Welcome to the second episode Perception Check: Trailer Edition podcast! This new, just finding-its-feet series is headed up by myself (Bronwen Winter Phoenix) and Adam ‘Fenn’ Fenton (we just call him ‘Fenn’).
It’s your weekly roundup of movie, TV and video game trailers – or, at least, the ones we’ve found interesting enough to cover here on Geek Native.
Check out the podcast below – there’s also a full transcription if you fancy.
Bronwen: Welcome traveller. This is your perception check, a weekly roundup of interesting trailers we’ve pulled together at Geek Native. I’m Bronwen and I’m here with Fenn. Fenn, are you ready to roll for perception?
Fenn: Absolutely. Let’s do it.
Bronwen: OK, let’s move on to the rolls.
Fenn: Oh wow. OK, I. Hope that the DC on this wasn’t too high, I’ve only managed an 8 this week.
Bronwen: Ohh no I’ve rolled got a 10.
Fenn: OK, so this is not brilliant. We’re… We’re gonna be wandering around, bumping into trees at this point.
Bronwen: Well, let’s see how we get on, shall we? Let’s start with Dune Part 2.
Fenn: Ohh, fantastic. So Dune Part 2. We’ve had a few trailers for this already, but they were all running up to an expected November launch. Now, nobody’s been paying attention but we’re actually in December. So the point is here that despite the fact that we’ve got a moved launch date, it’s now moved to March.
They’ve decided to keep coming out with more trailers and it’s a good thing too. They’ve actually put a lot more in. They’ve got the the movies obviously probably completely ready. And and hopefully that extra time will help any special effects. But I am really excited about this. This is this is Sci-fi’s, Lord of the Rings. This is like epic world building. You know, memorable characters, just, you know. Fantastic. Just huge, huge scale. I’m really looking forward to this.
Bronwen: Is it that good a thing that they’ve released so many trailers, though, because at one point you just get to see way too much of A film, don’t you?
Fenn: I think that’s fair, but with Dune. I don’t know if the story is well enough known anyway that. You know it’s past the points of spoiler territory anyway. You just want to know how they’re going to present it.
Bronwen: Yeah, I guess.
Fenn: So it’s not so much in danger about, you know. Ohh I I didn’t realise you know, the Titanic sank or, you know, they actually do make it to Mount Doom. It’s not quite the same thing. You want to see how they’re going to do it? What kind of visual spectacle are we expecting that sort of thing plus. You kind of want to do something that will bring the audiences in, we’ll give them that. You know that that fulfillments and and meet their expectations so. You can go on and do more. Of the genes series, that’s the thing I’m really interested to see what happens. Will they be doing more?
Bronwen: Also in this trailer they disturbed the worm and then I’m like, oh, no, they disturbed more than one worm. Multiple worms!
Fenn: Cause what’s better than you know? One it’s more than one. What’s more… What’s the line from? What’s the line from? Spinal Tap, he has none more. Black is none more worm. We’ve got none more worm this time. So yeah, I mean I get what you mean. We can be over trailered. I suppose they probably want people to remember that. Actually, it didn’t release in November. You didn’t miss it because obviously all of the the stuff with the, with the strikes in in Hollywood has has. Got quite a lot of. Movies further back on the calendar and and things are not releasing as they originally. Wanted them to.
Bronwen: All right. And Dune Part 2 will be released in cinemas on March 1st, 2024.
Fenn: Notwithstanding any further strikes.
Bronwen: Hopefully yes. Next, it’s Furiosa, a Mad Max saga. Now this is another one you’re really excited about, aren’t you then? And. And to be honest, we missed this last week. We didn’t talk about it, but now they’ve released a poster that allowed me to add in the trailer as well. Again, we might as well, talk about it.
Fenn: I mean. Yeah, it it’s. George Miller, that man who has created the It’s it’s again, it’s epic world building. Mad Max has gone from a low budget apocalyptic sci-fi with Mel Gibson left Mel Gibson behind, thankfully. You might say and moved on to really strong plots in in the recent Mad Max Fury Rd. What surprised me because you weren’t expecting a strong plot alongside the whole visual? Explosions. Let’s face it, it’s explosions. It’s always explosions for the fact that petrol. Sorry. Sorry. Does the lean is supposed to be a rare thing and. And vital and so on. They really do have a lot of waste in it. So yeah. Furiosa what what are your opinions? I mean, Anya Taylor, Joy, do you think she can take on the mantle?
Bronwen: Absolutely. Like her character looks totally freaking BADASS, so I’m I’m really excited for it, actually. And it looks incredibly miffed Maxwell, I would say, so that what we want, really, isn’t it?
Fenn: And we’ve got Chris Hemsworth as a bad guy that’s almost unrecognisable.
Bronwen: Yes, exactly. No.
Fenn: I think he’s hiding behind the beards.
Bronwen: Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Fenn: Like, not even.
Fenn: Like a like a brother war beard. We’re talking like old man, you know. Acid addicted Santa kind of beers, you know.
Bronwen: Yeah. And there’s a lot going on in it as well. But yeah, I think it should be good. So that is out on May 24th next year. Now let’s move on to one of the things I’m most excited about this week, Out of Darkness.
Fenn: Yeah, you’re absolutely drawn to this one. I don’t quite know why that. Yeah, Out of Darkness, Out of Darkness.
Bronwen: You do? Don’t know because it’s Stone Age monster survival. It’s just it’s a fabulous dose of what the what the fuck because there’s these Cavemen. It’s set roughly around 45,000 years ago. But this trailer features this unknown like monster creature. Like you don’t know what it is. Is it an ancient cryptid, or a demon, is it predator? We just don’t know. You know, and it’s.
Fenn: I did get a lot of. Prey vibes from this and a little bit of like 65. Did you see 65 with that driver? So I I think there’s something to be said for that, I don’t know, is it a? Genre now of. The, the the prehistoric survivalists you know you’ve got. You’ve got a. Huge power dynamic between the natural worlds and, you know, plain old humans. We feel more vulnerable. That’s great. But yeah, who who is the enemy? That that. Thankfully, the trailer is not giving anything away. On this.
Bronwen: Yeah, it is becoming a genre. I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if at the end of film, it’s revealed that it’s like a, an alien or something that’s landed in a big spaceship, but who knows.
Fenn: I mean, I’m. I’m gonna go with it’s Danny Glover. Pistol off at Predator two. It was a terrible movie. And he wants payback.
Bronwen: You know. OK.
Fenn: Anyway, yes, so.
Fenn: Out of Darkness is out in February 9th of next year, 2024. I think we’ll. Be signing up for that one, definitely.
Bronwen: Shut up and take my money. I’ll be there.
Fenn: Alright, excellent. Now you posted up about this next movie, Miller’s Girl, and this one seems to. Intrigue you quite a lot.
Bronwen: I find it really interesting. It’s one of those inappropriate student teacher relationships. It’s got Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman is the teacher, and it’s just there’s something different about it. I guess it doesn’t look like the more traditional kind of overdone thing. There’s something a bit darker about it. There’s a lot of smouldering tension and foreboding. There’s woods and I just feel like someone’s gonna end up dead in them at some point. But you know, you don’t know. Yeah.
Fenn: Oh yeah, definitely got that feeling. You you, don’t you? Don’t show. I mean, unless it’s twilight or something like that. Like that kind of woods is is is definitely the sort of thing that you end up with a freshly dug grave at some points in. The movie. The power dynamics in this trailer are what really intrigues me. You’re not really sure that Shanna will take his character is actually the victim here, or if she’s the villain. And that is intriguing, but it also kind of worries me. Are we? Are we feminising the women again for a relationship that a man is pursuing here? I don’t know. There’s a lot not really being said. And there’s a lot not really being revealed in the trailer. And I think that’s probably a good thing because it will encourage people to go and see it. And it will probably encourage an interest from conversation. Around the topic.
Bronwen: Yeah, I think so too. So that one is going to be out in selected cinemas from January 26th. And let’s move on to one that you’ve covered, Fenn, it’s called IF – what do you reckon?
Fenn: Yeah, if this is not a Kipling poem, as far as I can recall. He never really mentioned anything. This is actually about imaginary friends I. Mentioned on my. Article about this that it has a sort of Disney Pixar WISH fields where but I must be clear it’s. Actually, a paramount movie. Well, let’s face it, this is gonna be a family movie. You’re not really gonna care. The kids are only gonna care if it’s funny and silly. And it’s got Ryan Reynolds in it. So we’re probably sorted, and there’s a lot to be mines from the idea of imaginary friends becoming visible. They’re real and they’re annoyed the the kids keep growing up and leaving them. So it’s all about that. I don’t know what the end of this is going to be. I don’t know what the purpose of this. Because it’s the the the the character is I I don’t know. Michael. Ryan Reynold’s daughter is the one that starts seeing them or something like that again the the trailer’s not really saying a lot, which is.
Bronwen: Yeah, I don’t know because it starts off with him in the trailer seeing the imaginary friends. But yeah, I’m really impressed with the cast though. I mean, it’s got Ryan Reynolds, obviously uh, Phoebe Waller Bridge, Awkwafina, Sam Rockwell and Matt Damon. So. It’s looking like.
Fenn: And I mean. That’s that’s just. A small special I mean it is literally a who’s who on the on the front of who’s funny in Hollywood’s there’s there’s, there’s, there’s a lot more to it than that. But as I say this early on, they’re not really being all that. Open or obvious about what movies really gonna be like, and I like that.
Bronwen: I like that too. You need a bit of surprise sometimes.
Fenn: The trailer should not be the entire movie. Done done small. It should not tell. It should not make you feel like you’ve. Just watched it.
Bronwen: Yeah, and it shouldn’t be like Strays where the funniest part of the whole movie is in the trailer.
Fenn: Oh. Oh, and I mean, if we can go slightly off topic the the recent, the recent Disney’s Wish was exactly that problem. I went to see it with my seven-year old and the funny parts in the trailer are literally all the funny parts in the entirety of the movie, and he was bored stiff. He cannot entertain an audience if the trailer is just the only good parts.
Bronwen: Yeah, and, but to be honest, it’s not even the good parts aren’t even that good. I did not enjoy that film at all. But anyway, let’s move on. On to Civil War, which is something that I’m a lot less interested in than you are, because I’m just like Americans killing each other with guns and stuff. It’s just. Just a little…
Fenn: It feels a bit too close to home.
Bronwen: Yeah. And I’m. I’m just kind of bored of it.
Fenn: Ohh, that’s fair enough, that’s fair enough. I mean I’ve got some enthusiasm for a few reasons on that spot. The first one is that a 24 is the is the production company, is the studio involved here, 824 for me these days is just a sign that I should be paying attention.
Bronwen: OK.
Fenn: Even if it’s not a movie that I’ll sit and watch, they should be paying attention. To what they’re doing. It’s not just horror. Was weird. Movies that are like off the beaten track and Indies and stuff these days. They seem to be going for bigger movies that actually want to be saying something as well. I mean, a political war movie. It’s not my usual bag anyway. But I am intrigued because. I want to see where they draw the line between where we currently are and where America currently sits to what they’re showing on the trail. How did they get there? What happened? What sparked all of this off? And the fact. Is that the trailer feels very personal. It feels to me like contagion days or the Apple TV series extrapolations did recently where it’s looking at it from the perspective of people living through it rather than in kind of a documentary style or a retrospective or. You know, even even with some disaster movies, they can kind of feel like it’s not really based reality. You know, it’s just big set pieces of, you know, I’m waves hitting the Statue of Liberty and taking it down and whatever. It’s not really like, you know, how are people living through this? How are you know? How are people reacting to this and so on. And there are just some aspects that feel. Either they’re prescient or they’re worryingly cynical about the direction of travel. So yeah, just like little details like. You know, Texas and California are on the same side. What universe is this? You know, you’ve got a you’ve got a sniper in in the trailer. Who’s wearing glittery nail Polish? I mean, that’s not something you really associate with somebody who’s like. You know, associated with army or or whatever. So it’s it’s looking at things with the different bands that I’m really interested to see where. It’s going with the.
Bronwen: The part about when the people are like we’re Americans, dude’s like, yeah, what type of American are you?
Fenn: Know what it feels like. It’s something straight out. Of a World War 2 movie. It honestly does that that line gave me gave me shivers.
Bronwen: Me too actually, but I just didn’t like.
Fenn: That’s fair enough. Sometimes we don’t go to the movies to watch something that close to. Home, you know. So Civil War is expected to be out in April, April 26th of 2024. We’ll see how that goes.
Bronwen: We will indeed and on to my top tech of the week, which is Destroy all Neighbours. I’m so excited for this one. It’s it’s just a wild ride of a trailer. It’s absolutely deranged. It’s basically what happens if you have, like, an unfinished prog rock album for long enough and you just end up in like. Bloodshed and Corp like on alive corpses and all kinds of weird and wonderful things happening. And it’s got Alex Winter. As this sort of deranged neighbour who is completely unrecognisable.
Fenn: So where where is Alex Winter from? Where? Where? Where would I? Recognise him from.
Bronwen: Bill and Ted.
Fenn: Ohh, right. OK. That’s a name from the past!
Bronwen: I think he’s got like, a small role where you actually see his face normally as well, where he plays a different character. But when he play the neighbour just you can’t recognise him at all.
Fenn: So I mean this one doesn’t thrill me as much as it does you, Bronwen, but I will admit it is a silly daft, almost deliberately so. It feels like it’s been made so that somebody can riff Trax it like, you know, mystery science theatre like. You sit there mocking it while you watch it. But at the same time, it’s that kind of thing that I feel it’s probably gonna be its strongest, you know, strongest value there. There’s gonna be groups of people watching this so they can all. Talk about it in the pub afterwards and that’s great. So there was one thing that I thought was one like really ultra realistic elements to this, and that was simply that it’s a prop musician that’s so hyper focused on their music, but they accidentally go on a. Murder spree. That just really resonated with me. It felt so true.
Bronwen: Yeah. I just, I just love it.
Fenn: It’s bizarre. It’s gonna have a cult following. You know it.
Bronwen: And you know, Jackie’s a big prog rock fan – our a friend, Jackie.
Fenn: It’s true, it’s true. If you’ve got a ready made audience right there.
Bronwen: OK. And uh, Destroy All Neighbours will be released on Shudder, January 12th, so I am really looking forward to that.
Fenn: I’m guessing that you’re already all subscribed up to shutter anyway, so you know that’s a. That’s a that. That’s a.
Bronwen: Oh hell yeah.
Fenn: Late Christmas present right there.
Bronwen: Exactly. Yeah. No, I watch Dragula on there mainly. Alright, so uhm. Now, do we want to mention I mean there there is a new Aquaman trailer out? Yeah, that’s… No, no, we don’t care. But, you know, we might as well just say it’s happened.
Fenn: To be careful. Yeah, Aquaman. That happens. OK, OK, fantastic, right?
Bronwen: It happened – moving on.
Fenn: The next one, well, let’s move on to some TV! I think we’ve got an interesting one you posted. Up early on in the week, called Fool Me once.
Bronwen: Yes, and this is a collaboration between Netflix and Harlan Coban. And if, if you’re familiar with any of Harlan Coben’s work before, it’s very much what the WTF? What’s going on? Crime, mystery, thriller series type thing. I’ve read some of his books. Some of the other ones that have come out before are stranger, safe and stay close, so this one is not based on a book I believe, and it just looks quite interesting and that this woman, she thinks she’s become a widow through the murder of her husband. But has she though? Has she really? I’m not sure. I’m guessing probably not, but otherwise there would be no real TV show here.
Fenn: Yeah. I mean there’s there’s. A lack of tension, if it’s like Ohh I died. The ends, no. And as I understand it from. The trailer she sees him on the nanny Cam.
Bronwen: Yeah. Which is, you gotta be pretty stupid to be seen on a nanny Cam if you’re meant to be dead right?
Fenn: Right, absolutely. I mean, there’s a lot of effort being put into faking your own. Death at that. Point and the rest of the trailer seems to indicate that his mother knows something about it, too. Very intriguing. Lots of questions raised the trailer. Is thankfully not telling us any. Of the answers, and that’s probably what’s going to keep us interested.
Bronwen: Joanna Lumley, though she still looks fabulous.
Fenn: Ohh I’m I. I was just gonna say. Absolutely. But you know what? I’m just gonna. I’m. Just gonna run into it. That’s fine. And I lean into it. Absolutely Fabulous. She really is still still up. They’re batting way above our average. It’s it. It looks brilliant.
Bronwen: And I I quite like Michelle Keegan as well, actually, so I might check that out depending. And that is actually out on the 1st of January. So it’s one of those things that you can probably binge during the kind of limbo between Christmas, well between New Year nd you were going back to work type thing.
Fenn: Oh yeah. Yeah, I think that’s one of those that’s gonna go well with your cheese board. OK, so the next one is another that you had mentioned. I had no idea this was even a thing. It’s called Godspeed, and it’s apparently from a Kickstarter. You wanna tell me more?
Bronwen: Yeah. So it’s from a newly launched animation studio based in Atlanta called Light Fold. And I just thought the trailer looked really interesting. It’s not something that is maybe going to get picked up as much as some of the other mainstream ones that we’ve covered. And it’s very kind of atmospheric and also quite an emotional series by the looks of it. There’s lots of storms and space and. Yeah, this is.
Fenn: So we’ve got something very. Sci-fi there’s a it’s not a known IP. It’s not coming from a comic or anything. Like that is it?
Bronwen: I don’t think so, no, but it was funded through Kickstarter in in under 24 hours.
Fenn: Wow. OK, so we’ve.
Bronwen: It’s just quite impressive.
Fenn: Got a lot of interest in backing here.
Bronwen: Yep, and that’s already started streaming as well. So you can actually check it out right now. Basically, it started streaming on the 15th.
Fenn: And where would we find that?
Bronwen: That is on YouTube.
Fenn: Ohh, excellent, right. OK, so let’s build speed. UM.
Bronwen: And it’s also on their own website as well.
Fenn: We’ve got. Alright, OK, fantastic. And last of all, we’ve got some extra information about OD that we mentioned last week.
Bronwen: Yes, the quick Silent Hill Reddit user discovered an Easter egg within the odd trailer and fans began to speculate and share the story from their keyboards.
Fenn: The quick silence hell Reddit user discovered an Easter egg. Within the OD trailer and fans began to speculate and share the story from their keyboards.
Bronwen: That was perfect.
Fenn: That’s how we have to speak about to you from now. On I think.
Bronwen: I think so too. So anyway, yeah, just like we said, just like we said, there’s an Easter egg within the OD trailer. It’s in the guys mouth. The actor Udo Kier, I’m not sure if I’m, if I’m pronouncing that, not really.
Fenn: And that’s that’s probably close enough.
Bronwen: But yeah, you can see in his mouth that there are letters that. Priestly translate to silent and hell.
Fenn: So to be think that OD is related to Silent Hill or inspired by it? Or is this just a reference to the fact that director wanted to do something with Silent Hill?
Bronwen: I don’t know. I mean, Kojima clearly had plans for Silent Hill back in the day, so I don’t know if he’s maybe taking something that he’d had plans or if this is just a reference to this is going to be scary as fuck. Who knows.
Fenn: I mean it’s slightly more information than we had last week. But I am certainly no more clear on where it’s going.
Bronwen: No, no, that’s a good thing.
Fenn: It’s quite a cheap one really. Yeah, absolutely.
Bronwen: We’re intrigued. Let’s put it that way.
Fenn: So stick around while we find out.
Bronwen: All right.
Fenn: More about it as well.
Bronwen: Exactly. And we’ll report back to you over the old Geek Native. So we’re going to be taking We are going to be taking a break over the festive period, but next week we’re gonna do a Christmas Eve version of Perception check. So stay tuned for that one.
Fenn: Yeah, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll see what form it takes. We’re in discussions about what we want to do with it, but it will definitely feel Christmassy.
Bronwen: Yay. And as always, you can watch the trailers we’ve discussed via Geek native, so you’re happy with that then?
Fenn: All good.
Bronwen: All right, until our paths cross again.
What do you think of Perception Check: Trailer Edition episode two? We’re still finding our feet, so try and be nice!
