Films
‘Early Man’ Trailer: Nick Park’s Prehistoric Misfits Rock The Stone Age
[contfnewc]Studiocanal
Aardman and Studiocanal have dropped the first full trailer for their prehist..
Aardman and Studiocanal have dropped the first full trailer for their prehistoric family film, Early Man. Eddie Redmayne voices the lead character, plucky caveman Dug, who, along with his best friend Hognob, must unite their tribe against a mighty enemy Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston) and his Bronze Age City to save their home.
Nick Park directs the stop-motion comedy adventure which reteams Aardman and Studiocanal after 2015’s hit Shaun The Sheep Movie which grossed $106M worldwide.
Leading Dug’s tribe of lovable misfits is Chief Bobnar (Timothy Spall) who is joined by Treebor (Richard Ayoade), Magma (Selina Griffiths), Asbo (Johnny Vegas), Barry (Mark Williams), Gravelle (Gina Yashere), Eemak (Simon Greenall) and Grubup (Richard Webber). Maisie Williams voices Goona, the gallant and indomitable rebel who befriends Dug and helps the tribe in its battle.
Also joining the cast are Roby Brydon, Kayvan Novak and Miriam Margolyes.
Studiocanal co-finances Early Man alongside the BFI, and will distribute in its own territories: the UK, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, selling worldwide. Lionsgate boarded U.S. rights in May and has set a February 16 release date. Studiocanal opens Early Man on January 26 in the UK.
Also today, the partners announced that in the run-up to release, Redmayne will be reading a Bedtime Story to kids on CBeebies on Christmas Day.
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Films
‘Antebellum’ has a ‘Get Out’ vibe, but doesn’t live up to its twist
“Antebellum” is built around a provocative twist, and it’s a good one — as well as one that definite..
“Antebellum” is built around a provocative twist, and it’s a good one — as well as one that definitely shouldn’t be spoiled even a little. Once that revelation is absorbed, however, the movie becomes less distinctive and inspired, reflecting an attempt to tap into the zeitgeist that made “Get Out” a breakthrough, without the same ability to pay off the premise.
Originally destined for a theatrical run, the movie hits digital platforms trumpeting a “Get Out” pedigree in its marketing campaign, since there’s an overlap among the producing teams.
More directly, the film marks the directing debut of Gerard Bush + Christopher Renz, who have championed social-justice issues through their advertising work. The opening script features a quote from author William Faulkner, whose intent will eventually become clearer: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
If that sounds like a timely means of drawing a line from the horrors of slavery to the racism of today, you’ve come to the right place.
The story begins on a plantation, where the brutal overseers carry out grisly punishments against those tilling the fields. A few have just tried to escape, led by Veronica (Janelle Monae), and they pay a heavy price for their resistance, which does nothing to curb her defiance.
Also written by Bush + Renz, the script take too long before revealing what makes “Antebellum” different, but the middle portion — a “The Twilight Zone”-like phase when it’s hard to be sure exactly what’s going on — is actually the film’s strongest. (Even the trailer arguably gives away too much, so the less one knows, the better.)
The final stretch, by contrast, veers into more familiar thriller territory, and feels especially rushed toward the end, leaving behind a host of nagging, unanswered questions. That provides food for thought, but it’s also what separates the movie from something like “Get Out,” which deftly fleshed out its horror underpinnings.
Although the filmmakers (in a taped message) expressed disappointment that the movie wasn’t making its debut in theaters, in a strange way, the on-demand format somewhat works in its favor. In the press notes, Bush says the goal was “to force the audience to look at the real-life horror of racism through the lens of film horror. We’re landing in the middle of the very conversations that we hoped ‘Antebellum’ would spur.”
