Another week, another mess of trailers. More than I anticipated this week, but in a good way. Heads up there’s a red ban trailer in the mix this week as we look at Ordinary Love, I Lost My Body, The Wolf Hour, Eli, 6 Underground, Free Guy, Birds of Prey, The Personal History of David Copperfield, The Gentlemen, Richard Jewell, The Good Liar, 1917, Zombieland: Doubletap, and Parasite.
Let’s dive in!
Ordinary Love
Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville as an older couple working their way through a cancer diagnosis. This looks lovely. It played at TIFF and has had some respectable reviews. It goes wide on 6th December.
I Lost My Body
I love weird movies and this looks like a weird movie in a way that probably only an animated movie could be. A disembodied hand goes looking for its body.
In a Parisian laboratory, a severed hand escapes its unhappy fate and sets out to reconnect with its body. During a hair-raising escapade across the city, the extremity fends off pigeons and rats alike to reunite with pizza boy Naoufel. Its memories of Naoufel and his love for librarian Gabrielle may provide answers about what caused the hand’s separation, and a poetic backdrop for a possible reunion between the three.
This has already been getting some buzz around the web so I look forward to its release. I Lost My Body will arrive on Netflix on 29 November after a brief, awards qualifying theatrical run.
The Wolf Hour
Naomi Watts as a celebrated novelist turned agoraphobe stuck in her grandmothers apartment in 1977 New York City, the year of a blackout, the Son of Sam, and a heatwave. If that’s not a setup for a great thriller I don’t know what is. And look, Emory Cohen is there. I kind of thought he’d be a huge star by now, but I guess this is another step toward that.
The Wolf Hour played at Sundance earlier this year and doesn’t have a release date just yet but based on how much ass this trailer whips I’ll definitely be on the lookout for it.
Eli
A sick kid moves into a haunted mansion and is told that the terrifying visions he is seeing are all just side effects of the treatment for his illness. Yup, I’m into it. Nice that Kelly Reilly and Max Martini show up as the parents, they’re always reliable and Lili Taylor is similarly so when she takes on creepy roles like this one seems to be.
Eli is out on Netflix on the 18th of this month, just in time for Halloween.
6 Underground
Confession: I kind of love Bayhem. 6 Underground looks like it’s absolutely loaded with it, so I am basically on board already and that’s before you add in Vancouver Local Ryan Reynolds or Melanie Laurent.
This is the story of 6 billionaires who fake their deaths and form a vigilante squad to take out criminals. It’s basically "6 Batmans" but with MIchael Bay at the helm. I dig it. Plus look at this cast: Ryan Reynolds, Mélanie Laurent, Dave Franco, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Peyman Maadi, Adria Arjona, Corey Hawkins, and Ben Hardy.
6 Underground will be on Netflix in December. Mark your calendars.
Free Guy
Speaking of Vancouver Local Ryan Reynolds, he has another film in production co-starring Taika Waititi, Jodie Cormer, and Joe Keery in which his character discovers he’s an NPC in an open world video game. There’s plenty to run with with that premise. This trailer doesn’t show any of this, but might still be the best trailer here today.
True story: my wife didn’t believe me that Taika Waititi was in Green Lantern when I reminded her, in case you are wondering how that movie has aged (protip, not great).
Free Guy, Reynolds and Waititi’s first ever collaboration, will be out July next year.
Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn
It’s too bad Suicide Squad sucked, but it did. The were a few bright spots though and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn was one of them. Here she comes again at the centre of a Birds of Prey film and it looks kind of bonkers, in the best way.
Just look at this lineup: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, and Ewan McGregor.
Birds of Prey is set for a February release, which worries me a little because a lot of crap used to get dumped in theatres in the winter. On the other hand Black Panther cleaned up in that slot so who knows. Director Cathy Yan seems to have cooked up something a lot on the comic book-y side and I am, so far, here for it.
The Personal History of David Copperfield
Armando Iannucci, he who brought us The Thick of It, In The Loop_, Veep, and The Death of Stalin is apparently an avid fan of Dickens and has decided to bring together his usual cast of co-conspirators to make a movie about David Copperfield. You know what? I’m into it.
From birth to infancy, from adolescence to adulthood, the good-hearted David Copperfield is surrounded by kindness, wickedness, poverty and wealth, as he meets an array of remarkable characters in Victorian England. As David sets out to be a writer, in his quest for family, friendship, romance and status, the story of his life is the most seductive tale of all.
Personal History of David Copperfield played at TIFF to pretty good reviews, and is set for a theatrical release in January 2020.
The Gentlemen
Guy Ritchie back to doing London crime movies? Count me the eff in.
THE GENTLEMEN follows American expat Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) who built a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. When word gets out that he’s looking to cash out of the business forever it triggers plots, schemes, bribery and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain out from under him.
I know I have said this a lot today but just look at this cast: Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Marsan, Colin Farrell, and Hugh Grant. I particularly enjoy Hugh Grant’s late stage "I just want to have a good time" phase. Also, see Paddington 2.
The Gentlemen is set for release in January 2020 and I, for one, will be there.
Richard Jewell
Clint Eastwood is back with another real life story. Richard Jewell was connected, unjustly, to the bombing at the 1996 olympics. He saved dozens of people once he discovered the backpack full of explosives, but the media vilified him as a suspect in the case.
I haven’t been very on board with Eastwood’s recent output, and honestly while I think this is a compelling story worth telling I worry that his right wing bent might open it up to some.. not great interpretations. I desperately hope I am wrong but there’s a worry in my head.
Richard Jewll is headed for an 13th December release date. We’ll all find out together then.
The Good Liar
Ian McKellen as a con man, Helen Mirren as "the perfect mark", and all the webs that are weaved between them. This looks like exactly my kind of Saturday afternoon drama. Nothing like watching a couple of master thespians go toe to toe.
The Good Liar will be out on 8th November.
1917
You know which cinematic universe I love? The Britain During World Wars Cinematic Universe. Sam Mendes looks to have made another stellar entry, telling the story in elaborate long takes and an end goal to make the film feel like one single take. That’s incredibly ambitious and I can’t wait to see the result.
1917 is in theatre in December.
Zombieland: Double Tap (Red Band)
First, feels weird that it has been ten years since Zombieland. Second, I’m a little dubious of Reuben Fleischer as his output in those ten years has been a little dodgy. There are a lot of moments that work in this trailer but many of them work less and less each time I watch it. I know the idea with a sequel like this is "more of the same" but I sincerely hope that’s not all it is.
I guess we’ll find out on 18th October.
Parasite
And here we are at Parasite. I am loathe to even watch this trailer as Bong Joon-ho is one of my favourite directors and this is my most anticipated film of the year. I actually just missed it at VIFF this weekend, but thankfully I won’t have to wait too long. It looks like it will be opening in Canada on 18th October. Hopefully. I seriously can’t wait.
The End
It was a big week for trailers. Which ones are you looking forward to? Which ones are you not? Sound off in the comments or on social media!