Vice
It’s gonna take a lot to make me want to see a movie about Dick Cheney, but I have faith in Adam McKay. I really liked The Big Short. There’s a fury in his filmmaking that really made it a standout amongst the more typical prestige fare, and I’m hoping for the same here. Plus, the casting is just impeccable. Hopefully, the next trailer will give us a taste of Tyler Perry’s Colin Powell.
Vice will hit theaters on Christmas Day.
The Mule
No, this is not a remake of the 2014 Australian dark comedy! Though, it is a good, underseen gem, if you’re curious. Honestly, I’m kind of into this. I hope the film has a sense of humor because the idea of an elderly drug mule (based on the very real, Leo Sharp) is pretty funny, and yet, this trailer if pretty dour. Apparently, Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Venom) was supposed to direct when this project first popped up in 2014 before Eastwood was announced to direct, produce, and star in January…of this year. The screenwriter is still the same, so I’m curious if any of the humor will be present here. But I’m still curious, and Eastwood knows how to gather a hell of a cast. Also, this is written by the Gran Torino writer, so that’s cool. This is probably the most excited for an Eastwood movie I’ve been in a while.
The Mule will open on December 14th.
Rocketman
This is really cool teaser. While I’m not the most familiar with Elton John’s history, aside from everything I learned through cultural osmosis, he seems like an interesting figure for a biopic. Although, I’m curious what the actual story being told here is, since John is still alive, so it’s not going to be a life story or anything like that. I trust director, Dexter Fletcher, in delivering something really compelling and fun here. I’ve liked everything he’s done, and he reuniting with his Eddie the Eagle star, Taron Egerton, which is neat. Not a lot else to discuss since it’s a fairly short teaser, but it’s definitely something I’m keeping my eye on.
Rocketman is scheduled for May 31, 2019.
Cold War
I love the mood of this. I don’t know if it’s totally reflective of the film, but it has me locked in. I really liked the director’s previous film, Ida, and it’s interesting to see him keep the 4:3 aspect ratio and black and white photography while managing to make the general feeling is wildly different. The word of mouth on this has also been pretty great from its festival run, so while the trailer doesn’t give too much away in terms of plot, I’m fine not knowing and waiting to experience it once it comes out.
Cold War will be released on December 21st.
The Upside
The Intouchables was a decent 2012 French feel-good movie that somehow became a cultural juggernaut in France, and an international box office hit, resulting in a number of remakes in various countries. This is the American remake, and while the casting of Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston is solid enough, I don’t really see the point in all this. Granted, I don’t think the original was all that great to begin with, but it had a nice simplicity to it that allowed foreign audiences to be engaged with it, and this just looks like it’s doing the same thing, but slightly broader and just worse in general. Maybe I’m wrong, but STX Entertainment releasing this in January after acquiring it from The Weinstein Company instead of an awards season release isn’t a good sign, considering the accolades the original received. Doesn’t inspire much confidence.
The Upside will be released January 11th.
Holmes And Watson
I don’t know…I felt like I was more on board for this before I saw this than after. I like the commitment to being a period film, but the jokes aren’t totally landing for me. Maybe it’s just because they’re edited for a trailer, so the timing is off. But then again, despite being involved in some films that I like, Etan Cohen’s last film, Get Hard, doesn’t inspire much confidence. So, while I hope this film is as funny as it has the potential to be, I’m keeping my expectations in check.
Holmes And Watson will be released in theaters November 9th.
Tyrel
Jason Mitchell is a really gifted actor, and it’s been frustrating that he hasn’t gotten many meaty roles since he first hit big in Straight Outta Compton, though he was quite great in Superfly. This looks like an interesting turn, and the film itself looks fairly compelling. There’s obvious comparisons to Get Out, with him being the one black man in a location full of white people, and specifically white males. I’m hoping there is more to it than the obvious commentary you’d expect, but either way, it looks like it’s worth looking out for.
Tyrel will be released in select theaters December 5th.
Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments!