(Almost a) New Year, New Trailers!

46 thoughts on “(Almost a) New Year, New Trailers!”

1. Mulan — “based on the Disney movie.” How about one based on the real historical character? I am so sick of Disney ripping off everything they can get their grubby hands on!

   1. It’s also not based on the movie, it’s based on the origins of the legend, which is why there will be no appearances from Shang or Mushu.

      1. Yeah, but they’re still clearly using Disney movie elements, based on the fact that they used Reflection in the trailer.

   2. China produced a live action Mulan: Rise of a Warrior in 2009. Available to rent or buy from Amazon….

2. Radioactive and The Aeronauts.
   Also can’t wait to snark Little Women. Best thing about it might be Meryl Streep’s line ‘I’m wealthy’ or its equivalent when asked by Jo why she doesn’t marry.

   1. But Streep is playing Aunt March, not Marmee.

      1. Yes, Laura Dern is playing Marmee.

      2. I know and it – the comment – is so totally Aunt March.

3. I’m more annoyed that people think we need ANOTHER Christmas Carol. The Muppet Christmas Carol already exists, we don’t need anything else.

   1. Ha, yessss.

   2. Muppet version is great. But also the animated one from, what, a decade ago? was quite good as well—it captured the weirdness of the story.

   3. I will stick by the Alastair Sim version until the day I die.

4. Spent the entirety of Sanditon screeching a constant rotation of “Hair pins! Cleavage!! WHAT?!?!”. That’s literally the entire plot, saved you a few hours.

   1. Much appreciated!

   2. So much this, see also Bonnet!!

      1. “Bonnet,” is the sad, tired sigh one gives in dejected recognition after the plot has come to fruition. “Bonnet,” we say dejectedly, watching the most un-Austen Austen story unfold. “Bonnet,” like a prayer for a loved long lost loved one, but no bonnet comes. There are no bonnets–the bonnets are dead; there is only…The Cleavage. The heaving, heaving cleavage.

   3. thank you for your service ;-)

5. She is. Afraid our girls goofed.

6. Little Women and Emma look god-awful and anachronistic, hitting the viewer over the head with headstrong women looking to LIVE LIFE ON THEIR TERMS etc etc. Lousy acting by those in the trailer including Streep.
   Inappropriate soundtracks. And NO, a millionth remake of either unnecessary.
   Ditto Doolittle for goodness sakes!

   1. I finally watched the trailer for Little Women last night after protesting it for months, and I felt VALIDATED in refusing to watch it initially. Who the heck thought the book was like that? Why are the costumes and hairstyles wrong? Meg wore her hair up and I am fuming again.

   2. Dolittle. One o only.

   3. yes, when the full trailer came out it was disappointing. it’s a shame because I think so many involved in the production are very talented, but if you’re just going to read into things… And if the lesson is, as I suspect, make your own choices and be ok with women who make different ones, I think Mona Lisa Smile probably did that better.

7. Dolittle as usual bears no resemblance to the books, but I just love Robert Downey! I see Dab Dab and Polynesia but where the heck did the polar bear and gorilla come from??

8. The amount of loose fly-away hair annoys me.

9. Portrait of a Lady on Fire – made my heart pound!

   1. me too lol…I’ll be in my bunk

   2. great movie

10. NO MORE JANE AUSTEN.

11. Don’t get your hopes up for Sanditon or Beecham House. Just saying. The critics and audience both savaged them.
    Looking forward to a new version of Christmas Carol because of the writers. There doesn’t have to be Only One, surely. And David Copperfield? Armando Ianucci. The Death of Stalin was one of my fave films of a couple of years ago.
    No more Austen. Please.

    1. BTW I loved World On Fire, though I wasn’t expecting to. The Kelly Gang looks like fun.
       Looks like the Great Hairpin Shortage reached Little Women.

    2. Sanditon was awful. So much potential, so totally wasted.

       1. Belgravia, maybe? Just finally read the book.

12. Is it me, or is the music in the David Copperfield trailer taken DIRECTLY from Desperate Romantics? Adding to that with the editing and the humor I got a feeling someone on the production team REALLY liked Desperate Romantics :D

    1. Daniel Pemberton might have something to say about that. The composer for the music for David Copperfield worked with Iannucci on his previous film, The Death Of Stalin.

13. Outlander of course always has my heart. But the most anticipated period piece I’m looking forward to in 2020 is still being filmed (so no trailer yet) but the Second Season of A Discovery of Witches, which partially takes place in parts of Early Modern Europe (Elizabeth’s England–both urban London and rural Woodstock–a French Chateau in the Auvergne, and Prague). Yes some of the men’s outfits have a touch too much leather in them, and yes there’s backlacing on a female character (granted the actress is nursing so she has to get in and out of it really fast). But the book series upon which the tv show is based is written by a historian of that period. So I can’t wait to see what details they get just right. (I am a fan of the books and read them multiple times a year)

    1. Also looking forward to the next season of Discovery. I haven’t seen a date yet though, have you? The casting has been so great and i can’t wait to see how the historical bits go!

       1. I belong to a (book and tv series) fan group, The All Souls Discussion Group, on Facebook (which is Admin’ed by Deborah Harkness herself). She hasn’t said anything concrete as they’re still filming (they’ve taken some time off for the holidays then in the new year it’s back to filming for 3 more weeks, then there’s the process of editing). My Mom (who’s also a fan) and I have sort of figured that it may be sometime in the summer at the very earliest. (But that’s wholly our conjecturing.)

    2. Matthew Goode!

14. Two of the first three trailers I watched felt obliged to include the word “modern”. Grrrr…

15. Actually saw “The Aeronauts” as it was playing for a week in Chicago in 70 mm at the Music Box Theater. Some nice costuming, lots of peril, fairly accurate period ballooning attire, and one outstanding “Behold My Field” dress! (as in Behold my field of *** and see it is barren).

16. Ugh, the Sanditon hairpin shortage… I wanted to enjoy it, but I don’t know if I can now that I’ve seen the trailer. Looking forward to Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Radioactive and Belgravia. Especially Radioactive as I’m a science nerd. Hopefully they will give her story the respect it deserves.

17. Beecham House is looking very odd. Somebody had said them, that such beards were in fashion during the 1790s? The beards spoil all pictures.
    The new film about Casanova is looking very dull. No idea why he is’nt wearing a Whig and why they didn’t gave the actors clothes of the period, when he was actualy old. Casanova always had his fascination for the producers of TV-movies and Cinema, but not often was represented in an interesting way. Why not focussing on his succesfull brother the painter?

18. Beecham house looks irritating,if I act extremely generous.The protagonist with his disheveled biker boy look certainly doesn’t fit my idea of 18th century men.And the costumes for Indian characters–where is all the wonderful muslin that took Europe by storm?It is fine that the designer opted for silks,but nobody wore those on a daily basis as the show suggests.Printed cotton trousers were the rage,and ladies covered themselves in yards of finest muslin dupattas.The women,young and old,are dressed in generic lehengas when they should be wearing really wide farshi pyjama pants for the skirty effect.And not a single women is wearing a peshwaj over their cholis;imagine a woman in the 18th century forgetting to wear her francaise robe over her stomacher.
    The depiction of woman makes it look like the director was fully intent on degrading women to concubines and romanticizing colonialism.That one shot with the nautch girls in the king’s court,18-19th century tawaifs(indian courtesans,more like geishas of Japan)were respected and powerful enough they could drain the pockets of nawabs empty with their hefty fees for a single poetic gathering.And here we see them referenced as some available prostitutes.This hurts when you realize the director should have known about his own country.

19. Not many of these are striking me. I’m hoping to see 1917, but anyone looking forward to Firth or Cumberbatch, I’m pretty sure they’re not really the stars—it pretty much follows two young soldiers trying to get a message to a unit that’s walking into an ambush. The big names seem to be officers who aren’t the main focus. I’m hoping that Radioactive is good, but the way she talks about science in the trailer strikes me as bizarre. Crossing fingers it’s good.

    I had been hopeful about The Aeronauts but when I looked it up it seems like it’s heavily fictionalized. They stuck in an invented female character inspired by a real woman, aeronaut Sophie Blanchard, to make the flight more interesting, and left out a pioneering pilot. I think it sounds like they should’ve abandoned this balloon flight and instead told Sophie’s story, rather than invent a random woman and erase someone else’s contributions.

    What the heck is with Casanova?? And open carriage half or perhaps mostly naked fondling, seriously?

20. Meryl Streep is not Marmee in this movie. She’s Aunt Mach.

21. Oh God, the blond is Emma! Mind you Mr. Elton is perfect.

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