EW's Fall Movie Preview

Movies are things that happen, and I often like to talk about them. Entertainment Weekly's Fall Movie Preview came out a few weeks ago, and I have OPINIONS. Here they are, categorized by my enthusiasm, as well as premiere date.

Well, obvs.

• Dear White People (10/17)
  Why? I have no idea whether this will make any sort of appearance in a theatre near me, but the trailer is pretty amazing. Also, searingly topical--as a Filipina living in the Midwest and working in academia, lots of bits in this trailer resonated, even if it's not a slice of culture I'm immediately part of. Also, Tessa Thompson (Veronica Mars) and Tyler James Williams (Everybody Hates Chris)! This fills me with joy.
  
  
  
  
• Big Hero 6 (11/7)
  Why? This strums along the continuum of The Incredibles and Wreck-It Ralph, at least to my eye. Lots of superhero and video game aesthetic, and a ton of goofy, Pixaresque action.
  
  
• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay--Part 1 (11/21)
  Why? Given the arc from the first to the second movie, I suspect we'll start to feel the rickety structure of each book: every book is another Hunger Game. That said, I am really, really excited to see how the set design and costuming play out when we get a full movie in the Capitol. Or, well, I guess that'll be in the final movie? So...this one'll be a lot of colorless dystopia. Yay?
  
  
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (12/17)
  Why? Let's face it: the Hobbit trilogy has been a huge drag. And everybody knows and feels it, I think. Which makes the trailer absolute genius, plucking our LOTR-heartstrings with Pippin's song, and then asking, "Will you follow me, one last time?" It's a direct plea from Peter Jackson to the audience, to which I reply: FINE. BUT THIS IS THE LAST TIME.
  
  
  
  
• Annie (12/19) Why? This movie wasn't even on my radar until a few weeks ago, when a trailer popped up at some other movie, and it's really an awesome update on the Annie of yore. I mean, Jamie Foxx as the heartless billionaire who adopts Annie (the oft-lauded Quvenzhané Wallis) for PR purposes? And Cameron Diaz is slinking back into her Bad Teacher persona to play Miss Hannigan? (Nobody will ever measure up to Carol Burnett, but.) This could be brilliant, but at the very least, it'll be interesting.
  

Mayhaps.

• The Maze Runner (9/19)
  Why? I don't know, man. It's a teenage-driven dystopia, and we all know by now that I'm a sucker for that. I will say, though, that casting an actor of Asian descent and featuring him prominently in the trailer, actually speaking, inspired me to immediate buy-in. Asian guy! Who talks! And may not be a stereotype and/or disposable! Who says representation doesn't matter to the audience? PFFFFT.
  
  
• Gone Girl (10/03)
  Why? This is the book everybody was talking about for half a year, right? I checked it out from the library yesterday, as I feel it is important to keep up with these sorts of pop cultural phenomena. Also, I...think I'm a Ben Affleck fan? I don't know. Maybe.
  
  
• The Book of Life (10/17)
  Why? It is a Dia de los Muertos-themed animated feature (a la Nightmare Before Christmas, I assume), with Zoe Saldana and Channing Tatum as the top-billed voice actors. So. Yes. I will pay money to watch this.
  
  
• Interstellar (11/07)
  Why? Honestly, I can usually take or leave Nolan's work. Or, I avidly watched Batman Begins and Inception, and then grew weary of Nolan's ever-so-grayness. But my soul also craves originalish science fiction, and it seems like this might fit the bill.
  
  
• Beyond the Lights (11/14)
  Why? This feels like a fairly standard sort of plot. I mean, the IMDB summary is literally, A talented young musician on the brink of super stardom struggles with the pressure of her new-found success. So, not groundbreaking. That said, it stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and she is phenomenal. And also pretty. I want her to keep starring in movies.
  
  
• Into the Woods (12/25)
  Why? I'm pretty sure I saw a production of this once, but it didn't dig its hooks into my heart or anything. As with Gone Girl, however, this seems like a thing I just kind of have to see, because we all shall be talking about it. In any case, Emily Blunt kind of blew my mind in Edge of Tomorrow, and Tracey Ullman is also involved in this, so at least those parts will be entertaining. And Christine Baranski is a brittle goddess, in case you hadn't heard.
  

Not even if you paid me.

• Exodus: Gods and Kings (12/12)
  Why not? I've mentioned representation a couple of times in this post, right? So I will just note that I disapprove of the general casting of this movie and leave it at that.