Welcome to Trailer Snark, a weekly column covering trailers for movies that will be released this week with thoughts from our roster of bloggers (Jessica from The Female Perspective, Ken from The Crank File, Jim from The Front Row View, Rob from Spector for Hire, and Great Stories founder Chris). Thanks for reading, and enjoy the previews!
Last Week: Did anyone think Maze Runner would not take top prize? The teen audience united for a weekend of adventure and drama giving the second installment (named Scorch Trials) at box office victory with just over $30M in receipts. The Johnny Depp portrayal of the infamous mobsters, Whitey Bulger, came in second. Black Mass accumulated just over $25M in business. The Visit was down two spots in its second week in release with another $11M ($42M overall). The Perfect Guy took in another $9.6M ($41M overall), and Everest debuted at number five with its limited to IMAX theaters first week ($7.5M). Everest will expand to wide release this week. The last half of the top ten fell in this order: 6. War Room 7. Walk in the Woods 8. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation 9. Straight Outta Compton 10. Captive
So what’s hitting theaters today?
Hotel Transylvania 2 (Sony) – Animated/Family
Rated PG for some scary images, action and rude humor
Tag Line: Drac’s pack is back!
Starring: Adam Sandler, Adam Samberg, Selena Gomez, Steve Buscemi, and Kevin James
Plot: Dracula and his friends try to bring out the monster in his half human, half vampire grandson in order to keep Mavis from leaving the hotel.
Running Time: 89 minutes
Ken: Family friendly vampire movies suck more than just blood.
Chris: I wasn’t too enthralled with the original. Sorry Happy.
Jessica: Didn’t see the first one, don’t care about the sequel.
The Intern (Warner Bros) – Comedy
Rated PG-13 for some suggestive content and brief strong language
Tag Line: Experience never gets old
Starring: Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, and Rene Russo
Plot: 70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin.
Running Time: 121 minutes
Ken: Looks dull beyond words
Chris: Right you are Ken. I practically fell asleep during the two and a half minute trailer.
Jessica: I think I fell asleep. What the heck DeNiro?
The Green Inferno (High Top Releasing) – Horror
Rated R for aberrant violence and torture, grisly disturbing images, brief graphic nudity, sexual content, language and some drug use
Tag Line: Fear will consume you.
Starring: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, and Aaron Burns
Plot: A group of student activists travels to the Amazon to save the rain forest and soon discover that they are not alone, and that no good deed goes unpunished.
Running Time: 100 minutes
Jessica: Now THIS is my speed baby! It’s Roth’s homage to the Cannibal films back in the day. “Cannibal Ferox” and “Cannibal Holocaust” and all that disgusting nonsense. I have been waiting for this one for awhile as Roth had problems getting backing for it but you can bet your butts I’ll be there when it comes out!
Ken: Anyone have an extra pair of pants? I like Roth’s horror movies but wish they were more intellectual and less torture fests.
Chris: I have to say my skin was crawling (or was it being eaten?) during this trailer. I have a feeling the content will be depraved, gory, and horrific beyond words, but I think that is what Eli Roth is aiming for here. Proceed with caution ye of faint heart.
Stonewall (Roadside Attractions) – Drama
Rated R for sexual content, language throughout, some violence and drug use
Tag Line: None
Starring: Ron Perlman, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Jeremy Irvine
Plot: A young man’s political awakening and coming of age during the days and weeks leading up to the Stonewall Riots.
Running Time: 129 minutes
Jessica: I’m a sucker for true story movies like this. Not only is it perfect for today’s times it looks dang good.
Ken: Looks solid. A bit gay, but solid nonetheless.
Chris: A piece of civil rights history in the making. Always interesting topical matter. Just not on the big screen.
99 Homes (Broad Green Pictures) – Drama
Rated R for language including some sexual references, and a brief violent image
Tag Line: Greed is the only game in town
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, and Laura Dern
Plot: A father struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real estate broker who’s the source of his frustration.
Running Time: 112 minutes
Chris: Effective trailer. Michael Shannon once played the title character in a movie called The Iceman. The title could certainly apply to his role here too.
Jessica: Eh. I like Michael Shannon quite a bit and would probably only watch it because he’s in and he looks like he is a bad man.
Ken: The 1% are such an easy target. Michael Shannon might as well be wearing a cloak and monacle, twirling his moustache.
The Keeping Room (Drafthouse Films) – Drama
Rated R for strong violence including a sexual assault
Tag Line: Some things are worth fighting for.
Starring: Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld, and Sam Worthington
Plot: Left without men in the dying days of the American Civil War, three Southern women – two sisters and one African-American slave – must fight to defend their home and themselves from two rogue soldiers who have broken off from the fast-approaching Union Army.
Running Time: 95 minutes
Chris: I think the trailer showed too much, but the movie looks like it could be a winner.
Ken: That was an unexpected thrill. Keeping Room looks amazing.
Jessica: I’m intrigued about a “female western with bite” but not theater cost intrigued. At home watching intrigued.
Mississippi Grind (A24) – Drama
Rated R for language
Tag Line: We can’t lose.
Starring: Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds
Plot: Down on his luck and facing financial hardship, Gerry teams up with younger charismatic poker player, Curtis, in an attempt to change his luck. The two set off on a road trip through the South with visions of winning back what’s been lost.
Running Time: 108 minutes
Ken: Fold.
Chris: I became a Ben Mendelsohn fan after watching Bloodline on Netflix. Add in a little Ryan Reynolds and this pair look like they may have made a bit of movie magic together. Count me in!
Jessica: I enjoy Reynolds but I’ll probably never watch this.
Tickets Purchased: Without the input of Rob and Jim, we are left with a three-way split. One ticket for The Keeping Room (Ken), one ticket for The Green Inferno (Jessica), and one ticket for Mississippi Grind (Chris)
