Trailer - "Livid"

Appropriately enough for Halloween, the new trailer for Inside directors (review here) Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury's new shocker has gone online. While Inside is certainly one of the most brutal and violent films I have ever seen, it also is one of the most effective and was frequently pant wettingly intense. While reviews so far have been quite mixed for their new effort, general consensus is that at the very least, do not go in expecting another Inside. It would have been easy for Bustillo and Maury to recreate their debut effort, so kudos to them for trying something more, in their own words as being like in a waking nightmare. Atmospheric imagery abounds here in the Livid trailer, and while the film is reported to be more fantasy like at moments, it still looks like uncomfortably haunting stuff. The trailer is in French sans subtitles and hopefully it doesn't spoil some of the surprises in store. While Livid is released in it's native France this week, it so far has no been set any release date for the UK or Ireland.

 

Trailer - "Shame"

The last time Michael Fassbender and director Steve McQueen teamed up, the result was the utterly stunning and absorbing Hunger. Now comes the trailer for their new release and much like their previous venture Shame is garnering plenty of critical buzz on the festival circuit. It is also garnering notoriety for other reasons too, not least about the graphic sex reportedly displayed throughout the film. After this and Hunger, it seems the two are not afraid to shy away from the more controversial stylings and their work is the stronger for it. This  looks set to continue their beautiful and artistic aesthetic. The film has been rated NC-17 in America no less - a usual death knell for films in the States, however it is clear the two have higher aspirations than box office. Release is set for January 13 2012.

Trailer - "The Avengers"

After that brief teaser at the end of Captain America and those blurry on set pics that were leaked, now comes the best look at the Ultimate Superhero team up. And it looks great! I don't know what it is about this one but I really can't wait. I mean, none of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies has been truly awesome stuff  but something about the thought of all these larger than life characters sharing the same space makes the fan boy inside me pass out in deliriousness. The trailer certainly delivers on the spectacle promised by these heroes, but it also gives a glimpse into how their dynamic might work. Not very smoothly from the looks of things and from Tony Starks snide comments towards his new found team mates to internal punch ups (is that Thor and Captain America locking fists?) shows that before any threat to Earth is truly dealt with, these guys are gonna need plenty of group therapy. Joss Whedon looks set to have nailed this and hopefully have brought some of his sparkling wordplay to proceedings. Expectations are sky high, but it looks like the team up might just deliver....

Trailer: [rec] 3: Genesis

The eagerly awaited teaser for the latest in the [rec] series has finally debuted online. A teaser in the true sense, this gives next to no plot details away and only a few tantalisingly gruesome images for the gorehounds. Taking the action out of the old apartment block that [rec]'s 1 & 2 so ably used in their stories, this time the action is transplanted to a wedding just down the road. Secrets are still in abundance, but you can be rest assured that director Paco Plaza (co-director on the first two: Jaume Balagueró is helming number 4 on his own) will have plenty of tricks up his sleeve and pack the film with the same rollercoaster ride of fear the series is renowned for. [rec] 3 is due for release in it's native Spain in March 2012.

Trailer - "The Sitter"

Initially introduced by an alarmingly thin Jonah Hill, this eventually settles into standard movie trailer territory and actually looks to be very funny stuff indeed. Everybody knows that putting kids into adult situations with bad language always equals comedy gold and this looks set to continue that trend. The film centres around Hill's loser slob, who is forced to babysit local children in an effort to boost cash. Of course things go astray and it is not long before Hill and the kids he is supposed to be minding are led into a night of crime and debauchery. Can he get the kids home unharmed in time? Will he get a tip? How much weight did he have to lose for the upcoming 21 Jump Street to look like that? Anyways, the film looks like a barrel of laughs and will hopefully turn out to be marginally better than director David Gordon Green's last comedy effort from this year; the dodgy Your Highness. And anything in which Sam Rockwell is allowed free reign for his rarely used comedy bone always goes to must see in my book. The Sitter is pencilled in for release on January 12th 2012.

Trailer - "Pearl Jam Twenty"

Trailer - "Intruders"

Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has been mostly quiet since 28 Weeks Later four years ago. Well here's the new trailer to his more recent offering of horror. Starring Clive Owen, it tells of a young British suburban family getting targeted by an ever escalating state of supernatural events. What seperates this from other haunted house pictures like Insidious and the upcoming Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is when a rural Spanish family comes forward with very similar experiences happening to them as well. How are they both connected? The trailer is suitably eerie and is very atmospheric stuff indeed. While 28 Days Later didn't do much for me outside of it's fantastic opening, it is still obvious that Fresnadillo is a talented director and should hopefully be able to mine more menace from this film. That is only however, if the CG apparition that is glimpsed at the end of the trailer is kept to a minimum. Note to all film makers: CGI is not and never will be scary. Intruders is released on January 27 2012. Here's hoping........

Trailer - "Drive"

I've been quietly waiting for this one for a while now. Drive is the latest film from Dutch director Nicholas Winding Refn, a director who is certainly one of the more interesting working today. His last two features were very memorable in their own right - Bronson was an awesomely original biopic about the british psychopath with an incredible powerhouse performance from Tom Hardy and Valhalla Rising was more so for the wrong reasons, featuring hypnotising, frequently trippy visuals and a nothing plot. Drive looks set to be more accessible than his prior work and houses one of the best casts of the year. The film casts Ryan Gosling playing a movie stunt driver, who gets ever more dangerously embroiled in a life of crime. Also featured include Carey Mulligan, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Oscar Isaac and Albert Brooks. Refn seems to be channelling a great 70's vibe for his film and knowing the directors inability to shy away from the more gritty and violent element of things, it will almost certainly feature it's fair share of hair raising moments. The film is released on September 23 later this year.

Trailer - "The Amazing Spider-Man"

There's been a dodgy cam leak floating around online for the past few days now, but finally the official trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man has finally debuted, in all it's HD glory. It looks like director Marc Webb has brought some of his indie cred from 500 Days of Summer and the whole film has a distinctly darker tone than the previous trilogy. Coasting on Nolan's coattails, it looks to have taken a leaf out of Batman's reboot. However, whereas Batman sorely needed a reboot to fix the abomination that had gone prior, there really is no need for yet another stab at Peter Parker's backstory. With the original film still fresh in everybody's mind not even nine years ago, the recent (disastrous) broadway production and countless comic book lines, there really is a huge dollop of 'unnecessary' surrounding the film. It simply is not a story I wish to see repeated for the umpteenth time. Surely just assuming everybody knows how Parker came into being Spiderman and skipping straight onto the good stuff was the better way to go when Raimi left? Hopefully the film will dispel my doubts, but Webb et al have their work cut out. At least the extended POV at the end is cracking. It is scheduled for release on July 3rd 2012.

Trailer - "The Dark Knight Rises"

For all you non Pott(er) Heads out there, the first teaser for The Dark Knight Rises has finally gone online. And true to the series form it shows.........not much of anything at all. What more is to be expected of Christopher Nolan at this stage? What is revealed in the trailer is more in keeping with the previous films and especially Batman Begins which almost certainly is very much connected to The Dark Knight Rises (Liam Neeson's 'Ra's Al Ghul' voiceover is certainly reused for a reason......). So we get a brief scene with a very banged up Commissioner Gordon on a hospital bed, pleading for Batman to return, however what is very intriguing is that he seems to be talking to Bruce Wayne and not Batman. Does he know Wayne's secret identity? From there on in we get a brief shot of Tom Hardy's 'Bane', some very Inceptioney titles and music plus a quick shot of a semi-frightened Batman squaring up to Bane, towering over him. And who is that watching on from behind? True, it gives nothing away in the plot department, but at least there's more on display than The Dark Knight's teaser trailer four years ago. Either way, I defy anyone not to be incredibly excited about Nolan's conclusion to his series - surely on it's way to joining that elite few, who can boast the status of being a great trilogy. In almost exactly a year to the day The Dark Knight Rises is released on July 20th 2012.

Trailer - "The Thing"

I still have my worries about this one, but for now, the trailer and poster have set my fears at rest about the new The Thing reboot/prequel. The original is one of the best horrors ever, finding director John Carpenter at the top of his game and features nail biting paranoia, gut wrenching violence and some of the best prosthetic work ever seen on celluloid. This film takes place before the events of the 1982 film and is supposed to segue directly into Kurt Russels 'MacReady' and band of Artic scientists. It's hard to be too negative about this effort seeing as Carpenters was also a remake of a 1951 film and look how mind blowing that turned out to be. Hopefully this won't let the legions of fans down, eager to see this creature done the justice it deserves on screen. The film is released on December 2nd.

Trailer - "Hugo"

The first trailer for Martin Scorsese's new childrens film Hugo (formally Hugo Cabret) takes it's bow today. I must admit, it is quite strange to see a master of such daring cinema like Scorsese work within the confines of a kids film, but the man has more than a proven track record to make this one at the very least, intriguing for now. He seems to be stretching his genre muscles after the downbeat Shutter Island from last year and looks set to be aiming for a whimsical, magical tone. It will also be interesting to see how he works with such extensive CG for the first time along with the mooted 3D. I guess until we see more I'm staying on the fence for now. Hugo is released on December 2nd.

Trailer - "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

The trailer for Tomas Alfredson's first film since the instant classic "Let The Right One In" three years ago has been unveiled. Featuring what is sure to be an exciting, twist laden story with quite possibly the cast of the year pushes this into early consideration for best film of 2011. The film is released on September 16th.

Trailer - "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol"

In the second of todays notable trailer releases, Tom Cruise is back in his signature franchise. Now while I am in the minority of people who like Tom Cruise (say what you want about the man, but he never turns in anything less than watchable on screen), it seems that most people weren't exactly clamoring for another 'Mission Impossible' film. However with the introduction of Brad Bird, in his first live action film, there seems to be plenty of smash-bang-wallop brought on board for this sequel. The trailer crams in plenty of excitement which hopefully indicates how much fun the film should be. The film is set for release on December 26th of this year.

Trailer - "War Horse"

Steven Spielbergs first live action film in three years has it's trailer debuting online. It looks as though the master has not last any of his sensibilities and if the trailer is any indication of the film, then it will it's fair share of stunning images. The only criticism of the film is that it just screams out 'GIMME AN OSCAR'. Going by it's release date smack bang in the middle of awards season shows that this is completely intentional. Hopefully the film will offer more than just Acadamy Award showboating and live up to Spielbergs past credits. It certainly ticks off requisite themes in the mans previous work: A boys inspirational bond with his only friend who happens to not be human, John Williams' rousing music, epic images and World War II. At least it can be said that what he does, he does exceptionally well. The film is released in Ireland on January 13th, 2012.

Trailer - "30 Minutes Or Less"

Trailer - "My Idiot Brother"

Trailer - "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"

I wouldn't usually put up a leaked trailer but something about this is different. Firstly it's picture is kept pretty clear throughout and secondly it's sound is near perfect. Now, the added fact that this trailer has been up for over a day now and has not been taken down by Sony, seems to me like it is an intentional release from them. Either way, there is no denying that the trailer is pretty fantastic, sampling Karen O and Trent Reznor's cover of Led Zepplin's 'Immigrant Song' to fantastic effect. Director David Fincher is hot off his mega success with "The Social Network" so there's plenty to suggest here that he will following that film up with style in the genre that made his name in the first place. My only problems with this film stems from the fact that the original Swedish film was only released in 2009. There really is no need for a remake so soon for a film that was already a huge success, catapulting star Noomi Rapace to International stardom. My second problem is that small bit more worrying: I simply did not think the original film was anything special at all in the first place. Don't get me wrong, it was a perfectly serviceable thriller with a fantastic heroine but nothing truly remarkable at all by any means, and is something that to me at least seems far below Fincher's prowess. Let's hope I am proven wrong - The film is released on December 26th this year.
*Update:

Sony have pulled the shaky cam leak and have released an official green band trailer in its place. Much of what made that last trailer so great remains, albeit with no violence or nudity. File under 'more than intrigued' for now....

Trailer - "Green With Envy"

Jason Segal and Amy Adams star in this romantic comedy that, I think you will agree, has a bit more going on, than initially meets the eye. It's out on November 23rd........

Trailer - "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn"

With a collection of nearly everybody I love in film right now assembling for these two ground breaking 'Tintin' films, it is odd that I feel curiously muted on the whole affair. With Steven Spielberg directing one, Peter Jackson directing the other and the two films being written by none other than Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright - it also starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost along with Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis and Jamie Bell (as the titular character), then I really should be more excited about this. It might be the fact that I was just never a fan of 'Tintin' growing up. Talent involved is great and the snippet of footage here is impressive, falling somewhere in between "Avatar" and Robert Zemeckis' recent motion capture features (hopefully minus the dead eyes that plagued those films), so maybe it should be time that I raise my excitement bar on this. The new US and Europe posters have also debuted, with both curiously enough, dropping The Secret of the Unicorn from its title. Whether or not this an official title change remains to be seen, but for now we have Spielberg's effort up first, in it's release on October 26th.