Welcome to our newest column, Trailer Snark, which will be a weekly column that will be published on Thursdays covering trailers for movies that will be released this week with thoughts from our roster of bloggers (Jessica from The Female Perspective, Ken from The Crank File, Jim from The Front Row View, Rob from Spector for Hire, and Great Stories founder Chris). Thanks for reading, and enjoy the previews!
Jurassic World (Universal) – Action
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril.
Tag Line: The Park is Open
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, and Jake Johnson
Plot: Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond. After 10 years of operation and visitor rates declining, in order to fulfill a corporate mandate, a new attraction is created to re-spark visitor’s interest, which backfires horribly.
Running Time: 124 minutes
Ken: Loved Jurassic Park when I was a kid but I rooted for the dinosaurs. Go get em Indominus, bonus points for eating someone off the toilet.
Chris: How do you make summer films more exciting? Just add dinosaurs! OK, it didn’t work out for the first Jurassic Park sequel (I could not stand Lost World), but this one has Star Lord baby. Count me in.
Jessica: OH MAN I am SO stoked for this one! I love everything about the trailer, the use of the original soundtrack, the story, EVERYTHING. Can’t wait.
Rob: Looks like a fun mindless flick; great for a drive-in in the summer. I’m still sore over how bad the first film was compared to the book though.
Jim: Yeah, I’m pretty much a sucker for these movies. I even liked the much– maligned The Lost World. I can’t see it fast enough.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Fox Searchlight Pictures) – Drama
Rated PG – 13 for sexual content, drug material, language and some thematic elements
Tag Line: N/A
Starring: Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Jon Bernthal, and Molly Shannon
Plot: High schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.
Running Time: 105 minutes
Rob: Genuine, Touching, and Real are the three words that came to mind when I saw this trailer. I’m intrigued by this one. Has a vibe to it that makes you think the story will resonate and stick with you.
Jim: Ah, movies about dying children. Pass the popcorn. The Fault In our Stars was enough for me. I will definitely skip this one.
Jessica: I would go see this in a heartbeat, it looks touching, funny, real and a total sob fest. I’m in!
Ken: Did anyone else watch the cartoon Home Movies? This movie is like a What If… episode where Melissa has terminal cancer. Awkwardly funny which is my favorite kind of funny but heavy subject matter.
Chris: Not your typical summer film, and that is just fine. There is room for sentiment and human interest stories between special effects extravaganzas and Hollywood’s cash cows. This one could be a winner.
Set Fire to the Stars (Strand Releasing) – Biographical Drama
Rating N/A
Tag Line: N/A
Starring: Elijah Wood, Celyn Jones, and Kelly ReillyPlot: An aspiring poet in 1950s New York has his ordered world shaken when he embarks on a week-long retreat to save his hell raising hero, Dylan Thomas.
Running Time: 97 minutes
Jessica: Totally intrigued. I will usually watch anything that Frodo Baggins is in.
Chris: The best face of bewilderment in Hollywood, Elijah Wood, stars in the artsy black and white about a poet who tries to save his hero, Dylan Thomas, from himself. Looks awesome!
Ken: 50’s style biopic about the late, great poet Dylan Thomas. Stream you at home.
Rob: Black & White art house film about Dylan Thomas. Won’t go far, but could be solid.
Vendetta (WWE Studios) – Action/Drama
Rated R for bloody violence and some language
Tag Line: Get Ready for Hell in a Cell
Starring: Dean Cain, Paul Wight, and Ben Hollingsworth
Plot: A detective pushed beyond his limits will stop at nothing for vengeance. When his wife is killed by a criminal that he put away, Mason, a hard-nosed detective, deliberately gets arrested in order to get revenge. While inside, Mason discovers a new criminal enterprise that those behind it would kill to protect.
Running Time: N/A
Rob: Cops wife killed. Cop kills one criminal to go to jail and get the other one. Nothing special to see here.
Jessica: Renter, maybe. Didn’t really do anything for me.
Chris: The second I saw WWE Films pop up, I knew this one was a renter at best. Staying through the rest of the trailer only confirmed it.
The Yes Men Are Revolting (The Orchard) – Documentary
Not Rated
Tag Line: N/A
Starring: The Yes Men Comedy Troupe
Plot: Comedy troupe The Yes Men stage phony events and press releases in an effort to bring attention to environmental dangers and corporate greed.
Running Time: 91 minutes
Rob: Prankster activists, sure in small doses. Not sure I’d want to sit through a whole film though.
Ken: Don’t let the funny fool you, these guys get political. Legit, left wing activists making a mockery of injustices are worth a watch. But gotta agree with Rob, feature length prankster movies are tough to sit through.
Jessica: I would definitely rent this but I save my theater viewings to the bigger films but I do enjoy a good documentary and this looks funny and empowering.
Jim: Undoubtedly well -made, but I’m not sure how interested I’d be in this.
Chris: It’s like a YouTube greatest pranks collage. Meh…..
The Wolfpack (Magnolia Pictures) – Biographical Drama/Documentary
Rated R for language
Tag Line: N/A
Starring: The Angulo Family
Plot: Locked away from society in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Angulo brothers learn about the outside world through the films that they watch. Nicknamed, ‘The Wolfpack,’ the brothers spend their childhood reenacting their favorite films using elaborate homemade props and costumes. Their world is shaken up when one of the brothers escapes and everything changes.
Running Time: 80 minutes
Ken: Wait, this is a documentary?? Holy….
Chris: Sheltered from life outside their NY apartment, five boys who have come of age venture out into a brave new world. I’ll be catching this one on the small screen.
Jessica: Absolutely fascinated.
Jim: See The Yes Men Are Revolting.
Rob: Mildly interesting. Shut-ins finally seeing the world outside of a small apartment they were raised in. Prior to that all they had were films. Seems a bit far fetched.
Tickets Purchased: 3 tickets for Jurassic World (Chris, Jim, and Jessica) and 3 tickets for Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl (Rob, Ken, and Jessica). Exercise that movie rewards card Jess!
What will you be seeing this weekend at the theaters?
-The Great Stories Team