Trailer Roundup: Hot air balloons, the Black Bonnie & Clyde, Watchmen, and more

Oh, you thought that the VIFF Trailer Roundup yesterday was the only one this week? Nope, it just would have made too many in one post. This week we’re looking at trailers for The Aeronauts, Gretel & Hansel, Little Monsters, Watchmen, Waves, Midway, Like a Boss, and Queenie & Slim. Let’s get to it!

The Aeronauts

Look, I’m not going to lie: I think this looks like a delightful time. I don’t know that it will be, obviously, but the trailer makes it look like something I’ll probably like just by virtue of the way it feels. Your milage may vary on the cast but you can’t say Eddie Redmayne doesn’t swing for the fences (for good or for ill), and Felicity Jones is electric in basically everything she’s in.

In 1862, daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren (Jones) teams up with pioneering meteorologist James Glaisher (Redmayne) to advance human knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history. While breaking records and advancing scientific discovery, their voyage to the very edge of existence helps the unlikely pair find their place in the world they have left far below them. But they face physical and emotional challenges in the thin air, as the ascent becomes a fight for survival.

The Aeronauts is an Amazon Original which means it will get a theatrical run starting 6th December followed by a premiere on Prime Video on 20th December.

Gretel & Hansel

You’re probably aware that Grimm’s Fairy Tales are a lot more.. well, grim in their original forms, and most of them would probably make for a great horror movie setup. That’s what Gretel & Hansel appears to be. The story of two children who happen upon the house of a witch while lost in the woods? That’s a hell of a setup. This looks like it might be spooky and atmospheric as all get out and that’s the kind of horror movie that I love.

Oz Perkins seems to be an up and coming Horror director (he did The Blackcoat’s Daughter which I still haven’t seen but it well regarded), plus Sophia Lillis has already proven her chops for horror with It and It Chapter Two, and Alice Krige is always, always a win.

Gretel & Hansel is headed to theatres on 31st January 2020.

Little Monsters (Red Band)

Yes, this red band trailer is very red band, but it’s also pretty funny. Adults having to fend off zombie kids isn’t a new thing but there is a definite potential for more laughs. I’m not really familiar with Alexander English, but Josh Gad is reliably funny and Lupita Nyong’o is always a win,

My only question about Little Monsters is that while it’s getting a limited theatrical run starting October 8th, and then going to Hulu on 11th October, when and how am I going to be able to watch it in Canada? That information isn’t available yet.

Watchmen

Making a follow up to Watchmen (the comic) is going to be no easy task. The few that have tried have been… uh… not great, well say. Even the Zack Snyder directed film adaptation (which for the record: I like) has a myriad of problems, not the least of which is that you could argue he missed the point.

Still, at this point if anyone is going to be able to pull this off it’s going to be HBO. You may have mixed feelings about Damon Lindelof, but after The Leftovers I will absolutely watch anything he produces at this point.

There’s a lot that could be speculated here but I am going to do my best to refrain (except that Jean Smart is clearly Laurie Juspeczyk / Silk Spectre II using her dad’s name, right?) because I am enjoying being in the dark on this one. Watchmen has a hell of a production team and a hell of a cast, and we’ll get to find out if it’s any good or not on 20th October. Fingers crossed.

Waves

Trey Edward Shultz’s follow up to It Comes At Night is here and it looks like you might do well to being a case of tissues with you when you see it. Sterling K. Brown leads the cast as the patriarch of a family reeling in the wake of a loss (presumably, the death of his wife and the children’s mother).

Waves has already played at Telluride and TIFF where it gained good reviews. The rest of us will get to see it on 1st November.

Midway

The Battle of Midway was a pivotal battle in the pacific theatre of World War II. A decisive victory for the Americans (it’s not a spoiler if it’s one of the most famous battles of the 20th century), it turned the tide of the war. This is the kind of story you want to tell one of two ways: either thoughtfully and methodically, or as big as humanly possible. They hired Roland Emmerich to direct this so that isn’t even a choice.

I’m not going to lie, when films like this are done well I tend to love them, and this film has lots of promise to deliver just that. Is Roland Emmerich the one to deliver on that promise? Maybe! We’re talking about the guy who directed Independence Day, but also the guy who directed Independence Day: Resurgence so I guess it depends on which Roland Emmerich showed up to work.

Either way, given the scale of the story and the insane level of explosions and clear fetishistic gaze at military hardware in the trailer, I will bet you a shiny loonie that this will eventually make a hell of a double feature with Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbour one day.

Here’s the synopsis:

MIDWAY centers on the Battle of Midway, a clash between the American fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy which marked a pivotal turning point in the Pacific Theater during WWII. The film, based on the real-life events of this heroic feat, tells the story of the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome the odds.

Midway arrives in theatres, presumably all the theatres, on 8th November.

Like a Boss

Here’s a trailer full of hilarious people that didn’t make me laugh once. I really don’t know what to make of this. I totally get that I am not the target audience for Like a Boss but I still find funny things funny. Doubly weird, because Tiffany Haddish is great and we definitely undervalue Rose Byrne as a comedic performer despite several great outings as one.

I dunno, you tell me, did you like this trailer?

They don’t dump comedies into the January rotation if they think they have something great on their hands, is all I’m saying.

Here’s the synopsis:

Best friends Mia and Mel (Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne) are living their best lives running their own cosmetics company they’ve built from the ground up. Unfortunately, they’re in over their heads financially, and the prospect of a big buyout offer from a notorious titan of the cosmetics industry Claire Luna (Salma Hayek) proves too tempting to pass up, putting Mel and Mia’s lifelong friendship in jeopardy. The beauty business is about to get ugly. LIKE A BOSS also stars Billy Porter, Jennifer Coolidge, Ari Graynor, Natasha Rothwell, Jessica St. Clair and Karan Soni.

Like a Boss is out 10th January.

Queenie & Slim

It would be an understatement to say that Lena Waithe has been on a role lately. An Emmy win for the thanksgiving episode of Master of None, created the TV series The Chi, and picked up an integral supporting role in Spielberg’s Ready Player One. Now here is her feature film writing debut, Queenie & Slim, a modern day take on the Bonnie & Clyde trope

You don’t have to be a cinephile to see that this film looks great. With all the stories of police brutality and hostility toward African American people in the US it feels like Queenie & Slim could have been ripped from the headlines. I obviously don’t know what it will be but it feels like it could go on to be one of the more important films of the year and era. That’s a lot of potential to live up to but also an exciting prospect.

Daniel Kaluuya ads some star power to the lineup but keen eyes will have noticed Bokeem Woodbine in the background, always a welcome presence. You may not have seen Jodie Turner-Smith before but if you haven’t you should be excited. This is her first lead role in a film but she was absolutely excellent in the recent Cinemax series Jett.

Here’s the official synopsis:

While on a forgettable first date together in Ohio, a black man (Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya) and a black woman (Jodie Turner-Smith, in her first starring feature-film role), are pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. The situation escalates, with sudden and tragic results, when the man kills the police officer in self-defense. Terrified and in fear for their lives, the man, a retail employee, and the woman, a criminal defense lawyer, are forced to go on the run. But the incident is captured on video and goes viral, and the couple unwittingly become a symbol of trauma, terror, grief and pain for people across the country.

As they drive, these two unlikely fugitives will discover themselves and each other in the most dire and desperate of circumstances, and will forge a deep and powerful love that will reveal their shared humanity and shape the rest of their lives.

Queenie & Slim will premiere in theatres on 27th November. You might want to mark this one in your calendar.

The End

Still playing a bit of catch up this week with the trailers so apologies if this is a bit of a long one to get through. We’ll be back in a weeks time with more new trailers. See you on Saturday for the news.

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