Trailer Thursday (01-27-11)

 

 

Since there’s so much Oscar talk (which we’ll get to) going on this week and Sundance is upon us, let’s take a break and look into the future once again. Here are some films that will be coming out soon, release dates are subject to change….

 

 

 

 

 

 

I dunno what came over me after watching this trailer….but I found myself kinda tired. Strange. About as strange as a tire named Robert who discovers he has telepathic powers and soon decides to test it on humans. Do you need to know anymore? I mean, this is a film that will take you down a road you’ve never been down before. It stars Stephen Spinella and Roxane Mesquida (and I’m guessing a lot of rubber tires). Written, directed & scored by Quentin Dupieux, “Rubber” burned its way thru Cannes and Fantastic Fest film festivals last year. It’s set to be released on-demand on February 25th before hitting theaters April 1st.

  

 

OF GODS AND MEN

This multiple award-winning French film is set to have a limited release on Frebruary 25^th in Los Angeles and New York. Written/directed by Xavier Beauvois and starring Lambert Wilson (“The Matrix Revolutions”) and Michael Lonsdale (“Agora”), the film centers on eight French Christian monks who have to decide whether or not to stay at their monastery following a deadly attack by an Islamic fundamentalist group. It was a big box-office hit last year in France and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prize. It went on to receive several nominations and awards, but it remains a mystery as to why it didn’t get an Oscar nod.

 

 

BEGINNERS

The new dramedy from writer/director Mike Mills’ (“Thumbsucker”) screened last year at Toronto with good word-of-mouth. It’s about a man named Oliver (Ewan McGregor) who meets Anna (Melanie Laurent) and then reflects on the lessons taught to him by his late father (Christopher Plummer). The charming trailer seems to speak for itself. Look for “Beginners” to hit select theaters June 3, 2011.

 

 

 

While I’m not a huge fan of the popular “found-footage”  approach to the horror genre, but this Spanish-language film does look interesting. Currently making its U.S. debut at the Slamdance Film Festival and written and directed by 27-year-old Mexican writer/director Fernando Barreda Luna, you can be sure fans of both “Paranormal Activity” movies will check it out. Spanish police “find” hours of camera footage while in the middle of trying to solve a gruesome murder case. This footage shows siblings who dabble in investigating urban legend investigators siblings (played by real life brother and sister Cristian and July Quintanilla) who explored a summer home while on vacation. You can guess where all that goes, but for some reason two of them are able to record everything for us to see. I’m always up for a good scare but if it doesn’t deliver than it might live up to its title. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We now move from “Atrocious” to “Insidious”, the new film by “Saw” director James Wan starring Rosey Byrne and Patrick Wilson. They play parents of a boy who falls into a coma after an accident at their new house. And then some vengeful spirits visit the family but where did they come from? This could all be a joke though since it comes out on April 1st.

 

 

 

How about a film shot entirely on an iPhone? It was only a matter of time. This teaser for Park Chan-wook’s (“Oldboy”) new short film, also known as “Night Fishing” is 30 minutes in length and follows a man who catches a female body while fishing.  Apparently, he faints while untangling his line and when he comes to, he finds the two have switched wardrobes. Is that all they have switched?  It opens in select South Korean theaters at the end of January with its international release yet to be determined.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been awaiting the next film from writer/director Dito Montiel (“Fighting”) since watching “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints”, based on his own life. Now we have the crime drama, “The Son of No One” which will close the Sundance Film Festival, which teams him up again with actor Channing Tatum.

It tells the story of two friends (Tatum and Tracy Morgan) who must face the consequences of a murder they committed. The film also stars none other than Al Pacino (hopefully toned-down), Katie Holmes, Ray Liotta, and Juliette Binoche. Word has it that this will be a serious turn for Morgan, something I think he is more than capable of handling. In fact, my bet is that he steals the movie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Directed by David McKenzie, “Perfect Sense” is about two people who find each other, fall in love, just as the world is falling apart. Literally. The two are played by Ewan McGregor and Eva Green and the film is yet another Sundance entry. All will say is the trailer has me hooked. Also starring another “Trainspotting” alum, Ewen Bremner as well as Stephen Dillane, Denis Lawson, and Connie Nielsen also star. I suspect news will travel fast that “Perfect Sense” will be picked up by a studio. 

 

 

THE CONSPIRATOR

It’s only fitting that the new trailer a film directed by the father of Sundance is released this week. Robert Redford brings us a period film, that tells the story of Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), the female who was charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and all the drama that followed her arrest. Partly filmed in Savannah, Georgia, the has quite a varied and impressive cast including such as: James McAvoy, Evan Rachel Wood, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline, Stephen Root, Justin Long, Danny Huston and Jonathan Groff. Look for it to come out sometime in April.

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s an odd one currently premiering at Sundance from director Alexandre Rockwell and one I never heard of. But if that blond wig on Steve Buscemi doesnt catch your attention the way it did me, than just move on. Look at the cast for this film: Peter Dinklage, Mark Boone Junior, Tim Roth, Michael Lerner, Seymour Cassel, Theresa Wayman, and Rosie Perez! I don’t even need to know that Dinklage plays a former screenwriter now laundromat owner who finds himself in L. A. when his dog is kidnapped by loan sharks, but that sells it even more. I’ll leave you to the trailer to try and figure out the rest….

 

 

 

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