Apologies dear readers as this post comes a day later than planned. Life, as they say, happens. This week we have a healthy crop of freshly harvested trailers for you to feast your eyeballs on. Let’s take a look at the latest for Bombshell, Charlie’s Angels, Dolittle, Frozen 2, Jungle Cruise, Lady and the Tramp, Onward, The Report, and The Turning.
Let’s dive right in!
The Turning
Halloween is coming, which means that we’ll start seeing some creepy haunted house movies. Except this one comes out in January. The Turning is based on an 1898 Henry James novella called The Turning of the Screw. It is about a governess who is taken on a big house to watch some kids only to find out there are a ton of ghosts.
But why January? That’s when stuff gets dumped, or at least used to be. Maybe this will be creepy and good. Or maybe it’ll be silly. I dunno, there are a few shots here that made me worried and also at least one that is from a literal nightmare I had once, so we’ll see.
At a mysterious estate in the Maine countryside, newly appointed nanny Kate is charged with the care of two disturbed orphans, Flora and Miles. She quickly discovers that both the children and the house are harboring dark secrets and things may not be as they appear.
Mackenzie Davis is the nanny, Brooklynn Prince and Finn Wolfhard are the super creepy kids. We’ll find out if this is good in January.
Onward
Onward originally looked to me like it was going to be a cute movie about two elf brothers on a road trip that would probably involve a coming of age story of some kind. I was fine with that. Turns out that it’s gonna be super weird though, if this trailer is to be believed, and I am way more on board now.
Seriously, they’re on a road trip with the lower half of their father, Weekend at Bernies-esque style, and one of them might be a bad wizard, and it’s a modern times fairy land. I dig it.
Set in a suburban fantasy world, Disney and Pixar’s “Onward” introduces two teenage elf brothers who embark on an extraordinary quest to discover if there is still a little magic left out there. Pixar Animation Studios’ all-new original feature film is directed by Dan Scanlon and produced by Kori Rae—the team behind “Monsters University.”
Onward will be released on 6th March 2020 and presumably make all the money in the world.
Harriet
Harriet played at VIFF as well as a few other festivals and despite being a famous story with a great cast it is apparently a little on the formulaic side. This trailer gives me that impression, too.
Which is a shame because Harriet Tubman is such an iconic figure with a story that should be a slam dunk.
As always, I am on team "see it an decide for yourself", which you will be able to do on 22nd November.
Charlie’s Angels
I know that Kristen Stewart has her haters but she’s actually a talented actress and in this trailer she looks like she’s having the time of her life, so that’s where I stand on that.
Also, this trailer isn’t as good as the last one, and maybe gives away a few things (including, I’m think the last shot of the movie) but it still looks like it’s gonna be fun enough. Here’s the official synopsis:
In Banks’ bold vision, Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska are working for the mysterious Charles Townsend, whose security and investigative agency has expanded internationally. With the world’s smartest, bravest, and most highly trained women all over the globe, there are now teams of Angels guided by multiple Bosleys taking on the toughest jobs everywhere. The screenplay is by Elizabeth Banks from a story by Evan Spiliotopoulos and David Auburn.
Look, I don’t think that turning the Townsend Agency into the Kingsman is a "bold vision" exactly, but honestly? I’ll still check this out. Charlie’s Angels lands in theatres on 15th November.
Jungle Cruise
On the one hand, Disney making a movie out of a ride hasn’t historically been the surefire hit formula that they would like. Sure, we got Pirates of the Caribbean, but we also got a ton of other bad movies. On the other hand, this movie has Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson (who are both fun) and is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (who basically exclusively makes fun b-movies) and looks like a reboot of The Mummy (the good one from the 90s).
What I am saying here is that I think this movie has more going for it than against it, and it looks like a ton of fun.
Inspired by the famous Disneyland theme park ride, Disney’s JUNGLE CRUISE is an adventure-filled, Amazon-jungle expedition starring Dwayne Johnson as the charismatic riverboat captain and Emily Blunt as a determined explorer on a research mission. Also starring in the film are Edgar Ramirez, Jack Whitehall, with Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti.
24th July is a long way off so I’m sure we’ll be inundated with marketing between now and then.
Dolittle
Hooooooooooooooooooo boy this looks like it’s a mess waiting to happen. Sure, good movies have had bad trailers before but this has an air of "these are the bit we salvaged from before the reshoots" about it, and Downey’s accent is … I mean is it supposed to be Welsh? I think it’s supposed to be Welsh.
This doesn’t look good to me is what I am saying.
After losing his wife seven years earlier, the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle (Downey), famed doctor and veterinarian of Victorian England, hermits himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor with only his menagerie of exotic animals for company. But when Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) falls gravely ill, a reluctant Dolittle is forced to set sail on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure, regaining his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and discovers wondrous creatures.
Doolittle is being dumped in January 2020 and that doesn’t bode well for it either.
Frozen II
Frozen is a great film and I am sure Frozen II will be good, also, but this trailer doesn’t really do anything for me. Elsa is on a journey to discover the origin of her powers and everyone else is along for the ride. Sure, sounds like pretty standard superhero sequel material.
Maybe I’m just feeling cynical though. Frozen II is out on 22nd November. I assume we’ll all be there.
Daniel Isn’t Real
"Mind bending horror from the people who brought you Mandy" should be enough to get anyone on board to give this a look at this point. That movie was messed up and artistic and super weird and I hope that this one lives up to half that potential. The whole idea of an invisible friend that starts to take over has so much to offer. I don’t even have anything else to add, this just looks bonkers in a good way.
Daniel Isn’t Real will be out in select theatres and on demand in December.
Lady & The Tramp
Disney is really milking the "live action" remakes of their classic animated films. This looks like another one of those, to me. Interesting twist though, it’s set to premiere on Disney+ and not in theatres. So since we’re basically all going to subscribe to Disney+ I assume we’re all going to see it.
Disney+ will go live on 12th November with Lady and the Tramp in the lineup.
Bombshell
Bombshell tells the real life story of Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly, who both accused Roger Ailes at Fox News of sexual harassment. This is a recent thing so you can just google what happened, but this looks to me like they’re trying to go down the darkly comedy route with this and from the trailer I can’t tell if it’s working.
What I can tell is that whoever is doing Charlize Theron’s makeup to make her look like Megyn Kelly will probably win an award or five because she looks un-freaking-canny in this trailer.
Bombshell will be released on 20th December, just in time to cash in on the holiday box office. Or maybe to get destroyed by Star Wars, which comes out the same day. We’ll see!
The Report
America did a bunch of bad things after September 11th 2001. That’s a blanket statement, but it’s true. One of those things was detaining and torturing all kinds of people. This film tells the story of the guy who uncovered just how far things went. By all accounts it’s a fascinating film and has strong reviews coming out of Sundance. Amazon has the rights to The Report and will release it in theatres on November 15th and then on Prime Video two weeks later.
Here’s the write up:
The Report is a riveting thriller based on actual events. Idealistic staffer Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver) is tasked by his boss Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening) to lead an investigation of the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program, which was created in the aftermath of 9/11. Jones’ relentless pursuit of the truth leads to explosive findings that uncover the lengths to which the nation’s top intelligence agency went to destroy evidence, subvert the law, and hide a brutal secret from the American public.
The End
That’s all the trailers that I have for you this week. Apologies that the post is a day late, but life got in the way. If you’d like to help ensure that the posts come on time you could always support the Patreon. Just saying!
Which one of these trailers has you most excited? Which has you least excited? Sound off in the comments or on social media!