OK so I got out of my rerun rut and binged Away on Netflix over Labor Day and… I really wanted to like it! The acting was so good, and it looked beautiful, but the script just strained credibility at every turn.
It got off to a promising start with an incident aboard the spacecraft that makes the rest of the crew question whether first-time commander Emma Green (Hilary Swank) is really up to the long haul mission of guiding them to Mars. And there are great performances from a top-notch cast.
I just wish the writers had resisted the urge to include the standard rom-com tensions and the endless Eureka! moments (ex: person on Earth gets a static electricity shock and realizes it may be the key to helping the space crew out of its latest mishap!), and we could have done away entirely with the B-plot of Green’s rebellious teenage daughter. I held on to the end but honestly the episodes got less interesting as the show progressed. Maybe season two, if there is one, can put the focus more on the sci- in this sci-fi story. At least it looked really, really cool.
Dune
Also cool: the utter glee my Verge colleagues experienced watching the trailer for the new Dune remake. I have not seen the 1984 movie or read the novel so I am a total Dune neophyte. But apparently the sandworm is a big fricking deal and fear is the mind killer. Here’s the team analysis of the trailer. Dune is scheduled to arrive in theaters December 18th.
And here are a few more trailers to check out, including one that is one hundred percent tailor-made for this former English lit major:
Rebecca
“A young newlywed arrives at her husband’s imposing family estate on a windswept English coast and finds herself battling the shadow of his first wife Rebecca whose legacy lives on in the house long after her death.” I mean just inject this into my veins right now. Rebecca was a 1938 Gothic novel by Daphne du Maurier that Alfred Hitchcock made into a film starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine that won the 1941 Academy Award for Best Picture (check out that trailer here). This remake features Lily James as the second Mrs. de Winter, Armie Hammer as Maxim, and Kristin Scott Thomas (yesssss) as Mrs. Danvers. Rebecca hits Netflix (and select theaters) on October 21st.
The Truffle Hunters
This documentary is about the men who search for rare Alba truffles in Piedmont, Italy, and the beautiful landscapes in the trailer scenes make it look more like a feature film. Variety says it’s not all idyllic countrysides, however; climate change and deforestation are very real threats to this age-old tradition. But filmmakers treat the subject matter “with respect, curiosity, and a sense of awe,” Variety’s review says. The Truffle Hunters is scheduled to arrive in theaters December 25th.
Sneakerheads
This series is about former sneakerhead Devin, now a stay-at-home dad who’s still obsessed with finding a pair of Zeroes, kind of the holy grail of sneakers. Minor spoiler: it’s not just a show about sneakers. Allen Maldonado stars as Devin and honestly he’s so funny and charming in the trailer I can’t wait to watch this one. Sneakerheads arrives on Netflix September 25th.