Ocean’s 8 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFWF9dU5Zc0
Margaret: As a huge fan of the Ocean’s trilogy, you bet I’ve already watched this trailer five times since it came out. And while I’m starstruck every time by the amazing cast Soderbergh has put together— Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, and more (Rihanna?!)— I’m also struck by the fact that the characters seem to be iterations of the originals with longer hair and smaller waists. From the concerns over “if the job is even possible,” the reluctant sidekick brought in for one, last job, and the warnings to the Ocean protagonist not to get the job mixed up in personal revenge fantasies, it looks like the biggest theft in Ocean’s 8 may be the ideas from the original 2001 movie. Yet, as a huge fan, I liked it the first time and, with such a fantastic cast, won’t feel guilty loving it this time around.
Rachel: So I have never seen one of the Ocean’s films in its entirety, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a South Park parody so I pretty much get the gist. I guess they’re going for an all-female reboot this time around, following Hollywood’s current preferred trend? The star power of the female actresses and franchise stamina alone should be enough to draw in a crowd, but after three films of the exact same nature and countless imitations, I fear a bit for this movie’s originality. The trailer was typical of any good heist movie, including the token reluctant, in this case played by American Horror Story’s Sarah Paulson. I am hopeful that this movie will transcend merely copying its predecessors and add its own spice to the original trilogy, rather than detract from it.
Isabel: HOLY COW AM I EXCITED FOR THIS MOVIE! Apart from being a superfan of the Ocean‘s trilogy, putting all these actresses (+Rihanna) together in one film will be electric. I can already feel it. But will they be able to fill the shoes of their predecessors? My only concern is that the originals will remain irreplaceable, and this movie will get brushed over. Kind of like how the all-female Ghostbusters was good but…something was missing. It was simply a different kind of movie. And I wish that they were robbing something a little less “female” than the Met Gala. But Sandra Bullock is the best female-Daniel Ocean the world could have asked for.
Tomb Raider — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KkhD0MnaJU
Margaret: I actually watched a video on Alicia Vikander’s training regime for Tomb Raider before the actual trailer, and boy, does it look like that training worked out (literally). With all the crazy stunts expected of a character based on a video game, Tomb Raider looks like an exciting adventure romp based on a pretty standard outline: a family member’s sudden death and a sinister sounding organization (“Trinity”) deep in the jungle. I’m hoping that despite these classic motifs, Vikander can break away from the (impressive) mold set by Angelina Jolie to give us a new female adventurer to root for. I don’t know if I’m enticed enough to see it opening weekend, at least until my hopes are confirmed by good reviews, but it’s definitely on my radar now.
Rachel: Before watching this trailer, I must admit I pre-determined that I would dislike it. I have grown extremely weary of seeing remakes and reboots and franchises at the box office and crave the vitality of new ideas into today’s film industry. In spite of my own cynicism, however, I am intrigued by this movie. The trailer was fast-paced and set to a slowed-down cover of a popular song (which seems to be a prerequisite for making a trailer nowadays) — as it should for an action flick based on a video game. Alicia Vikander is reprising Angelina Jolie’s role form the original 2001 film and I am interested to see more of her performance before making a final verdict.
Isabel: The Tomb Raider trailer makes me feel like I’m 7 again, watching the trailer for the first National Treasure movie. Except it looks so much better: it looks like an actual, quality explorer film with Alicia Vikander as a great replacement for Angelina Jolie. I couldn’t even finish the trailer for the original Tomb Raider, which I watched for comparison, but am impressed by this trailer’s ability to not over-sexualize Vikander as its predecessors had Jolie (I’m ignoring the skin-tight clothing because, honestly, that’s practical more than anything). This was a movie I didn’t even know was coming out, nor would I have gone to see it, but after watching the trailer I’m genuinely excited for it.
You Were Never Really Here — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8oYYg75Qvg
Margaret: This trailer hints at beautiful cinematography— and lots of gore. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on some most of the time, but I’m into it in a good-movie-night-with-friends-after-it’s-on-Netflix kinda way. Honestly, even with all the suspense in the trailer, the most intriguing part to me was the movie’s title. The trailer really hammers (sorry) home Joaquin Pheonix’s anti-heroics, but I’m almost positive we’ll see him softening up by the end of the movie in the face of the small, sweet blonde girl who promises to be his driving force and the daughter he never had— a development I’m not opposed to, but hope it’s not as straightforward as I think it may be.
Rachel: This movie appears to be some sort of arthouse thriller, already having achieved international success at the Cannes Film Festival. With Joaquin Phoenix, an actor who manages to be intriguing and intensely creepy all at once, as some type of anti-hero, I have faith that this film will garner a respectable following among niche film watchers. Though I wasn’t really able to determine what this movie is about, I am interested to learn more, so I’d say the trailer completed its mission.
Isabel: Okay, I had to watch this trailer twice. And the trailer of Taxi Driver, a movie it was compared to. Do I really understand what’s going on? No. Do I want to see it? Yes. Will I? Maybe. It looks intense, gory, and kind of traumatic for the faint-of-heart like myself. It looks incredibly well directed, which lends way to the aforementioned intensity and trauma. But I don’t know if I can sit through a movie focused on a guy who bludgeons people to death with a hammer. *shivers*. And, I hate to say this, but it looks predictable. My bet is that the dad is dirty, that she gets taken twice but lives happily ever after with our hammering hero, but I’d love to be surprised.
