That’s right. It’s time for another edition of “Trailer Catch-Up” where I get to review the latest trailers that have been released online over the past week and give my first thoughts on them.
Didn’t think there was gonna be any to talk about since it was Memorial Day on Monday and I was assuming maybe two would pop up online, but thankfully there’s a few that surprised me. With that, let’s get down to business.
Onward (March 6)
The first trailer to talk about is for the teaser to Disney-Pixar’s next original animated film Onward, featuring the voices of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer. This doesn’t give us the story of the movie just yet, but what it gives us a glimpse of is that Onward takes place in a fantasy world where elves, trolls, and anything mythical exists and humans don’t. Think of it like Zootopia.
Hearing about the plot months ago sounded interesting, and I’m always up for anything when Pixar does an original movie. And like most trailers from the animated studio, it’s not great, but I can sense greatness when it actually comes out. I did laugh at the unicorns eating trash out of the garbage cans.
For a first look, it hooked me enough right now to see it, and it’s going to be in front of Toy Story 4 in the next few weeks. And how does this trailer know that I love “Magic” by The Cars?
Rambo: Last Blood (September 20)
The next trailer that came out of nowhere is the fifth installment in Sylvester Stallone’s action franchise Rambo: Last Blood. From what I read about what it’s about, the plot revolves around John Rambo traveling to Mexico to save a friend’s daughter after being kidnapped by the Mexican cartel.
Honest truth, I have never been any of the Rambo movies before. All I know is that First Blood was good and the rest weren’t even that good. This movie has been planned for a decade and I forgot Stallone was returning as the character. But, I was pleased with this teaser.
This sets up a vibe that feels similar to Logan, and it appears to be a brutal return of the Vietnam War veteran. Didn’t care one bit about Rambo: Last Blood before this trailer, but I’m interested in checking it out even if I know this won’t be any good. They also used “Old Town Road”, and, not kidding, this was the first time I’ve ever heard of the song.
Annabelle Comes Home (June 26)
Next up, we got ourselves the final trailer for Annabelle Comes Home. The third prequel featuring the titular doll first placed in the Warrens’ locked room, and, of course, some evil stuff will go down in their home.
I will say this is one trailer that I actually thought it was the best one yet, that doesn’t mean I’m going to be paying full price for this. As much as I like the fact that Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are returning as Ed and Lorraine Warren, I highly doubt this will be any scary.
If it’s not the first two Conjuring‘s directed by James Wan, then it’s not going to be a good entry in the ever-growing universe.
The Goldfinch (September 13)
Next up is the official trailer for what could be a solid Oscar contender for Warner Bros. and Amazon Studios in The Goldfinch, based on Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. Brooklyn director John Crowley takes on the story of a boy whose mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when he was 13 and finds a piece of art called “The Goldfinch”.
Really enjoyed this trailer after multiple viewings. I’m sensing this is going to be an emotional story for its characters and for ourselves. A cast that includes Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, Jeffery Wright, and many others could make for a fascinating drama. But it also has Roger Deakins, my favorite cinematographer, providing the cinematography, and that’s a good enough reason to see this in the theater.
The Kitchen (August 9)
Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for the Melissa McCarthy-Tiffany Haddish-Elisabeth Moss driven crime drama The Kitchen, based on the DC Vertigo comic book series. In this, they play the housewives of mobsters who are sent to prison by the FBI. Now, it’s up to them to take over the mafia.
This is the directorial debut of Straight Outta Compton co-writer Andrea Berloff, and I was surprised that this was going for a serious tone almost to a Goodfellas like style adaptation. I say that because McCarthy and Haddish are better known for their comedic performances, but this would be a good change of pace for them, considering we’ve seen McCarthy be a great actress in Can You Ever Forgive Me?.
The trailer itself wasn’t that bad. Different from what I was expecting, but The Kitchen might wind up being that August movie that surprises everyone.
47 Meters Down 2: Uncaged (August 16)
And the last trailer to talk about is for the sequel not a single person asked for, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged. Why not just call it”48 Meters Down”? Looks like this sequel follows a group of teenagers discovering the ruins of an underwater city when some sharks get in the way. Do I care if they get eaten? Not in the slightest.
So, this could’ve been straight-to-DVD with this, right? I never saw the original from 2017 because it looked stupid, and I heard it wasn’t that good for a movie that wasn’t supposed to be released in theaters. I couldn’t care less about this trailer since this was nothing and I really have no idea why this was made.
DC's Take 