A big batch of trailers premiered over the past few days, so I've decided to write a bit about the ones I found interesting. All links below lead to Trailer Addict, because those little pre-trailer trailers on Youtube are really starting to irk me.
Mortal Engines - It's good to find that Peter Jackson is still working after the whole debacle with "The Hobbit." However, as interesting as the idea of these mobile cities are, the actual plotting and characters ping as pretty typical YA fantasy. And the YA fantasy genre is supposed to be on its way out, right? There are enough glimpses of good worldbuilding here that I'll give this one a watch eventually, but I'm tempering expectations.
The Lego Movie 2 - I love the whole idea of the "Lego" universe turning into a wasteland - did the kid grow up and abandon them? Are they in storage or lost, maybe? The return of Chris Pratt as super-peppy Emmett was the best bit though. Chris Pratt is so good as that character, I keep forgetting that it's Chris Pratt. After the underperformance of the other "Lego" movies, I hope this one does better, because we really could use more kids' films in this vein.
Widows - Well, there's no confusing this one with "Ocean's 8." I am very excited that this appears to be the most audience-friendly film that Steve McQueen has made yet, and just look at that cast! Look at who's playing the villains! I also can't help comparing this to all those slick action movies where Liam Neeson has played an action hero recently. This time around, he gets bumped off in he first act, and has to be avenged by the female leads. Of all the films on this post, this is the one I'm the most excited to see by far.
Suspiria - I confess that I'm not a big fan of the original Argento "Suspiria," and I'm hoping that the Gudagnino version might be more to my tastes. With the appearance of Tilda Swinton, it's certainly looking that way. I'm very interested to see how Gudagnino is going to handle a horror film - or even if this is going to properly be a horror film. The trailer is wonderfully moody and atmospheric, but tells us almost nothing about any story or character specifics. And that's perfect.
Bumblebee - This looks better than the Michael Bay "Transformers" films, which is not a high bar. Still, I like that the series is going back to its roots with the old VW bug design for Bumblebee and what appears to be the original Starscream as the villain. Hailee Steinfeld has left me a little cold on her previous outings, but she's looking much more surefooted here. And John Cena's involvement is always welcome. As much beef as I've had with the series over the years, I hope this one turns out well for them.
The Old Man & the Gun - Reportedly Robert Redford's final acting performance. Everything about the marketing is referencing Redford's films from the '70s, from the posters to the title font. I've had mixed reactions to David Lowery's films, but this project looks like a good fit for his sensibilities. And it's certainly always nice to see Sissy Spacek. This is likely being primed to be an awards contender, so we'll probably be hearing a lot more about it in the months to come.
The Girl in the Spider's Web - Claire Foy has definitely shown why she got the role of Lisbeth Salander. The look, the accent - all of it works. I haven't seen either of Fede Álvarez's previous films, but he seems to have a good handle on the tone and the visuals here. It's been long enough since the David Fincher film that a quasi-reboot of the Millennium series makes a certain amount of sense. I still have some misgivings, but this looks a lot better than I was expecting.
Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse - This looks so different from every other cinematic take on Spider-man, and I mean that in the best way. I love the style of the animation, the shady older Peter Parker, and the Lord & Miller humor. If the tug-of-war between Sony and Marvel for the Spidey rights was good for nothing else, at least it meant that an alternate universe project like this could get off the ground.
A Star is Born - I'm still a little disappointed that the Clint Eastwood version of this project never got off the ground, but I'm willing to give Bradley Cooper's a shot. There are a lot of questions that remain unanswered. Can he sing? Can Lady Gaga act? The trailer suggests they can, but trailers can be misleading. We'll just have to wait and see.
Bad Times at the El Royale - I feel that I might have already seen too much here. Drew Goddard's latest is supposedly filled with neat twists and double-crosses, and the trailer appears to give away several key pieces of information it probably shouldn't have. I definitely want to see this movie, but will be avoiding all further marketing from this point on.
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