ReasonForOurHope

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Sunday Best: Fall/Winter Movie Preview 2018


Now it is time to turn to the upcoming Fall-Winter movies.  This is the time usually when the "important" movies come out.  The reason being that studios want Academy and other awards groups to have their movies fresh in voters minds.

However, some studios realized that this is a good time to release a big blockbuster because there is less competition, even though more people are home watching television. 

Here is a list, with a few brief thoughts of my own, including on a scale of 1-5 stars my likelihood of seeing it in theaters (1 being “Not at all” 5 being “Cannot wait!”).

So here are some of the movies that are coming out along with my level of excitement.  My ability to get out to the theater may be limited this time around.  But I will try to get to the ones that really excite me.


September 7

The Nun (*)
-zero interest in this.

Peppermint (**)

-quite possibly the worst title to a movie I have ever seen.  Seriously!  You want to make a female Death Wish with an experienced action heroine and you go with THIS title!



September 14

The Predator (***)
Infrared vision showing The Predator creature & the Predator logo
-the first trailer left me cold, but the subsequent ones look a bit better.  I don't know that any film can live up to the full potential of this series.

A Simple Favor (***)

-I really like the cast, but I have the feeling this is going to be another disappointment like Gone Girl.

White Boy Rick (*)
White Boy Rick.jpg
-why would anyone pay money to see this.  This looks terrible.

The Children Act (**)

-I thought this would be another movie that bashes people of religious faith.  But I'm not quite sure.  It still may be the case that religion is mocked here, but the trailer is intriguing enough for me to at least give it a chance.

Mandy (*)
-hard pass.



September 21

The House with a Clock in Its Walls (**)

-This looks to be in the same vein as the Goosebumps movie, which I also did not see.

Colette (*)

-Oh my goodness does this look pretentious and preachy as heck.

Assassination Nation (*)
-this looks like an ugly movie that tries to one-up The Purge.


September 28

Smallfoot (**)
Smallfoot (film).png
-there doesn't seem to be any of the wonder and magic that a movie like this should give.  Looks downright dull.

Little Women (***)
File:Little Women 2018 poster.jpg
-setting the story in the modern world looks like a trope, but the trailer worked in making the material seem as relevant as any modern coming of age story.

Night School (***)
Night School.png
-this looks like it could have some solid laughs, but Kevin Hart is hit and miss for me.


October 5

Venom (**)
Venom poster.jpg
-okay, the trailers make this movie look terrible.  But the talent and character are enough to get me to see this, though maybe not on opening night.

Unbroken: Path to Redemption (**)

-the first one was good, but this film seems a bit too overdone and preachy.

A Star is Born (****)

File:A Star is Born.png
-I am repulsed by almost all of Lady Gaga's music persona and I have never understood the hype about her.  When I heard she was cast in this movie, it looked like a stunt.  But I'll be darned if this movie doesn't look like it might have some actual heart and powerful music.


October 12

Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween (*)
Goosebumps 2 Haunted Halloween (2018) poster.jpg
-Didn't see the first.  Won't see the second.

First Man (***)
File:First Man (film).png
-I've like the director's last two movies and the story is a good one.  The cast also looks excellent.  But there is something about the directing style of this film that seems off.  It feels less like Apollo 13 and more like Cloverfield.

Bad Times at the El Royale (**)
Bad times at the el royale theatrical poster.jpeg
-this feels like a Tarantino-esque knock-off.  But it has a very good cast.

What They Had (**)

-this looks too depressing to see in theaters.

Beautiful Boy (***)

-both Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet are going to pull out all the stops to try and win Oscars.  Could be good but also looks like it could be a bit too melodramatic.

October 19

Halloween (*)
Halloween (2018 film) Teaser Poster.jpg
-This franchise is so messed up that they keep throwing out their old movies' continuity.  I have no idea what is happening here and I don't care.

Serenity (*)

-cast looks great, but I think I've figured out the entire film from the trailer.

The Hate U Give (*)

-message movies tend not to be very good.  The performance by the lead actress looks impressive, though.

October 26

Hunter Killer (**)

-this movie looks like a cheesy throwback to the action movies of the 80's and 90's, which isn't a bad thing if you just want a good time watching crap explode.

Overlord (*)

-the movie looks interesting, but not enough to overcome my distaste for horror movies.

Johnny English Strikes Again (*)
File:JohnnyEnglishStrikesAgain-Poster.jpg
-didn't see the second, won't see the third.


November 2

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (***)
File:The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.png
-my mother used to take us downtown every year to watch the ballet.  I am curious as to how this movie expands the story, but it reminds me too much of Burton's awful-looking Alice in Wonderland.


Bohemian Rhapsody (****)
File:Bohemian rhapsody theatrical poster.jpeg
-I have a feeling that the content will be a little much for me.  But I am a huge fan of Queen's music and the performances look spot on.  They seem to capture the epic feelings of exhilaration and despair found in Queen's songs.  (Also, does it bother anyone that the word "Queen" is reflected in the sunglasses, which means that the text that he's looking at is backwards?)

Boy Erased (*)
Boy Erased.jpeg
-when I saw in the trailer that someone was telling a gay teen that Jesus won't love him as he is, I noped out.

Nobody's Fool (*)
Nobody's Fool (2018 film).png
-I'm not quite connecting with the humor I saw in the trailer.



November 9

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (*)
File:The Grinch (2018 film).png
-this looks so incredibly pointless.  The original animated is a masterpiece.  Any attempt to recapture that is a fool's errand.  That includes the awful Jim Carrey/Ron Howard film.

The Girl in the Spider's Webb (**)
The Girl in the Spider's Web teaser poster.jpg
-while the trailer was good, I did not see the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or it's remake so I think I'm out.


November 16

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (****)

-the first Fantastic Beasts movie wasn't great, but it was interesting.  At the very least, it did not turn me off of the remaining series.  Most of the main characters are not even mentioned in the original Harry Potter series, so their fates are uncertain, giving the films a sense of danger.


November 21

Robin Hood (*)

-someone looked at the Antifa riots on the news and thought that it would be a good idea to portray them as the heroes in a Robin Hood film.  I cannot comprehend the idiocy of this.  The visuals are less medieval as they are faux-medieval, like something out of Ella Enchanted.

Creed II (*)
File:Creed ii poster.jpg
-this is no reflection on this movie because I have intentionally been avoiding the trailers.  I have been meaning to watch the original Creed, and don't want to spoil it yet.

Ralph Breaks the Internet (***)
Ralph Breaks the Internet poster.jpg
-I loved the first movie, but something about this seems soaked in cynicism and a bit too much "of the time."  That means that the references that seem fresh now will be dated and obscure all too soon.

Second Act (**)

-I don't care for Jennifer Lopez, but I am open to seeing more of this film if the trailers are funny.



December 7

Mary Queen of Scots (**)
Mary Queen of Scots.png
-the actresses are good, but for some reason, this isn't capturing me.

December 14

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (**)

-The trailers for this movie are really good.  But Miles Morales is such an annoying character for me.  The fact that he and Peter Parker are in this movie may get me to see it.

Mortal Engines (**)
Mortal Engines teaser poster.jpg
-Oh, Peter Jackson, what happened to you?  The Lord of the Rings worked for many reasons, one of which was that Jackson made a fantasy world seem real and tangible.  Nothing about this movie seems real.


December 19

Mary Poppins Returns (****)

-the music gives me chills for some reason.  The cast is excellent and I am hoping for some wonderful original songs.


December 21

Aquaman (*****)

-I love Momoa's Aquaman and I'm glad they are giving him a chance to prove himself as a solo character.

Bumblebee (****)

-the tradition of Transformers movies is that the trailers look good but the movies are terrible.  But the old school feel of this one might just break that spell.

Alita: Battle Angel (**)

-nothing I have seen so far has me excited for this movie.

Welcome to Marwen (*****)

-Directed by Robert Zemeckis?  Check.
-Starring Steve Carell?  Check
-An serious drama about a man finding hope through action figures?  CHECK!

Decemeber 25

On the Basis of Sex (*)

-honestly it comes down to the final line of the trailer.  A judge says to Ginsberg that the word "woman" does not appear in the Constitution.  She responds with the stinging: "Neither does the word 'freedom,' your honor."  All this would prove is that Ginsberg never read the first amendment.  This is such a glaringly stupid thing to not catch that I am shocked that it became the tag of the trailer.

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