, James Wan, he knows how to play with an audience in all the best ways. So, this is very exciting, especially to see how he grows as a director since Insidious: Chapter Three.
Upgrade will hit theaters on June 1st.
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
John Cameron Mitchell adapting Neil Gaiman? That’s such an interesting combination. How could it possibly go wrong? Well, the bad news is that it wasn’t very well received when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last May.
I haven’t read into the details of what the reactions were, but I think this still looks interesting. If anything, it looks like Mitchell is swinging for the fences here, and I can always appreciate a film that tries to do something different, even if it doesn’t fully succeed.
How To Talk To Girls At Parties will be released on May 18th.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Yeah, I know this is a French trailer, but it’s our first look at a film decades in the making. Terry Gilliam has been trying to get this thing going for so long, and he’s finally showing us something.
It looks…fine, from what they are showing here. Admittedly, I’m still a bit sour after reading about his ignorant comments about the #MeToo movement a couple weeks ago, but at the same time, it’s hard to be at least a little curious to see how this turns out. Hopefully, nothing disastrous will happen between now and the film’s release (spoiler alert, there’s currently a legal dispute going on essentially holding the film back from release).
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote will be distributed by Amazon Studios, but no date has been set yet.
Everybody Knows
Boy, does this trailer start off one way and end in another. This is the latest film from the two-time Academy Award winning Iranian filmmaker, Asghar Farhadi, known for About Elly, A Separation, The Past, and The Salesman. He’s probably one of the best filmmakers in the world right now, and he continually improves himself over the course of his filmography.
This is his first film that doesn’t revolve around Iranian characters, and he’s working with a Spanish cast with the likes of Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Ricardo Darín, and many others. I’m very excited for this one, and I think it should be on your radar as well.
Everybody Knows will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May; further release dates are not available at the moment.
Fahrenheit 451
Yeah, I know it’s an HBO movie, but still. Writer/director, Ramin Bahrani, is an exceptional filmmaker, and I’ll follow him anywhere. This looks like an excellent adaptation of the book, and I love the cast here. I can’t wait to see what he does with this property.
If you’re curious about Bahrani’s work, he has a fairly small filmography, and I’d say all his films range from solid to great. Man Push Cart, Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo, Plastic Bag, At Any Price, and 99 Homes should all be readily available if you want to check them out.
Fahrenheit 451 will premiere on HBO on May 19 at 8pm.
Night School
I want to be more excited for this. I think Kevin Hart is a talented comedian, and Tiffany Haddish was a revelation in Girls Trip (plus, she’s working with the same director, Malcolm D. Lee for this), but there’s a whopping six credited writers on this is a tad concerning. Though, to be fair, four of them are a single team of writers (including Hart) who, I assume, were working on drafts by two other writers who each had a different draft – one of them being Nicholas Stoller, which is interesting.
So, hopefully it won’t seem like it had six hands involved in the writing. I think the concept is familiar, but it’s a fun one, with lots of potential for humor. I don’t think this will be the surprising juggernaut that Girls Trip was, but if it plays things just right, it can be a damn good time.
Night School will hit theaters on September 28th.
Johnny English Strikes Again
If we’re being honest here, none of the Johnny English movies have been very good. At best, their mildly amusing distractions, and this looks like more of the same. But I can’t be too mad at any franchise where Rowan Atkinson gets to be the lead. If you are a fan, I hope this meets your expectations.
Johnny English Strikes Again will hit theater on September 20th.
Cargo
I swear, every time I feel like I’m at a point where I want to write off every new zombie movie, there’s always one that comes out that makes me realize there is still some life left in the subgenre. Recent films like The Girl With All The Gifts and Train To Busan have showed that some filmmakers have something new they can bring to the table.
This one in particular is based on a short film of the same name, which must’ve been so good that the filmmakers were given the money and resources to make a feature out of it. Having just saw the short after this trailer, I’m curious to see what they flesh out here, and I’m definitely looking forward to see what Martin Freeman does with this role.
You can watch the original short film by clicking here.
Cargo will go be available on Netflix starting May 18th.
Surfer: Teen Confronts Fear
I can’t stop thinking about this one since I first saw it. I know, I’m a weirdo. I have no idea what to make of this, but I am so down to see itwhenever it’s out. I mean…just look at it. I just had to bring it up here, and I hope it brightened up your day as it did mine.
Surfer: Teen Confronts Fear has no wide release planned, but you can check their website to see where it’s playing.
Thoughts any of the trailers? Talk about it in the comments below!