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New trailers: an incredible NASA story, the next big sci-fi film, MacGyver, and more

All the shows and movies you should be looking out for

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Last weekend I watched two absolutely heartbreaking movies about sisters whose lives become confined and controlled by the horrid actions of men. The first, Mustang, came out last year and is about five sisters who become quite literally imprisoned by their uncle as he works to marry them off against their will. The second, The Innocents, which just came out, is about a group of nuns during World War II who have become pregnant after being raped by Soviet soldiers.

What's fascinating about both is that the women in each movie aren't simply limited by the immediate actions of men, but by the knowledge men are keeping from them. In Mustang, one sister contemplates stealing a car to escape, but can't because none of them have been taught how to drive. In The Innocents, the nuns are isolated by the threat of ostracism and retaliation for speaking out, so they're unable to care for those who are pregnant until a discreet doctor arrives.

That becomes even more terrifying than the physical control placed on these women. Because it's not like Cloverfield Lane where wiles can be used to overpower physical restraints — in these movies, women are kept from knowing what they need to find a way out.

Both are really powerful and often horrifying films worth checking out if you get the chance. There's actually no excuse not to watch Mustang this weekend: it's streaming right now on Netflix.

Check out seven trailers from this week below.

Hidden Figures

I'm nearly in tears and this is just the trailer. Hidden Figures tells stories from the early days of NASA that you've quite possibly never heard because almost no one's telling them. It focuses on three black women — Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson — who worked as mathematicians and engineers at a time when most mathematicians and engineers at NASA where male and white. It looks altogether inspiring and fascinating, not to mention really funny, too. The film comes out January 13th.

Arrival

Arrival could very well be the next big sci-fi film. It looks gorgeous, but more importantly, the movie seems to have a really interesting twist on the old "alien visitor" story, making it more about coming to an understanding than fending off a war. It'll be out November 11th.

MacGyver

So this is interesting — not the show or the concept, that all looks very goofy — what's interesting here is that CBS liked the idea of a MacGyver remake enough to order a season of it, but it didn't like the original pilot episode that was created, so it made a brand-new one. And to make sure it turned out good (or something like that), they brought on James Wan, of Saw and Furious 7 fame. Here's a look at what he made. The series starts September 23rd.

The Case Of: JonBenét Ramsey

CBS must have loved Serial and Making a Murderer, because The Case Of: JonBenét Ramsey is very much its own attempt to get in on the true crime action. The six-hour series reexamines and tries to further the famous murder case — it also seems to get into some bad (if extremely watchable) reality TV tropes, bringing on questionable experts and literally rebuilding the entire Ramsey home. Also, multiple people write on a transparent whiteboard. The series starts September 18th.

Do Not Resist

If you've wondered how policing can get so out of hand, this documentary might start to explain it. Do Not Resist examines the militarization of police departments in the US and goes inside of training sessions that illustrate why police might feel justified in using equipment well beyond what they need. It'll be out September 30th.

Zoom

Despite a totally cringeworthy opening, this trailer is worth checking out just to see something more than a little bit different. Zoom is about... I don't even know what it's about. But there's a story within a story... within a story... possibly even within another story... which is horribly indulgent but also something I find irresistibly fascinating. Also there's animation and rotoscoping and that's kinda cool. Zoom is out on September 2nd.

Girl Asleep

This is so weird and I love it.

How filmmakers manipulate emotions using color