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: The Turtles ruled the box office with $35.2M, dropping X-Men: Apocalypse to second place with $22.3M to add to their $116M total. In third was the debut of Me Before You with $18.2M. Fourth place belonged to Johnny Depp and Alice Through the Looking Glass ($10.6M/$50.7M). Angry Birds stayed in the top five with $9.7M and $86.6M overall. The rest of the top ten shook out this way. Captain America: Civil War ($7.5M/$388.5M), Neighbors 2 ($4.7M/$48.5M), Popstar ($4.6M/New), Jungle Book ($4.2M/$347.4M), and The Nice Guys ($3.5M/$29.1M). Here are this week’s new entries.
The Conjuring 2 (New Line Cinema) – Horror
Rated R for terror and horror violence
Tag Line: The next true story from the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
Starring: Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga
Plot: Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits.
Running Time: 134 minutes
Jessica: The first movie actually scared me (which hardly ever happens) so I am interested to see what they come up with for the 2nd one. Hopefully it’s just as creepy!
Chris: The first was a horrific triumph…..I am quite looking forward to some more scares.
Ken: Hadn’t seen the first Conjuring or Annabelle movies and would skip this latest installment. I appreciate that they are based on real-life cases investigated by the Warrens, but they stray pretty far from the source material in order to draw in the crowds.
Jim: The first movie was scary. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga helped make it credible. This looks effective enough to step past the usual horror movie trailer cliches.
Now You See Me 2 (Lionsgate) – Action/Comedy/Thriller
Rated PG-13 for violence and some language
Tag Line: Reappearing June 10
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Lizzy Caplan
Plot: The Four Horsemen resurface and are forcibly recruited by a tech genius to pull off their most impossible heist yet.
Running Time: 129 minutes
Jim: Didn’t see the first one. Might be worth a rental.
Jessica: I really liked the first movie so I will most certainly be checking out the sequel. I love a movie about magic tricks!
Chris: Rarely do I laud a second sequel film in one week, but here goes. Make my money disappear.
Ken: No I don’t. Magic loses its charm when I’m aware that it is all special effects.
Warcraft (Universal) – Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Rated PG – 13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy violence
Tag Line: Two worlds. One home.
Starring: Paula Patton, Travis Fimmel, Domenic Cooper, Ben Foster
Plot: The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people, and their home.
Running Time: 123 minutes
Chris: Truth be told, I want to like this one more than I do. I think it will be entertaining, but in no way will it provide the same satisfaction as the similarly themed Tolkien movies.
Jim: ZZZZZZ SO SICK OF CGI-STUFFED “EPIC” FANTASIES ZZZZZZZZ
Ken: The music at the end of that trailer was awful. I wanted to like this one too, but pass. Anyone who has ever played a Blizzard video game knows how epic their cut scenes are. But despite the eye-popping blend of CG and live action, everything else felt pretty lifeless.
Jessica: Pass, pass, pass…Looks like a poor person’s “Lord of the Rings”
King Jack (Well Go USA) – Adventure/Drama
Not Rated
Tag Line: Everyone should rule for a day.
Starring: Charlie Plummer, Cory Nicholls
Plot: Trapped in a violent feud with a cruel older bully and facing another bout of summer school, Jack’s got all the problems he can handle. So when Jack’s aunt falls ill and his runty younger cousin must stay with him for the weekend the last thing Jack wants to do is look after him. Unfortunately no one really cares what Jack wants.
Running Time: 81 minutes
Ken: I grew up in a small, suburban town and this pushed a lot of my nostalgia buttons.
Jessica: Looks sweet and thought provoking, and very, very sad. I’d watch this at home where I can weep in the dark, alone.
Jim: Nice trailer, looks like it might be a well-made slice ‘o life flick.
Chris: Coming of age film of a boy who is learning what it means to live for more than himself. Lessons all of us go through in our formative years. I’ll check it out on the small screen.
Tickets Purchased: 4 tickets for The Conjuring 2 (unanimous decision!).
