Avengers: Infinity War — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVxOVlm_lE8
Juliana: This trailer started playing during the Super Bowl while I was facetiming my dad, and his expression sums up pretty much everything that I feel towards it: full-on shock, eyes wide open, jaw dropped, total excitement. It’s incredible, and it’s beautiful, and I don’t think there will ever be a moment when I’m not hyped up for this movie. The orchestral background music just keeps getting better and better, now reaching the point where thirty seconds is enough to blow my mind. And speaking of thirty seconds: can I just say that I’m legitimately impressed with how much Marvel can put in a trailer? In the past 24 hours, I have seen numerous fan videos about easter eggs and cameos, and each of them includes a more awesome theory than the previous one. We’re also definitely getting to seeing the return of more characters in this trailer, like Nebula, as well as some other new features, like Captain America’s shield being replaced by some interesting Wakandan weapon. Anyways, I wish I could say more, but I can’t. I’m shook. I’m speechless. I’m seriously wondering if Peter Parker will be OK, despite the fact that the Spiderman: Homecoming sequel is a thing. I’m in love with everything about this movie, and I’ll definitely be watching it opening weekend.
Jake:It’s all finally coming together. I’ll never not be worried about Infinity War’s massive roster of characters, but I have faith in the Russo brothers to bring together the massive cast and tell a coherent story. If you think about it, that’s what they’ve been doing since Arrested Development and throughout their time with Community: taking massive groups of talented actors and interwoven plotlines and making something great. If there was ever a great application to direct Infinity War, it was Civil War. I doubt I could make any points here about the small easter eggs peppered throughout the trailer that haven’t been repeated ad nauseum from every other news outlet around the world (Iron Spider! Bleeding Edge armor!), but I will say how happy I am to be proven wrong, time and time again, by Kevin Feige and the team at Marvel. I’ve always got the same lingering fear that the next Marvel movie will pop the superhero bubble that my 8 year old self would have lost his mind over, and despite some setbacks (hot take: Thor Ragnarok wasn’t that good) there has been a consistent level of quality coming from Marvel Studios that is simply unprecedented. Looking forward to only being able to buy a ticket for a reasonably timed showing weeks after release
The Cloverfield Paradox — https://youtu.be/fJOQZmGsywE
Juliana: Wait, this movie is already out? What?! Well, I guess I’m happy for the fans of this franchise, since the wait for this one is apparently already over! I absolutely adore the live feed camera effect they used for the trailer. The constant buzzing in and out must have made it seem like a live transmission for those watching it during the game, even if the Netflix logo in the corner breaks the effect a bit. I don’t have much background on what this movie is about, but the small flashes of overall murder and creepiness have me hooked, and the woman narrating the message – Ava Hamilton (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) – will give me nightmares. Unfortunately, one of the biggest drawbacks from this risky all-of-a-sudden release is that a quick Google search on the cast ended up spoiling some bad reviews. But all in all, I’d argue that this is one of the most hauntingly beautiful trailers I’ve seen lately, and I might end up watching it while surfing through my Netflix options.
Jake: Oh boy. For some context to my take, the Cloverfield series (anthology? Borderline-experimental freakshow?) has been leading the pack with advertising through Alternate Reality Games for a while now. They’ll drop a hint about the plot on a website, and a team of addicted puzzle solvers will crack a code or find a password, which will lead to the next clue, and so on and so forth. These have always been on the periphery of my attention- I follow them when something pops up in a news feed, etc. It’s fun. It’s nice to watch a dedicated fanbase delve deeper into these films’ universe and make wild theories. But I don’t think any theorists could have predicted anything like this. In a genre-hopping, mind-bending series about seemingly whatever a director wants with the word “monster” appended to the end of their description, this might have been the most shocking thing they could do. The trailer itself? It looked pretty good, it confronted me with my own deep-seated fear of the vastness of space, and it gave me some minor Alien vibes. That being said, I think the best part about these movies has always been what they keep from the audience and the mysteries they set up. I’m worried that in an attempt to give us answers, the movie might ruin some some of the allure of the previous films and stop some of that crazy passion to craft theories. Satisfaction is the death of desire, after all.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NooW_RbfdWI
Juliana: I’m confused. The previous movie, Jurassic World, had ended up a mass evacuation after the dinosaurs took over. The sequel continuing the story of this park seems like the next logical move (creating another park would have just been ludicrous), but what exactly are they going to do there? Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) have come back to save them, but their plan doesn’t seem to make any sense. Are they transporting them? Are they keeping them in the same park? If so, why did they even return to the park in the first place? There’s also some new bad guys, including Toby Jones’ character, who wants to show “the future” (a.k.a. another monstrous dinosaur). Again, I’m not really sure how any of this can even happen, considering that the previous super-genetically-engineered dinosaur in Jurassic World basically released hell and caused many civilian deaths in the previous movie, but, okay, it’s the Jurassic Park franchise, I can look past it. And then there’s this little girl, who I just can’t wrap my head around. How is there a dinosaur in her room? And does every one of these movies have to have a kid being threatened by one? This movie definitely has some good things going for it. The theme song triggers some great nostalgia, the special effects to create the dinosaurs are impeccable, and Chris Pratt is, as always, a delight to watch. However, I’m seriously starting to have my doubts on this movie’s plot.
Jake: The rebooted Jurassic World series is about a group of people who take a dead concept and bring it back to life. What they brought back, however, is a terrible monster that although initially alluring ends up ruining everything. Either the filmmakers are horrifyingly self-aware and playing a massive cruel joke on the American film industry, or Jurassic World is the work of people too far up their own asses to recognize what a wonderful metaphor they’ve made for their own film. I don’t know which is worse.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb49-oV0F78
Juliana: This movie is probably going to fall into a standard spy-going-rogue narrative, but, quite frankly, original narratives aren’t what make me keep watching these movies. What makes the Mission Impossible series so entertaining are the ridiculous action scenes performed by Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. And, boy, they definitely didn’t hold back on those for this trailer. Cruise slips off a cliff, throws people against concrete beams, crashes multiple vehicles, and even falls of a freaking helicopter. When you think they can’t get any crazier, they somehow find a way to take it up a notch. I also fully expect Hunt and his crew to face some mad espionage stuff (I think I saw a wall of water just casually defying gravity, and it was somehow both ridiculous and insanely cool). Honestly, this trailer just delivered so many impossible spy moves, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
Jake: We collectively as a society need to inform Tom Cruise that he needs to slow down. One of the shots included in this trailer shows him actually, IN REAL LIFE, breaking his ankle. Tom, it’s okay. We know you can do your own stunts. We’ve seen you do them, and you’re really good, buddy. We’re all very proud. Maybe it’s time to consider just one stuntman? In all seriousness, this trailer looked awesome. I recognize that a reliance on franchises and sequels might be killing original thought in the film industry, but I have absolutely no compunctions about wholeheartedly supporting the death of art if it means I get to watch Tom Cruise fight a mustachioed Henry Cavill. These movies consistently deliver some of the best action a guy like me could ask for, and I look forward to buying a large popcorn and soda and turning off my brain to watch this movie as Orson Welles and Stanley Kubrick begin to breakdance in their graves.
Solo: A Star Wars Story — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNW0B0HsvVs&t=2s
Juliana: I remember reading about Alden Ehrenheich being cast as Han Solo, but I didn’t know they had such good actors lined up for this movie. Woody Harrelson stars as a mentor figure to Solo, which gave me some serious Hunger Games vibes. Emilia Clarke’s and Donald Glover’s characters serve as interesting additions to Solo’s crew, although Clarke’s line of being the only person to know what Solo really is was borderline cliché. I don’t really know how I feel about Ehrenheich as Solo, and I don’t think I know enough about the franchise to judge whether he does Harrison Ford justice. I’m glad that the character is getting further developed though, and, if the opening monologue is anything to go by, there’s some interesting stories to tell. And, if there’s one thing that’s undeniable, it’s that the visuals and special effects are simply breathtaking. Oh, that and they went a bit overkill on the flipping switches. I’m probably not as excited as many die-hard fans out there, but I’m excited that the wait for the first trailer drop is finally over.
Jake: Stop. Please. Please stop. Disney, you like money. This movie will get you money. We both know it. People will sell their grandma’s precious jewels and remortgage their houses to see Han Solo complete the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. But where do we draw the line? When do we finally stop shelling out our cash to see another paint-by-the-numbers movie where every artistic decision is dictated by nostalgia? Will the exit of your two original directors after the film was 98% complete be enough to drive away the fanboys that will go into mild catatonic shock because they get to see Chewie and Han meet for the first time? Will reports that Disney needed to bring in an acting coach mid-production to help the guy with the range of Plank from Ed Edd n Eddy play the most charismatic smuggler in the galaxy stop the masses from tattooing images of Young Lando Calrissian in unmentionable places? Will the fact that EVERY LINE IN THIS TRAILER SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS LIFTED FROM WHAT AN EDGY MIDDLE-SCHOOLER MIGHT WRITE IN THEIR HAN SOLO FANFICTION stop a single person from praying to their shrine to the original trilogy that they might have the strength to wait in line for three weeks and not waste away in solemn misery before they can see the moment when Emilia Clarke inevitably dies and Han Solo decides to never care about a cause again? Of course not. We’ll all go out and watch this movie. And like Kevin Bacon entering Omega Theta Pi fraternity in Animal House, we will walk out and repeat as one: “Thank you sir. May I have another?” Individuality is dead and Mickey Mouse killed it. Ngl, Star Wars gets me a little heated.
This post has been updated to reflect the removal of a contributor.
