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: Let’s hear it for Disney folks! Zootopia ruled the box office, and it wasn’t even close. $73.7M in receipts for their latest animated film. Meanwhile, it’s closest competitor London Has Fallen managed to do more business than Deadpool with $21.7M and good for second place. The aforementioned merc with a mouth came in third and still doing brisk business with $16.4M to add to its $311.1M domestic haul. Unreal. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot debuted at number four with $7.6M and in fifth was Gods of Egypt with $5M/$$22.8M. The rest of the top ten went as follows: Risen ($3.8M/$28.6M), Kung Fu Panda 3 ($3.5M/$133.8M), The Revenant ($3.3M/$175.9M), Eddie the Eagle ($3.1M/$10.8M), and The Witch ($2.5M/$20.9M). What does this weekend have in store…well, lets see.
10 Cloverfield Lane (Paramount) – Drama/Mystery/Sci-Fi
Rated PG-13 for thematic material including frightening sequences of threat with some violence, and brief language
Tag Line: Monsters come in many forms.
Starring: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Bradley Cooper
Plot: After getting in a car accident, a woman is held in a shelter by two men, who claim the outside world is affected by a widespread chemical attack.
Running Time: 103 minutes
Jessica: I’m curious, but not curious enough to pay for it. I thought the first Cloverfield was only okay, it actually gave me wicked motion sickness so I had to close my eyes for a lot of it, perhaps I need to revisit that one. Anyway, I’m curious about this and I simply adore John Goodman!
Chris: Looks riveting, and I pretty much will watch anything that JJ Abrams is attached to. Too fanboy, no?
Ken: I passed on the first one because I was already burnt out on shaky cam, found footage movies, but fortunately the sequel doesn’t look or feel anything like the original. The tension and feeling of dread was palpable.
Jim: Loved the first movie, shaky cam and all. I’m there.
The Young Messiah (Focus Features) – Drama
Rated PG – 13 for some violence and thematic elements
Tag Line: Discover the savior when He was a child.
Starring: Sean Bean, Adam Greaves-Neal
Plot: Tells the story of Jesus Christ at age seven as he and his family depart Egypt to return home to Nazareth. Told from his childhood perspective, it follows young Jesus as he grows into his religious identity.
Running Time: 111 minutes
Jim: Not as deathly solemn as some of the other trailers for recent Biblical flicks. A smidgen of interest.
Jessica: No thanks.
Chris: My Lord and Savior plus Sean Bean? I must have died and gone to heaven.
Ken: This movie would sell more tickets if they had gone with the original working title, Jesus: The Force Awakens.
The Perfect Match (Lionsgate) – Comedy/Romance
Rated R for sexuality, some nudity, and language throughout
Tag Line: It’s what everyone is looking for.
Starring: Terrence Jenkins, Paula Patton
Plot: A playboy named Charlie, convinced that all his relationships are dead, meets the beautiful and mysterious Eva. Agreeing to a casual affair, Charlie then wants a bit more from their relationship.
Running Time: 96 minutes
Ken: I felt like I watched the entire movie in the trailer. And it was still way too long.
Jim: One of those movies where only hot-looking women are allowed to be in. Conventional trailer, but lively.
Jessica: Yawn. I’d rather watch the grass grow.
Chris: OK….maybe I will think about it…no.
The Brothers Grimsby (Columbia) – Comedy
Rated R for strong crude sexual content, graphic nudity, violence, language, and some drug use
Tag Line: MI6 has a brand new tool.
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Isla Fisher, Rebel Wilson
Plot: A new assignment forces a top spy to team up with his football hooligan brother.
Running Time: 83 minutes
Jessica: I only thought Cohen was moderately funny in Borat, he has gotten a lot less funnier as time has gone on. I’ll pass on this one.
Chris: I am with Jessica on this one. One hit wonder!
Ken: Looks so juvenile, but should be good for a few senseless laughs. Streamer.
Jim: No.
Creative Control (Amazon Studios) – Drama
Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and drug use.
Tag Line: A story about virtually everything.
Starring: Nora Zeheter, Benjamin Dickson
Plot: In near future Brooklyn, an ad executive uses a new Augmented Reality technology to conduct an affair with his best friend’s girlfriend…sort of.
Running Time: 97 minutes
Chris: Where is the color dammit? Actually, color won’t make it interesting, so pass.
Ken: I actually really liked the visuals in this movie. I think there is potential here to explore the already blurring lines between reality and digital reality.
Jim: Have to admit, looks interesting. Some good buzz on this.
Jessica: Oh good lord no. Not a hipster movie about technology!
Eye in the Sky (Bleecker Street Media) – Drama/War
Rated R for some violent images and language
Tag Line: The commander is in England. The drone pilot is in America. The terrorist is in Kenya. And the authority to strike is up in the air.
Starring: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman
Plot: Col. Katherine Powell, a military officer in command of an operation to capture terrorists in Kenya, sees her mission escalate when a girl enters the kill zone triggering an international dispute over the implications of modern warfare.
Running Time: 102 minutes
Jim: Nice cast including the late, great Alan Rickman, although too similar to other trailers for this type of story.
Jessica: Oh thank god, finally, a GOOD movie. Fantastic talent (RIP Prof Snape) and an interesting and timely story. I don’t know that I would pay for it but I will eventually definitely see this one (how’s that for being weirdly noncommital?)
Chris: Can’t say that I am envious of those people who make these life and death decisions, and that makes the subject matter all the more interesting to me.
Ken: Wasn’t feeling it.
Hello, My Name is Doris (Roadside Attractions) – Comedy/Drama/Romance
Rated R for language
Tag Line: She’s not ready to act her age.
Starring: Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs
Plot: A self-help seminar inspires a sixty-something woman to romantically pursue her younger co-worker.
Running Time: 95 minutes
Ken: Ha, ok I was going into this trailer thinking it was going to be a waste of two and a half minutes, but that looked pretty darn charming.
Jim: From the director of one of my favorite dumb films of all time, Wet Hot American Summer—looks funny, good to see Sally Field in a comedy.
Jessica: OH! This looks wonderfully funny and touching. Would totally see this if I weren’t saving my movie passes for Superman versus Batman 😉
Chris: Would I have to trade in my man card in saying that this one looks charming? Small screen charming to be sure.
Tickets Purchased: 3 for 10 Cloverfield Lane (Ken, Jim, and Chris) and 1 for Hello, My Name is Doris (Jessica).
