Who’s excited for Captain America: Civil War? This girl, right here! But while my inner fangirl and #TeamIronMan self is going crazy waiting to jump into the theater, I am finding myself very interested in films that are pretty far away from the action and the knowing wink-winks and hahas of mainstream films. I started watching quite a number of film trailers of films coming to theaters soon and later this year. Check them out below!
1. Gayby Baby
Genre: Documentary
Directed by: Maya Newell
Synopsis: Gayby Baby follows the lives of four kids — Gus, Ebony, Matt, and Graham – whose parents all happen to be gay. As they each wrestle with personal change, the outside world wrestles with the issue of marriage equality and whether or not kids of same-sex families are at risk.
Just from the trailer, I bawled a little bit. It’s a refreshing documentary on kids who are raised by parents who are part of the LGBT community. It details some of their experiences from their everyday struggles to questions about their parents and their current situation. There’s this one line that this sweet little boy said: “Personally, I think that God made everyone to be who they are.” For such a young age, having that mentality is precious, and you never run across many kids like that, even in this age where slowly, the LGBT community is accepted more openly. There are still kids who are passive about the issue, so it’s refreshing to know that kids can have this type of outlook in life.
Gayby Baby is now out in Australia and New Zealand, and it premieres in the US, UK, and Ireland on April 28, 2016.
2. Doukyusei (Classmates)
Genre: Animation, Drama
Directed by: Shoko Nakajima
Synopsis: Rihito Sajo is an honor student who got perfect scores in every subject on his high school entrance exam. Hikaru Kusakabe plays guitar in his band that performs at live events and is popular among the girls. These boys would have never crossed paths, but one day Hikaru offers to help Rihito prepare for their upcoming chorus festival, and the two begin to talk. It starts out slow, but soon their feelings for one another grow until eventually they realize they are in love…
I will be the first to say that I’m absolutely a sucker for Japanese animation. That being said,I don’t necessarily come across widely distributed films that tackle shounen ai (“boy’s love”) in theaters that much. Now that I know about them, I plan on reading the manga (Japanese comic) and just roll on my bed, reveling in all the fluffy feelings.
Lucky for those who live in the US, Doukyuusei (Classmate) will have a limited release starting May 6th! I urge you to watch it.
3. Me Before You
Genre: Drama
Directed by: Thea Sharrock
Synopsis: Adapted from the bestselling novel by Jo Jo Moyes, Me Before You tells the story of the unexpected relationship that blossoms between a contented small town Englishwoman and the wealthy, paralyzed Londoner who hires her as his caretaker.
I loved Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games and of course as Alex in Love, Rosie. Contemporary films like Love, Rosie definitely play on his charms as an actor, so that means good things for Me Before You. Once you add Emilia Clarke, boom, you’ve got yourself a pretty good-looking couple. I have a ton of friends who have read Me Before You, but I haven’t yet, so I seriously need to read it now. I did cry while watching the trailer, so that says a lot, right? Or am I just a crier? Either way, I’m pretty excited to watch this film and to let it tug at my heartstrings.
Me Before You premieres in theaters on June 3rd.
4. Swiss Army Man
Genre: Drama
Directed by: Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan
Synopsis: A hopeless man stranded in the wilderness befriends a dead body and together they go on a surreal journey to get home.
After watching Room, I feel like A24 has been killing it with producing some pretty thought-provoking films. Swiss Army Man may look like your typical buddy film, but it actually isn’t. A man who has lost all hope befriending a corpse that suddenly comes back to life as some form of human Swiss army knife? Too nuts to be believable, but it actually looks very entertaining and can definitely draw in some feelings about survival and moving toward a foreseeable future. Plus it has Paul Dano, who is a king of indie movies, and Daniel Radcliffe, who now has a chance to test his skills as a comedic actor.
Swiss Army Man is set for a limited release in theaters on June 24th. Like with Room, I’m looking forward to a wide-scale release.
5. Right Now, Wrong Then
Genre: Drama
Directed by: Hong Sang-soo
Synopsis: Quite by accident, a film director arrives in town a day early. With time to kill before his lecture the next day, he stops by a restored, old palace and meets a fledgling artist. She’s never seen any of his films but knows he’s famous. They talk, and together they go to her workshop to look at her paintings and have sushi and soju. More conversation follows, and then they have an awkward get-together with friends where all sorts of secrets are revealed. All the while, they may or may not be falling for each other. Then, quite unexpectedly, we begin again, but now things appear somewhat different.
The trailer is super trippy but leaves you curious as to what is going on. There seems to be a play of rewinding; just by looking at the trailer and the fact that they are saying the same lines over and over somewhat suggest the oddness of the situation. I feel like this film will definitely trip up a lot of emotions since it has that 50 First Dates, Groundhog Day feel to it, but it seems to be made in a more whimsical and unique way. I honestly love Korean films, so I’m quite excited to see this.
Right Now, Wrong Then is set for a limited release in the US on June 24th.
Let us know what you’re excited to see, below!