Welcome to our latest roundup of some of the recently released trailers, with thoughts and feedback from the CineChat team. As always, please let us know your thoughts regarding any of these upcoming movies/shows in the comments or on any of our social media platforms.
Respect
From IMDb: The life story of legendary R&B singer, Aretha Franklin. Released at the end of this year
Clare: I love Jennifer Hudson and she can sing like nobody else, so I hope this film is as good as the trailer portrays. A brilliant cast and hopefully a decent story along with it. One to watch out for.
Mary: Ok so I don’t know a lot about Aretha Franklin but I’m more than willing to find out. And I’ve never seen dream girls and therefore always thought the hype surrounding Jennifer Hudson seemed thoroughly unnecessary. But this could be the film that changes my mind on that particular point. I’m all for a good singer biography, bring it on.
Matt: There’s no doubt that Jennifer Hudson can sing (though I struggled through Dreamgirls as she crossed the line between singing and screaming and gave me a headache!) and I also don’t know much about Aretha Franklin either. I usually learn about people and history through film, so I’ll definitely be watching. Part of me feels this won’t be a massive hit though – a but like Judy last year maybe?
Lee: Jennifer Hudson sounds great in this and after the panning that Cats received last year, she must really be hoping for something a bit more successful to showcase her abilities. I know very little about Aretha Franklin, and also enjoy finding out more about a persons history through film. I was pleasantly surprised by Judy last year, so hopefully this one will be just as good.
Made In Italy
From IMDb: A bohemian artist who travels from London to Italy with his estranged son to sell the house they inherited from his late wife. Released August 2020
Mary: Now this is for me!!! Very interested in the father son aspect and the fact that it covers the loss of a wife and mother, which really happened to them 12 years ago, will make this even more poignant. The setting looks absolutely delicious, I would love to go there. This looks equally funny and moving which is just my cup of tea. Wouldn’t miss it.
Clare: I wasn’t quite convinced at first, but then the acoustic song kicked in and it had me. Films centred around grief, coming of age moments and set in a beautiful Italian village? I’m with Mary, won’t be missing this one.
Matt: This looks like it will be an easy watch, and that the message will probably be pretty spoon-fed judging on how literal the dialogue in this trailer is, but I agree that the location (Call Me By Your Name vibes, anyone?), the fact that Liam Neeson and Micheal Richardson are real-life father and son, and that it is directed by James D’Arcy (of Cloud Atlas, Dunkirk and Avengers) will definitely make me want to watch it.
Lee: I’m in agreement with everyone else on this. For me, it kind of looks like something we’ve seen before but that real life father and son aspect feels like it’s going to work really well. I like the look of this one.
Baby Done
From IMDb: Wannabe-adventurer Zoe freaks out when she falls pregnant to her long-term boyfriend Tim. As Tim embraces the prospect of fatherhood, Zoe attempts to rush through her dreams.
Clare: This is SO my kind of film. It looks funny, charming, the leads have chemistry and it does have that Watiti feel even though he’s only a producer on the film. As someone who does not want to ever have children, I so emphasise with the lead just from the trailer. It’s going on the watchlist!
Mary: As soon as I saw Taika Watiti’s name I didn’t need to know anything else. I love his humour, this looks like a really light fun film (and we need all of them we can get right now).
And oh my actual god what happened to Matthew Lewis, his Neville Longbottom days are far behind him. I will very happily watch his face for two hours…. gladly…..any day of the week.
Matt: Yeah, I can see myself watching this! Great cast and feel-good, the concept seems pretty original and the comedy looks like it works really well too. Though for some reason this has a really sparse IMDB page, and no Wikipedia page, I hope it doesn’t fall off the radar!
Lee: This week I seem to be commenting last on all of the trailers and finding myself in the rather difficult position of agreeing with what everyone else has already said (apart from not wanting children, I already have those!), with nothing further to add. So, I’ll just shut up so that we can move onto the next one… 😁
An American Pickle
From IMDb: An immigrant worker at a pickle factory is accidentally preserved for 100 years and wakes up in modern day Brooklyn. Released August 2020
Clare: I originally watched this trailer at 3am one night and was beyond confused but I am also 100% invested. I’ve been so impressed with Rogen’s work recently and the family elements to this look lovely. An utterly ridiculous concept but happy to roll with it… do pickles roll?
Mary: I am not a Seth Rogen fan really, or not for a long while. But this doesn’t look too bad, I wouldn’t mind seeing how it plays out.
Matt: I love it. Count me in! (Is this the first film I’ve seen that is exclusive to HBOMax? Feels like it should get a bigger platform than that!)
Lee: Sadly, this isn’t a film about Pickle Rick… Despite that, I actually think this looks pretty good. I’m not usually a fan of Seth Rogen, or his usual stoner shtick, but this one definitely looks interesting. I love the style, the simple humour and the family aspect.
The One and Only Ivan
From IMDb: A gorilla named Ivan tries to piece together his past with the help of an elephant named Stella as they hatch a plan to escape from captivity. Released August 2020
Mary: All I needed was that picture… I am so totally seeing this. Then you add Danny De Vito and Bryan Cranston into the mix, yep I’m sold… completely sold, can’t wait.
Clare: I’m always quite hesitant around films with circus animals as it comes with so much horrific history. In the case of The One and Only Ivan it looks as though that is a key plot point so could work to educate on some of the abuses of the past. The trailer looks really heart-warming thanks to the music, and I love Cranston. Not sure I will watch this one… but the animation is stunning.
Matt: Animation, great. But make a version of this story where we rely on the animals communicating non-verbally and you’ll have me sold. The second the gorilla spoke, I stopped being intrigued! Why make the animals look so realistic if you’re just going to make them talk like humans? EXPLAIN! Also the entire film is in the trailer… and they spelt ‘Dumbo 2’ wrong. But I’ll watch it for the animation.
Lee: Matt has pretty much nailed my feelings for this. I was all in for the wonderful looking storyline and some cute, gorgeous visuals. But I’m seriously going off any movie now where the realistic looking animals are talking like humans. So, like Matt, the moment they started talking in this trailer, my heart just sunk. The Lion King remake was terrible, as was the recent remake of Lady and the Tramp. And yes, this does look like Dumbo 2!! Although Dumbo is actually one of the better Disney remakes so far. I’ll give this a go, and hopefully the story they’re trying to portray, along with the cast involved, will ensure this isn’t yet another Disney style over substance offering.
The Kissing Booth 2
From IMDb: Following the love adventures of Elle, Noah, and Lee. Released later this month
Clare: I’ve not seen the first film but I guess I get the jist. This seems cute, something I definitely would have been in to 15/20 years ago, so I understand why it has such a following. There seem to be some insane age inconsistencies, and it goes hard on the high school tropes, but damn those fake teenagers have great hair. I might try the first one next time I’m hungover based on this trailer.
Mary: God if I was 14 I’d probably watch this like once a week 😂 I ate this stuff up. Not sure I can deal with the whole love triangle thing now, but I have to admit I’m curious which guy she’s going to end up with 😂 both look far too old to be in school/1st year of college.
Matt: I’m sure there’s a little girl inside me (don’t ask how she got there) who loves stuff like this. Sometimes you just want to watch something colourful and crap and this might be just the thing! *ahem* Erm… I mean … yeah … erm … shame there’s no guns and cars and stuff. Right?
Lee: Yeah, this one definitely isn’t for me. I haven’t seen the first movie and a minute or so into the trailer for this one, my eyes were just glazing over. I think I’ll go back to geeking out over the trailers for season 2 of The Umbrella Academy and The Boys…
