09/08/2023

Watch this week’s best new trailers from DC, Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV, A24, and more, including Margot Robbie playing Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey.

Plus a movie about a cow
Photo: Claudette Barius / Warner Bros.
I was excited to watch Uncut Gems the other week for a couple of reasons for one, theres been a ton of buzz; but also, its one of the only movies Ive seen in recent years that I havent watched the trailer for ahead of time (I happened to be on vacation when it came out, so I didnt write this weekly column). It was nice getting to go in completely surprised.
The movie does a great job of what it sets out to do being constantly chaotic and stressful. But I didnt particularly care for it the way others have. Its a lot of the same thing: one character making obviously bad and indulgent mistakes, which continually come back to bite him. We know every time whats going to happen.
What really made it hard for me to get on board with is just how little the movie gives you to connect with. Adam Sandlers character has no redeeming traits, and its not clear why he acts so compulsively bad or what he truly wants to achieve from his constant quest for wealth. Its just two hours of a bad dude being a bad dude whats any of it matter? Theres a comment on materialism in here somewhere, but the film barely bothers to make it.
Check out eight trailers from this week below.
Birds of Prey
Heres the trailer for the one and only thing that truly matters in DC film: Margot Robbie playing Harley Quinn. At a bare minimum, Robbie ought to make this an entertaining watch, and DC really could have just left it at that. So Im surprised at how across the board fun this trailer makes Birds of Prey look. Maybe DC can actually pull this one together? It comes out February 7th.
Locke & Key
Locke & Keys journey to TV has been infamous. The comic has repeatedly been picked up as an adaptation only to be dropped before making it to series, so I was stunned to see that Netflix had a trailer this week I just assumed that somewhere along the line, things would fall apart again. The show is nearly here, and it looks like a fun teen adventure. The series comes out February 7th.
The New Mutants
This is a fun one. Not the movie, exactly the story behind it. The first teaser for The New Mutants came out in 2017, with a release planned for early 2018. It was then repeatedly delayed, at one point with extensive reshoots supposedly planned, and the whole films future seemed to be up in the air once Disney finished acquiring Fox. Apparently, Disney has seen fit to just go ahead and release the thing. The total lack of confidence from Fox seems like a bad sign, but the movie seems like its doing a perfectly fine job of what its setting out to do: be an X-Men themed horror movie. It comes out April 3rd.
Devs
Heres a sci-fi series worth paying attention to: Devs comes from Ex Machina director Alex Garland, and it really, really looks like a Garland sci-fi filled with glowing lights and clean yet brutal shots of nature. I dont really know whats happening in the show, but Nick Offerman is there with long hair and seems to be kind of creepy. It debuts March 5th on FXs Hulu channel.
Mrs. America
FX is making a show about why America still doesnt have the Equal Rights Amendment. Mrs. America is packed with stars, with Cate Blanchett in the lead, though Im a little unsure as to how its going to build out the show in a way thats not perpetually frustrating given that its villain seems to be at the center of it all. The series will premiere April 15th on FXs Hulu channel.
First Cow
Look, I didnt start this week expecting to write about a cow movie, but here we are. First Cow comes from Kelly Reichardt, who is one of my absolute favorite directors. Its about two people in 1800s Oregon who begin stealing milk from a rich guys cow and using it to cook food and earn a living. Its one of the, perhaps, all time most boring trailers I have ever written up, but I am going to see this on day one. It comes out March 6th.
Fargo
I havent heard as much buzz about Fargo since its first season came out, but this one has a big draw: Chris Rock, who stars as the head of a crime family in 1950 Kansas City. The season debuts April 19th.
Mythic Quest: Ravens Banquet
Heres one thing this trailer would almost definitely highlight if it were published by anyone other than Apple: Mythic Quest comes from the creators behind Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I dont think Apple has anything against that show, I suspect its just classic Apple advertising pretend nothing in the world exists except for what Apple makes itself. Anyway, Mythic Quest looks like a Silicon Valley-esque sitcom, just set within a messy gaming startup. It comes out February 7th.