San Diego Comic-Con is arriving in two weeks, so the time for blockbuster and franchise trailers is certainly not now. But if you’re excited for smaller, more Oscar-baity films to be promo’d then, boy, is it your week.
(If it isn’t, here’s a roundup of what to expect from the convention that opens 20 July.)
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Geostorm
The only Big Budget you’ll see on this list is Geostorm, the doomsday flick from the creator of Independence Day.
Starring Gerard Butler, the film expects you to suspend your disbelief so far as to accept that missiles can stop hurricanes — and you have got to admire that kind of tenacity.
Catch Geostorm in South African cinemas 20 October.
Lucky
Harry Dean Stanton stars as a 90-year-old atheist who is “thrust into a journey of self-exploration” to reach enlightenment before death. The directorial debut for actor John Carroll Lynch also stars David Lynch and Ron Livingston.
Lucky does not yet have a South African release, but will be in US theatres 29 September.
Borg/McEnroe
Also known as Borg vs McEnroe, this English-language Swedish biopic tells of the epic rivalry between tennis players Björn Borg and John McEnroe which came to a head at Wimbledon in 1980. The film stars Shia LaBeouf and Swede Sverrir Gudnason.
It, too, does not have a South African release but will debut in Sweden 6 September.
Final Portrait
Final Portrait tells the tale of Swiss painter and sculptor Alberto Giacometti’s — you guessed it — final portrait. Giacometti was notoriously obsessive with his work, and physicians believed his death was “partly caused by years of fatigue“.
Directed by Stanley Tucci, the biopic stars Geoffrey Rush, Armie Hammer, and Clémence Poésy. It will be released in SA 9 March 2018.
Icarus
Icarus is a Netflix documentary about the state-sponsored Russian doping scandal that has shaken the sporting world over the past few years.
Filmmaker Brian Fogel initially used Icarus to see how easy it was to dope himself, observe the changes and avoid detection. But when he was connected to Russian scientist Dr Grigory Rodchenkov (who was famously part of Russia’s “anti-doping” program), he begins to unravel the truth behind the scandal.
Icarus premieres globally on Netflix 4 August.
California Typewriter
Documentary California Typewriter tells of a group of people avoiding the “information regime” by resisting representation and embracing reality, and other very hipster things. It stars Tom Hanks, John Mayer, and David McCullough.
It will not be in South African theatres, and is only available for preorder on US iTunes.
The Ritual
A late entrant into the list of horror films promoted for release on 13 October is The Ritual about some dumb white men who travel through a foreign forest only to get picked off one-by-one by a “menacing presence”.
Perhaps the ghost of the friend you watched die, you silly boy?
The Ritual does not yet have a South African release.
Bonus: The Greatest Showman on Earth
Last week I egregiously left out this stellar trailer from The Greatest Showman on Earth, the musical extravaganza starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Zendaya and Michelle Williams.
The biographical drama tells of PT Barnum who founded a famous circus, but, more importantly, sees Zendaya and Zac Efron fall in love.
The Greatest Showman reaches South African shores 29 December.
