Previews: Don’t Look Now Trailer, Ad Astra, More!

Plenty new and renewed in this week’s preview of coming attractions, including the new Don’t Look Now trailer, Ad Astra, An Acceptable Loss, and more…

Don’t Look Now Trailer

Here is a brand new Don’t Look Now trailer. The 1973 classic gets a 4K Ultra HD restoration, which will play in cinemas from 5th July, and be available on DVD, Blu-ray, and Collector’s Edition from 29th July 2019. Directed by Nicholas Roeg, Don’t Look Now is an iconic thriller, and truly a must-see film.

Ad Astra Trailer

Here is the first trailer for the hotly anticipated Ad Astra. The film is about an astronaut who travels to the edge of the solar system to find his missing father and the project he was working on. Directed by James Gray (The Lost City of Z), the film stars Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, and Ruth Negga. Ad Astra will hit UK screens on 18th September 2019.

An Acceptable Loss Trailer

An Acceptable Loss is a political thriller about Libby, a university lecturer who formerly worked as an aide for the US Vice President. When the Vice President becomes President, Libby worries about her safety. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Tika Sumpter. An Acceptable Loss will be available on Digital Download from 15th July 2019.

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark Trailer

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is a new horror based on the book series of the same name. Set in 1968 small-town America, the film is about a young girl who turns her horrible secrets into a series of scary stories, which are found by a group of teenagers. Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is directed by André Øvredal and co-written and produced by Guillermo del Toro. The film is released in UK cinemas in August 2019.

Le Mans ’66 Trailer

Here is the first trailer for Le Mans ’66 (known as Ford vs Ferrari in the US). The film is about the designer and race driver who built a revolutionary race car for Ford to take on the dominating race cars of Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966. Directed by James Mangold (Logan, Knight and Day), the film stars Christian Bale and Matt Damon. Le Mans ’66 launches on to UK screens on 8th November 2019.

In Praise (and Derision) of… Cameron Diaz

Watching Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher recently brought back what a likeable actress she is. While she may not possess the acting chops of a veteran such as Meryl Streep, Diaz certainly has a flair for comedy. She has an understated appeal; although comedy is the genre Diaz is most often associated with, she is not particularly seen as one of luminaries of the genre. Below are some of her memorable performances, though perhaps not the most obvious ones…

Bad Teacher

Cameron Diaz is immense fun as foul-mouthed Elizabeth in Bad Teacher. Much of the film’s humour is crass, but she handles this deftly. She never becomes overly masculine, despite the crudeness of her character. Diaz is responsible for many of the film’s laughs, and delivers a great performance overall.

Knight and Day

Although Knight and Day was not an excellent film, it definitely benefited from having Diaz as one of the protagonists. She has great chemistry with Tom Cruise, which makes the film far more enjoyable than it would have been. Her character June is rather ditzy, a trait that Diaz plays exceptionally well.

A Life Less Ordinary

Not one of Cameron Diaz’s most memorable films, 1997’s A Life Less Ordinary again benefited from her onscreen chemistry, this time with Ewan McGregor. An unconventional love story between a kidnapper and his victim that included the meddling of angels, Diaz’s Celine oozes attitude but manages to exude genuine emotion as well.

Gangs of New York

The derision of Cameron Diaz in  can be simply summed up by the following: her accent in Gangs of New York.  Her part-Irish, part-American accent is distractingly bad. So much so, it detracts from an otherwise decent performance. There are other dubious accents in Martin Scorsese’s film, but sadly Diaz’s inflections are in a league of their own.

Film Review: Knight and Day

Knight and Day relies heavily on the star power of leads Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. The film definitely benefits from the pair’s chemistry; without this it is passable at best.

A chance encounter at the airport changes the life of June Havens (Diaz) forever. She finds her life is in danger after she gets chatting to secret agent Ron Miller (Cruise) on a plane…

As an action comedy, Knight and Day appears to tick all the boxes. The film contains large-scale action sequences, plot twists, a love story and amusing set-ups. Nevertheless, it lacks the magic that would make it a memorable film. Although the stunts are well produced, the twists aren’t that imaginative and the comedic situations are not as funny as you would hope.

Tom Cruise appears to send himself up a little in his portrayal of the seemingly unhinged Miller. As the film progresses, Miller is revealed to be more astute than his initial depiction; an analogy, perhaps, of Cruise and his public persona. Cameron Diaz plays June as ditzy yet endearing. It is a role she has played before, but one she plays well. Cruise and Diaz work well in this pairing; their chemistry sparks an interest in an otherwise mundane narrative.

The premise of Knight and Day isn’t a poor one, but it has been done before and executed much better than in this film. James Mangold directs the action scenes with finesse, however the sequences in between are let down by a lack of ingenuity, which would have carried the audience’s interest through.

Knight and Day is enjoyable enough if it is not taken seriously at all.  It is the type of film you would happily watch on television or dvd, but may leave you a little disgruntled after paying to see it on the big screen.