Some trailers I've seen recently, and my thoughts on them. (Links are
to youtube. Opinions are thoroughly personal. Calibration: I hate
everything.)
Arctic:
looks like an effective man-vs-nature story. This sort of thing often
feels a bit fake, but I think Mikkelsen can carry it off.
The Prodigy:
yeah, a super-smart kid is DANGEROUS. Aren't you glad your kid is
normal and stupid like you?
Polar:
very obviously from a graphic novel, and trying to translate the
look into film; many people like that style but generally I'm not one
of them. (Also, it's kind of a John Wick plot, isn't it?) Again, if
anyone can carry it off it's Mikkelsen, since apparently Danny Trejo
wasn't available.
Ask Dr. Ruth:
never compromise.
Hotel Mumbai:
I've not seen an Indian action film; could be interesting as long as
either it has things to say or it isn't a direct copy of the standard
Western template. (And, by not having a single Important Hero, it
looks as if it isn't.)
Little:
so it's Vice Versa / Freaky Friday without even a glance of the
child-in-an-adult-body half of those stories. It's not a story that's
ever appealed to me, but it looks reasonably well done.
Velvet Buzzsaw:
could be an interesting story about art fraud, but alas it drops into
horror.
Little Woods:
you can't win, you can't break even, you can't get out of the game.
Solid performances but I don't get on with sad and grim.
Deadly Class:
looks like another comic-book series – yes, it is – and I'm not much
of a fan of school stories even if they do have a bit of the old
ultraviolence.
Woman At War:
looks good. Looks very good.
High Life:
looks as though it's trying hard to be Trippy, Man, which isn't
usually a good sign. Expensive cast who usually aren't very good.
Five Feet Apart:
looks like the standard sick kid romance tropes.
Red Joan:
looks well made, good cast, good acting, so why does this just seem
utterly unappealing? Just the clichéd words?
Dogman:
looks desperately depressing, but may well appeal to people who aren't
me.
John Wick - Chapter 3 - Parabellum:
OK, the first film did a decent job of having a reason for the
ultraviolence. But is this really different from any other action
film? Keanu may be able to carry it.
Black Monday:
if you're not going to bother to introduce me to the characters, but
just show sub-Stepin Fetchit mugging from Don Cheadle (who has done
so much better than this), there's nothing for me to care about. (TV
series, apparently.)
The Hummingbird Project:
but I already know about this monument to greed and waste. Meh.
The Beach Bum (Red Band):
men behaving badly, so what?
The White Crow:
the trailer makes it look very obvious and thudding, but I think
Fiennes can do better than this appearance. Maybe he has.
Drunk Parents:
horrible people bungle criminality.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile:
the… seventh film about Ted Bundy? (Five of them made in the 2000s.)
Granted, he was an unusual serial killer in being articulate, but is
he really that interesting?
The Death and Life of John F. Donovan:
desperately unhealthy relationships, yay.
A Dog's Journey:
yes, this really is the sequel to A Dog's Purpose from three years
ago, currently rated at 34% on Rotten Tomatoes. Whoopee.
A Vigilante:
not much to the trailer, but I'll be keeping an eye out for more about this.
Hobbs & Shaw (Super Bowl):
grunty macho men and supervillains, great. I've enjoyed both Johnson
and Statham, but they've also both produced a lot of crap.
The Wedding Guest:
could work, and it's a good cast, but something feels not quite right
to me. Cautiously neutral.
Groundhog Day - Like Father Like Son (Teaser):
the sequel nobody was asking for. For kids!
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