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Trial By Trailer: Including…Uncut Gems

Posted on January 10, 2020September 14, 2023 By Sammy Younan

Is this good?
Will this be good?
Every movie trailer answers or challenges those 2 questions. The ham-fisted rebuttal comes swiftly, however: no you don’t need to always see a movie to know it’s tank.

Do you really need to sit through a Michael Bay Transformers movie to know for sure? Tank is Tank. And Fresh…well Fresh is always Fresh. I’m down like I’m Brown for that.

For the week of January 6-12, 2020 I cover:
Dracula: Season 1
Arabian Alien
The New Mutants
Gretel And Hansel
The Goop Lab with Gwyneth Paltrow
Uncut Gems
Locke & Key
Birds Of Prey
Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez
McMillions

Shall we begin?

Dracula: Season 1 (January 3)
A much stronger Dracula trailer a BBC-Netflix production. Based on Bram Stoker’s novel; this series is by Mark Gatiss & Steven Moffat (#GOAT) our Sherlock friends. That’s all I need: I dig all those things.

Sammy Verdict: January 4 on Netflix: I am fully 100% in…I doubt this will…wait for it: suck!

Arabian Alien (January 3)
And now…for some Saudi Arabia Sci-Fi. Yup. I know. For all the years I’ve been a nerd I’ve never said that before. This is the trailer for Arabian Alien which you can see later this month at Sundance!

Sammy Verdict: So many emotions…I think…I think! I am in. Ask me tomorrow.

The New Mutants (January 6)
That Dark Phoenix is a giant sized X-Men bomb does this doom The New Mutants movie…more Fall of the Mutants or will that movie rise from the ashes as expected on April 3, 2020? God Loves, Studios Kill. #EIsForExtinction

Sammy Verdict: You know what? Of all the Marvel movies being released in 2020 only New Mutants looks appealing: worth and worthy of pants. I know.

Gretel And Hansel (January 6)
I don’t want to say this movie is “crumby” but…yeah. The January release date doesn’t help either. If I’m doing old timey horror movies like The Witch then this type of stuff.

Sammy Verdict: Eh…maybe on an airplane. Not Netflix; it’s a pass on Netflix.

The Goop Lab with Gwyneth Paltrow (January 6)
I…don’t know what to do with this; Netflix did not make it for me.

Sammy Verdict: 100% OUT…this does not put the Yo! in yoga.

Uncut Gems (January 8)
Your reminder that Adam Sandler is critic proof. You can have whatever feelings you want; heck even toss in a hashtag if that makes you feel better it’s all bullets off Superman’s chest. #AdamWins. It’s just amazing and inspiring what he has done. Uncut Gems January 31 on Netflix.

Sammy Verdict: Cannot wait to see this!

Locke & Key (January 8)
2020 continues the trend of adapting comics for tv shows. I’ve yet to read IDW’s Locke and Key comics however just like in high school I can now skip reading and watch it instead! (What helps is Joe Hill adaptations haven’t suffered like his Dad’s. Stephen King book to movie/tv is an often a lousy genre. Hopefully Joe can secure a better legacy. Starting with this?) The Netflix series drops Friday, February 7 and I’m sure I’ll include it in an upcoming #SetTheVCR.

The trailer is like a Tim Burton movie (maybe Big Fish?) meets The House with a Clock in Its Walls (the murdered dad is not played by Jack Black is he??!). Not sure if this is Must See TV.

Sammy Verdict: I’m in for an episode or two.

Birds Of Prey (January 9)
Latest Birds Of Prey trailer confirms it’s Suicide Squad quality. Oh boy. One of those DC Films??! (Margot Robbie needs a hit following Bombshell’s bomb otherwise the cheap narrative of her being a compelling creative no longer applies. (It never really did.)

Sammy Verdict: Eh…considering this for Netflix; no opening $. I’m not sure if it’ll be worth pants.

Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez (January 9)
Granted the New England Patriots have always been known as killers this however is a dark example. That whole true crime trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down; thankfully it’s rife with Serial offenders. Though sadly in Aaron Hernandez’s case CTE was a contributing factor so the case isn’t exactly open and shut.

Sammy Verdict: Not a major true crime fan however I might check this out for the NFL plotline.

McMillions (January 9)
Up until now the only fraud McDonald’s had committed was the Falling Down anger induced by the stark reality that their food did not match their photos. And now here’s another fraud ironically associated with the Monopoly game which has a go directly to jail component. McMillions premieres Monday, February 3 at 10 p.m. on HBO.

Sammy Verdict: Well not quite a DB Cooper criminal saga I’ll check this out. 6 episodes is a lot though.

Movies, My Pal Sammy, Trial By Trailer, True Sammy Stories Tags:Steven Moffat, Trailer Alert, Trial by Trailer

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