(Bi-weekly feature written for Lost In The Multiplex)
Hello fans of the multiplex and welcome to my first weekly feature rounding-up the latest film trailers. From a remake of a Nicolas Winding Refn classic to Ewan McGregor’s salmony bits, a lot has been released on the web this week to get us excited for a number of great, and some not so great, films that are set to be released over the next couple of months. So have a read and I’ll tell you what I think of these new releases, but feel free to comment at the bottom of the page to let us know your own opinions as well.
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Get The Gringo
In no particular order, first up is Adrian Grunberg’s Get The Gringo, formerly known as How I Spent My Summer Vacation. Starring Mel Gibson in the lead role, the film follows a man who is convicted of a crime and sent to a tough Mexican prison, where he learns to survive with the help of a nine-year-old boy. Also starring Peter Stormare, Bob Gunton, Dean Norris, Scott Cohen, and Patrick Bauchau, the film is set to be released on 11th May, and the trailer doesn’t seem half bad considering the choice of cast.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Romantic comedy drama Salmon Fishing in the Yemen also has a new trailer. Based on a novel of the same name by Paul Torday with screenplay by Simon Beaufoy, the film is directed by Lasse Hallström and stars Starring Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor and Kristin Scott Thomas. Following a fisheries scientist who finds himself reluctantly involved in a project to bring salmon fishing to the Highlands of Yemen, this may not appeal to all. This latest trailer, however, may just be convincing enough to persuade some of you to go and see this film when it is released on 20th May.
Wanderlust
With a new red band trailer this week is Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd’s latest rom-com, Wanderlust. Directed by David Wain and co-written by Wain and Ken Marino (Role Models), Wanderlust follows a Manhattan couple who, rattled by sudden unemployment and considering alternative living options, decide to experiment with living on a rural commune where free love rules. Also starring Marino himself, the film also stars Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman, Alan Alda, Kathryn Hahn, Lauren Ambrose, and Joe Lo Truglio, and is set to be released on 2nd March. I’m actually quite looking forward to this film, moreso after seeing this new red band trailer, and, heading in the same direction as Role Models, it looks set to be a brilliant comedy to watch this Easter.
Damsels in Distress
One that we mentioned earlier this week is the new trailer and long-awaited return (after more than a decade’s absence!) for Oscar-nominated writer-director Whit Stillman’s Damsels in Distress. With a cast led by the likes of Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody, and Analeigh Tipton, the film follows a trio of girls who set out to change the male-dominated environment at their Seven Oaks college campus, and to rescue their fellow students from depression, grunge and low standards of every kind. Set to be released on 27th April, this looks like a great light-hearted drama and is one I’m definitely putting on my ‘to see’ list.
Pusher
Another highly anticipated film comes from the first trailer for Luis Prieto’s English-language remake of Nicolas Winding Refn’s gangster film, Pusher. Originally directed by Refn (Drive) and released in 1996, the film follows a London drug pusher named Frank, played by Richard Coyle, for a full week as his life turns into chaos after a deal goes wrong. The more desperate his behaviour gets, the more isolated he becomes until there is nothing left standing between him and the nine millimetre bullet his debtors intend to put through his skull. Also starring British actors Bronson Webb, Agyness Deyn, Mem Ferda, Paul Kaye, Daisy Lewis, and Bill Thomas, the film doesn’t have a release date yet but we can hope to expect sometime over the next year.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
With a double trailer release this week is Timur Bekmambetov’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Led by Benjamin Walker as President Lincoln, a passion is fueled to crush vampires and their slave-owning helpers when his mother is killed by the supernatural creature. The new trailers offer a small helping of extra clips of footage that we haven’t seen before, but I’m still undecided on whether to be excited for this or not. Also starring Rufus Sewell and Dominic Cooper, the film is set to be released on 2nd August.
Rec 3: A Zombie Valentine’s Day Massacre
From vampires to zombies is Paco Plaza’s upcoming horror Rec 3: A Zombie Valentine’s Day Massacre, also known as Génesis. sequel to 2009’s REC 2 and third film of the REC series, the latest Spanish film, for which the new trailer has been given subtitles, encompasses the events of the first two films, now taking place miles away from the original location and partly in broad daylight giving the film a completely new disturbing atmosphere. REC 3 premise, as the trailer highlights, is on the wedding day of the two main characters, played by Leticia Dolera and Diego Martín. I haven’t seen the first two films in the series but I’m finding it very hard to take the trailer seriously.
Intruders
With an even scarier looking antagonist, director of 28 Weeks Later Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s supernatural thriller, Intruders, has a second trailer released this week. Centring on the family of John Farrow (Clive Owen) and his 13-year-old daughter Mia (Ella Purnell), a creepy figure known as Hollow Face lurks in the dark corners of Mia’s bedroom. Whilst no one can see him, Hollow Face desperately desires love but only knowing how to spread fear and hate, his presence begins to blur the lines between the real and the imaginary and it seems that nothing can keep him out. Also starring Daniel Brühl, Carice Van Houten, Pilar López de Ayala, Izan Corchero and Kerry Fox, Intruders has already been released in the UK so this is one for the American audience, where it is set for a limited release on 30th March. I haven’t heard many good things about this film and it didn’t do too well over here, but this new trailer doesn’t look completely terrible so if you still want to give it a chance then here’s your chance.
Headhunters
Also with a new trailer is the big screen adaptation of Norwegian author and musician Jo Nesbo’s acclaimed crime thriller, Headhunters. Centring on Norway’s most successful headhunter Roger Brown, played by Aksel Hennie, the villain must risk everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary. Also starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) in a main role, the film was shown at last year’s BFI London Film Festival and is set to be released nationwide on 6th April.
Trishna
Recently shown at the Toronto Film Festival, and also at the Glasgow Film Festival earlier this week, is Michael Winterbottom’s unique spin on Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Thishna. Following the story of the tragic relationship between the son of a property developer and the daughter of an auto rickshaw owner, the second trailer for this film shows off the cast of Freida Pinto, Riz Ahmed, Kalki Koechlin, Anurag Kashyap, Neet Mohan, and Roshan Seth, the film is set to be released publicly on 9th March.
The Aggression Scale
Debuting at this year’s SXSW festival next month and also with a new trailer is Steven C. Miller’s The Aggression Scale, starring Ray Wise, Dana Ashbrook and Derek Mears. Following four heavily armed hit-men and two unusual teenagers who go to war over $500,000 of stolen cash, the trailer for this is quite intriguing with the younger cast already looking set to do great from the few minutes we see of them.
City Of Dreamers
Showcasing the music of Ellen and the Echo, among others, Jamie Patterson’s City of Dreamers has a new trailer this week. Taking influence from low-budget music inspired films such as Once (a brilliant film, may I add), the film focuses on the character of Rose who moves in to her new home in Brighton as she finds her way in a new city. The new trailer gives a sense of the music that is to come from the film and, full of charm and wit, it looks like a great little film to see, from 21st December that is.
Beyond the Black Rainbow
Released earlier today, the second trailer for Panos Cosmatos’ 80s set film, Beyond the Black Rainbow, which has already been getting a lot of attention. Finished filming in 2010, the film has played at a number of festivals but so far has no plans for a UK release, whilst Magnet recently secured the US rights to distribute the film. Set in the oppressive landscape of the Arboria Institute in 1983, the film focuses a therapist (Michael Rogers) in search of inner peace and his patient (Eva Allan) who, from the trailer, seems determined to escape. I’m quite creeped out by this trailer, actually, so I’m finding it hard to comment. If this does grab your interest, however, there is also a 3D version of the trailer to watch here.
Prometheus
And nearing the end of our trailer round-up is the release of two international trailers for a couple of films that I, along with many others, am already really looking forward to, the first being that for Ridley Scott’s upcoming science fiction film Prometheus. The film follows a team of explorers who discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. Starring Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, and Patrick Wilson, the film is set to be released on 1st June. I, personally, cannot wait.
The Amazing Spider-Man
And finally, the second international trailer is for Marc Webb’s reboot of The Amazing Spider-Man which includes some new footage of Marvel’s web-slinging super hero. Following the character of Spider-Man’s undisguised self Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), who, trying to unravel the mystery of his own past, finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. Directed on course to meet his father’s former partner Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), the discovery of his father’s secret may not have been what he first imagined when he is brought face to face to Connors’ alter ego. Set to be released on 4th July, this looks set to be better than the original Spiderman films, at least, so I’m looking forward to see what Webb has done with the franchise.
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