Tuesday Trailer Roundup! (6/27/17)

Welcome to a brand new weekly article here on WildeBeard Reviews – Tuesday Trailer Roundup – where I collect all the trailers that dropped in the previous week in one place and give you some quick reactions on them! I know that it can be incredibly hard to keep up with the ever churning machine that is Hollywood so my hope with this series is to make you, dear reader, more aware of smaller films, keep you up to date on new trailers for bigger movies, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find a movie that piques your interest that would have otherwise passed you by.

1. The Only Living Boy in New York

If I’m being completely honest, this movie feels incredibly pretentious right out of the gate.  When the first line is “New York has lost it’s soul” spoken by a white guy at what looks like a fancy meal surrounded by other white people, it makes me roll my eyes a little bit.  Ok, a lotta bit.  However, as the trailer presses on, I have to admit that I am somewhat intrigued by this film.  The cast looks great and Jeff Bridges looks especially on point.  The story looks a little familiar and the trailer seems to show a bit too much of what looks like the key moments in the film, but like with all trailers, it’s only a few minutes of a full movie and everything is out of context.  I’m not terribly excited by this film but it could surprise me.

2. American Assassin

I love a good action movie and this one looks like it just might deliver the goods.  It looks like a mismash of story elements from The Punisher and the Jason Bourne movies with some of the action stylings of John Wick for the hand to hand combat scenes and maybe a little bit from Mission: Impossible for the bigger scale stuff near the end of the trailer.  I will say though, that the scene in the hotel room looks really derivative of Atomic Blonde but that’s probably unfair since both movies were likely in production at the same time. The story looks a bit familiar but hopefully the action and acting can make up for that (more Michael Keaton? Yes please!),  I’ll definitely check this one out in theaters.

3. Thank You For Your Service

This is a really powerful, well put together trailer that (hopefully) conveys the feeling and tone that the movie will have.  The combat scenes quickly inter-cut with scenes from civilian life paint a very clear picture of what it must be like to live with PTSD.  One of my best friends is a combat veteran who I have seen deal with PTSD on a number of occasions, so for his sake and the sake of every veteran, I really hope that this movie honors what they went through, that 99% of us will never understand.  This has the potential to be a very timely and very important movie.

4. To The Bone

I honestly can’t remember how many videos/movies/specials we were forced to watch back in elementary/middle/high school attempting to convey to us the awfulness of eating disorders (the only one I even vaguely remember was one with Amy Jo Johnson and that’s only because she was the Pink Ranger).  While those low budget “after school specials” may have gotten the message across, To The Bone actually looks like an enjoyable film that has a message in it versus a film that is really just a hammer used to drive home a point.  This film looks incredibly human and grounded and real, showing what a real family must go through as someone they love struggles with an eating disorder.  Hopefully Netflix sticks the landing with this one.  Also, Keanu Reeves in a movie where he’s NOT shooting people?  Huh…. ok then.

5. Marshall

Along with Thank You For Your Service, Marshall looks like another great, potential Oscar bait film with a very timely premise.  Marshall appears to be something of a biopic about Thurgood Marshall, or at least a movie that portrays a pivotal time in his life and in American history.  This cast looks astounding – Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Dan Stevens, Kate Hudson, Sophia Bush, and James Cromwell? Damn man.  Last year’s Hidden Figures brought the story of three amazing African-American women whom history had forgotten about, front and center and Marshall looks to do the same for Marshall’s early life, although where Hidden Figures was ultimately an “easy” watch, Marshall looks very much the opposite (despite a few moments of levity in the trailer).

6. Battle of the Sexes (Trailer #2)

Similar to a couple other entries on the Roundup this week, Battle of the Sexes looks like an important and timely movie, this time portraying a historic fight between two tennis players that serves as a microcosm of women’s struggle for equality.  Also similar to other entries on this list, the cast looks amazing and this film has a hint of Oscar bait. I’ve never been a tennis fan and the real life events that are being dramatized here are unknown to me, so I don’t really know how it all turns out and I think I will hold off on reading up on it until after seeing the movie.  This one definitely has the potential to do well by audiences and the awards season.

7. Stronger

I had no idea what this movie was about and it’s safe to say that the trailer caught me completely off guard. The Boston Marathon Bombing is still a very recent event and a very raw memory in American history and it looks like Jake Gyllenhaal expertly captures that rawness in his performance.  I am also incredibly pleased to see Tatiana Maslaney front and center here. After her astounding work leading the cast of Orphan Black for 5 seasons, it’s good to see her pulling meaty roles in big Hollywood movies.

8. Person to Person

This looks like a rather heart warming, down to earth comedy with good to great acting that focuses on character rather than story.  I love dry humor and this film looks like it has it in spades. There are a few lines that really resonated with me such as “I wanna quit my job, run away, and go home.” I identify with that. Hard. As for the cast, Michael Cera seems like a great person to lead a film like this but I am unfamiliar with everyone else. Hopefully this film will be a hit and result in being someone’s big break.

9. The Incredible Jessica James

My initial reaction to this trailer is meh. I think my main problem with it is, that we don’t really get any plot details, so all I get from the trailer is that its a film about a spunky woman in New York maybe looking for love?  It looks like it has potential but just based on this trailer, which is admittedly a teaser, I probably won’t be in a rush to add it to my Netflix queue.  Netflix has been doing great things with TV shows but their movies haven’t really popped and they haven’t really had a smash hit yet.  I watched about half of War Machine with Brad Pitt a week ago and I haven’t felt a desire to go back and finish it. I hope for Netflix’s sake that this film is that one that pops and becomes the hit that they’ve been looking for.

10. Pitch Perfect 3

This movie looks damn funny.  I’ve enjoyed both Pitch Perfect movies thus far and this one looks to be on par with it’s predecessors. It looks like the majority, if not all, of the main cast has come back to complete the trilogy which is a great sign for the movie. It always worries me a bit when cast members drop off as franchises move along. I do worry about comedy sequels just being a rehash and it looks like Pitch Perfect flirts with that a little bit, centering the plot around yet another singing competition but with the added twist of them having to compete against instrument based bands rather than other acappella groups. Hopefully this franchise goes out with a bang versus a whimper – Let’s Aca-finish this!

11. The Foreigner

I am 100% on board with this movie.  It looks like it could easily end up being a cheesy, lackluster, bargain bin fodder movie but for some reason the trailer just grabbed me. Jackie Chan versus Pierce Brosnan? Sign me right up! The words that flash across during the trailer saying something along the lines of “you can’t push a good man too far” reminds me of the Doctor Who quote “Demons run when a good man goes to war.” The action in this trailer looks to be right in line with the current trend in action movies of having slick, brutal, hand to hand combat filmed in camera by people who are completely capable of pulling it off. Bring it on!

12. What Happened to Monday?

This is the most exciting trailer on this week’s list for me. Science fiction is my first love when it comes to movies and this film looks like it has a great concept to build its plot around. In a dystopian, near-future where the population has gotten out of control and families are limited to one child, septuplets are born. So their father names them each after a day of the week and each one gets to go outside on their name-day?  HELL. YES. I will buy that concept all day long!  Noomi Rapace seems to be doing her best Tatiana Maslaney impersonation, playing multiple roles as the seven sisters, Willem Dafoe playing the patriarch of the family, with Glen Close on the chase?  Even better!

13. American Violence

To start out, this is a pretty cool idea for a trailer – have zero dialogue, only music over the top, forcing your audience to pay attention to what is going on and asking them to try and piece together what they see.  To me, this looks like an “innocent man on death row” kind of movie where we might get flashbacks to the crime and the lead up to it? I’m really not sure and I guess in that regard, the trailer did it’s job – it got me interested without telling me what happens.  Kudos to you because that is a rare feat these days.

14. The Emoji Movie (International Trailer #3)

I can’t decide if this is going to be good or not. It looks like it has the ingredients of a good “finding yourself” story for both the Meh Emoji and the main human character. I do like the way the designed the look of what’s going on inside the phone but it honestly feels a little bit derivative of Wreck It Ralph and Inside Out so we’ll see how it turns out. At least TJ Miller is doing voice work here so that’s something, plus Patrick Stewart as the Poop Emoji is a fun choice.

15. Good Time

Good Time looks like a fantastic thrill ride of a movie.  Robert Pattinson looks fantastic (never thought I’d type that but that’s life I guess). The story is intriguing and I get the impression that something super shady is going on with the brother, the jail he’s in, and the older man that is talking with him.  I really dig the heavily stylized feel this film looks like it has, gritty, real, and frenetic.  I love it. I’ll be on the lookout for this one.

16. Strange Weather

Holly Hunter? Awesome! Carrie Coon? Even better! Hunter + Coon? Oh Hell Yes! Strange Weather looks like a great character piece that will showcase the full acting chops these two leading ladies can bring to the table and give them meaty roles that they can dig into and bring to life on screen.  Carrie Coon was my favorite part of Fargo Season 3 and I’m very happy to see her in a role like this.  Can’t wait for this one.

17. Leap (Trailer #3)

I’m feeling meh about this trailer.  It seems like a fairly standard underdog story but with ballet instead of whatever else. The animation seems odd, like it’s not quite as fluid as it should be and that maybe because they aren’t done with it yet. Ultimately, I have the feeling that I will be taking my daughter to see this one but it’s not a movie I would be interested in seeing on my own.

Man that was a lot of trailers this week!  Hopefully you found a movie that looks interesting to you or one that might have passed you by!  Be sure to come next week for another Tuesday Trailer Roundup!

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Until next time, Thank You for reading and..

SEE YOU AT THE CINEMA!!!

John Wick: Chapter 2 – Movie Review

A few years back when John Wick surprised the hell out of everyone as a groundbreaking action film and not just another paycheck movie for a Hollywood action star, I rented it and my wife and I sat down to watch it, my wife didn’t make it past the….. inciting incident of that movie.  After I finished watching it, I made sure to tell her that the rest of the movie helps alleviate that scene by thoroughly punishing all involved. Luckily I later got her to sit down and finish watching it with me and she agreed that the rest of the movie makes up for the beginning.  And it’s a good thing that I got her to watch it with me because it made sitting down to watch John Wick: Chapter 2 all the better as John Wick: Chapter 2 is a very worthy follow up to the movie that came before it.

John Wick: Chapter 2 picks up a little bit after the original film as we see John attempting to retrieve a personal item from the brother of the main mob boss from John Wick which gives us a fantastic opening action sequence, returning us to the unique style of action that we were introduced to a few years back.  After the opening sequence, John attempts to get back to his retirement but, of course, that is not in the cards for him.  He is approached by someone with whom he has had prior dealings and is forced back into the world he so desperately wants to leave behind.

This is probably where the movie is the weakest.  The story feels like it drags as it spends about 40 minutes setting up the second half of the film, which is important work but it maybe could have been paced a little bit better.  I liken it to riding a roller coaster and the 40 minutes after the opening scene being like that little bit of time you spend in the car as it gets cranked up to the top of first drop.  Its not why you stood in line or why you bought a ticket but its a necessity for the thrill ride that follows and when you crest that first hill, boy howdy does this movie go off.

The action in John Wick: Chapter 2 is just as delightfully choreographed and brutally realistic as it was in the first one.  The big set piece from John Wick in the nightclub is the crown jewel of that movie and John Wick: Chapter 2 ups the ante with two extended set piece, one in a series of ancient catacombs and one in a museum/modern art installation. While both are absolutely astounding examples of what we should expect from modern action movies, for me the catacombs sequence has a slight edge over the museum sequence and that really just comes down to personal preference.  Both are designed, choreographed, and executed with amazing precision and care for detail.

The last line in the previous paragraph leads me to something that the John Wick series does better than any other any other movie or TV show that I know of and that’s how it portrays the function and use of guns.  Full disclosure about me – I like guns, I have a few and thoroughly enjoy taking them to the range and engaging in some recreational shooting following all safety rules. So when I see firearms in movies or TV shows that I have personally handled or used, I notice it when things are portrayed incorrectly in media.  For instance, in both films John carries a Glock 26 as a back up pistol and that particular model has a standard capacity magazine that carries 10 rounds so as the movies progress through the action scenes, if the film makers are attempting to achieve as much realism as possible, it makes sense that we should see John reload after firing 10 rounds.  It seems like a simple task but from what little I know of making movies, it must be a giant pain in the ass to get that type of detail right in the finished product and I give every single accolade I can to the film makers for taking the time and paying attention to something like that.  Whenever I watch a show or movie where a character clearly uses a firearm well past what I know it’s round capacity is and I don’t seem them reload, it bugs me and in particularly egregious cases, it takes me out of the experience.  So again – Thank You, to the directors, editors, producers, whoever else for that attention to detail.

Next to the action sequences, the best thing about John Wick is the world of assassins that this film series has created.  Everything we fell in love with from the first film is brought back and amplified for John Wick: Chapter 2 – everything from the gold coins, to The Continental hotel, to the rules that everyone abides by.  That underground, unseen world is explored much more in this film and the rules of that world are what pushes the plot of the movie forward.  However the best part, is that those rules are only ever explained in detail when the audience absolutely needs to know.  Now that may seem counter intuitive, but what made the world building in the original John Wick so great is that it is merely presented to the audience as something that is and something that is not to be questioned.  I love, LOVE that is is mostly left a mystery, I don’t want to know how you earn a coin, I don’t want a list of the “house rules” at The Continental hotel, I don’t want to know about how and why things are the way they are because it’s the mystery that makes them amazing.  It makes you feel like you’re getting this special sneak peek behind the curtain of a world you could other wise never even get close to.  As this film series progress into a trilogy (or past that) and is spun off into a potential TV series centered on The Continental, I really hope all the creative forces behind this property retain that mystery.

As for the story presented in this film, I will say that it’s not quite as compelling as it was in John Wick but if I’m being completely honest, nothing will ever be as compelling as ripping your way though dozens of disposable gangsters to get to the guy who murdered your unbelievably cute puppy, the writers were definitely backed into a corner in that regard.  To get themselves out of that corner however, they very smartly rely on the aforementioned rules of the world they’ve built to give all the characters the proper motivation to get this movie rolling as hard as it needs to to live up to its predecessor. My only issue with the story, is that it is very apparent that the ending was written in such a way to leave the door explicitly open for a third movie. That didn’t necessarily hurt my enjoyment of the film at hand but when the credits rolled my wife and I said to each other “Well, I guess we know what the plot of the third one will be” versus “I hope they make a third one!”.  A small thing but a very noticeable thing in my opinion.

Just like the movie that came before it, John Wick: Chapter 2 is a fantastic action movie that relies on practical effects and real people doing real stunts versus the CGI heavy action movies that permeate Hollywood today.  If you haven’t had a chance to check out John Wick: Chapter 2 or even John Wick, do yourself a favor and pick them up.  They are both well worth watching numerous times.

Until next time, Thank You for reading and….

SEE YOU AT THE CINEMA!