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Trailer Tuesdays

Universal Reboots its Signature Monsters

First things first: many thanks to Erin for giving me a couple of weeks to focus on moving into a new home and hosting family for Thanksgiving in the new place. It was a slice. And here’s hoping everyone had a splendid Thanksgiving and is at least OK with hearing Christmas carols every time you walk in a department store until December 26th; the same four or five songs that have been rebooted 343,545,654,654,645 times plus Baby, it’s Cold Outside. Nothing prepares one for the holidays like the vague insinuation of date rape.

Since I’ve been away, I’ve learned of the reboot Universal plans to give its classic movie monster series from the 1930s and 1940s, beginning with The Mummy. This is not to be confused as a revisit of the Brendan Fraser films (which I personally liked and is closer plot-wise to the original 1932 film) but takes a more serious tone with Tom Cruise as its leading man. The titular mummy appears to be the objective of some military-backed mission that brings it to London via plane crash: a crash that Cruise’s character seems to not so much survive but return from the dead in a Highlander sort of way. So he’s either immortal, or superhuman, or under some spell from the mummy. The mummy is also reimagined in a way reminiscent of the Enchantress character from Suicide Squad. So the bandages are gone and she sports four irises and face tattoos.

At first, the trailer looks as if it is giving away too much of the movie, but the editing of scene choices and dialogue is so confusing that I’m at a loss to guess what the mummy’s deal is or how Cruise factors into it. He seems to have some preternatural understanding of it, given his reaction at the beginning, but it’s not clear how. Overall, this clearly has a more Marvel sensibility, with plane crashes, explosions, and grandiose showdowns with the mummy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the road Universal is taking to keep up with the other studios’ offerings of gods and monsters of the comic book variety. Seems a shame, really. A little elegance went a long way in the classic monster movies, but I guess the Apple generation needs its bells and whistles.

The Mummy is scheduled to come out June 9, 2017

Trailer Tuesdays

We Need a Hero

As Erin so succinctly put it last week, I’m reeling from our latest national election. It appears that we birthed a Cronenesque embodiment of all that was vulgar and spiteful in humanity and then gave it unprecedented military power. In the aftermath, our grief has us subjected to either schoolyard taunts of “snowflake” or “libtard” from giddy supporters or patronizing admonishments not to panic. Holding out hope is one thing. Trying to hold out hope despite the fact that we fucked up royally is the bigger challenge.

With that said, I think it most appropriate to highlight the full-length Wonder Woman trailer that gives us a little more detail regarding Diana’s origins as an Amazonian princess who encounters U.S. Intelligence Officer, Steve Trevor, after his plane crashes on the paradisiacal island of Themyscira. Since Wonder Woman was introduced in the modern universe of Batman V Superman, her origin movie is structured as a flashback that appears to be pretty faithful to her original introduction in the comics. While Diana and Steve ARE fighting Germans, they appear to be fighting them within the context of WWI (“The War to End All Wars”) rather than WWII as in the original 1941 comics. The iconography of Wonder Woman comes alive in Gal Godot as she appears stoic and brave, but idealistic as well. The Amazonian costumes and fight scenes show her and her sisters as forces to be reckoned with; they are fighters who charge into the fray without reserve and without fear.

She is a perfect heroine for our time. Created by psychologist William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman was modeled after the suffragettes he so admired and has stood the test of time as a true feminist icon: strong and fearless, but also virtuous and compassionate. Marston himself lived in a polyamorous relationship with two women and was an admirer of Margaret Sanger. Most recently, DC Comics have confirmed that Wonder Woman is also a bisexual character, thus in keeping with the sexual expression that was inherent in Marston’s original comics.  Now more than ever we need her spirit to stand for truth and justice to make sure that is the American way. Like Diana, we can stand before the brute force of cruelty and unbridled ambition and say: “It is our sacred duty to defend the world. And it is what I am going to do.”

Trailer Tuesdays

Superheroes…Superheroes Everywhere!

 The onslaught of superhero movies continues per studio schedules and there really are too many of them to cover in a timely manner. So, I’m just going to resort to cheekiness and try something a little different this week. The next release of Dr. Strange seems like pretty standard fare, with Benedict Cumberbatch sort of re-enacting a Dark Knight-looking storyline: broody superhuman suffers tragedy and discovers his powers through a mystical mentor. He even has a scruffy beard, the kind of which Christian Bale sported while wandering through the Himalayas. And this doesn’t even touch the white-washing scandal of Strange’s mentor being cast as the translucently white Tilda Swinton. Next, you have the new Guardians of the Galaxy trailer which promises more fun and silliness but appears to have a bit more action this time around (though I have to be honest, I don’t remember too much of the first one anymore). And, of course, there is the long-anticipated Wonder Woman trailer, which came out some time ago, but is one that I want to discuss soon in a separate post. Suffice to say for now that I’m very satisfied with the casting and am loving the fight scene that appears to do the character justice.

But none of these ever answer the really big question that burns at my very core…what DO the superheroes do once the battles are won and the enemies vanquished? What are their lives like after the credits roll? Thankfully, Thor and Bruce Banner have allowed the public in on the nature of their downtime. Sort of looks like any day in the life of your standard Millennial, except for the celestial hammer and meat cooked in the sun. Well actually, the meat is probably also standard. So long as the animal was grass-fed and died willingly.

Trailer Tuesdays

Because Everyone Else is Doing It

I am very much remiss in not alluding to this trailer in an earlier post, but I promise to make it up to you in the future.

Marvel is now chronicling the next chapter in the life of Wolverine…now that the X-Men have disappeared and the remaining ones are being hunted down by a gang of cyborgs. Approached by Charles Xavier, Wolverine, now living in exile as Logan, is tasked with ensuring the safety of a mutant girl, who may have more in common with him than he realizes. Now according to the comic Old Man Logan by Mark Miller, the story takes place in a dystopian land in which the supervillains have risen up and defeated all of their superhero counterparts. Wolverine’s exile results from his having been tricked into killing the X-Men himself. It’s hard to tell from the trailer how much of that will make it into this movie’s plot, but there’s still enough story arc to establish the stakes of a superhero past his prime and in danger of losing his powers who must rise up for yet another battle. Plus, it’s got Hugh Jackman and is scored to Johnny Cash – definitely a win-win.

Trailer Tuesdays

The Walking Dead Returns October 23

I know everyone is currently abuzz with the new John Wick 2 trailer, but it’s not coming out until next year, and I want to talk about The Walking Dead. Besides, after leaving my boyfriend to finish watching the first John Wick on his own, I can’t promise I’ll watch the second one, either (hurting a puppy is one of my triggers). So if you are interested in the new John Wick 2, you can watch the trailer here.

I was finally able to catch up on The Walking Dead this summer after a cross-country move interrupted my viewing of Season 6 during its air time. Season 6 ended, of course, with the infamous cliffhanger that has had internet nerds posting numerous videos on who could be the mystery victim of the series’ latest villain, the brutally sadistic Neagan. Though I’ve just now started reading the actual comics, I know who it’s supposed to be, but expect a twist after the show writers played with our expectations by having that character get into and out of the kind of cliffhanger-type scrapes that old TV shows used to employ with closing narration like: “Will our intrepid hero make it out alive? Join us next week…” No. I’m betting on it being another poor sap. I may yet subject you to my own little treatise on the show as a whole, but to keep this post focused, I’ll just stick to the topic at hand: the Season 7 trailer.

At this point in the series, our motley crew of zombie apocalypse survivors went on the offensive this time and got more than they bargained for with a band of lowlifes who call themselves The Saviors. The Saviors are led by the aforementioned Neagan, a much anticipated villain, who is clearly the alpha male of his pack and has enacted a literal take on the Old Testament rule of “eye for an eye.” In the comics, he’s drawn a bit like a caricature of a WWF wrestler, no-necked and bullet-headed. But the casting choice has Jeffery Dean Morgan playing up the character with a smiling menace. He’s hot…but scary as hell. Also adapted from the comics is Neagan’s weapon of choice, a baseball bat encircled with barbed wire that he calls Lucille. AMC has already released a sneak peek of the next season, but make sure you’re caught up and check out the trailer first. Then you can create your own conspiracy theory as to who had a date with Lucille. Also, there’s a tiger.

Trailer Tuesdays

The Girl on the Train, or Sometimes It’s Better to Wait for the Movie

Forgive the lateness and brevity of this post, but work demands have stepped up lately. I did, however, want to discuss the upcoming flick, The Girl on The Train, starring Emily Blunt and based on a best-selling novel by Paula Hawkins. This was one of those novels that showed up constantly in my Amazon suggestions list, as I had read Gone Girl, and apparently, it was billed as similar fare. But I was able to finish Gone Girl – not so much The Girl on the Train. I’m not sure why it didn’t capture my attention other than I was getting impatient with the detailed musings of the narrator (played by Blunt in the film). So I can’t offer any educated opinion of the book, though the movie trailer has compelled me to go ahead and see what the fuss was about.

As with the book, the trailer shows Blunt voyeuristically gazing on an attractive couple she sees every day while riding the train to and from the city. Then one day, the woman disappears and our protagonist suspects foul play. It appears that maybe she is correct, but given her apparent unsteadiness of mind, she is not only an unreliable narrator but may have had something to do with the woman’s disappearance. The trailer offers a convoluted glimpse at Blunt’s relationship with the other characters, and no doubt that is to avoid spoiling any “big reveals” in the plot. I still doubt it will have the same punch as Gone Girl, but The Girl on the Train WAS a popular book (it was on the New York Times Bestseller List for 13 consecutive weeks), Emily Blunt is a well-known and liked actress and I foresee a girl’s night out to the cinema for many a book club participant.

The Girl on The Train is set to open nationwide at the end of this week:

Trailer Tuesdays

Mark Wahlberg Headlines Upcoming Disaster Flicks

Hollywood seems to be taking a break from the glut of preachy comic book adaptations to seek out inspiration from true-life events. We had Sully, and then Snowden, and now another movie has joined the roster of more biographical films to hit theaters in the near future.

Mark Wahlberg, Kate Hudson, Kurt Russell, and John Malkovich star in a dramatic retelling of the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010, a disaster that caused so much damage, that the environmental effects are still being determined by scientists and professors. The trailer illustrates that this will be told from the rig workers’ perspectives, with a great deal of emphasis on Wahlberg’s character’s family life and how the rig’s explosion will affect the “folks back home” as they wait to hear the fate of their loved ones. A scene with Malkovich indicates that the portrayal of BP Industries, who had leased the rig at that time, will not be entirely sympathetic, and so we the audience may get a primer on the cost-cutting measures that led to a disaster not seen since the Exxon Valdez oil spill in the 1980s. While still a very touchy topic, it’s also a divisive one as there are still those who don’t want to bite the hand that feeds them, so to speak, in questioning the ethics of the petro-chemical industry. Deepwater Horizon is scheduled to come out this Friday, September 30, 2016:

Trailer Tuesdays

Dumbledore Gets an Upgrade

Fans of the Harry Potter series may have been staggering about hollow-eyed after The Deathly Hallows ended five years ago. With the closure of a story that defined most of their childhoods, there doesn’t seem to have been anything to fill the void left by one of the most successful franchises of all time. It’s not likely that Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will be another Harry Potter, but the formula is in place: a book turned movie about an “ordinary” boy who discovers a world of “extraordinary” kids and realizes he’s not so ordinary after all. In fact, he is the chosen one destined to save them all from a nameless evil. Except in this case, the wizened old headmaster has been replaced with Eva Green.

This original source material by Ransom Riggs was popular on the young adult scene for about 70 weeks and has an intriguing back story. Riggs, a collector of ephemera, came across a stack of vintage photographs that seemed designed to induce nightmares. Riggs, instead, gave them all backstories, and turned them into a close-knit community of orphans with special powers and watched over by a shapeshifting headmistresss named Miss Peregrine. The lead character is led to their orphanage in his quest to discover what happened to his grandfather, who also grew up in the orphanage. What follows is a story of time warps, vicious monsters, and the beautifully strange children who huddle together in their Welsh orphanage to survive the Blitzkrieg during WWII. It’s an enjoyable tale that has enough eeriness to spare for a film adaptation, and director Tim Burton should be the right man for the job. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children opens nationwide on September 30, 2016.

Trailer Tuesdays

Gordon-Levitt Channels Edward Snowden

Sorry for the posting delay, but I wanted to make sure I added another trailer that I felt merited especial attention, given the timing and subject matter. Snowden, the upcoming Oliver Stone film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, tells the story of the young CIA employee who blew the lid off of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance program in 2013. Hailed as a whistleblower and denounced as a traitor, Snowden has spent the past few years exiled in Russia  and is now seeking President Obama’s pardon and permission to return to the United States.

Oliver Stone is certainly not the subtlest filmmaker, and having seen his interpretation of the Bush Administration in W., I have a pretty good idea how he has chosen to tell Snowden’s story. Nonetheless, Gordon-Levitt has done an amazing job channeling Snowden’s voice and mannerisms. I also think it’s an important story to tell, given the questions it raises as to how much we trust our government: a question that has arguably led to the populist disillusionment evident in our current presidential election. Whether Snowden is a hero or a traitor is a matter of perspective; the activities of the NSA PRISM program have since been denounced as illegal, but the exposure of international secrets can be seen as another matter. Either way, Stone’s movies have a way of generating discussion – in this case, how much of our freedom we are willing to give up for security. Snowden is scheduled to open in theaters nationwide this Thursday, September 15, 2016:

 

Kate Winslet Stuns as an Aussie Fairy Godmother in The Dressmaker

The agelessly lovely Kate Winslet stars as a sort of femme fatale returning to her hometown – and Liam Hemsworth – in the Australian Outback. The Dressmaker follows Winslet’s character, Myrtle “Tilly” Dunnage, as she attends to her mother and confronts the town gossip over a tragic secret for which Tilly was accused and apparently for which she was never forgiven. Based on a novel by Rosalie Ham, The Dressmaker is billed as a revenge comedy-drama, which is evident in the events presented in the trailer. A resplendent Tilly stirs up the drab locals and eventually transforms them through her talents as a world-renown fashion designer. Despite her best attempts to win them over, she still must confront the painful past and shut down their accusations once and for all.

The Dressmaker premiered in Australia last year and received numerous awards, including Best Film and Best Lead Actress according to the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards. It is scheduled to release in America on September 23, 2016. Let’s see if the winsome cast and period-piece mystery story can find an audience here in the States. We could use a little resplendency right now:

Trailer Tuesdays

Through Ms. Miskell’s graciousness, I’ve been allowed to contribute my own little entries in the form of Trailer Tuesdays, in which I’ll highlight one or two trailers from upcoming movies. I promise to provide as much humor and snark as I am capable and in the keeping of our blog’s mission. So without further ado, here are the first two trailers for this first column:

Eddie Murphy Adopts a Family in Mr. Church

As I child of the 80s, I was more than aware of the presence of Eddie Murphy. But awareness was as far as I got, given that Murphy’s very adult humor wouldn’t be considered a match for someone of my tender years. As maligned as adulthood is with the weightier responsibilities of life, there are quite a number of perks to finally being a grownup: no one has the authority to tell you NOT to have ice cream for breakfast, and you can finally look up all those risqué movies and songs you were not allowed to listen to at one time. Enter – again – Eddie Murphy. I actually turned into a bit of a fan, even if the glory days of Beverly Hills Cop and Coming to America are behind him (side note: I still want to form a band called Sexual Chocolate, even if I have to revise that to Sexual WHITE Chocolate). Also, there are a number of more recent enjoyable performances in Shrek and the underrated Dr. Doolittle that are unfairly overshadowed by the inferior assignments he’s either forced or coerced to take on. He is a working actor, after all, and one’s gotta take what one can get sometimes, as Hollywood seems often at a loss in knowing how to harness an older actor’s style to current trends.

However, Hollywood and Murphy seem determined to make magic again with Mr. Church, an Envision Media Arts production set to open September 16. According to the information provided by Rotten Tomatoes, the film is set in 1965 Los Angeles where the titular Mr. Church has moved in to take care of a single mom and her daughter, Charlie (Charlotte) through the arrangement of the mother’s former lover (though all that is ambiguous in the trailer). The relationship between Church and Charlie bristles at first and then softens to Charlie’s acceptance of Mr. Church as a friend and father figure as she grows from a precocious young girl to a Boston University student, and then as an unmarried mother. Through it all, Mr. Church is the center of Charlie’s family and it seems, for Mr. Church, it’s mutual. Sadly, the critics aggregated by Rotten Tomatoes aren’t feeling very generous towards this movie. But I’ll watch it anyway. I want to give Mr. Murphy all the support I can as a viewer:

 

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