April looks far less summer-ish than this year's massive March. The Fast and Furious franchise owns this month now and no one seems all that motivated to challenge it. What the month lacks in size it makes up for in quantity. I haven't crunched the numbers, but this has to be among the most movies I've had for a Movie Preview. Hopefully, a lot of options means there will be some gems.
2017
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2016
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2015
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2016
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2015
2014
2013
3/31
Scarlett Johansson is a Robocop super soldier who comes to realize there's something nefarious going on with the people she works for.
Working For It: This looks like a lot of movies. Lucy, Robocop, The Matrix, Blade Runner. I don't care that much which it's most like. Since Black Widow is never getting her own movie, I'll take Johansson kicking ass as the lead character however I can get it. I recognize little of the cast after her (Juliette Binoche, Michael Pitt, and that's it). For such a clear star vehicle, the supporting player don't matter much.
Working Against It: I don't know much about the comic to chime in about the whitewashing of the role other than to say "not cool". It's become a "chicken and the egg" argument where everyone points to someone else to blame. I like Johansson, so I won't hold it against her unless the movie is bad. I wasn't crazy about Lucy, despite Johansson being good in it, so my expectations are about the same for this. I am not particularly inspired by the writers or director. It's hard to see how this movie is more than generic at best.
Verdict: I figure this is worth seeing because Johansson tends to not half-ass things.
A Dreamworks animated film about a baby (voiced by Alec Baldwin) who is a corporate tycoon and the parents don't realize it.
Working For It: It's pretty easy to see how someone could come up with this after watching Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghey in an episode of 30 Rock and seeing one of the Beck Bennet sketches on SNL in which he is a grown man with the body of a baby. And yes, Alec Baldwin as the voice of a baby is Look Who's Talking-level funny. For all the griping I make about Dreamworks Animation, when I do get around to seeing the movies, they are normally fine, sometimes pretty great. I'm sure this will be fine as well.
Working Against It: I do gripe a lot about the non-Disney, non-Laika animation studios for a reason. Dreamworks in particular makes movies for kids rather than movies for everyone. I'm sure this will have a couple funny gags and an unexpected level of heart. I'm just in no mood for it.
Verdict: There are enough good options out there right now that one shouldn't have to even consider seeing this one. This just isn't my tempo.
Jessica Chastain is a woman who runs a zoo in Nazi-controlled Warsaw. She hides people in the zoo so they don't get killed or imprisoned.
Working For It: I love Chastain. Daniel Bruhl (Rush) plays a Nazi with some connection to her. I'm sure he'll add some nuance to that character. The rest of the cast is very European and I don't recognize them. That's ideal for a film set in Europe.
Working Against It: Hollywood will never tire of Nazis, will they? Short answer: No. Longer answer: Kind of. It's not like this is a choice release date. I'm pretty sure this was moved out of "award season" at some point. And, Focus Features isn't really putting the full force of their support behind this. The feels a little to much like We Bought a [Nazi] Zoo.
Verdict: If I tear through Miss Sloane, A Most Violent Year, all three The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby movies, rewatch Zero Dark Thirty, and still need a Jessica Chastain fix that can't be sated by pretending that she is Bryce Dallas Howard in 50/50 and Pete's Dragon, then I could totally see myself looking for this one.
A documentary about a homeless woman found in an abandoned house in New Hampshire and how she got there.
Working For It: I love this kind of Unsolved Mysteries documentary. The more unsolved they are the better. This is giving me a lot of There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane vibes (a good sign).
Working Against It: The story of this woman's life and death would have to be pretty damn good to justify more than an hour or so. That can be a tall order.
Verdict: This looks to be worth finding eventually.
A Korean movie about a cop [probably wrongly accused] who has to survive in a prison run by a crime lord.
Working For It: This will be a good movie to see if you want a big time shoot 'em up and you don't feel like watching your Shoot 'Em Up DVD for the hundredth time.
Working Against It: I'll be perfectly honest. The only reason I included this at all is because the trailer I found for it still had the the bleeps for the many times they say the Korean word for "fuck". This made me chuckle, especially because, due to Korean having different sentence structures, the bleeps kept happening in vastly different places than I expected based on the subtitles.
Verdict: I won't be looking for this one.
4/7
Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Arkin decide to rob a bank after they lose their pensions to the bank.
Working For It: This is a remake of a 1979 film that I assume is only remembered by people Caine, Freeman, and Arkin's age. This is in that "old guys" niche of movies, like Last Vegas, Grudge Match, and The Bucket List. It's nice to see them in roles where they aren't just the wise old man dispensing advice. Arkin still knows how to get a laugh out of a line reading.
Working Against It: I find it fascinating that Zach Braff directing this has been completely left out of all the ads I've seen. It makes sense. Garden State was - oh god - 13 years ago and appealed to a much younger demographic. Wish I Was Here had no traction a couple years ago. I really want to know how he ended up with the job. The film doesn't look all that funny either. I'm not the target demographic though.
Verdict: Maybe in a couple decades I'll find more to appreciate.
The Smurfs search through the Forbidden Forest to uncover a big smurfin' secret.
Working For It: This is a fully animated Smurfs movie, departing from the two fairly successful NPH, live-action films. With Mandy Patinkin, Rainn Wilson, Jake Johnson, Demi Lovato, Danny Pudi, Jack McBrayer, Gabriel Iglesias, and Tituss Burgess, this is one hell of a TV All-Stars voice cast. And, I'll go ahead and spoil the surprise: Julia Roberts, Michelle Rodriguez, Ellie Kemper, and Ariel Winter are all female Smurfs they discover. It's weird when the bigger-name stars of the movie are completely hidden from the marketing.
Working Against It: While Sony Animation hardly stunt-casts like Illumination or Dreamworks, the level of this cast even feels below Hotel Transylvania and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. And, in general, I get worried about movies that hide so much of the film from the trailers (See: Passengers).
Verdict: I find it's best to avoid animated movies unless given a strong reason to see them.
A reporter investigates the verifiability of the New Testament.
Working For It: OK, before last year, I would've laughed off the attempt in the trailer to play up the tension of the story, and I'd use that as an easy way to dismiss the film. But, Denial used a similar tactic last year and that film was quite good.
Working Against It: To compare the films though, Denial is about proving events from 50 years before. The Case for Christ is about proving events from 2000 years before. Denial wasn't really about the topic as much as the process. There's a chance that The Case for Christ could be an academic examination about the unknown (which would work much better as a documentary, btw). It's trying to promise a bit more and with a blunter instrument.
Verdict: I still think it's only a matter of time before a studio (Let's be honest, probably Pure Flix) cracks the code to making a religious movie that appeals to a larger audience. This is not that film.
Chris Evans is raising his niece who turns out to be a prodigy. He gets in a custody battle with his mother (the niece's grandmother).
Working For It: Similar to director Marc Webb's last non-Spider-Man movie, (500) Days of Summer, this looks content with being a "prestige"-lite movie that isn't going to get a lot of critical attention. It's nice to see Chris Evans out of the Capt. America suit. Co-stars like Octavia Spencer and Lindsay Duncan give this some legitimacy. I really like Jenny Slate when she isn't playing overtly comedic parts too.
Working Against It: For these monthly previews, it's a poorly kept secret that I read a lot into trailers for my assessments. It's an imperfect art. I don't pretend otherwise. For Gifted, I get the sense that this is one of those half-researched films. By that, I mean that it's more interested in one aspect (custody battle over a prodigy) than others (what it's actually like to be a prodigy). I could be wrong and it may not matter, but the devil is in the details, which could hurt the film.
Verdict: This goes as far as your Chris Evans fandom goes. If I waited on Before We Go, I can wait on this.
A soldier is trapped in the middle of the desert, alone for days after he steps on a land mine and can't lift his foot off it.
Working For It: It's pretty much just Armie Hammer for most of the movie. For some reason, I love this kind of movie. Phone Booth, Buried, 127 Hours, Open Water, Locke - I eat these up. There's something about the challenge of taking a very limited idea and finding ways to still make it compelling that I just love.
Working Against It: I don't know anything about the two Italian writer/directors on this, except that they are both named Fabio, which itself is pretty fun. Part of the reason I like films like this is the high degree of difficulty. That means there's a very good chance this could end up being inert or working too hard to expand the narrative.
Verdict: I doubt it'll even be an option for me, but it's better to wait for Netflix anyway.
The British film division attempts to make a morale film to keep spirits up during WWII.
Working For It: I'm a little more forgiving about WWII films from the British perspective, because they tend to be less about Hitler or the Holocaust than the country's own experience. It's one of the things I liked about Allied, for example. Their Finest looks like a good example of it as well. Bill Nighy is always wonderful (Really, always). I like Gemma Arterton even though filmmakers don't always know what to do with her. Even Sam Claflin - as soon as I remember who he is - is likable enough.
Working Against It: There is a slight "TV Movie" feel to this, intentional or not.
Verdict: I'm sure this will be perfectly charming, although it doesn't demand attention.
A blind man (Dan Stevens) gets his sight back and turns into an asshole.
Working For It: Dan Stevens is all over the place suddenly (Legion, Beauty and the Beast). From what I can tell, his performance is meant to carry the movie. He's supported by people like Malin Akerman, Oliver Platt, and Kerry Bishe (seriously, everyone watch her in Halt and Catch Fire). That's a good cast right there.
Working Against It: I don't really get what it's about. Stevens gets his eyesight then becomes enamoured with success (aka the superficial things). It sounds like a metaphor laid on pretty thick.
Verdict: I can see myself completely forgetting about this or getting obsessed with Dan Stevens and tracking it down.
4/14
Dom (Vin Diesel) teams up with a super-hacker terrorist (Charlize Theron) and turns on the rest of the group.
Working For It: No one is pretending that the Fast and Furious movies aren't silly and stupid. I have and will again write about how astounding the franchise's success is. Until is finally does fall apart, I'm going to enjoy the ride. Charlize Theron looks like a fun addition to the already deep roster of
Working Against It: These movies keep getting bigger and crazier. The bigger and crazier they get, the more I worry that they won't be able to get a director who can manage the chaos. James Wan transitioned from horror to action well for Furious 7. Now it's time to see if F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton) can for F8. I'm hoping he can.
Verdict: I'm too fascinated by this franchise to miss it.
A teenage monkey boy on an isolated planet finds out that he is the lost prince of an intergalactic royal family. He sets out on a mission to vanquish the evil overlord currently in control.
Working For It: I'm fascinated by all these smaller animation studios. It's not a type of filmmaking that I associate with plucky underdogs. For this one, they got Patrick Stewart, Susan Sarandon, Jessica Biel, and Hilary Swank for the voice cast, which is about the level I'd expect. Who know? It could be fun.
Working Against It: Some studios pull off the DIY aesthetic better than others. Laika feels like a small company, but they still manage to make visually distinctive movies. Like Rock Dog a month or two back, Spark looks like a poor man's Dreamworks. Nothing about the look or story of this stands out.
Verdict: It's hard enough to get me to see a Dreamworks movie.
Charlie Hunnam is a British military officer in the 1920s in search of a secret city he believes is in the Amazon.
Working For It: With a cast including Hunnam, Sienna Miller, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, and Ian McDiarmid, it has a good foundation. James Gray is a director who hasn't quite made it in America, but he's been at it for a while.
Working Against It: I say this about a lot of movies, but this looks like it's trying too hard to be a "Hollywood" movie and falling short. I like what Bleecker Street distributes in general, but this looks a hair too ambitious to pull off. Perhaps I'm wrong.
Verdict: I don't plan to see it. It doesn't even have the makeup of a sleeper hit.
Richard Gere is a small time fixer who pushes his way into becoming a political influencer at a high level.
Working For It: This looks like a Richard Gere tour de force. Also, another Dan Stevens alert.
Working Against It: I don't recognize any of the director's work. That doesn't mean much though. There's a lot of directors out there. I worry that this film thinks it's more clever than it really is.
Verdict: I miss a lot of Richard Gere movies. I feel like there's a reason for that even though I don't have anything against him.
4/21
A DisneyNature documentary about the animal life of China.
Working For It: Another Earth Day, another DisneyNature documentary. I like this niche they've carved out. No one is expecting the movies to be hits. They are cute and fun. It's hard to really be against them.
Working Against It: That said, I haven't seen any of these films. They aren't my style. I say that, but I also liked The Bear way more than I expected. Perhaps I'm just blind to my own tastes...God, I hope that's not true, because it would invalidate this entire blog that I've committed [at least] hundreds of hours into.
Verdict: Let me get around to finally seeing Planet Earth first. Then I'll get to something like this.
Two gangs in the 1970s are trapped in a gunfight in an abandoned warehouse.
Working For It: I'm really jazzed for this. Except for Brie Larson, who I already love, it's full of guys who I like but have never given me reason to be excited about them (Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley, etc.). Similar to Mine, I like the idea of the limited premise - all taking place in this one warehouse. The "Martin Scorsese presents" at the beginning of the trailer is encouraging although not a guarantee of quality. It has a jokey tone that I respond well to.
Working Against It: This looks a lot like a 1970s Hateful Eight and that is a film that I liked more than a lot of people I know (and audiences in general based on the box office results). There's a good chance that even a bad version of this movie is one that I would like, so I don't know what to say.
Verdict: I don't see there being anything to convince me not to see this.
Found footage film about three teenagers who go missing in 1997 while investigating some mysterious lights they see at night.
Working For It: It looks like The Blair Witch Project with aliens, set around the same time. I've said many times that I'm a sucker for found footage, so even a barely competent version of this has a leg up on the competition.
Working Against It: It's a Scott Free Production (Ridley Scott's company) being distributed by Cinelou Films, which has only distributed one other film (Cake). That's more curious than a bad sign.
Verdict: Probably worth saving until October.
A medical student (Oscar Isaac) and an American Journalist (Christian Bale) fight over the same woman (Charlotte Le Bon) in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire.
Working For It: My god, I don't remember there being so many "off-brand" period epics in past years as there have in the last few months. This one has Oscar Isaac and Christian Bale though, which is a cut about the competitors. Charlotte Le Bon too was perfectly charming in The Walk. And, frankly, there's never been enough movies about WWI.
Working Against It: It's getting a wide release and Open Road Films is a mini-major studio worth paying attention to. Still, I don't know what to make of this. Historical epics don't have a time in the calendar that makes sense for them, not when there are no obvious award hopes.
Verdict: It worth keep an eye on.
Rosario Dawson gets terrorized by her husband's ex-wife (Katherine Heigl).
Working For It: It's nice to see Rosario Dawson front and center after seeing her in the periphery of so many Nextflix Marvel series. This is a very popular story to find new variations of, from The Hand That Rocks the Cradle to Betrayed (or nearly any other ScreenGems movie).
Working Against It: The trailer tells me enough to know that there isn't anything special about this variation of the "other woman" story to keep me interested.
Verdict: Worth skipping unless you are a die-hard fan of the genre.
4/28
Mae (Emma Watson) gets a dream job at a giant tech company (not Google) called The Circle working for Eamon Baily (Tom Hanks), it's visionary CEO (not Steve Jobs). She slowly discovers that the company may be up to something nefarious.
Working For It: Watson and Hanks is enough, if I'm being honest. Also, it has Patton Oswalt, John Boyega, Ellar Coltrane (The boy from Boyhood), Karen Gillan, Claudia O'Doherty (the hilarious Australian roommate from Love), and Bill Paxton in his final movie role. Also, I became a fan of director James Ponsoldt without even realizing it (Smashed, The Spectacular Now, The End of the Tour, and episodes of Master of None, Shameless, and Parenthood).
Working Against It: I'm getting some Money Monster vibes. There's a lot of ways that this conspiracy story could fall apart or turn into some overbearing message. I'm hoping that's not the case, but it's possible.
Verdict: The cast alone is good enough to make it required viewing.
A middle aged, gold-digging Latin man gets dumped by his wife and must move in with his estranged sister to put his life back together.
Working For It: This is Eugenio Derbez's American follow-up to his surprise 2013 hit Instructions Not Included. He's surrounded by a fun and eclectic cast, including Salma Hayek, Rob Lowe, Kristen Bell, and Michael Cera. And Ken Marino is directing this. I didn't know he directed.
Working Against It: It looks pretty broad and heavy-hearted.
Verdict: I'll need a little more convincing.
A street magician attempts to rescue his sister by expanding his magical powers.
Working For It: The trailer implies that this movie is crossing some genres. I'm not sure what genres though. It looks like the street magician really does have magical powers, which is interesting. It's a Blumhouse production, and they like to find twists on concepts. That could mean good things.
Working Against It: When Dule Hill and Sasheer Zamata are the most recognizable names in the cast, I get suspicious.
Verdict: I'm not sure what to make of this, but I am curious.
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