'Ocean's 8,' Hallström, Wain, & More Trailers You May Have Missed
A Futile and Stupid Gesture (dir. David Wain)
Premiering at next month's Sundance Film Festival and arriving on Netflix the week after, the latest from Wet Hot American Summer director David Wain is a comedic biopic documenting the rise and controversies surrounding the infamous National Lampoon comedy magazine and film "studio". Known for its outlandish, raunchy humor and, with its production of John Landis' Animal House (which now sits in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry), the company had a wildly tumultuous ride up the ranks of the comedy world. Starring Will Forte as founder Doug Kenney, the film looks like it's accentuating the outlandish of the magazine's history as well as hinting at the in-house fighting that threatened to tear them apart. As one scene indicates, this may not be for dog-lovers. Release Date: January 26th, 2018, via Netflix.
Gringo (dir. Nash Edgerton)
While it remains unproven that marijuana makes the world go round, Gringo, directed by stuntman Nash Edgerton and co-starring his brother Joel, makes the case that pill-form cannabis can grant you power, make you rich, and have your colleagues held hostage in Mexico. The film stars Edgerton and Charlize Theron as two execs who, having cornered the American market on weed pills (known in the film as Cannabax), look to send a down-on-his-luck colleague across the border to expand their product's reach. Featuring David Oyelowo in a rare role of extreme hilarity as the poor sucker who gets caught in this mess, the film gives off a zany vibe in which everything goes wrong and everyone comes out a little worse for wear. But if you can laugh while doing so...The film is not to be confused with that other one about drug relations that's trailer also just dropped. Release Date: March 9th, 2018, via Amazon Studios.
Ocean's 8 (dir. Gary Ross)
A spiritual spin-off of the XY chromosome-dominant Ocean's 11 franchise, Ocean's 8 kicks off its own story with eight women at the forefront, led by Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett as thieves looking to assemble a team who will pull off a major heist at The Met. Chaotic shenanigans must take place, throwing a wrench into their plans. In development for a long while, this new addition to the series feels at once remarkably fresh and familiar. Outside of perhaps the wrong song choice to pair with this preview (Nancy Sinatra's These Boots Are Made for Walkin'), the trailer is upbeat and fun, and director Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit, The Hunger Games) appears to have balanced the expectations of a sequel with the ability to try something new. Release Date: June 8th, 2018, via Warner Bros Pictures.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (dir. Ol Parker)
Ten years after the original film (based, of course, on the hit Broadway musical featuring the pop hits of Sweden's own ABBA) opened to incredible worldwide grosses, Universal Studios brings us a sequel quite literally titled: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Focusing on the impending pregnancy of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) and the dilemmas causes her, the entire gang arrives on Croatia's Vis island, but with a elliptical twist: in true Godfather Part II fashion, the film appears to cross-cut between daughter (Sophie) and mother (Donna, played by Meryl Streep), emphasizing the similarities and struggles they faced during their pregnancies. And once you realize that, Cher pops up in the trailer as grandma?! Release Date: July 20th, 2018, via Universal Studios.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (dir. Lasse Hallström)
A classic, dark re-telling of E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 story and the Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ballet that followed, Disney's new mega-budget live-action adaptation of a childhood favorite appears appropriately mysterious and whimsical. The art design hearkens back to recent adaptations from the super successful Disney canon (Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast), and there appears to be an alluring, blood red-heavy quality to the overall look of its cinematography by Oscar nominee Linus Sandgren (La La Land). After working together on An Unfinished Life, Morgan Freeman re-teams with director Lasse Hallström, a filmmaker who was unfortunately unavailable for the film's four weeks of re-shoots conducted by Jurassic Park III director Joe Johnston. Release Date: November 2nd, 2018, via Walt Disney Studios.
Mortal Engines (dir. Christian Rivers)
The British are most definitely coming in the first teaser for next year's Mortal Engines. Based on the grunge-filled, steampunk novel by Philip Reeve and adapted by The Lord of the Rings' Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which all cities (or at least, what remains of them) are now remote, living aboard giant machines that savagely roam the earth; it must be hell trying to receive a piece of snail mail. With a polish that appears like a mix between the Mad Max and Transformers franchises, the movie appears visually stunning, and that makes sense given first-time feature director Christian Rivers' long history as a storyboard artist for Jackson extending back three decades. Release Date: December 14h, 2018, via Universal Studios.