Artemis Fowl

From IMDb: Artemis Fowl II (Ferdia Shaw), a young Irish criminal mastermind, kidnaps the fairy LEPrecon officer Captain Holly Short (Lara McDonnell) for ransom to fund the search for his missing father in order to restore the family fortune. Released May 2020

Clare: I really disliked the original novel (despite reading it twice) and whilst this trailer seems pretty different to what I remember form the book, I’m still not really interested. Seems like it’ll be quite a lot of naff acting and over the top CGI. I do like that they’ve kept the Irish accents though, yay for more mainstream Irish-ness!

Lee: This movie was originally due to be released in the summer of 2019, but last May Disney delayed it until May 2020. I remember seeing the original trailer and actually really liking the look of it, but this latest trailer sadly does nothing for me. They’ve crammed so much in – locations, characters, action – and unless it’s going to be a 3 hour plus movie, I fear the result will be a rush through crucial main character intro and development before assaulting our senses with a hot mess of nonsense and CGI.

Clare: I can’t remember too much of the book plot, but it does seem to me like they’re not just doing the first novel but more further on in the series too? I’m sure he didn’t meet Holly until the very end of the first book.

Lee: I don’t know the books but the trailer certainly makes it look like a big saga which would have benefited from playing out over a couple of movies rather than one.

Matt: I haven’t read the books, but judging from the ratio of Likes to Dislikes on YouTube I can tell the fans aren’t happy. Naff is also the word that sprung to my mind after watching this trailer… I’m disappointed that this was directed by Kenneth Branagh as I know he is capable of much better!

Deb: I’ve heard about the books but actually thought they were about a young spy – shows how much I know – I fear this is The Golden Compass all over again it does seem a little over the top – the trailer doesn’t make you want to go see it or build excitement but if they was nothing else on I’m sure I’d go see it.

Mary: I feel like I might have read the book possibly? But I have no recollection of it whatsoever. But this looks like great fun, big cast, interesting premise. Big, bold and fun, live action Disney, I could make time for this, might even go and read the books.

Connected

From IMDb: Katie Mitchell is accepted into the film school of her dreams. Her whole family drives Katie to school together when their plans are interrupted by a tech uprising. The Mitchells will have to work together to save the world. Released September 2020

Matt: Yes, Sony! At first I thought this looked a bit too ‘fluffy’, but the trailer really goes places! This film has huge potential, and I think audiences are going to love it. I’m getting vibes of Big Hero 6 meets Inside Out, Spider-Verse and The Incredibles! This will be one to watch.

Lee: This starts off looking like a fun little animated version of a National Lampoon vacation movie before suddenly turning into some kind of apocalyptic robot uprising where the family have to try and save the world! And I love the animation style too. Definitely keen to see this one.

Deb: Yep the minute I saw cat filter it had me smiling – I to assumed it was just an animated road trip movie but with the added impended doom of robots who cant tell the difference between a pug dog and a loaf of bread, I’m sold.

Clare: I was completely in for an adorable dad and daughter road trip that would have me sobbing in 5 seconds. The robot uprising has lessened my excitement a bit, but it still looks really fun, and a cute animation style. It’s going on the watch list.

Mary: This started off so good! I am so disappointed, it looked like a great look into modern life and our capacity to communicate with each other in today’s screen obsessed society. Heartwarming and no doubt an emotional, rewarding payoff. And then…… killer robots….. the last 30 seconds killed it. I mean I’ll go and see it for the first minute 50 section of the trailer but now I’m not entirely convinced.

Sea Fever

From IMDb: The crew of a West of Ireland trawler, marooned at sea, struggle for their lives against a growing parasite in their water supply. Released April 2020

Deb: Did I not see this film in 2017, in space, think it was called Life – I’m not sure if it felt tense enough, it looked a bit dull and it’s probably not really my kind of thing anyway. Maybe I’ll give this one a miss

Lee: This is being promoted as being reminiscent of The Thing and The Abyss, which immediately sets up some very high expectations. I’d forgotten about Life, the movie that Deb mentioned, and I actually quite liked that. Having a sea-based version of that, but on a smaller scale to a big Hollywood blockbuster, is certainly appealing, and I do quite like the look of the trailer too.

Clare: This definitely feels like a film that’s already been done before, but it also looks well made and claustrophobic. My Irish family upbringing has me already in support of this one, and I’ll be trying to seek it out if it gets a decent release.

Matt: The fact that this has a smaller, indie feel makes me want to see it. But I can’t disagree, this just looks like ‘Life’, but on a boat!

Mary: Oh My God, no no. Isolation in the middle of the sea with no help and a weird creature trying to kill you and changing you. Count me out. Great trailer, racked with suspense and tension but nope nope definitely not!

The English Game

From IMDb: The story of the invention of football and how it quickly rose to become the world’s game by crossing class divides. Released later this month on Netflix

Lee: I don’t like football, I’m not a fan of Downton Abbey (this is from Downton creator Julian Fellowes) and I don’t usually like costume dramas. But if it’s well written and based on true events, then I’m all up for it (see The Crown, which I’m a huge fan of).

Deb: You can see plenty of parallels between this and Downton with the main focus being on the class divide – I have little interest in football but love a good costume drama and this certainly is right up my street. The fact it’s on Netflix is all the more appealing as not sure it felt big enough to be at the cinema. Will keep a Sunday afternoon free to watch it on its release.

Clare: My two least favourite things, period dramas and football! 😅 I will not be clicking play on this one, but it does look well made, so I can see it doing very well.

Matt: I *probably* won’t watch this… I don’t fully understand from the trailer what social struggle the film is specifically recreating, so at the moment it just seems like a needlessly dramatic film about football! But it seems to be well-made, and I’d rather watch this than a real football match, if that says anything?

Mary: This is not what I expected at all and boy am I glad of that. Such an interesting way to look at the class divide and all through the origins of football. What a clever idea! I will definitely be watching this.

Greyhound

From IMDb: During World War II, a US Navy skipper must lead an Allied convoy being stalked by Nazi U-boat wolf packs. Released May 2020

Matt: There aren’t many films that are appealing to me in the first half of this year, but this is one I will go and see! Although I’m apprehensive about the overuse of CGI (which recently let Midway down) I think this could be very good. Tom Hanks always brings his A-game and to see him in the writer’s seat is also an exciting prospect.

Lee: I agree with Matt on the overuse of CGI but as the trailer went on I got a very different feeling from this than I got with the Midway trailer. Tom Hanks rarely puts a foot wrong and this does feel like a very tense and grounded war drama with some occasional explosive action thrown in. Optimistic about this one.

Deb: I’m not sure if I could cope with a whole film at sea, I even struggled with motion sickness watching the trailer. But the film looks good and being a huge fan of Tom Hanks it’ll definitely be worth a watch if I have to make a swift exit then I will 🤢

Clare: I could not be less interested. 2 minutes is far too long for a trailer, and hasn’t Tom Hanks already made this film like 5 times? A major skip for me.

Mary: I have to say to start, I am a huge Tom Hanks fan. So nothing surprises me more that I have little to no interest in this. It looks extremely action heavy but seems to be playing all the usual beats in war plots. Tom Hanks looks quite rigid and wooden in his performance here. On the other hand, it looks tense and full of suspense and looks like it’s got a good strong cast so maybe, just maybe I’ll try it.