A slew of movies from every corner of the cinematic hemisphere have debuted new trailers within the last week. Let’s do ourselves a round-up and catch up on what’s soon to be playing at a theater near you.
20th CENTURY WOMEN
A24 Films has unleashed the second trailer for awards hopeful 20th Century Women. The film, written and directed by Mike Mills (Beginners), follows a Santa Barbara mother (Annette Bening) attempting to raise her teenage boy right. The ensemble cast includes Billy Crudup, Greta Gerwig, Elle Fanning and newcomer Lucas Jade Zumann. Bening, in particular, has been nearly universally praised for her performance in the film and has generated strong awards heat. 20th Century Women hits theaters, starting in limited release, on Christmas Day.
GIFTED
Fox Searchlight released the first look at Gifted, a new drama that highlights Chris Evans in a decidedly more down-to-earth way than usually presented. Directed by Marc Webb, the (500) Days of Summer discovery who recently pivoted to The Amazing Spider-Man films starring Andrew Garfield, the movie centers around a single father of a prodigious child drawn into a nasty custody battle. Jenny Slate, Lindsay Duncan, Mckenna Grace and Oscar winner Octavia Spencer co-star. Gifted unwraps in theaters on April 12, 2017.
LA LA LAND
Damien Chazelle’s highly anticipated follow-up to his Oscar-winning Whiplash unveiled its official trailer. The film, a musical love story starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, has already been generously greeted by both critics and audiences on the fall festival circuit and looks to possibly to be a major player in the awards season. La La Land opens in limited release on December 9th before expanding nationwide on December 16th.
THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE
The latest trailer has arrived for The LEGO Batman Movie. A spin-off from the widely successful 2014 animated meta blast The LEGO Movie, we follow a new adventure from LEGO Batman. Will Arnett reprises his voice work as is joined an all-star cast that includes Ralph Fiennes (as Alfred), Zach Galifianakis (as The Joker), Jenny Slate (as Harley Quinn), Michael Cera (as Robin), Rosario Dawson (as Batgirl) and Mariah Carey (as Mayor Marion Grange). Gotham City will never be the same. The LEGO Batman Movie hits theaters on February 10, 2017.
LIFE
Our first look at Life. This ambitious science fiction film centers around a international space team who discovers life on the planet Mars – curiosity awaits on how the film may stack up against recent high minded sci-fi exercises like Gravity, Interstellar and the upcoming Arrival and Passengers. Daniel Espinosa’s films has an ace ensemble cast at any rate with Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson and Ryan Reynolds leading the way. Life lands in theaters on May 26, 2017.
OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY
It’s time to party! Blades of Glory directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck serve up a raucous holiday raver in this new comedy that stars Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon, T.J. Miller, Abbey Lee, Jillian Bell, Randal Park and Vanessa Bayer. The party starts on December 9th.
SING
The world got you down? Maybe we all just need a little more music in our lives. In Sing, the latest animated splash from Illumination Entertainment (creators of those pesky “minions”), a bunch of anthropomorphized animals put on a singing competition in order to save a forgotten theater – think Zootopia meets American Idol. The all-star voice cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Taron Egerton, Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon, Seth McFarlane, John C. Rielly, Tori Kelly and Leslie Jones. Sing croons into cinemas on December 21st.
T2: TRAINSPOTTING
T2 may not be greatest moniker, but there certainly may be excitement in store for a second outing from the Trainspotting gang. The original 1996 film (based on Irvine Welsh’s unflinching comic novel about a band of Scottish heroin addicts) is still considered one of the strongest British films in history and well regarded as a cultural touchstone on both shores. For T2: Trainspotting, the gang is all back including Ewan McGregor (who became an international star on the back of the first film) as Renton. Robert Carlyle (Begbie), Jonny Lee Miller (Sick Boy), Ewen Bremner (Spud) and Kelly MacDonald (as Diane) all return, as does screenwriter John Hodge (who earned an Oscar nod for adapting the first film) and director Danny Boyle. T2: Trainspotting hits theaters on March 3, 2017, beginning with a limited run before expanding on March 10, 2017.
WILSON
Fox Searchlight sent out a red-band trailer for their upcoming misanthropic comedy Wilson, starring Woody Harrelson. The film, directed by Craig Johnson (The Skeleton Twins) is based on the graphic novel from Daniel Clowes. Clowes also penned the screenplay for the film, as he previously did for the 2001 adaptation of his cult comic Ghost World (which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay). Harrelson portrays a world class crank, newly awoke on the discovery of a child he never knew existed before. Laura Dern, Judy Greer and Cheryl Hines co-star. Wilson hits theaters on March 24, 2017.
WONDER WOMAN
Warner Bros. dropped the official trailer for next summer’s expected smash Wonder Woman. The film, regardless of whatever reaction awaits it, is historic on many fronts, specifically as it marks the first standalone cinematic entry based on the legendary DC Comics superhero (or superheroine). Gal Gadot, who debut her portrayal of Diana Prince, in last spring’s Batman v Superman, stars alongside an ensemble cast includes Chris Pine, Robin Wright and Connie Nielsen. Patty Jenkins (Monster) directs. Wonder Woman hits screens on June 2, 2017.
xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE
Vin Diesel’s other franchise is getting a second (or third, based on how you want to asses things) chapter in xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Paramount unpacked the official trailer for the next installment with Diesel reprising his role of Xander Cage (last played in xXx in 2002; Ice Cube briefly took over the franchise in the 2005 spin-off xXx: State of the Union). In this installment, Cage returns to work after being left for dead. Samuel L. Jackson, Toni Collette, Nina Dobrev, Ruby Rose and Donnie Yen co-star. xXx: Return of Xander Cage hits cinemas on January 20, 2017.
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