THE trailer for 21 year old writer-director Keyvan Sheikhalishahi’s third major film, Divertimento, just dropped… and it looks rather interesting. Sheikhalishahi has directed two other shorts with Amitice, the French production company. His short films Nox (2019) and Vesper (2017) clock in at 13min and 23min respectively, and both boast respectable IMDB scores. Divertimento represents the young director’s fourth attempt at the thriller genre (he filmed Turba (2014) independently with his family), and this time he significantly boosted the cast.

Divertimento features Kellan Lutz (Twilight), Torrey DeVitto (Chicago Med), Ola Rapace (Skyfall), Götz Otto (Cloud Atlas), Christian Hillborg (Fleabag), Ellie Heydon (Harlots), and Brittany Gonzales (Kellan Lutz’s wife). It tells the story of Jonas Olsen (Kellan Lutz), a chess player with a tragic past who must now participate in a mysterious game, Divertimento. With this many notable actors, Divertimento seems poised to act as the next step for Sheikhalishahi’s directing career.

Unfortunately, the recently released trailer will not be kick-starting that professional development. This first trailer sets up some intrigue and introduces the standard cliché chess metaphor, but the editing does it no favors. The juxtaposition of dramatic music with shots and dialogue clips more so belonging on a daytime soap opera creates an uncanny effect.

There seems to be promise lurking beneath the questionable trailer editing, but it is regrettable that Divertimento’s potential could not be on full display here. Hopefully Sheikhalishahi’s latest venture proves worthwhile, but we will have to wait until later this year to find out.

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Click here to read our review of Jojo Rabbit.

Taika Waititi’s latest film, Jojo Rabbit, looks absurd in the best of ways. According to the official synopsis,

“Set during World War Two, an awkward young German boy whose only ally is his imaginary friend Hitler has his naïve patriotism tested when he meets a young girl who upends his world views.”

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If that doesn’t sound like a wonderfully wacky (and assuredly controversial) recipe for adventure then what does? Watching the trailer there are strong Wes Anderson vibes, reminiscent of Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel. The sets have the same pristine/uncanny feeling too. Taika Waititi assuming the role of Adolf Hitler himself was a surprise, but he seems to play him with the aloofness of an imaginary friend and with a dark sense of self-deprecating humor. Getting to watch Waititi’s silly and satirical portrayal of one of history’s most infamous men definitely is reason enough to circle October 18, 2019 on your calendars.

While the trailer didn’t give too much of anything away, it certainly caught the eye. With a cast including Taika Waititi, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Alfie Allen, and Rebel Wilson (huh?), you should be confident that at the very least some good performances will come of this.

We also got our first look at the official poster. The unique direction they took with the design is commendable, but the tagline in the upper left could be removed. “An Anti-Hate Satire,” comes across as trying just a little too hard. Not exactly subtle. Including it causes the whole poster to feel cramped, especially since it does not stand out enough among all of the names.

Tell us what you think of the debut trailer and poster for Jojo Rabbit down below!

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ADDING to the burgeoning Kingsman cinematic universe, Matthew Vaughn’s The King’s Man has dropped its first trailer. Given that the film still sits in the comedy category on IMDb no one should jump to conclusions but, it is hard to ignore the substantial tonal shift from the last two films and this trailer. Still strapped with the series’s signature swagger, The King’s Man leans into a grittier and more grounded tone. Whether that carries over to the full film or not remains to be seen.

Expounding the notion nobility secured their positions through theft and subterfuge comes across more seriously than previously presented concepts. With a certain Rasputin featured prominently and a WWI setting, The King’s Man has an excellent opportunity to insert its secret organization into history while making a striking political point. Witnessing the birth of the organization intertwined with the spark of war would make for an excellent film.

Hopefully the inevitable injection of humor does not overpower the great thematic potential presented in this first trailer. The much more grounded battle scenes indicate that Vaughn may at least attempt to balance the two. If he manages to do each aspect justice, we may have a nice return to form (more The Secret Service less The Golden Circle) on our hands.

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UP next in Disney’s barrage of live-action remakes comes Mulan. At this point anyone wanting to claim fatigue will set in has to ignore reality. Disney will not stop until they have run out of animated films and then they will probably move onto Pixar. However, this particular trailer does not inspire the same doom and gloom as the rest. This new take on Mulan really does appear to be a re-imagining of the Disney adaptation. Without Mushu and the musical aspects shackling it to the past, hopefully this film will breathe fresh life into the IP.

As previously stated, this time around Mushu and the songs stay at home. Although reportedly, the musical numbers may make appearances as instrumental tracks. Somewhat understandably, die-hard fans of the original have not taken too kindly to this. Fantastic! If these changes have angered, depressed, or confused you, please just go watch the original. If Disney continues to insist on all of these remakes, they should at the very least shake them up a bit! One-to-one CGI recreations does not scream creativity. Hopefully general audiences give this adaptation a chance at the box office and Disney decides “riskier” ventures have a place in their lineup.

The trailer itself felt relatively safe. Some of the shots were gorgeous, the opening and rooftop running scenes specifically, but nothing not seen before. The dialogue also sounded hallow? It lacked a certain something to make it truly convincing. They went for a subdued voice-over to highlight Mulan’s compartmentalization, yet it did not have the quiet but striking tone to complete the effect. The zoomed in, “hazy” shots during the slow motion fight scenes also came across as unnecessarily uninspired. Dropping the effect altogether would produce a much cleaner and prettier sequence.

Another idea concerning the inner workings of The Mouse: could these remakes just be padding for Disney+’s arrival; both in terms of content and war chest? It’s an interesting thought and one that will stay unanswered for the foreseeable future. No matter, the latest Mulan trailer delivers hope for variety in Disney’s live-action remakes, and while not truly spectacular, should deliver enough to hold fans over.

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THE first time I watched series reboot, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, I came out pleasantly surprised by how not awful it was. However, upon second and third viewings (don’t ask) the charm quickly wore off. The nostalgia lost its grip and the movie quickly followed. Jokes lost their punch not because I had already heard them, but because they never had any real structure to begin with. They relied too heavily on gags and “random” humor that rarely holds up well.

I never even considered a sequel, but considering Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle grossed nearly $1B, I should have. Danny DeVito and Danny Glover act as the gimmicks this time around, with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart playing them, respectively. And that’s my first concern. The same cast, in the same world, in the same reincarnation of Jumanji lacks the intrigue of the first film. They already released this movie back in 2017 and I don’t see the necessity story or premise wise for a second helping (besides, you know…all of the money).

Nothing in this trailer quells my fears stemming from the first movie. It appears a large chunk of the humor is going to depend solely on everyone finding Johnson and Hart’s old man impressions absolutely hilarious. I don’t see this replicating the insane success of the first movie…or at least the same positive response.

Nothing stood out to me in this first Jumanji: The Next Level trailer. It looks like a more generic (if possible) version of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. I didn’t let out a laugh the whole three minutes. Personally, the trailer felt flat. The jokes, acting, CGI, and set pieces all came across as incredibly sanitized. Even the closing action scene just looks so fake and uninspired. Maybe this franchise will surprise me again and make me look like an idiot (a la Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), but I’m not holding my breath.

What did you think of the Jumanji: The Next Level trailer? Let me know below.

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