Hello, and welcome to the Geeky Brummie Film Roundup! Each week we run through the biggest new cinema releases and why you should be excited for them. This week: sex and death and demons and cargo ships and cartoon courtroom drama! There’s a lot to get through and I’ve started writing this slightly too late so it might be a bit of a whistlestop tour…
Usual disclaimer: unless otherwise stated, I haven’t seen these movies yet so all of my opinions are based on trailers, early reviews and other rumours and buzz.
Insidious: Out of the Further
In this sixth film in the Insidious series, Gemma (Amelia Eve) is a young mother trying to raise her daughter but struggling with what she thinks are terrifying nightmares. Seeking help, she meets franchise regular Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye), who explains that Gemma is actually visiting the Further – the purgatorial home of the demons and spirits that haunt the Insidious series. But she soon learns that not only can she visit the Further – she can also bring things back with her. And when the demons learn that too, all hell quite literally breaks loose…
Much like the Conjuring films (another series that usually stars Patrick Wilson, who’s absent from this one), Insidious has built up an extensive mythology of its creepy rogues gallery. It’s also found its formula, making effective use of jump scares and off screen space to ratchet up the tension. This looks set to continue that formula, but it also expands the world beyond the Lambert family and fans of the franchise will no doubt be looking forward to seeing the mythos developed further. At the time of writing this has 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, which may not sound like much but it’s the second highest in the series, behind only the original Insidious.
- Insidious: Out of the Further at IMDB
- Insidious: Out of the Further at Rotten Tomatoes
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Kris (Hannah Einbinder) has been tasked with directing the latest of many sequels in a slasher series named Camp Miasma, and wants to make something that will stand out. As a starting point, she’s desperate to cast the franchise’s original final girl, Billy (Gillian Anderson), who’s lived and breathed the story for most of her life, even choosing to live in the first film’s set. But the two women’s obsessions lead them down a chaotic path.
At first glance, TSADACM looks like a meta commentary on the ubiquity and endless sequels of horror franchises (almost in answer to Insidious 6). But it’s actually a psychological and sexual thriller framed around the familiar iconography of the slasher genre. Slashers have always been obsessed with sex, with the likes of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees penetrating amorous teens with their big knives (but normally sparing the virginal final girl). Camp Miasma explores that idea more explicitly, knotting the themes of sex and death together as if they are two sides of the same coin. Its killer, Little Death, is even named after le petit mort – the momentary loss of consciousness after an orgasm. Anderson and Einbinder are perfectly cast, and between this and her previous movie I Saw the TV Glow, director Jane Schoenbrun is proving to be a master of psychological dramas with queer undertones. This is getting some incredible reviews and looks like a fascinating and hugely entertaining watch, especially for horror fans.
- Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma at IMDB
- Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma at Rotten Tomatoes
Coyote Vs Acme
After decades of their products causing him pain and humiliation, Wile E Coyote instructs lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte) to sue the Acme corporation. But can one coyote stand his ground against the unlimited legal budget of such a massive company?
Regular Geeky Brummie watchers/listeners/readers will know that we’ve all been looking forward to this one for a while. It’s been through development hell, having been canned by Warner Bros for a $30 million tax write-off after it had been made and was ready for release. Warner then refused to sell it for less than $80 million, which was more than anyone was willing to pay (despite offers from big hitters like Netflix and Paramount). Thankfully it was picked up by Ketchup Entertainment, who were able to negotiate the price down after they had successfully distributed another Looney Tunes movie, The Day The Earth Blew Up. It’s taken almost three years but Wile E’s courtroom drama is finally coming to the big screen.
Drawing favourable comparisons to Who Framed Roger Rabbit in its blending of 2D animation and live action footage, with appearances from a glut of classic Looney Tunes characters (including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweetie Pie, Taz, and a surprisingly terrifying Foghorn Leghorn), this is getting some great reviews. It’s a brilliantly original concept, and the David and Goliath legal battle at its heart has plenty of recent real world parallels. John Cena looks like he’s having a whale of a time as Acme’s top lawyer, at times coming across more cartoonish than the cartoons themselves, and the relationship between Forte and Coyote is apparently very sweet. This should have something for everyone – kids will love the classic Looney Tunes antics, adults will enjoy both the courtroom drama and the excuse to see the characters they watched as kids. And if, somehow, this doesn’t appeal, go and see it anyway just to make sure it makes enough of a profit to stick a big middle finger up to Warner Bros.
- Coyote Vs Acme at IMDB
- Coyote Vs Acme at Rotten Tomatoes
Mutiny
After being framed for the murder of his billionaire boss, Cole Reed (Jason Statham) stows away on a cargo ship to investigate the real killers and clear his name.
Jason Statham films are the cinematic equivalent of a James Patterson paperback – as soon as you see his name you have a pretty good idea of what you’re getting and how it’s going to play out. It’s not going to be a masterpiece, but if you’ve had a long day it might be just what you’re in the mood for. Sometimes you want to watch art, and sometimes you want to watch a bald man clobbering an endless stream of nameless bad guys. And sometimes that happens on a boat, and that’s fine too.
- Mutiny at IMDB
- Mutiny at Rotten Tomatoes
Spa Weekend
When the stresses of work, romance and family start mounting up, old friends Jane (Leslie Mann), Coco (Michelle Buteau) and Sophie (Anna Faris) decide to book a luxury spa weekend. But they find it hard to relax when they’re joined by Mel (Isla Fisher), whose chaotic energy and total lack of filter threaten to derail the holiday.
Written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who also wrote the Hangover, this has a lot of parallels with that earlier film: four friends reuniting for a short trip that gradually descends into chaos. The cast is fantastic – Leslie Mann and Anna Faris have a ton of comedy experience, Isla Fisher looks like she’s just having fun, and I’m less familiar with Michelle Buteau but she seems to be a good fit with the others. There are plenty of funny moments in the trailer, from Coco fighting someone in a mud bath, to a runaway golf kart, to the world’s most incompetent boss, to goat yoga (which I kind of now want to try).
This looks like good silly fun.
- Spa Weekend at IMDB
- Spa Weekend at Rotten Tomatoes
Stop! That! Train!
Train stewardesses Tess (Ginger Minj) and DeeDee (Jujubee) leave the dull Stank Rail for the glitz and glamour of the Glamazonian Express. But their new job is threatened when the train is derailed by a huge storm and is sent hurtling towards LA. Can they rescue the passengers, perhaps with the help of President Gagwell (RuPaul)?
Drag acts are very much an acquired taste – their fans absolutely love them, but those who don’t get it really don’t get it. I would ordinarily put myself in the latter group, but I must admit I found the trailer a lot funnier than I was expecting to. This is basically Airplane!, but much camper and set on a train. The writers and performers were clearly very keen to invite that comparison, right down to the exclamation marks in the title and the twisted transport in the poster, but I would argue they’ve been pretty successful. The train is full of ridiculous passengers ready to deliver fleeting visual gags and one-liners (including at least one perfectly pitched celebrity cameo), and there is some dramatic doomsaying in the control room. Plus I think this marks the start of RuPaul’s 2028 presidential campaign – imagine her delivering the final line (and slap) in the trailer to Donald Trump during a debate and tell me honestly you wouldn’t vote for her.
If you like RuPaul’s Drag Race, or drag acts in general, then you’re probably already sold on this, but even if you’re not it looks like it could be a lot of fun. Embrace the camp and silliness and give it a go.
- Stop! That! Train! at IMDB
- Stop! That! Train! at Rotten Tomatoes
If you only see one film this week…
Wile E Coyote getting his day in court finally gets its day in the cinema – catch it while you can!
Still in cinemas and worth a watch
Trailer of the Week
I generally try and avoid going back to a film that I’ve covered before for Trailer of the Week, and there was a host of trailers coming out of Disney’s D23 expo that I probably should be covering (including Avengers, Ahsoka and VisionQuest), but I have to go with the absolutely stunning new trailer for Wildwood, the latest film from stop motion masters Laika. The teaser trailer was Trailer of the Week a little while ago, and there’s also been a bunch of great behind the scenes featurettes, but this first full trailer is somehow even more incredible. The moody, mythical aesthetic of the Oregon woods where the film is set makes a stunning backdrop for a host of fantastical creatures and characters that we get a much closer look at here, including animal soldiers and camouflaged bandits. The craftsmanship and artistry on display is spellbinding – tiny details like the way the characters’ hair moves in the wind or the ruffling of feathers as a crow moves its wings are so natural that it’s easy to overlook how much painstaking work goes into every frame. There are very few films that I am looking forward to as much as this one.
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