We get bombarded with teasers, trailers and promotional clips relentlessly – each Saturday Steve Newall sorts through the best of the week for you to check out and get excited about.
Bob Marley: One Love
Musical and cultural icon Bob Marley comes to life in this biopic directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard) that sees Kingsley Ben-Adir take on the massive responsibility of playing the great Bob—after already having stepped into huge shoes as Malcolm X in One Night in Miami…. From the look of this first teaser, it’s a promising piece of casting, and the look and period setting of the film feels a suitably real backdrop for Marley’s inspiring story (and with the screenwriters’ other credits including King Richard, Creed III, Boardwalk Empire and The Wolf of Wall Street, hopefully we’re looking at a superior musical biopic).
The Nun II
I waver on whether the $2 billion-earning Conjuring film franchise is any good or not, but damn can they do a jump scare—even (especially?) when you know it’s coming. That’s the case here with spinoff prequel sequel The Nun II, the inevitable follow-up to the highest-grossing Conjuring universe film. With creepy as fuck nun imagery to play with again, Taissa Farmiga back as the lead living human, and the director of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, expect this to scare up plenty more box office. But although Akela Cooper (M3GAN) is one of the credited writers, there’s probably no viral robotic dance scene…
Killers of the Flower Moon
You’d be right in thinking a first full trailer for Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed new pic probably ought to be top of this piece… but it’s called Trailers of the Week, and even though the initial teaser and critical response (including an early review from Flicks’ Rory Doherty) have both been amazing, this trailer left me a little flat. That’s with the exception of two things: this is the upcoming Martin effin’ Scorsese film after all, and the trailer ends with a delightful promise—Apple TV+ may have paid for this, but it’ll be in cinemas this October.
Foundation
“Your Foundation is a cult!” declares Lee Pace’s Cleon in the trailer for season two of this sci-fi series—and if you’re not a true believer yet, clearly you haven’t been watching this lavishly-produced adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s… foundational science fiction texts. Having so far done a pretty good job of navigating Asimov’s complex work, this new season teases more conflict—as well as the welcome arrival of Rachel House (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) to the cast.
Corner Office
Jon Hamm stars in this surreal workplace that seems to be located somewhere between Office Space and TV’s Severance. Hamm’s bureaucratic office worker Orson suffers routine, rules and drudgery until discovering a lavishly appointed corner office in which he excels at work—or does he? Community‘s Danny Pudi and Black Bear‘s Sarah Gadon co-star.
Sex Education
Being given the chance to wrap up with a final, fourth season rather than, er, finish abruptly, Netflix’s sex-positive comedy series is back for one last hoon. With season three having seen the closure of Moordale Secondary and the departure of a number of cast members, this season’s new setting at the ultra-progressive Cavendish Sixth Form College, and the arrival of new faces including Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy promise some new surprises even as the show wraps up with these final eps.
Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York
A dad, a brother, an uncle and a friend are among the victims of a serial murderer going after gay men, as recounted in this upcoming HBO documentary series. With homophobia on the rise in the 1990s, and an apathetic police department, New York’s queer community found itself at risk within the few spaces they’d once felt truly safe. Filmmaker Anthony Caronna teams with producers Liz Garbus and Charlize Theron for this true crime mini-series.
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
We only get a tease of Sigourney Weaver’s Aussie accent here, and I’m not entirely convinced—but hey, it’s not like she has to sound like a New Zealander or anything, so hopefully things turn out OK in this adaptation of Holly Ringland’s rural Australia-set novel. What we do also see in this trailer are hints at the multi-generational mysteries to be uncovered, and a cast that also includes Asher Keddie, Leah Purcell and Frankie Adams.
Reservation Dogs
The Rez Dogs are back—and making their way back from California—in the final season of Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi’s comedy series centred around Indigenous teens from rural Oklahoma. From the trailer and FX’s blurb, I can also tell you this last batch of eps will feature road trips, bathroom wisdom, unexpected fathers, boarding schools, Bigfoot, rumours, revenge and healing.
Red, White & Royal Blue
“I sent you to the royal wedding with simple instructions—don’t cause an international incident” the US President (Uma Thurman, with some Southern accent issues of her own) chides her son Alex, who makes headlines when he and Britain’s Prince Henry spectacularly destroy the ceremonial cake at a high society wedding. Forced into a feigned friendship for the press, the pair’s feud becomes flirtation—and then some—in this romcom.
The Old Oak
Enough about all these TV shows wrapping up this year. 2023 also marks the reported retirement of director Ken Loach with this, his final film. Chronicling the decline of a small mining town’s way of life as the population changes with the arrival of refugees and the last pub standing is in decline, if The Old Oak is in fact Loach’s swansong, he’s in the territory he knows best, once again teaming up with Sorry We Missed You and I, Daniel Blake writer Paul Laverty.
Mysterious Ways
In this interracial New Zealand love story, an Anglican vicar wants a church wedding with his Samoan boyfriend—something that’s controversial enough for their respective communities even before a media shitstorm erupts at the idea. As both their relationship and the church’s congregation threaten to split, will God step in?
