Last week in trailers: Downsizing, Shape of Water, and JLaw’s Red Sparrow

The last week in trailers promoted A-list faces in highly-anticipated movies, so grab some popcorn because there’s bound to be something in this list that gets you hype.

The Shape of Water

The red-band trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water has been released, and, no, there isn’t any inter-species fish sex, I’m sorry to say.

The “other-worldly fairy tale” is set in Cold War-era America, and tells of a lonely mute woman whose life changes when she discovers a top secret “asset” in the form of an alien fish-man.

It stars Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, and Michael Shannon, and hits South African theatres on 19 January 2018.

Downsizing

Downsizing tells of a futuristic society aiming to solve overpopulation by shrinking humans and sending them to live in a separate miniature world.

This trailer doesn’t answer many questions: What about ants? Birds? Cats? Foreign enemies who now need far smaller military budgets? It also doesn’t give much away in terms of plot, but hints are certainly dropped.

Downsizing stars Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau and cameos Neil Patrick Harris and Laura Dern. It opens in SA on 12 January 2018.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

The final trailer for “proper spy movie” Kingsman: The Golden Circle is here, offering Julianne Moore a chance to explain the film’s plot (finally).

Essentially, The Golden Circle is an organization aiming for world domination. To ensure a seamless mission, the group target Kingsman before they can fight back. Kingsman are then forced to join forces with US counterpart Statesman, and hilarity ensues (probably).

Catch the Kingsman sequel in theatres on 29 September.

Red Sparrow

Jennifer Lawrence is a Russian ballerina turned seductive assassin in Francis Lawrence’s Red Sparrow.

“When she suffers a career-ending injury, Dominika and her mother are facing a bleak and uncertain future,” the synopsis reads. She is eventually pushed into the “perverse and sadistic training process” to become a Sparrow, after which she is forced to reconcile her past identity with her new power.

Red Sparrow enters the SA market on 2 March 2018.

All the Money in the World

J Paul Getty — founder of Getty Oil Company and once the richest man in the US — refused to pay his grandson’s US$17-million ransom in 1973. He claimed paying the ransom would put his other grandchildren at risk, and that payment would be a financial endorsement of of the violent act.

Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World uses this story as a base, focusing on the kidnapped’s powerless mother, played by Michelle Williams. It also stars Kevin Spacey and Mark Wahlberg.

All the Money in the World premieres on 9 March 2018.

The Commuter

In the teaser trailer for The Commuter, Liam Neeson is greeted by a creepy Vera Farmiga who asks him to identify a hidden person on the train for a large sum of money. As it continues, he realises he’s part of something sinister, and races against the clock to save both his life and those of the other passengers.

The Commuter opens in SA on 12 January 2018.

The Foreigner

The second trailer for The Foreigner has been released and it teases even more martial arts goodness than the first.

Starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan, Foreigner tells of a father out to avenge the murder of his daughter by terrorists.

It opens in SA on 24 November 2017.

The Disaster Artist

James Franco’s The Disaster Artist now has a full trailer and it promises an endearing take on the making of the world’s worst movie The Room.

Highlights include: Franco’s Tommy Wiseau impression, Seth Rogen as a bewildered script supervisor, and the classic “oh, hi, Mark”.

The Disaster Artist does not currently have an SA release date, but will premiere in the US on 1 December.

Coco

The official US trailer for Disney’s Coco shows Miguel as a budding musician who has to hide his talents from his family who have forbidden music.

When he somehow crosses over to the Land of the Dead, he meets up with his ancestors who tell him of his past to the dramatic soundtrack of “Bittersweet Symphony”.

Coco is released on 24 November.

Our Souls at Night

Our Souls at Night stars Jane Fonda and Robert Redford as widowed neighbours attempting to alleviate their loneliness with each other’s company.

Based on the eponymous novel by Kent Haruf, the film has warmed the hearts of critics, who have already given it an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film will be available globally on Netflix on 29 September.

The Death and Life of Marsha P Johnson

In 1969, Marsha P Johnson was one of the first people to fight back in the protests that became known as the Stonewall riots. Following the uprising, Johnson fought loudly for LGBT rights, and is often credited as one of the major reasons the community enjoys the liberties it does today.

In 1992 — shortly after the annual Pride march — Johnson was announced missing. Her body was found six days later floating in the Hudson river. Police ruled the death a suicide, but friends and family denied her having suicidal tendencies, and cited a wound at the back of her head as potential evidence of murder.

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson follows trans activist Victoria Cruz as she seeks to uncover the truth behind the icon’s untimely death.

It premieres globally on 6 October on Netflix.