Chris here with more trailer happenings. One of the good things about Phase 2 of Oscar season is that we finally start seeing trailers for spring/summer films targeting adult eyeballs and reminding us that we start all over again with a new film year in March.
Here we have May's Money Monster, which finds Jodie Foster behind the director's chair again. It's her return to features following those well-received TV directorial turns with Orange is the New Black and House of Cards. She's brought the extra star power with Julia Roberts and George Clooney front and center against Unbroken's Jack O'Connell.
Take a look for Yes No Maybe So after the jump...
YES
- Ooh, Jack O'Connell.
- Jodie Foster is back behind the camera. She's been on a roll with her recent TV work and this looks like her most ambitious subject yet.
- Starting this trailer strong with the tense evacuation is right on the money. That breath Julia takes before speaking is fraught!
- Much like The Big Short, this is a condemnation of Wall Street that audiences are hungry to discuss right now. I smell zeitgeist.
- Even with the tension, the trailer hints at fun Roberts/Clooney repartee. We never get charming megastar chemistry anymore and we already know the Ocean's pair click.
NO
- Ew, not this Jack O'Connell.
- "Get some balls. Man up."
- Exactly how intentionally tacky is this financial-political show that Clooney's Lee Gates hosts? It seems too heavy-handed for the satire to really sing.
- There's a whole lots of tones going on here. Is this an edge-of-your seat thriller or socially conscious heartwarmer?
- The tension is killed by the larger context of everyone watching at home, even here in a trailer. There's not a strong balance between the human elements and the political polemic.
- Off topic: but what in the actual hell have they done to the TriStar logo??
MAYBE SO
- Money Monster will be coming at the perfect time, landing after the spring break glut of silliness like The Huntsman Winter's War. We'll need a nice break from DC and Marvel superheros, even if it's something easily digestible.
- The trailer promises a solid ensemble beyond its three headliners. We see you there, Giancarlo Esposito.
- While there is lots of story beats here, it doesn't feel like every moment is revealed moment for moment.
- There was the faintest of rumors early in the season that this could be ready in time for the current Oscar race. Maybe it might be a little more than a crowdpleaser...
- The script was included on the 2014 Blacklist of unproduced screenplays. Previous honorees include Oscar-winning scripts like The Imitation Game, Argo, and Little Miss Sunshine.
Money Monster opens May 13. Will you be there, definitely not be there, or still deciding?