Category Archives: Trailers
A new trailer for Oscar-winning screenwriter and The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin’s latest series, The Newsroom, has gone online. This builds on the basic set-up introduced in the previous two trailers gets a bit more into what the plot may look like in the first few episodes beyond the pilot. Jeff Daniels stars as the primary anchor of a floundering 24-hour news network who’s ready to break the monotony of lazy and gutless cable news. I’m a self-professed Sorkin nut so I may be a bit biased, but I really like what we’ve seen from the series thus far. My only concern is that the show could become too much of a soapbox for Sorkin’s worldviews a la Studio 60, but hopefully his knack for snappy dialogue and romantic characters reigns the preach-factor in a bit. Moreover, this new trailer has 100% more David Krumholtz which is almost never a bad thing.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer (complete with Dave Krumholtz cameo!), and count down the days until The Newsroom premieres on June 24th on HBO. The show also stars Emily Mortimer, Sam Waterston, Jane Fonda, Alison Pill, Olivia Munn and Dev Patel.
Here’s a synopsis for The Newsroom:
This new series centers on a cable news anchor (Jeff Daniels), his new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), his newsroom staff (John Gallagher, Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn) and their boss (Sam Waterston). Together they set out on a patriotic and quixotic mission to do the news well in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles and their own personal relationships.
Following a slew of “mini trailers” and one brief teaser, the first full trailer for the upcoming fifth season of HBO’s True Blood has gone online. The clip shows quite a bit of footage from the upcoming season, including the promise of a prolonged Bill/Eric team-up (please tell me a buddy vampire spin-off is in the works), the return of an old fan favorite character, and the promise of more of that weird clown face that apparently appears when witches get high or something. However, the best part about this trailer is Mr. Christopher Meloni. He joins the cast this season as the head of The Authority, a council made up of the most powerful vampires in existence. If you remember the predicament that Bill and Eric found themselves in last season and compound that with the returning baddie, you should have some idea of where this promisingly badass Meloni character comes in.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and if you missed all the character posters that were recently unveiled, click here. The fifth season of True Blood premieres on HBO on June 10th.
Earlier this week, we showed you a couple of fake campaign ads for Jay Roach‘s comedy The Campaign starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. The film centers on an incumbent candidate (Ferrell) who doesn’t expect to be opposed in his run for a fifth-term, but he finds an unexpected challenger in the unassuming and dim-witted Marty Huggins (Galifianakis). I was hoping that the trailer would deliver more laughs than the campaign ads, but no dice. Yes, there’s some baby-punching at the end, but overall this looks like another weak comic effort from Roach.
Hit the jump to check out the trailer. The film also stars The film also stars Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, Brian Cox, John Lithgow, and Dan Aykroyd. The Campaign opens August 10th.
Via The Film Stage.
Here’s the official synopsis for The Campaign:
When long-term congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naïve Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center. At first, Marty appears to be the unlikeliest possible choice but, with the help of his new benefactors’ support, a cutthroat campaign manager and his family’s political connections, he soon becomes a contender who gives the charismatic Cam plenty to worry about. As Election Day closes in, the two are locked in a dead heat, with insults quickly escalating to injury until all they care about is burying each other, in this mud-slinging, back-stabbing, home-wrecking comedy from “Meet the Parents” director Jay Roach that takes today’s political circus to its logical next level. Because even when you think campaign ethics have hit rock bottom, there’s room to dig a whole lot deeper.
The first trailer for director Ruben Fleischer‘s (Zombieland) crime drama Gangster Squad has gone online. The film stars Sean Penn as gangster Mickey Cohen, and centers on the Los Angeles task force (headed by Josh Brolin) assembled to bring him to justice. I’m a sucker for anything 1940s-related, but I think this trailer is pretty damn great. The cast is incredible, and Fleischer’s visual flair from his previous films looks to have matured and evolved for this more dramatic story. Above all, though, Gangster Squad looks like a lot of fun. It’s easy for period pieces like this to be drowned by solemnity (I’m looking at you, Public Enemies), but Fleischer hasn’t forgotten that there’s a lot of fun to be had in 1940s L.A. Additionally, I’m loving the different personalities on display in the ensemble. Between this, Argo, and the slew of movies slated for this fall/winter, 2012 is shaping up to be something special.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, and Giovanni Ribisi. Gangster Squad opens later this year.
Click over to Apple to watch in HD.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and–if he has his way–every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop…except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart. “The Gangster Squad” is a colorful retelling of events surrounding the LAPD’s efforts to take back their nascent city from one of the most dangerous mafia bosses of all time.
The trailer for William Friedkin‘s Killer Joe has gone online. The NC-17-rated film centers on a son (Emile Hirsch) and his father (Thomas Haden Church) who hire a cop moonlighting as a hitman (Matthew McConaughey) to murder their mother in order to get her insurance policy. I caught Killer Joe last year at TIFF, and with the exception of McConaughey’s performance, the flick is pretty terrible. However, the absolutely bonkers ending almost makes the film worth your time.
Hit the jump to check out the trailer. The film also stars Juno Temple and Gina Gershon. Killer Joe opens July 27th.
Click over to Apple to see the trailer in HD.
Here’s the official synopsis for Killer Joe:
When 22-year-old Chris (Emile Hirsch) finds himself in debt to a drug lord, he hires a hit man to dispatch his mother, whose $50,000 life insurance policy benefits his sister Dottie (Juno Temple). Chris finds Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a creepy, crazy Dallas cop who moonlights as a contract killer. When Chris can’t pay Joe upfront, Joe sets his sight on Dottie as collateral for the job. The contract killer and his hostage develop an unusual bond. Like from a modern-day, twisted fairy tale, “Killer Joe” Cooper becomes the prince to Dottie’s Cinderella. Based on the play by Pulitzer and Tony Award winner Tracy Letts, “Killer Joe” is a garish, proactive black comedy from Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) and stars Emile Hirsch, Matthew McConaughey, Juno Temple, Thomas Hayden Church, and Gina Gershon.
The first trailer and poster for Ben Affleck‘s Argo has gone online. The film, based on a true story, centers on a CIA agent (Affleck) who attempts to rescue six Americans trapped in the home of the Canadian embassador during the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The rescue mission was to go in under the auspices of filming a science fiction movie entitled “Argo”. The trailer makes the movie look like Ocean’s Eleven combined with a tense historical thriller. I really like what I’m seeing from the trailer, and there’s a good chance Affleck could 3-for-3 in his successful directing career.
Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster. The film also stars Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Kyle Chandler, Kerry Bishe, and Alan Arkin. Argo opens October 12th.
Click over to Apple to see the trailer in HD.
Here’s the official synopsis for Argo:
Based on true events, “Argo” chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis—the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades. On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, a CIA “exfiltration” specialist named Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with a risky plan to get them safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies.
A new red-band trailer for the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy The Dictator has gone online. The clip is basically structured similarly to the other trailers, but it includes alternate takes and different jokes. I was a big fan of Borat and admired the ballsiness of Bruno, but I’m starting to feel like The Dictator may be a bit one-note. This is the first Cohen comedy that’s set up as a true narrative feature instead of a mockumentary, so it’ll be interesting to see how this outlandish character fares throughout a true story arc. I liked the opening scene of the film so hopefully I’m wrong, but I’m not entirely convinced that I won’t tire of the character after 30 minutes of the film.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer. We’ve also included an embed of a sketch from this past weekend’s Saturday Night Live in which Cohen appeared in character as said Dictator holding the actor’s Hugo director Martin Scorsese hostage. The Dictator opens on May 16th.
The comedy previously known as Neighborhood Watch now has a new red band trailer and a new title. To distance itself from the Trayvon Martin case in Florida, director Akiva Schaffer’s (Hot Rod) sci-fi comedy is now simply titled The Watch. Nevertheless, this trailer exactly what I was hoping would come out of a Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Ben Stiller team-up. Thankfully, it appears they’re going full-R on this one based on the a high number of f-bombs and dick jokes thrown into this red band clip. The film stars Vaughn, Hill, Stiller and Richard Ayoade as a group of neighbors who form a local watch group and end up stumbling onto an alien plot to destroy the world.
I’m a huge fan of Hot Rod, and it looks like Schaffer is bringing some of the same oddball humor to this film. The sci-fi aspect is played way up in this trailer, and I especially love how the characters react after stumbling upon an unknown alien weapon. Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Billy Crudup, Will Forte, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Nicholas Braun. The Watch opens July 27th.
Trailer via IGN.
Here’s the synopsis for The Watch:
An outrageous comedy in which four everyday suburban guys (played by Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade) come together to form a neighborhood watch group, but only as an excuse to escape their humdrum lives one night a week. But when they accidentally discover that their town has become overrun with aliens posing as ordinary suburbanites, they have no choice but to save their neighborhood — and the world — from total extermination.
A new trailer for director Marc Webb‘s The Amazing Spider-Man has gone online. Compared to the first trailer, we get a much better idea of what the plot/driving force for Peter Parker entails, there’s quite a bit more action, and we get some great looks at The Lizard. Given that the release is a couple of months away, we’re finally starting to see some of the finished visual effects shots come in, and they actually look kind of great. The webslinging has an edge to it and The Lizard has much more texture. I like Andrew Garfield a whole lot, and the biggest draw for me here is the character work between Garfield and Emma Stone. They look to have some great chemistry and Garfield brings out a dickish side of Peter Parker that we didn’t really see in Sam Raimi‘s trilogy. Overall, I’m pretty encouraged by this new clip and I’m hoping the full film delivers.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer. If you missed our interview with Webb regarding his thoughts on the new trailer, the CG for The Lizard, the point of view scenes, the sequel, and a lot more, be sure to check it out. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, and Sally Field. The Amazing Spider-Man opens in 3D on July 3rd.
Click over to Apple to see the trailer in HD.
Official synopsis:
One of the world’s most popular characters is back on the big screen as a new chapter in the Spider-Man legacy is revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man. Focusing on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story, the new film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field. The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the film in association with Marvel Entertainment for Columbia Pictures, which will open in theaters everywhere in 3D on July 3, 2012.
The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.
The first full-length trailer for The Expendables 2 has gone online. In addition to lots and lots of gunfire and explosions, there are some truly cringe-worthy moments like Jason Statham dressed as a monk saying “I now pronounce you man and knife,” or when Arnold Schwarzenegger says “I’m back.” The plot also doesn’t make much sense. Jean Claude Van Damme‘s villain needs plutonium, which seems like a useless weapon when you can simply roundhouse kick the world to death.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Yu Nan, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Chuck Norris, and Bruce Willis. The Expendables 2 opens on August 17th.
Click over to IGN to watch in HD.
Here’s the synopsis:
The Expendables are back and this time it’s personal… Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren),Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) — with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard — are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time — six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way….
