Avengers: Endgame https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA6hldpSTF8
Dajour: Hello Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner)! Hello Ant-man (Paul Rudd)! It truly looks like Thanos (Josh Brolin) is out here living his best life now, frolicking in a field of flowers. But seriously, this trailer by itself honestly didn’t do much to get me hyped for this film—and, that’s okay because it didn’t need to! I was already hyped. The best part for me was the end of the trailer with Ant-man because I’m ready to see him in an Avengers movie. I also am just so nervous about what plan Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Cap (Chris Evans) have and how it’ll go horribly wrong (because it will). Questions I need answered: How is Wakanda doing? They suffered a lot in the last film, are they still thriving? Are they okay? Did Okoye (Danai Gurira) take over in T’Challa’s (Chadwick Boseman) absence like she rightfully should have? How’s Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) doing? Does she know Peter (Tom Holland) got snapped? Does she miss Peter? I miss Peter. Oh my God, did Aunt May get snapped too? Answers please! Only good thing is at least Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) got snapped so he can’t screw up another plan again. Thank God. Anyways, I’m clearly going to see this film, so I didn’t need a trailer to convince me. Oh, and where’s Captain Marvel (Brie Larson)? Don’t play with me Marvel!
Beth: Where is Nebula (Karen Gillan)? Did she just leave Tony (Robert Downing Jr.) floating around in space by himself? Clearly she knows how to navigate the universe AND wants to end Thanos so why is Tony alone? Did Shuri (Letitia Wright) get turned to dust too because her face was on that hologram thing Banner (Mark Ruffalo) was looking at right before Peter’s face? Who is Cap narrating this trailer to? Us? And is it foreshadowing Cap’s death when he looks at the picture of Peggy (Hayley Atwell)? Then Natasha says “this is gonna work” but it probably doesn’t and I am not emotionally prepared for her to die. I have a lot more questions than I do takes, but boy am I excited to see this movie. Anyways, Marvel practically owns me now and knows that I will pay $22 a ticket to see this at the Georgetown AMC so catch me there in April.
Katie: As soon as I saw this trailer, my soul left my body. I have so many questions. Why is Thanos strolling through a field of flowers like in a tampon commercial? Is there a reason Hawkeye is being all emo in Japan? Are they ever going to give Black Widow her red hair back? To be honest, though I really love the OG Avengers, I’m super excited for Endgame because I’m ready to see what new direction Marvel is taking everyone’s favorite superhero squad in. I want more of Black Panther, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, and Ant-Man, and less of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts’ boring love affair (sorry guys, I’m just not that into it). I will definitely be racing to the theaters to see this film as soon as it drops, because I can’t trust the fools on the world wide web not to spoil it for me.
Kim Possible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNRQT9ODqDI
Dajour: No. Just, no. If they do the Kim Possible beep one more time, I’ll lose my mind. I loved Kim Possible as a kid, but this is just awful. The trailer is awkward, the acting is not good, and the CGI and special effects are basic. I am actually not 100% against a live-action rendition of Kim Possible, I’m really not. While it’s purely commodification of nostalgia, if it’s done right, looks good, and stays true to the original whilst bringing its own spin on it, then I’m all for it. However, this film clearly isn’t going to do that. No, it’s banking on attracting an audience of now 20-something year olds who loved the show as kids. Problem is, those 20-something year olds loved the show as kids. Putting out a mediocre to just plain bad live action remake of it isn’t going to make us happy; and neither is attempting to pander to us by doing the Kim Possible beep in the trailer a million freaking times. I will not be watching this unless I can give it a trash review for Halftime, in which case see you all February 15th.
Beth: The nostalgia factor doesn’t really work here. The acting isn’t good and the beep-beepbeepbeep thing is annoying. It just feels like Disney is trying really hard to get a bunch of 20-somethings, who no longer have cable, to turn on Disney Channel and watch an original movie. In no way will this movie ever be better than the Lizzie McGuire movie so I don’t know why they’re even trying. I don’t think kids today are watching Kim Possible so while this live action film is definitely a kids movie, it feels like it’s trying to pander to me, but just…doesn’t.
Katie: Okay, my initial thought as soon as Kim (Sadie Stanley) glided in on her poorly-CGIed flying device was that this film was not made for me. I didn’t watch Kim Possible or any Disney Channel growing up, so the nostalgia just isn’t there. Even if Annabelle and Jeff Randolph had raised me on Mickey Mouse, I probably still wouldn’t care too much about this film. It’s clearly for kids, and Kim seems like a nice, fun girl, so I’m gonna let Disney’s targeted audience take the lead on this one. Kim, feel free to flip, fly, and fight your way to victory. I won’t be participating, but I’m sure there’s a birthday party out there that is going to go ham for this.
Breakthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52bORzIODec
Dajour: This movie feels like pandering. I’m really all for films that explore faith and religion in interesting and nuanced ways, but this one just doesn’t seem to do that. I like the cast and I desperately want this to be a movie that delves into the ways that faith and grief intersect from multiple perspectives and standpoints. But, from this trailer, I don’t see that. I see a film that’s pandering to people with faith in order to make money. I see a movie that doesn’t have anything interesting to say about faith other than “God saved this one boy’s life.” While that is wonderful in theory, the fact is that there are a million lives that also need to be saved but haven’t been. I grew up in a very spiritual household and going to church or listening to Gospel music played a significant part in my development; however, I’m presently not religious in any way, shape, or form. With that being said, this trailer made me deeply uncomfortable because it does not have anything to say. Its sole purpose is commodification of faith and that is wrong to me. I sincerely hope that this movie isn’t what it’s presented as in the trailer, but I’m going to pass on paying any money to see it.
Beth: As the daughter of a Pastor, and as someone who grew up in the church, movies like these really rub me the wrong way. I love Chrissy Metz dearly, but didn’t love her accent. I always feel itchy after watching Christian movie trailers like this one or the one for Heaven is For Real (2014). For me, it’s not as much to do with the fact that it cost millions of dollars to make this movie, as it is about commodifying faith for commercial gain. The movie is kind of suggesting that John (Marcel Ruiz) lives because his mom prays, because God wanted him to live. This plot is just ripe and prime for an Evangelical market. Yet God doesn’t love that kid who lived more than he loves all the other kids in the world. He doesn’t save a kid trapped under ice, but not save kids killed by school shooters, by gang violence in cities, or as casualties of war in the middle east, just because that kid’s mom prayed, or his family went to church, or his parent’s faith was extra strong. That represents a faith, a Christianity, and a God that has become dominant in America, but one I cannot get behind, even if Steph Curry produced this movie. It’s an incredible story and I hope the story that it is based on had a happy ending, but I will not be paying any money to see this one.
Katie: Okay, so I’m going to preface this take by saying that I am a pretty serious Christian. I was born and raised in the church, I have been in every nativity play you can possibly imagine, and I have never once enjoyed watching a religious movie like this. For me, faith is something so personal and intimate that I am more likely to be uncomfortable when watching someone else’s experience play out on screen than moved. This trailer seems sweet, I guess, but I find it difficult to watch Christian films because I can’t forget that the thousands of dollars that were spent on the film and not put s towards helping those in need. Not to get on my theological soapbox, but the Bible says a lot about feeding the poor and very little about making movies starring Chrissy Metz (who has got to be really expensive, by the way). If you want to see this movie, please go and have a great time, but this trailer made me want to take a shower. I’m gonna sit this one out as far away as possible.
