Trailers by Brandon: 'BlacKKKlansman' is carrying us through August

Oh yeah, we’re in August alright. Apart from BlacKKKlansman, this is definitely a slower week for trailers and box office. To be fair, there’s also a movie about Jason Statham punching a giant shark in the face, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Here’s what we got for this week’s Trailers by Brandon.

Opening this week:

BlacKKKlansman

BlacKKKlansman is going to be the reason why you want to go to the movie theater this weekend. I haven’t seen it yet, but all the reviews are saying it lives up to the hype and I can’t wait. Spike Lee is a director who I find to be somewhat hit or miss, but when he hits he hits alright. It feels like it’s been a while since we’ve seen a true hit from Lee, so this really couldn’t come at a perfect time.

The Meg

I’m not asking a lot from The Meg. I know exactly what kind of movie this wants to be from the trailers. I’m just hoping it doesn’t venture into the category of being so stupid that it’s making fun of itself. If there’s something actually semi-serious in there — some character work or actual stakes, maybe — then I think I could possibly enjoy this one. I’m just not sure if that’s actually the case.

Slender Man

I can’t believe this movie still got released. It was supposed to come out a few years ago, I believe, but survivors of the real-life incidents weren’t happy with this movie so it sat on a shelf for a long time. Why Sony thought now was a good time to release it is beyond me, but oh well, I guess we get this movie we never asked for in the first place.

A Prayer Before Dawn

I remember seeing a trailer for A Prayer Before Dawn, like, a year ago. In that time, I thought it looked good but it’s been so long now that I’ve forgotten this movie even exists. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to see it at some point, if a local theater around me picks it up.

 

New trailers:

The Kindergarten Teacher (Oct. 12, 2018)

Well, the second half of this trailer takes a twist that I certainly wasn’t expecting. I kind of wish they had saved that for the actual film, because imagine the ‘oh my god’ kind of reveal it would have been, but, then again, I don’t know if I’d want to watch The Kindergarten Teacher as much if I stopped watching at the half-way point. Props to them, I guess, because I’m now so interested in this movie.

Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018)

It’s not an Edgar Wright film, but it looks like it easily could be. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost reuniting is always a good thing — especially when it’s with some weird, bizarro concept like this.

Lizzie (Sept. 14, 2018)

It’s creepy, it’s true and it’s got a really talented cast. I like it. I kind of get a The Beguiled type of feel here, which isn’t a bad thing.

Bel Canto (Sept. 14, 2018)

There’s a lot of things going on in this trailer. It’s a kidnapping movie with a love story that also has an inspirational about opera music? Alright. It’s got Julianne Moore at least, so who knows.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (Nov. 2, 2018)

I have yet to hear anyone actually say they’re excited about this movie. Like, it’s not that it looks completely awful or anything, it’s just…why? Did we really need an untold story about the Nutcracker? This seems like a forced studio film that’ll be so generic and blah and, you know what, just count me out.

S.M.A.R.T. Chase (2018)

Orlando Bloom with blonde hair. Need I say more. Yeah, actually, I’m going to say more because what is this trailer? Are we supposed to believe that Bloom is this tech-savvy thief with these crazy martial arts skills? What is this thing? Oh, that’s right, it’s something that I’m not going to be watching.

 

Rewind:

4 Little Girls (1997)

Spike Lee is known for his politically fueled and larger than life kind of movies. One of his best directorial efforts, however, is something a little different — a documentary. 4 Little Girls came out in 1997 and told the heartbreaking story of the terrorist bombing of the African American Church that kicked off the Civil Rights Movement. It’s certainly not an easy watch, but Lee tells the story so well that it’s definitely an important one.