Welcome to Trailer Snark, a weekly column 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!
Last Week: Deadpool is the undisputed champion of February Box Office history folks! Yes, the R-Rated Adults-Only anti-hero shattered all expectations as well as winter’s cold grip with $135M over the weekend. Word is that the movie is heading toward $250M worldwide this week. Incredible. Kung Fu Panda 3, last week’s victor, took in $19.6M for a total of $93.9M in second place. Two other debut films took the next two slots with How To Be Single and Zoolander 2 taking in $18.7M and $15.6M, respectively. The Revenant hung on in the top five with another $6.9M ($159.1M overall). The rest of the top ten shook out like this. Hail, Caesar ($6.5M/$21.3M), The Force Awakens ($6.1M/$914.8M), The Choice ($5.2M/$13.2M), Ride Along 2 ($4.1M/$82.6M), and The Boy ($2.9M/$30.7M). And now for this week’s new entries….
Race (Focus Features) – Bio/Drama/Sports
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and language
Tag Line: The incredible true story of gold medal champion Jesse Owens.
Starring: Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis
Plot: Jesse Owens’ quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler’s vision of Aryan supremacy.
Running Time: A World Record (or 134 minutes)
Jim: A great, inspiring story that is long overdue to be told as a movie. The trailer has a more casual feel than I would have given it, but it certainly generates enough interest to make me want to see it.
Ken: Jesse Owens is a great story. The man single handedly destroyed the Nazis at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Beating up on Hitler is Hollywood’s bread and butter, so I’ll give this a look when it comes to the small screen.
Jessica: A truly interesting story but not one I’d see in a theater. This is definitely a home viewer.
Chris: This man is a legend, but I am cursed by the memories of seeing Chariots of Fire in theaters as a kid, and falling asleep due to the mind-numbingly boring content. So, no running movies on the big screen for this guy. Will check it out at home for sure.
Risen (Columbia) – Drama/Historical
Rated PG-13 for Biblical violence including some disturbing images
Tag Line: Witness the manhunt that changed the course of human history.
Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth
Plot: Follows the epic Biblical story of the Resurrection, as told through the eyes of a non-believer. Clavius, a powerful Roman Military Tribune, and his aide Lucius, are tasked with solving the mystery of what happened to Jesus in the weeks following the crucifixion, in order to disprove the rumors of a risen Messiah and prevent an uprising in Jerusalem.
Running Time: 107 minutes
Chris: Got to say, I am all in for this one. It is the event that preceded the most significant movement in human history.
Jim: I’m still scarred from the ordeal of The Passion of the Christ. I realize that this is an important story to tell. I just think that Hollywood used to do it better in the ’50s and ’60s (I acknowledge the campiness that usually sets in). They were entertaining and, in their way, inspiring movies. Nowadays they tend to be solemn, miserable experiences. The trailer didn’t make me think that this movie would be any different.
Ken: That was the most boring zombie movie trailer I’ve seen in a while.
Jessica: No thanks.
The Witch (A24) – Horror
Rated R for disturbing violent content and graphic nudity
Tag Line: Evil takes many forms.
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson
Plot: A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
Running Time: 93 minutes
Jessica: FINALLY. I’ve been hearing about this dang movie for months now and how it’s super scary and blah, blah, blah. The trailer looks interesting but again, not sure I’d shell out my money for it. Actually no, I won’t, I’ll watch it at home though!
Chris: OK, that trailer creepy as all heck. I am impressed. Time to scare the wifey!
Jim: Scary. Whats goin’ on here? I wanna find out!
Ken: Creepy, isolated setting, disturbing imagery and no clear explanation about what is going on. I’m usually underwhelmed by horror film trailers but this one looks like it has potential. Did anyone else see Bilbo placing a severed foot outside of his hobbit hole door?
Rolling Papers (Alchemy) – Documentary/Comedy
Not Rated
Tag Line: It’s Legal, Now What?
Plot: At ground zero of the green rush, The Denver Post became the first major media outlet to appoint a marijuana editor. Policy news, strain reviews, parenting advice and edible recipes are the new norm in the unprecedented world of pot journalism.
Running Time: 79 minutes
Ken: Chronicling the fall of one industry and the rise of another. I’m still waiting for someone to make a factual documentary about Marijuanan prohibition that doesn’t fall back on tired stoner comedy. I’ll sit out this one.
Jessica: Oh this looks fascinating to me. To see what a paper has to do these days to stay relevant and to also be reporting actual news is pretty cool. I’m not one for documentaries in the theater but again, I’ll watch this at home.
Chris: This movie looks dope…….y. Pass.
Jim: Looks interesting and quirky with a good sense of humor.
Tickets Purchased: 2 Tickets for The Witch (Jim and Ken), 1 ticket for Risen (Chris), and Jessica goes back for Chimichanga seconds with another showing of Deadpool!
