Trailers by Brandon: August is here, for better or worse

Traditionally, August isn’t always a great month for movies. Every now and then you’ll get a leftover summer blockbuster or some trailers that hit — the first Guardians of the Galaxy came out in August of 2014 — but, more often than not, this month is seen more as a dumping ground for studios.

That being said, there’s still some trailers and movies worth talking about in this week’s Trailers by Brandon, so let’s get to it.

Opening this week:

Christopher Robin

I’m not totally sure what to think about this one yet. Christopher Robin looks like it could be pretty sweet and nostalgic, but I also have to question who, exactly, this movie was made for. I’m still going to check it out later this afternoon, but we’ll see what happens.

The Darkest Minds

X-Men meets a thousand other generic young adult adaptations in a movie that really doesn’t look all that exciting. At least, not from the trailers. If The Darkest Minds has any hidden tricks up their sleeves then they’re saving it for the theater experience — but I kind of doubt that’s the case.

The Spy Who Dumped Me

A talented cast and a pretty good premise, and yet I’m not all that excited for The Spy Who Dumped Me. Again, these trailers have done nothing for me as this looks like another generic, throw-away romantic spy thriller.

 

New trailers:

Venom (Oct. 5, 2018)

I…I just don’t know. Let me start by saying I’m desperately rooting for this movie to succeed. While the whole idea of a Spider-Man cinematic universe without the character of Spider-Man actually appearing in it takes some getting used to, I’m convinced that the idea could work with the proper execution.

I’m just not 100% certain that this is the proper execution that we need. There are some things I like in this trailer — the suit design is pretty cool (even if all the tongue licking is pretty weird) and Tom Hardy, of course, is brilliant as always — but I can’t help but thinking that Venom has all the chance in the world to crash and burn. That final shot with Riz Ahmed in a suit of his own at the very end there really doesn’t help ease my thinking, as I’m now worried this is going to turn into a giant CGI-crapfest in act three.

I’m a lot more skeptical than I want to be when it comes to Venom, but I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt for now just because I really want this movie to work.

If Beale Street Could Talk (Nov. 30, 2018)

Drop everything, because Barry Jenkins is back. I didn’t even know that this movie was coming out this year, to be honest, but now I can’t wait to see If Beale Street Could Talk as Jenkins’ name is practically written all over this footage. Can we also acknowledge the fact that both Jenkins and Damien Chazelle have two early award contenders AGAIN this year? Are we about to have a repeat of 2016’s Academy Awards?

I Am Paul Walker (2018)

Paul Walker, apparently, discovered the fountain of youth before his untimely death in 2013, as his face looks practically the same in all of these shots. A Paul Walker documentary seems like a great idea and the fact that they seem to have so many home videos is only going to make it all the more emotional — I have a feeling that I Am Paul Walker is going to be a huge hit.

Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (Aug. 17, 2018)

Full disclosure: I’ve never seen a single Puppet Master movie and know absolutely nothing about this franchise. Yet, I can’t deny that I laughed from start to finish during this trailer. It looks utterly ridiculous and definitely not for the faint-of-heart, but now I’m wondering what I’ve been missing out on with these Puppet Master movies.

Blue Iguana (Aug. 24, 2018)

I have yet to see a bad Sam Rockwell performance. Even when he’s in movies that I don’t necessarily love — i.e. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri — he’s always good. Blue Iguana doesn’t look like it’s going to be his best or most memorable film to date (I’d probably give that to Seven Psychopaths), but I’m sure he’ll make it entertaining enough.

King of Thieves (Sept. 14, 2018)

I already saw this movie last year when it was called Going in Style. I wasn’t too impressed with it then, and I’m not too impressed with it now. Old jokes can only get you so far and, even worse, these ones don’t look all that funny.

Smallfoot (Sept. 28, 2018)

Yeah, I don’t care. Every now and then a movie like this can come along and surprise everyone — Storks, somehow, was actually really sweet — but I remain unimpressed with Smallfoot for now. Also kind of hate the fact that they’re using this trailer to promote some new, generic pop song too. We can do better, guys.

 

Rewind:

Zathura (2005)

Making science-fiction for kids can be difficult and often times doesn’t work out. If I were a betting man, I’d wager that that’s going to be the case for The Darkest Minds. However, back in 2005, director Jon Favreau — yes, THAT Jon Favreau — made a sci-fi movie aimed for a younger audience that actually really worked: Zathura. It’s Jumanji in space and it’s actually a really fun and creative ride that pushes the boundaries of what’s typically found in kid’s movies. This isn’t just a bunch of bathroom humor — we actually have some mature themes and scary elements in here, which is great.

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