(Bi-weekly feature written for Lost In The Multiplex)
From a fifth Die Hard instalment to a new DreamWorks animation, we’ve got a bit of everything this week. If you want a few giggles this week then Jason Bateman has his identity stolen by Melissa McCarthy in the new trailer for the upcoming comedy Identity Thief, or if it’s suspense you’re after then Mia Wasikowska is getting suspicious of Matthew Goode in the trailer for Stoker. We even have a Native American Johnny Depp. Keep scrolling for more!
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A Good Day to Die Hard
First up, we have the first trailer for Die Hard 5, aka A Good Day to Die Hard. Directed by John Moore, the film picks up with the lead character John McLane (Bruce Willis), who we first met back in 1988 when the first film was originally released. In this fifth instalment, McLane faces his greatest challenge ever, this time on an international stage, when his estranged son Jack is caught up in the daring prison escape of a rogue Russian leader. Now, father and son McClane must work together to keep each other alive and keep the world safe for democracy. It seems like it’s got a pretty solid story line to follow, and the new trailer promises even more that it’s not just a unnecessary sequel to make money. With what I’m hearing about Taken 2, we can only hope, anyway. Set to be released sometime next year, A Good Day to Die Hard also stars Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Yulia Snigir, Cole Hauser, Amaury Nolasco, Megalyn Echikunwoke, and Anne Vyalitsyna.
Movie 43
The new red band trailer for comedy Movie 43 stars an ensemble cast including Halle Berry, Elizabeth Banks, Emma Stone, Kristen Bell, Gerard Butler, Anna Faris, Richard Gere, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Knoxville, Justin Long, Stephen Merchant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sean William Scott, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet and many more. The film intertwines a number of different tales, with different segments directed by twelve directors in total, including Patrik Forsberg, Peter Farrelly, Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, James Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Brett Ratner, and Jonathan van Tulleken. Set to be released 1st February, 2013, I think it’s quite hard to tell from the trailer what we can expect from this, but all of these big names must stand for something.
Not Fade Away
From seven-time Emmy winner and creator of The Sopranos, David Chase, we also have the first trailer for Not Fade Away, a 1960s-set drama that follows three best friends from the suburbs of New Jersey, one of whom is played by rising star John Magaro (Liberal Arts), who decide to form a rock band. The new trailer highlights the decent supporting cast too, including Sopranos lead James Gandolfini, Jack Huston, Will Brill, Bella Heathcote, Brad Garrett, and Christopher McDonald, each promising a strong performance. Not Fade Away is set to be released on 21st December in the US, but there is no word yet on a UK release date.
Broken City
With Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe in the leads, we have the first trailer for Broken City, which marks Allen Hughes’ first solo feature behind the camera. The film is set in a broken city rife with injustice, where ex-cop Billy Taggart (Wahlberg) seeks redemption–and revenge–after being double-crossed and then framed by the city’s most powerful figure, the mayor (Crowe). The new trailer emphasises the plot a little better, but it all reminds me too much of 2007’s Shooter which also starred Wahlberg in the lead. It just has a better song in the trailer. With Catherine Zeta-Jones also starring as Crowe’s unfaithful wife, the fine cast for this also includes Kyle Chandler, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey Wright, and Natalie Martinez, and the film is set to be released on 25th January, 2013.
Parker
Jason Statham returns to the big screen in the new first trailer for Oscar winner Taylor Hackford’s crime/action Parker, an adaptation of the best-selling series of novels by Donald E. Westlake. The thriller follows Statham in the lead role as a professional thief who lives by a personal code of ethics – don’t steal from people who can’t afford it and don’t hurt people who don’t deserve it. But on his latest heist, his crew double crosses him, steals his stash, and leaves him for dead. Determined to make sure they regret it, Parker dons the disguise of a rich Texan and takes on an unlikely partner, Leslie (Jennifer Lopez), and together devise a plan to hijack the score, take everyone down and get away clean. Again, it doesn’t look like anything new, but the inclusion of Lopez puts a little bit of an edge on it. Also starring Nick Nolte and Michael Chiklis, Parker is set to be released on 25th January, 2013.
The Lone Ranger
Another first trailer is for the new Disney/Bruckheimer film, The Lone Ranger, which comes from the filmmaking team behind the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski. Starring Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson and Helena Bonham Carter, the film is a thrilling adventure that follows the famed masked hero, as Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice. I’ve not been a fan of Hammer’s roles so far, but the new trailer for this looks like my mind could about to be changed. The Lone Ranger will be with us in the summer of next year.
Stoker
Park Chan-wook’s English debut, Stoker, also has a first trailer too, which stars Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, and Matthew Goode as the leading trio. The film tells the story of a young girl, India (Wasikowska), whose Uncle Charlie (Goode) comes to live with her and her unstable mother Evelyn (Kidman) after her father dies in a car accident. Soon after his arrival, India comes to suspect this mysterious but charming man has ulterior motives, but instead of feeling outrage or horror, this friendless girl becomes increasingly infatuated with him. The new trailer makes the plot seem a little creepier then it originally sounds, and in places looks more like a horror than a dramatic thriller. Also starring Jacki Weaver, Dermot Mulroney, Lucas Till, and Alden Ehrenreich, the film will be released on 1st March, 2013.
The Guilt Trip
This time headed up by the unlikely duo that is Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand, we have the first trailer for The Guilt Trip, which follows inventor Andy Brewster (Rogen) who is about to embark on the road trip of a lifetime… with his mother, Joyce (Steisand). Across 3,000 miles of ever-changing landscape, Andy is constantly aggravated by his mother’s antics, but over time he comes to realize that their lives have more in common than he originally thought. Directed by Anne Fletcher (Step Up) from a script by Dan Fogelman (scribe of the very funny Crazy, Stupid, Love.), The Guilt Trip also stars Adam Scott, Colin Hanks, Yvonne Strahovski, and Brett Cullen, and is set to be released on 22nd February, 2013.
Silver Linings Playbook
Another unlikely duo is that of Bradlery Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, but that’s what we get with the new trailer for David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook. Coming away from the Toronto International Film Festival last month with the People’s Choice Award, the film is an adaptation of the original written by Matthew Quick, in which Cooper plays a man who has lost everything — his house, his job, and his wife – who now finds himself living back with his mother and father after spending eight months is a state institution on a plea bargain. Determined to rebuild his life, Pat remains positive and plans to reunite with his wife, but when he meets Tiffany (Lawrence), a mysterious girl with problems of her own problems, things get complicated as an unexpected bond begins to form between them, and silver linings appear in both of their lives. A big fan of both Lawrence and Cooper, I can’t wait to see what their chemistry will be like on screen together. Also starring Julia Stiles, Robert De Niro, Chris Rock, and Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook will be released on 21st November.
Identity Thief
As for more comedy, whilst we’re all eagerly awaiting the new season of Arrested Development, this next trailer will have to do. Starring Jason Bateman in the lead role, Identity Thief follows a mild-mannered businessman (Bateman) who learns his identity has been stolen. Hitting the road in an attempt to foil the thief, his trip puts him in the path of a deceptively harmless-looking woman, played by the brilliant Melissa McCarthy. The film was originally set to be led by two male actors, but Bateman liked McCarthy so much after seeing Bridesmaids that he pushed to have the script rewritten. Surely that’s promising enough, but the hilarious new trailer will make you want to see this even more. Directed by Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) and from a script by Craig Mazin (The Hangover Part II), the film also stars Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, Eric Stonestreet, John Cho, TI, and Genesis Rodriguez, and is set to be released on 1st March, 2013.
Love Tomorrow
With its world premiere at the Raindance Film Festival earlier this month, we have the first trailer for Christopher Payne’s Love Tomorrow, a love story set over one day between two dancers – an ex-ballet dancer (Cindy Jourdain) and a charismatic Cuban dancer Oriel (Arionel Vargas) – who meet by chance on the streets of London. As the night lengthens and turns into day, the frustrations, secrets and wounds of both their lives begin to emerge, and a fragile friendship promises to turn into something more profound. The new trailer doesn’t say a lot, but, as I’m sure the film will too, says enough through song and dance. This certainly won’t be for everyone, but it looks as if it has a lot of emotion and power behind it.
Sessions
Winning the audience award at the San Sebastian Film Festival, we have a new UK trailer for The Sessions, which is set to have its UK premier at the BFI London Film Festival next week. Starring Academy Award Nominee John Hawkes, Academy Award Nominee William H. Macy and Academy Award Winner Helen Hunt, the film is based on the true story of California-based journalist and poet Mark O’Brien (played on screen by Hawkes), who, paralysed by polio, is determined to finally lose his virginity at the age of 38. Directed by Ben Lewin, the new trailer shows us exactly why this film has won the audience award, putting a big smile on your face and even making you chuckle a few times. Opening in the UK and Ireland on 18th January, 2013, I think this is definitely one to look out for.
The End of Love
Another first trailer is for actor turned writer-director Mark Webber’s The End Of Love, which he’s wrote, directed and starred in, opposite his real-life son, Isaac. Centring on an aspiring actor who’s forced to shoulder single parenthood when the mother of his two-year-old unexpectedly dies, the new trailer literally makes you say “Oh wow.” As all the pull out quotes state, it looks set to be a deeply raw and emotional film, and a great piece of work for Webber. Also boasting appearances from Amanda Seyfried, Shannyn Sossamon and Michael Cera, The End of Love comes to theatres on 21st January, 2013.
The Croods
DreamWorks’ latest animation The Croods has a new trailer too, with a brilliant voice cast led by the likes of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, and Cloris Leachman. The film follows the world’s very first pre-historic family as they go on a road trip to an uncharted and fantastical world. Reynolds and Stone especially sound fantastic, but does Cage really work as a voice actor? Aside from the sound of him putting me off a little, the animation looks like it’s going to be pretty spectacular. Co-directed by Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon) and Kirk De Micco (Space Chimps), The Croods will be hitting the big screen on 22nd March, 2013.
Skyfall
And now we get to a few new trailers for some films we heard a lot more about. The film that everybody is talking about, this week sees the release of the new trailer for Sam Mendes’ upcoming James Bond film, Skyfall, which is set to the new Adele theme song. Based on Ian Fleming’s 007 character and the twenty-third James Bond film altogether, Skyfall sees the return of Daniel Craig in the lead role as Bond must track down and destroy the threat that has attacked MI6, no matter how personal the cost, as his loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. The theme tune sounds pretty epic, as you would imagine, and who better to do it then Adele? Set to be released on 26th October, Skyfall also stars Helen McCrory, Ralph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Bérénice Marlohe, Naomie Harris, Ola Rapace, and Javier Bardem.
Life of Pi
We also have the full length US trailer for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, an adaptation of Yann Martel’s highly acclaimed novel of the same name. Starring newcomer Suraj Sharma in the lead role alongside Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Rafe Spall, and Gérard Depardiei, the film follows a zookeeper’s son who finds himself in the company of a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean. The new trailer is just as magical as the previous pieces of footage we have seen, but it also explains the plot a little better. Life of Pi is set to be released on 21st December, so put a note in your diary for this one!
The Master
And finally, we have the final trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, which is appropriately titled “Last One/Thank You.” The clip features a great deal of unseen footage and extended scenes not in the finished film, but it will get you eagerly awaiting the film’s release nonetheless. Starring Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman in the lead role, the film is set in America in the years following World War II, when a charismatic intellectual (Hoffman) launches a faith-based organization and taps a young drifter (Joaquin Phoenix) as his right-hand man. But as the faith begins to gain a fervent following, the one-time vagabond finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced. Also starring Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Jesse Plemons, and David Warshovsky, The Master is set to be released in the UK on 9th November.
