Most of these trailers dropped on like Thursday and Friday, so what had been an easy week led to something that vaguely resembles effort.
Pet Sematary
We’ve been getting some really strong adaptations of Stephen King properties lately (not counting The Dark Tower, because, what even?), and that seems to remain the case with this first look at the new adaptation of Pet Sematary. From those creepy kids playing drums, which ends up being a major part of the score of the trailer, to the very scattered shots that make up the back half of this trailer, most of which look straight up terrifying. And the buildup with that dumbwaiter reveal is something I’m also very excited to see. King has had a very interesting career as it pertains to his works being adapted and considering how this book’s adaptation in the late 80s is generally believed to be one of the better ones, this one has to live up to both a classic book and a pretty solid movie, but if this trailer is any indication, it will do just that.
Ben Is Back
Y’all, Lucas Hedges is busy in movies that look like they are gunning for awards. Also, just in general, dude’s last six film credits, including things that will be released over the next couple of months are this, Mid90s, Boy Erased, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Lady Bird, and Manchester by the Sea. Dude’s got a killer agent. That said, although this seems to be gunning for awards, this looks to be pretty unimpressive. The cast seems game, but when you have Beautiful Boy coming out that is basically the same plot, a son caught in addiction and the parent who will do anything for him, this loses a bit of edge by not being based on a true story. That combined with the emotions displayed here by Hedges and Roberts feeling not quite as genuine as those from Carrell and Chalamet, and this movie just looks like it will pale in comparison.
Glass
Words cannot begin to describe how excited I am for this movie, which, again, considering what M. Night Shyamalan was doing about five years ago, is a very weird sensation. And this trailer sells me on this movie even more so than the first, which was one I actually really liked. Something about seeing Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson) smile after David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and Kevin Crumb (James McAvoy) are welcomed into the same psychiatric ward awakened a deep joy inside of me. I’m interested to see how much the movie focuses on how poorly these patients seem to be treated (for something that is very clearly not just a delusion of grandeur), as this trailer certainly seems to suggest that’s a major part of it. Even beyond that, the movie setting up the implication of the world having to deal with superpowered individuals in a very real way is something that interests me, especially in a time where superhero movies are obviously everywhere. I know I should be taking this movie with a grain of salt because it is still the guy who made After Earth five years ago (and The Last Airbender eight years ago, and The Happening ten years ago, and….), but this trailer is making that difficult to come to terms with. This looks excellent.
The Best of Enemies
Sam Rockwell is playing some…interesting characters of late. He won an Oscar as a loosely redeemed racist cop in Three Billboards, he’s gunning for another one as George W. Bush, with all the infamy that comes with that man, and here is he playing former KKK president C.P. Ellis. This movie looks like it is telling its story of a desegregation well enough, but also I’m not sure if a story of people hearing out and working with a super racist is one I want in my eye holes right now. Maybe I’m misreading what this movie is really about, but I don’t think I am. And, yes, I understand that everyone has a story and that it is important to hear out other people, but when one of those people’s most firm beliefs is “I’m better than you cuz your skin is dark,” maybe that person is just garbage. I don’t know, just a feeling.
Aladdin
Similar to the first teaser for 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, this leans heavy into nostalgia, with the score echoing the 1992 film’s opening song, “Arabian Nights” and a brief tease of “Never Had A Friend Like Me.” Which, when you are remaking a movie that is going to be 27 years old on release, I guess is all you need to do to be called a good trailer by fans. I don’t know. This does nothing positive for me. It’s all too computery, Iago just kind of flies around, and the entrance to the Cave of Wonders looks less threatening than it did in a cartoon. We only get the briefest of looks at anything we’re actually going to care about, with Mena Massoud’s take on the titular character reaching for the lamp. This movie, like its original iteration, and like the Broadway musical, is going to live or die by its Genie, so I guess we’ll have to wait another few months to get a really good idea of whether or not Will Smith is up to the task of living up to Robin Williams or James Monroe Iglehart.
Ranking and Summaries
- Glass- We live in a world where I’m very hyped for an M. Night Shyamalan movie and I’m not even embarrassed about it.
- Pet Sematary- Looking to keep up a decent little streak of Stephen King adaptations, I’m very ready to have this movie make me deeply afraid of ruffled looking cats.
- Ben Is Back– Coming out around the same time as the similar and seemingly more heartfelt Beautiful Boy does this story of addiction few favors.
- Aladdin- I also remember this film from my childhood.
- The Best of Enemies– The story of how a black woman came to understand the plight of a racist man who happened to be poor at one point in his life is just not something we need in life right now.
Featured Image http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/glass-samuel-l-jackson2.jpg
TJ At The Movies 
