RogerBW's Blog

Some trailers I've seen recently, and my thoughts on them. (Links are to youtube. Opinions are thoroughly personal. Calibration: I hate everything.)

UFO: conspiracy "thriller", remarkably by the numbers. Doesn't help that the two young leads look as if they've been left to rot in the sun for a few days.

The Nun: well, it was probably more revolutionary in 1966. Or indeed in 1796.

Nico, 1988: you don't have to sing on key as long as Warhol likes you. All right, so the film tries to change that. But I think it assumes that I already care about the principal.

The Favourite: from Yorgos Lanthimos, director of The Lobster; a decent cast, but clearly this is meant to be a story about a fantasy, so why anchor it to the real Queen Anne and Sarah Churchill?

Wonder Park (Teaser): generic kidvid, notable mostly for the really terrible cover version of What a Wonderful World – which, like most trailer music, probably won't be in the film itself.

Life Itself: after that monologue, girl, flee while you still can!

Colette: oh, it's revolutionary that women would be writing and buying novels, is it? And who has been writing and buying novels since they were invented, eh? Might work, even so.

Goosebumps 2 - Haunted Halloween: fortunately this is a sequel so I don't have to care. Though this looks a lot like a recapitulation of the plot of the first film, plus Fat Kid.

Mary Queen of Scots: seems like a fairly straightforward modern treatment. I'd rather read a book.

A Simple Favor: manages to tell me broadly what the film's about, while keeping a reasonable amount of mystery. Looks promising.

Destined To Ride: is "a girl and her horse" a new genre? Apparently so.

Unfriended - Dark Web: Meh. Been done. Points for trying to make "do not click the link" sound dramatic.

On the Basis of Sex: another RBG film? Not that I'm objecting, but why together? Reaction to the Hollywood rapists getting off without penalty?

Patient Zero: ah, not really a disease film, but more of a zombie film. I saw this done better in Koutetsujou no Kabaneri, , which also benefited from not having Matt Smith in it.

The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales: looks like fun, and I like this animation style.

The Darkest Minds: reminds me visually of Legion, but there's very little here beyond the basic pattern of adolescent romance.

Assassination Nation: might have something to say, as long as it can remember to talk about exploitation more than doing it.

Bohemian Rhapsody: doesn't say much more about the film than the teaser did, but this still looks good. (And not, apparently, suppressing the "gay thing".)

Boy Erased: exorcism for the modern age. But I don't think there's any middle ground to find: either you support the torture of children in order to make them like you, or you don't.

Robin Hood: the film of the video game, apparently. Has nothing to say to me. I like a good caper film, but this doesn't look much like one.

I Still See You: an interesting variant on ghost stories, but what a shame that it seems to descend into a standard nasty-ghost plot. Still, I'm basically a spec-fic fan rather than a horror fan, so this isn't aimed at me.

Overlord: Well, I suppose The Longest Day exists, so you might as well tell One Man's Story. And this might even be an interesting man. But oh dear, it turns out Abrams only has one story in him, and a Flamethrower Chick doesn't make up for that.

Second Act: the presence of a fat woman tells me this is comedy. I couldn't tell otherwise.

Aquaman: wow, how long has this one been hanging around in development hell? Several years even since the current director was attached. How can you take four years to squeeze out something as generic as this? All right, like many big-guy actors Momoa can project a sense of humour, but Token Redhead (played by Amber Heard) is just a plot-token dispenser with nice breasts.

Fantastic Beasts - The Crimes of Grindelwald: well, if you want More Harry Potter Films, I guess this is where you get them. Though if you have a Magical Hitler in your world background maybe it's best to leave him there?

Glass: holy crap, someone still gives M. Night a budget. Great big meh.

Godzilla - King of the Monsters: I've never been much of a kaiju fan, except insofar as they relate to people. Show me the people!

Shazam!: could be a good story until all the superhero stuff comes in.

Alita - Battle Angel: I only watched this for more of that uncanny valley feel. Those eyes! Quick, pair her up with Elijah Wood.

Bad Reputation: as long as the shots in the film are longer than the shots here, could be a lot of fun.

The Padre: looks generic, but a very appealing primacy cast, and it might just work.

Final Score: probably helps if you are not sports-blind like me. Meh, just another badass action drama.

Mid90s: my childhood was so much more important than anyone else's ever that I want to shove it down your throat.

What They Had: obviously the only possible solution is for you to give up your entire life to look after your mad dying relative. Anything else would be Selfish.

Love, Gilda: probably if you have an emotional connection this is interesting – I like the "in her own words" approach – but to me she's just a name.

Hunter Killer: I'd really like to see a good naval action film, but I don't think this is it. And not just because the look reminds me all too much of Geostorm, as well as sharing its star. This is what we get now instead of The Hunt for Red October.

The Last Race: if that's the end of racing… would that be such a terrible thing? Clearly the film wants you to think so; I'm more interested in finding out how other people feel about it too. (I've lived near a football stadium.)