Category Archives: Trailers
In a society where half of all marriages statistically end in divorce, it’s the children of those failed unions that often get lost in the shuffle. The premise of co-directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s film, What Maisie Knew deals with a young girl trapped in the wake of her parents’ bitter divorce. While the film could easily become bleak and depressing, the trailer, at least, seems hopeful, buoyed by the effortless and carefree performance of Onata Aprile in the titular role. It helps that What Maisie Knew sports a supporting cast of Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgard, Steve Coogan and Joanna Vanderham, to name a few, but your hearts will be stolen by Aprile. Hit the jump to check out the trailer.
Read up on the synopsis for What Maisie Knew, adapted from the Henry James’ novel:
Set mostly in England, the novel is related from the perspective of Maisie, a preadolescent whose parents were divorced when she was six years old and who spends six months of the year with each parent. The only emotional constant in Maisie’s life is Mrs. Wix, a motherly old governess. Maisie’s parents marry other partners, but neither marriage succeeds. Her new stepparents are attracted to each other, divorce Maisie’s parents, and marry. Maisie knows intuitively that she cannot depend on the adults in her life, and she chooses to live with Mrs. Wix, on whose unconditional love she can depend. [Amazon]
Here’s the trailer for What Maisie Knew (via Slash Film):
If you enjoyed the first clip from the CW’s super-heroic series, Arrow, you’re probably going to love the full trailer. While the clip featured star Stephen Amell putting all of us men-folk to shame with his uber-athletic portrayal of Oliver Queen, the trailer does a better job at setting up the origin of the titular character, Green Arrow. I was surprised and delighted when Paul Blackthorne (The Dresden Files) featured heavily in the trailer as a resident cop eager to hunt down the vigilante. I also thought, lest my eyes deceive me, that I caught a brief cameo from Smallville star, Kristin Kreuk, but perhaps viewers can confirm/correct me in the comment section. Hit the jump to check out the trailer for Arrow, coming to the small screen Wednesday evenings this fall on the CW.
Check out the trailer for the CW series, Arrow, followed by the official synopsis:
Here’s the official synopsis for Arrow:
After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. While Oliver hides the truth about the man he’s become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was. Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his former girlfriend, Laurel Lance. As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of Arrow – a vigilante – to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory. By day, Oliver plays the role of a wealthy, carefree and careless philanderer he used to be – flanked by his devoted chauffeur/bodyguard, John Diggle – while carefully concealing the secret identity he turns to under cover of darkness. However, Laurel’s father, Detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest the vigilante operating in his city. Meanwhile, Oliver’s own mother, Moira, knows much more about the deadly shipwreck than she has let on – and is more ruthless than he could ever imagine.
The first trailer for the historical drama Hyde Park on the Hudson has gone online. The film stars Bill Murray as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and centers on a weekend in 1939 which marked the first ever visit to America by a British monarchy when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited FDR’s upstate New York cottage. Roosevelt also had an affair with his cousin, Daisy, during the same weekend. The trailer basically plays like a funnier version of Downton Abbey, with a great deal of heart thrown in towards the end. Lest you think this is another droll, period drama without a sense of humor, Murray is splendidly fun as Roosevelt.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill), the film also stars Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Samuel West, Olivia Colman, Elizabeth Marvel, Elizabeth Wilson, and Eleanor Bron. Focus Features will release Hyde Park on the Hudson on December 7th.
Click over to Yahoo! to watch in HD.
Here’s the official synopsis for Hyde Park on the Hudson:
In June 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Academy Award nominee Bill Murray) and his wife Eleanor (Olivia Williams) host the King and Queen of England (Samuel West and Olivia Colman) for a weekend at the Roosevelt home at Hyde Park on Hudson, in upstate New York – the first-ever visit of a reigning English monarch to America. With Britain facing imminent war with Germany, the Royals are desperately looking to FDR for support. But international affairs must be juggled with the complexities of FDR’s domestic establishment, as wife, mother, and mistresses all conspire to make the royal weekend an unforgettable one. Seen through the eyes of Daisy (Academy Award nominee Laura Linney), Franklin’s neighbor and intimate, the weekend will produce not only a special relationship between two great nations, but, for Daisy – and through her, for us all – a deeper understanding of the mysteries of love and friendship.
A new UK trailer for director Steven Soderbergh’s male stripper movie Magic Mike has gone online. The film is loosely based on star Channing Tatum’s days as a stripper, and the actor plays a mentor to a young “exotic dancer” played by Alex Pettyfer. Most of the first trailer focused squarely on Tatum’s character and his furniture-making skills, but this trailer shows us a lot more of the mentor/mentee relationship. We also get some new looks at Matthew McConaughey, who is pitch-perfect as the nightclub’s ringleader. I’m always down for a new Soderbergh project, and I’m eager to find out what he saw in Tatum’s story that he thought would make a great movie.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Riley Keough, Olivia Munn, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Cody Horn, and Adam Rodriguez. Magic Mike opens on June 29th.
Here’s the synopsis for Magic Mike:
To a rebellious 19-year-old kid (Pettyfer) looking for independence from his family, Magic Mike (Tatum) seems like the perfect role model: he’s got a nice car, a nice apartment, and a seemingly endless supply of women. What’s his secret? He’s a male stripper, and when the kid dives headlong into Magic Mike’s world, his mad dancing skills and hunger for excitement make for an unforgettable summer.
Sexy, funny and shocking, this film is a hedonistic thrill ride with a powerful undertow. A razor sharp cast – led by top liner Channing Tatum in a career-defining turn as the titular Magic Mike devours the up-to-the moment freight train of a script, and the result will be relentlessly entertaining and sure to be one of the most talked about films of the year…… and let’s not forget the price-of-admission dancing sequences…
The first trailer for The Words has gone online. I really dug the film when I saw it at Sundance, but this trailer doesn’t do a good job of getting to the drama of the central conflict, which is about a writer (Bradley Cooper) who becomes famous off a plagiarized manuscript, and then has to face his actions when he meets the original author (Jeremy Irons).
Hit the jump to check out the trailer, and try not to be turned off from the use of the horrible song at the end (it isn’t in the movie, in case you were wondering). The film also stars Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, and Ben Barnes (who should have gotten a credit in the trailer since he plays a major character). The Words opens September 21st.
Click over to Yahoo! Movies to see the trailer in HD.
The first trailer for The Words has gone online. I really dug the film when I saw it at Sundance, but this trailer doesn’t do a good job of getting to the drama of the central conflict, which is about a writer (Bradley Cooper) who becomes famous off a plagiarized manuscript, and then has to face his actions when he meets the original author (Jeremy Irons).
Hit the jump to check out the trailer, and try not to be turned off from the use of the horrible song at the end (it isn’t in the movie, in case you were wondering). The film also stars Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, and Ben Barnes (who should have gotten a credit in the trailer since he plays a major character). The Words opens September 21st.
Click over to Yahoo! Movies to see the trailer in HD.
The first trailer for the horror film The Possession has gone online. Produced by Sam Raimi, the film centers on a young girl who acquires an antique box at a yard sale, but she’s unaware that the box contains an evil spirit. First of all, if you haven’t been creeped out by the poster yet, take a look here. As for the trailer, let me just say that the film earns positive marks for not following in the found footage genre’s footsteps. The Possession trailer actually plays more like an homage to classic horror films like The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby and Poltergeist rather than any major horror film that’s been produced within the past ten years. It’s also refreshing to see an exploration of the darker side of Jewish folklore (the original film was titled The Dibbuk Box) rather than a rehashing of Catholic mythos. Director Ole Bornedal may well have found a combination of a respectable method of shooting and a capable cast that can restore some faith in the horror genre.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, and Natasha Calis. The Possession opens on August 31st.
Click over to Yahoo! to watch in HD.
As if these images from Elijah Wood’s remake of the 1980 slasher flick, Maniac, weren’t disturbing enough, here’s a new trailer to haunt your dreams. This NSFW first look at the Franck Khalfoun-directed thriller features nudity, gruesome violence and the scalping of not just the dime-store mannequins, but real live women as well. The original, directed by William Lustig, starred Joe Spinell as Frank, a psychopath with a history of childhood abuse who takes women’s scalps as trophies. Wood is doing his best to out-creep Spinell in this trailer and I dare say that he has succeeded. Maniac also stars America Olivo and Nora Arnezeder. Hit the jump to check out the trailer.
Ever
since Wood distanced himself from his character, Frodo in The Lord of the Rings series by playing Kevin, the cannibalistic serial killer in Sin City, I’ve been looking forward to his return to the macabre. Maniac looks like it is going to satisfy that wish with guts and gusto. Wood can next be seen in both of The Hobbit films, as well as the indie thriller, Grand Piano and is currently filming Black Wings Has My Angel.
Here’s the synopsis for Maniac followed by the NSFW trailer courtesy of Cannes (via First Showing):
Just when the streets seemed safe, a serial killer with a fetish for scalps is back and on the hunt. Frank is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store, but his life changes when young artist Anna appears asking for his help with her new exhibition. As their friendship develops and Frank’s obsession escalates, it becomes clear that she has unleashed a long-repressed compulsion to stalk and kill.
*It’s important to note that the early teaser footage from Maniac on the Cannes site had issues with syncing the audio and video. First Showing attempted to patch it together, but a few seconds were lost from the end in the process.
Earlier this morning, CBS announced their Fall 2012 schedule. Full trailers have now been unveiled for the network’s new shows, including three dramas and one comedy. Briefly:
Elementary – Jonny Lee Miller stars as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu plays Dr. Joan Watson in this modern day drama about the crime-solving duo.
Vegas – Dennis Quaid stars as a former military police officer who is called in by the Mayor of Las Vegas to look into the murder of a casino worker. Quaid clashes with a ruthless Chicago gangster (Michael Chiklis) in this 1960s drama.
Made in Jersey – Janet Montgomery stars as an attorney who uses her street smarts to compete against her pedigreed Manhattan colleagues.
Partners – This new comedy stars David Krumholtz and Michael Urie as two life-long best friends, one straight and one gay, whose friendship is tested when one of them gets engaged.
Hit the jump for synopses and full trailers for all the new shows.
In case you missed any of our preview upfronts coverage, here’s a refresher:
Trailers for NBC’s New Comedies
Trailers for Fox’s New Comedies
Trailers for ABC’s New Comedies
Here’s the synopsis for Elementary:
ELEMENTARY stars Jonny Lee Miller as detective Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson in a modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD’s most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare – a sober companion, Dr. Watson. A successful surgeon until she lost a patient and her license three years ago, Watson views her current job as another opportunity to help people, as well as paying a penance. However, the restless Sherlock is nothing like her previous clients. He informs her that none of her expertise as an addiction specialist applies to him and he’s devised his own post-rehab regimen – resuming his work as a police consultant in New York City. Watson has no choice but to accompany her irascible new charge on his jobs. But Sherlock finds her medical background helpful, and Watson realizes she has a knack for playing investigator. Sherlock’s police contact, Capt. Tobias “Toby” Gregson (Aidan Quinn), knows from previous experience working with Scotland Yard that Sherlock is brilliant at closing cases, and welcomes him as part of the team. With the mischievous Sherlock Holmes now running free in New York solving crimes, it’s simple deduction that he’s going to need someone to keep him grounded, and it’s elementary that it’s a job for Watson. Rob Doherty, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly and Michael Cuesta, who directed the pilot, are executive producers for CBS Television Studios.
Here’s the synopsis for Vegas:
Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis star in VEGAS, a drama inspired by the true story of former Las Vegas Sheriff Ralph Lamb, a fourth-generation rancher tasked with bringing order to Las Vegas in the 1960s, a gambling and entertainment mecca emerging from the tumbleweeds. Ralph Lamb (Quaid) wants to be left in peace to run his ranch, but Las Vegas is now swelling with outsiders and corruption which are intruding on his simple life. Recalling Lamb’s command as a military police officer during World War II, the Mayor appeals to his sense of duty to look into a murder of a casino worker – and so begins Lamb’s clash with Vincent Savino (Chiklis), a ruthless Chicago gangster who plans to make Vegas his own. Assisting Lamb in keeping law and order are his two deputies: his diplomatic, even-keeled brother Jack (Jason O’Mara) and his charming but impulsive son, Dixon (Taylor Handley). Ambitious Assistant District Attorney Katherine O’Connell (Carrie-Anne Moss), who grew up on the ranch next to the Lambs, also lends a hand in preserving justice. In Vegas, two powerful men – Lamb and Savino – are engaged in a fierce battle for control of the budding oasis, and for both of them, folding is not an option. Nicholas Pileggi, Greg Walker, Cathy Konrad, Arthur Sarkissian and James Mangold, who also directed the pilot, are the executive producers for CBS Television Studios.
Here’s the synopsis for Made in Jersey:
MADE IN JERSEY is a drama about a young working-class woman who uses her street smarts to compete among her pedigreed Manhattan colleagues at a prestigious New York law firm. Martina Garretti (Janet Montgomery) finds her firm’s cutthroat landscape challenging, but what she lacks in an Ivy League education she more than makes up for with tenacity and blue-collar insight. After just a few weeks, firm founder Donovan Stark (Kyle MacLachlan), takes note of Martina’s ingenuity and resourcefulness, as does her sassy secretary Cyndi Vega (Toni Trucks). With the support of her big Italian family, including her sexy older sister Bonnie (Erin Cummings), Martina is able to stay true to her roots as a bold, passionate lawyer on the rise in a new intimidating environment. Jamie Tarses, Kevin Falls, Julia Franz and Mark Waters, who also directed the pilot, are the executive producers for Sony Pictures Television in association with CBS Television Studios. Pilot was written by creator and co-executive producer Dana Calvo.
Here’s the synopsis for Partners:
PARTNERS is a comedy based on the lives of creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, about two life-long best friends and business partners whose “bromance” is tested when one of them is engaged to be married. Joe (David Krumholtz) is an accomplished architect who leads with his head and not his heart, especially in his love life. That’s in stark contrast to his gay co-worker, Louis (Michael Urie), who is spontaneous, emotional and prone to exaggeration. Both have found joy in their love lives: Joe is newly engaged to Ali (Sophia Bush), a beautiful and sophisticated jewelry designer, while Louis is dating Wyatt (Brandon Routh), a vegan nurse who Louis insists is just a promotion away from becoming a doctor. As news of Joe’s engagement settles, time will tell if their business and personal bond can adapt to the addition of two other important relationships. Emmy Award winners David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are executive producers for Warner Bros. Television. Emmy Award winner James Burrows directed the pilot.
The first trailer for the family drama Won’t Back Down (formerly Still I Rise) has gone online. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis star as two mothers from different backgrounds who join forces to take on the failing public school system. It’s a nice idea for a film (apparently based on true events), and the trailer has its moments, but I fear the full feature will be trite examination of a complex issue with a “nice” ending that wraps things up with a smile. The education system is in dire need of reform and taking a Blind Side approach to the issue is unworthy of the attention it deserves. That said, Gyllenhaal and Davis are fantastic actresses and Gyllenhaal has certainly been outspoken about social issues in the past, so hopefully Won’t Back Down tackles the issue with intellect and candidness and provides/stirs some thoughtful discussion on the topic.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Directed by Daniel Barnz (Beastly), the film also stars Holly Hunter and Oscar Isaac. Won’t Back Down opens on September 28th.
Here’s the synopsis for Won’t Back Down:
Two mothers from different backgrounds–a postal worker and a reporter–join forces to take on a failing public school system and institute a charter school for children in the neighborhood, including their own.
Click over to Yahoo! to watch in HD.
