Brandon's Tailored Trailers: 'Annihilation' presents a baffling mystery, Jared Leto is being weird again in 'The Outsider'

Opening this week:

While Black Panther is probably going to do another clean-sweep at the box-office this weekend, as it’s looking to make another 100+ million (which is INSANE for a second weekend), there’s also some new films opening as well. Of course, I certainly can’t fault you if you go see Black Panther again instead — it’s certainly what I’m going to be doing — but here they are.

Annihilation

Do you like weird movies? I mean like really, really weird movies? If yes, Annihilation might be the one for you. While there’s definitely going to be some controversy in regards to the third act of the film, Ex Machina director Alex Garland still delivers on some creepy, sci-fi fun with Annihilation.

Game Night

I wasn’t anticipating Game Night to be a must-see film in theaters, but all the positive reviews might tell you differently (which is why I’m going to try and check it out this weekend if time allows). It comes from the guys who made the Vacation reboot, which isn’t great, but they also wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming and have been signed up to make DC’s Flashpoint.

Mute

Well I was super excited for Duncan Jones’ spiritual sequel to Moon, Mute, which is being released on Netflix this weekend. Then I checked Rotten Tomatoes and saw that it was at 9 percent, and suddenly I’m not feeling so confident anymore. I’m still going to check it out at some point because Moon is a great movie and I was digging the trailer, but this isn’t the reception I was hoping for.

Every Day

Welp, there might be an audience out there for Every Day, but it definitely isn’t me. The idea of someone transforming into a different body every day and falling in love sounds like it could be Benjamin Button-esque, but this trailer did nothing for me. The Pink song and the dialogue; it’s all just a bit cheesy for my taste.

 

New Trailers:

The Outsider (Feb. 28, 2018)

Jared Leto has fallen out of the good graces of many filmgoers ever since Suicide Squad (I mean, he was fine in Blade Runner 2049, but I guess that wasn’t good enough for some people). The Outsider looks like the film that could bring him back. A Netflix original that features Leto as a former G.I. who’s trying to join the yakuza? Yeah, I’m willing to give this one a chance.

Pyewacket (March 23, 2018)

If you haven’t realized by now it’s time you know — I love horror movies. Pyewacket looks creepy, atmospheric and like something definitely worth checking out. I mean, witchcraft is scary enough as it is, and then putting the whole thing to some heavy metal song? Chills man, chills.

Yardie (2018)

Idris Elba is directing a movie. I repeat, Idris Elba is directing a movie. You don’t need any further reason to be interested in Yardie besides that. Well, the trailer looks pretty great too — it’s hard to get a read on what, exactly, the storyline is, but this one has me excited.

On Chesil Beach (May 18, 2018)

Saoirse Ronan is back, reason enough to be interested in On Chesil Beach because I’ll watch just about anything she’s in after Lady Bird. This sees Ronan take a more dramatic turn (yes, Lady Bird was dramatic, but it had its comedic moments as well), returning to something that looks closer to her work in Brooklyn.

The Forgiven (March 9, 2018)

You know what was a really good prison movie from last year that no one saw? “Brawl in Cell Block 99.” Yeah, “The Forgiven” looks nothing like that. This could be good, but also runs the risk of being overly preachy or cheesy (the “in a nation divided by hate” is becoming one of the most overused clichés of the past couple of years). We’ll have to wait and see.

Kings (April 27, 2018)

Eh. Look, I actually really like Halle Berry and appreciate that she’s not making a movie about her daughter being kidnapped this time. Kings, however, looks like it wants to be important and timely, without actually knowing how to do so. The movie premiered at some festivals last year to pretty negative reviews (currently rocking that 0% on Rotten Tomatoes), so this one might be a skip.

Pandas (April 6, 2018)

Pandas, on the other hand, are adorable and cute and perfect creatures and there’s no way this one gets a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. No, this looks pretty heartwarming. Granted, I don’t know if Pandas is something I’m going to rush out to theaters to see, but just look at how cute those little bears are.

 

Rewind Pick:

Moon (2009)

Yeah, Ex Machina would have been the easy pick since Annihilation is coming out this weekend, but I’m guessing most of you have seen that already. Instead, I’m going with Moon, in honor of Mute. Maybe Mute isn’t quite living up to expectations, but Moon sees Duncan Jones really master the art of science-fiction. The entire movie takes place on a moon-base, where Sam Rockwell plays a lonely astronaut who learns some secrets about the space he’s inhabiting. It’s simple, it’s claustrophobic, it’s got some really good twists in there and well-written characters to boot — Moon is the sci-fi rewind that you’re looking for this weekend.