2017
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May
2016
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
2015
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May
2016
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
2015
2014
2013
6/2
The origin story of Wonder Woman in the days of WWI.
Working For It: DC is getting off the world-building express lane and making a standalone film. In doing so, they are finally beating Marvel to the punch at something: making a film with a female protagonist as the main character. Gal Gadot was arguably the best part of Batman vs. Superman. Chris Pine looks like a great sidekick. This is the most excited I've been for a DC movie since Chris Nolan was still directing them. Also, WWI is an under-served time period.
Working Against It: I spend too much time worrying about directors for these major studio tentpoles. Patty Jenkins has stayed busy with TV movies and shows since she last directed a feature film (2003's Monster). These indie directors moving to $100 million budgets have been a mixed bag so far (Jurassic World, Fantastic Four). That's the closest thing to a liability, and that isn't much. I'm not very worried.
Verdict: This shouldn't be missed.
Two students hypnotize their principal into believing he's Capt. Underpants: a superhero they created.
Working For It: As always, Dreamworks has assembled an impressive voice cast (Kevin Hart, Thomas Middleditch, Ed Helms, Jordan Peele, Kristen Schaal, etc.). Director David Soren has directed for Dreamworks before (Turbo). The screenplay is from Nicholas Stoller who is better known for writing and directing assorted Apatow/Rogen movies as well as The Muppets movies. The credentials are almost the Platonic ideal for Dreamwork Animation.
Working Against It: Stoller is not without blemishes as a screenwriter (Gulliver's Travels, Fun with Dick and Jane). Capt. Underpants is not a property that appeals to all ages. There's a fine line between a family film and a kids film. This appears to be firmly on the kids film side.
Verdict: Not worth it.
A couple (Zoe Lister-Jones and Adam Pally) try to save their marriage by writing and performing songs about their fights.
Working For It: Lister-Jones wrote and directed this as well. You may remember her as Schmidt's politician girlfriend on New Girl or from Life in Pieces. She's assembled an impressive cast of "TV All Stars" (Fred Armisen, Brooklyn Decker, Jamie Chung, Hannah Simone, Erinn Hayes, and I could keep going). It's a Sundance movie and I have a well-documented soft spot for those. It looks quite charming.
Working Against It: This could fall into the same tonal and content traps that a lot of these indie movies fall into. There's no guarantee that Lister-Jones will bring anything to the direction (I feel much better about her as a writer). She's called in a lot of her friends/former-coworkers for this. Sometimes that's great. Other times, it's a sign that no one else was willing to be in the film, which is a little more worrisome. Regardless, I'm interested.
Verdict: This looks Netflix perfect.
Demitri Martin plays an illustrator who leaves New York for L.A. rather than dealing with the death of his mother.
Working For It: As the writer/director, this looks perfectly aligned with Martin's specific sense of humor. Gillian Jacobs plays the love interest and Kevin Kline is Martin's father. That bit of casting piques my interest.
Working Against It: Pretty much what I said about Band Aid applies here. First time director. Indie movie. It could be a charming debut (In A World, Sleepwalk with Me) or a noble mess (God's Pocket).
Verdict: Less immediately appealing than Band Aid but probably still Netflix gold.
German film about two sisters in Berlin in the 1970s who learn about awful things their father did during the War.
Working For It: I don't recognize any of the actors or the director. Everyone tied to this seems accomplished enough. If I'm being honest, I included this because the trailer says that this is from Samuel Goldwyn productions and Orion Pictures, both of which I thought went away two decades ago.
Working Against It: They pushed the "based on a true story" angle hard. I've kind of had my fill of WWII/Holocaust stories by now, right?
Verdict: I've got a lot of other Samuel Goldwyn and Orion movies to catch up on first.
Wesley Snipes helps some young people stop an alien invasion deep in the woods.
Working For It: If the Wesley Snipes with a sense of humor shows up, this could be fun. It's not a high budget movie, but it looks good enough. That makes sense, because the director has worked in the art department for some huge films.
Working Against It: When Wesley Snipes and RJ Mitte (Walt Jr. from Breaking Bad) are the top billed stars in a 2017 movie, you know it's low budget. This looks like one of those horror parody movies like Tucker and Dale vs. Evil or Cabin in the Woods, except it's not playing for laughs.
Verdict: I've already forgotten about this movie.
Two strangers in a small town (Emile Hirsch and Zoe Kravitz) fall in love and try to get past the violence in their past and future.
Working For It: I like Hirsch and Kravitz in most things. It's got Zoey Deutch too. The trailer is plastered with film festival selections and awards. The marketing department wants to make it clear that this is just a generic Alpha Dog/Havoc story.
Working Against It: The director is one of those guys who has worked for several years, and I haven't heard of anything he's done. This appears to be his big break. The trailer make this look pretty generic, although it does seem like the kind of movie that doesn't get its strengths across in a trailer very well.
Verdict: It could be fun. No urgency to see it.
6/9
A mummy tries to destroy the world or something.
Working For It: I think we can all agree that plot is pretty secondary for this. It's Tom Cruise vs. Sofia Boutella as the mummy. Boutella is slowly making a name for herself with physical roles in movies like Kingsman and Star Trek Beyond. It also has Russell Crowe as a professor, Jake Johnson, Annabelle Wallis, and Courtney B. Vance. You can nearly piece together the story based on the casting alone and the types of parts each actor normally plays. This is Universal's first big play for their movie-monster extended universe. Even though prolific producer Alex Kurtzman hasn't directed anything this big before, I'm not worried. This is more of a producer's film anyway and he definitely knows how to function as that.
Working Against It: I get worried about any of these $100 million movies with no clear plot in the ad campaign. It can't be all about the spectacle, or if it is, it needs to be done at a very high level. I'm not convinced yet.
Verdict: I'm a sucker for an event film. It's worth seeing in theaters even though I'm not very optimistic.
In a remote forest, a mysterious creature terrorizes some unsuspecting outsiders.
Working For It: The ad campaign isn't giving much away, which is great for not spoiling the surprise, but can hurt with building the hype. I have very little idea what this is about. Mainly I'm relying on casting Joel Edgerton (and to a lesser extent, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, and Riley Keough) and the fact that it's from A24. In general, I love what A24 has released. Their 2016 horror movies like The Witch and Green Room were quite good. This probably will be too.
Working Against It: I don't think there's enough of a hook to pair with the mystery. For all I know, this could be exceptional. I just don't know.
Verdict: More than likely, this is something to save for Halloween.
A female Marine tries to reunite with her combat dog.
Working For It: I like Kate Mara. I like dogs.
Working Against It: How is this not Max? Look, I saw A Dog's Purpose in theaters. I'm a fan of dog movies. Does there need to be a second movie about a heroic Marine dog? I'm leaning toward "no".
Verdict: Hard pass.
Salma Hayek is a Mexican healer who get invited to a dinner party with insufferable white elitists, one played by John Lithgow in particular.
Working For It: Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, Connie Britton, Chloe Sevigny, Amy Landecker, and Jay Duplass are a group of actors I would like to watch verbally dance around one another for 90 minutes. Screenwriter Mike White is perfect for this kind of the squirm-inducing screenplay. Director Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl) has the right touch to handle the topic. It's a Sundance movie too. That always helps.
Working Against It: I run hot and cold on Mike White's scripts. John Lithgow appears to be giving a committed performance for a character that I can barely put up with in the 2 minute trailer. I'm not sure I can make it through a while movie of him.
Verdict: I'm ready to ignore this one.
An aging Western star (Sam Elliott) comes to terms with the waning days of his career.
Working For It: In a case of life reflecting art, this is the best role Sam Elliott has had in as long as I can remember. I love that Nick Offerman plays his friend (Eagleton Ron and Pawnee Ron). Krysten Ritter, Laura Prepon, and Katharine Ross seem to have good roles too. I was going to chastise this for being yet another movie with a creepy romantic age gap (Elliott and Prepon, 36 years), but I'm holding back some, because Brett Haley's last movie, I'll See You in My Dreams, did the reverse of that, I believe. So, at least it's equal opportunity.
Working Against It: I'm not sure I see new shades to the "aging celebrity looking for meaning" story in this one. I could be wrong.
Verdict: How often are you really in a Sam Elliott mood?
An Elizabethan revenge drama about a man who falls in love with the mysterious woman he believes is responsible for his guardian's death.
Working For It: I like to believe that Rachel Weisz was cast in the role because of her name matches. Regardless, I love her in just about anything. It also has Holliday Granger who I keep expecting break out in something.
Working Against It: Sam Claflin is one of those British actors who I forget as soon as he's off the screen. I can't say for sure if I like or dislike him as a performer for that reason (although it sure indicates one over the other). Roger Mitchell is a director with a very scattered filmography (including Morning Glory, Changing Lanes, and Notting Hill). I can't say that I'm aware of him taking on anything like this before.
Verdict: Soft pass.
6/16
Two women get stuck in a shark cage at the bottom of the ocean and have to get back to the surface without becoming victims of the circling great white sharks.
Working For It: This is outright an underwater Open Water and probably owes its wide release to the success of The Shallows last year. The two woman are Mandy Moore (getting a This is Us career boost) and Clare Holt (of ABC Family and CW fame). The biggest thing hurting my chances of seeing this is an actual fear of this happening.
Working Against It: Other than some questions about the story mechanics needed to set this premise up seeming a little sensational, I mainly worry because I couldn't name a single one of the writer/director's other movies.
Verdict: I'm going to let someone else tell me it's worth seeing.
A Tupac Shakur biopic.
Working For It: I assume the success of Straight Outta Compton secured the nationwide summer release for this. Tupac has been turned into such a legend that a straightforward biopic could be nice to see. I don't recognize much of the cast, partly because they cast some newcomers and partly because Hollywood doesn't make a lot of room for young minority actors. So, I can't hold my unfamiliarity against them.
Working Against It: The standard biopic formula is getting pretty stale. The ads promise that it's the untold story of Tupac, but it looks pretty familiar.
Verdict: I have little desire to see this but not a stubborn desire not to.
Lightning McQueen fights becoming obsolete when a new generation of cars try to replace him.
Working For It: They are thankfully moving the focus back to McQeen and away from Mater. Pixar almost always delivers a good product, even if recent sequels have been a mixed bag.
Working Against It: Cars 2 is my least favorite Pixar movie by a healthy margin. Even Pixar execs would admit that Cars 3 exists because of massively successful merchandising that their other movies lack (except for Toy Story, obviously).
Verdict: I'm really tempted to skip this but I probably won't.
A bachelorette party goes horribly wrong when the male stripper dies in an accident.
Working For It: The central cast is a terrific mix of comedy people (Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer), non-comedy people (Zoe Kravitz), and a lead who has dabbled in comedy (Scarlett Johansson). It's from one of the Broad City directors. Thanks to the success of films like Bridesmaids and Bad Moms, hopefully films like this will be more common.
Working Against It: It looks like a mix of The Hangover, Very Bad Things, and Weekend at Bernie's. I worry some about the originality.
Verdict: The reviews would have to be savage for me to not give this a chance.
Naomi Watts is raising a genius son who wants to help the neighbor girl who is being abused by her stepfather.
Working For It: At first, this looked an awful lot like Gifted from earlier this year. Then it reveals itself to be more like Disturbia. It's interesting that this is what Colin Trevorrow chose as his follow-up to Jurassic World.
Working Against It: I'm too used to suburban thrillers disappointing me (See: The Good Neighbor).
Verdict: Probably not worth it.
I covered this a while back. My opinion hasn't changed.
A Nova Scotian woman becomes a semi-famous painter and falls for the gruff loaner (Ethan Hawke) she works for.
Working For It: It looks like a sweet little movie. I like Hawkins and Hawke (Ha, I just noticed that).
Working Against It: The plot seems inconsequential and the rest of the charms of the film aren't conveyed well enough in the trailer to really drum up my interest.
Verdict: I'll probably forget about it before I get a chance to see it.
6/23
More Transformers, this time, after they've destroyed the world.
Working For It: I LOVE the first movie unapologetically. I think it's a simple and effective action movie. A lot of the Michael Bay hate out there is pretty lazy and reflexive*. I actually quite enjoyed his last non-Transformers movie (Pain & Gain). Mark Wahlberg is a good lead for this kind of action movie, and he's surrounded by a good enough cast to make this work.
*It's like making fun of Nickelback. Sure, they aren't great and are more popular than they "deserve". They are still around because they've managed what talent they have effectively. There's skill in that.
Working Against It: A decade since the first film Bay and company have lost the thread of what I enjoyed about these in the first place. They keep making these movies bigger and bigger until the stakes stop mattering at all. Despite four sequels, I couldn't tell you what this cinematic universe is about. What really bothers me is this: when in the trailer do any of them actually transform? C'mon Transformers. You had one job to do.
Verdict: I'm going to see it because I've seen all of these in theaters and I'm going to hate myself for it.
A woman moves through a cannibal post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Working For It: I don't know what to make of it. This looks like a cousin of Quinten Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez's films but with more visual flair. Suki Waterhouse traverses through this world that includes Keanu Reeves, Jason Mamoa, Jim Carrey, Diego Luna, and Giovanni Ribisi. It looks strange.
Working Against It: It looks strange to the point of being off-putting. I could see this being either really good or a complete slog.
Verdict: I don't know. Maybe. Probably. I doubt in theaters, but eventually.
An injured Civil War soldier is taken in at a girl's school and things take a turn for the worse.
Working For It: Directed by Sofia Coppola. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, Colin Farrell, Oona Laurence (Pete's Dragon), and Angourie Rice (The Nice Guys). This is the second adaptation of this novel. The first was a 1970's Clint Eastwood film. I've very excited and curious about this one.
Working Against It: As much as I like Sofia Coppola's films, I haven't seen a lot of them. I don't know why.
Verdict: I'll be seeking this one out as soon as it expands to a theater near me.
A Pakistani man bonds with his recent ex-girlfriend's family after she goes into a coma.
Working For It: This was the hit of Sundance. Married couple Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon co-wrote the script. It stars Nanjiani in what looks like a star-making performance. It also has Zoe Kazan as the ex-girlfriend and Holly Hunter and Ray Romano as her parents. Director Michael Showalter hasn't directed a lot, but I thoroughly enjoyed his 2005 film, The Baxter.
Working Against It: It's maybe a little too similar looking to While You Were Sleeping. Different enough though.
Verdict: I'm seeing this. Done.
6/30
A young getaway driver is forced into one last job before he leaves that life behind.
Working For It: It's an Edgar Wright film (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, The World's End), which should be enough to convince you. The trailer looks stylish, fun, and funny, full of interesting characters.
Working Against It: I suppose some people don't like Wright's films. I know I'm not as crazy about them as some people. I still like his work a lot though.
Verdict: In what looks like a pretty strong month, this is what I'm looking forward to the most.
Another story of the haunted Amityville house.
Working For It: They assembled a decent cast (Bella Thorne, Jennifer Morrison, Cameron Monaghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh) for a fairly generic movie.
Working Against It: Oh, the PG-13 studio horror movie. Do you ever cease to disappoint? For horror ro work, I need to know it's not holding anything back. PG-13 conflicts with that.
Verdict: Hard pass.
Gru is pulled back into a life of crime by his twin brother.
Working For It: The franchise is Illumination's hitmaker, and they put more and more into each film. I have no reason to believe this won't be as good as the first two films (or Minions).
Working Against It: I hate the Minions! For some unspeakable reason, I forced myself to see Minions in theaters. I did my time. I refuse to do that again.
Verdict: Good god, no.
Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell start a casino at their house in order to pay for their daughter's college tuition.
Working For It: With Poehler and Farrell as the parents, how can I say no to this? And it's written and directed by one of the writers of Neighbors.
Working Against It: This looks more like Sisters than Neighbors and Sisters underwhelmed me. Hopefully, that's the exception.
Verdict: It looks like this will be a two movie weekend for me.
Alison Brie and Aubrey Plaza as profane nuns.
Working For It: If that last line didn't do it for you, I don't know what to say. It's an ensemble comedy cast. It looks raunchy and hilarious. It's a Sundance movie, which only increases my esteem for it. Even if the trailer only existed as a Funny or Die sketch, I would be happy with that.
Working Against It: Perhaps I'm over-hyping it in my mind.
Verdict: When is this expanding to a theater near me?
No comments:
Post a Comment