Join us every week for a trip into the weird and wonderful world of trailers. Whether it’s the first teaser for the latest instalment in your favourite franchise, an obscure preview for a strange indie darling, whether it’s good, bad, ugly or just plain weird – your favourite pop culture baristas are there to tell you what they think.
This week, Alan risked the wrath from villagers and… older powers in order to bring us a Six Damn Fine Degrees post about folk horror, touching on recent movies Starve Acre, Fréwaka and I Saw the TV Glow.
Staying with the unsettling and uncanny: on Saturday we released the espresso podcast episode for April, in which Alan and Matt discussed one of Robert Altman’s oddest films, 3 Women. No need for wicker men and Morris dancing if Sissy Spacek can just walk right in and steal your identity!
And what else is there in today’s trailer grab bag?
Matt: Is The Fantastic Four the shot in the arm that the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs, or is it more of the same, just dressed up in ’60s garb? The cast is impeccable, but that’s never been the problem of the MCU. Does the Silver Age sincerity of the material help? We’ll see. It’s one of the more enjoyable MCU trailers in a while, but MCU trailers never said much about the quality of the final product – and perhaps that’s the point here: will The Fantastic Four feel like more product from the factory?
Matt: Mike Flanagan has done great work with Stephen King (and King-inspired) material. The trailer for The Life of Chuck looks odd, though – perhaps because it looks less like Flanagan and more like Robert Zemeckis? I’m also getting something of a Truman Show vibe, which doesn’t have to be bad, but it makes me doubt the reality of what I’m seeing and anticipate a twist. But yeah: Mike Flanagan’s films and series haven’t always been flawless, but they have been interesting, and he’s shown that he knows how to do Stephen King. Let’s see if the streak continues.
A Damn Fine Cup of Culture 