Category: Flix Trailers

Trailers Spotlight: TENET and DOWNHILL

On By ruthIn Flix Trailers, Upcoming Flix13 Comments

Happy Friday, folks! I was going to post TENET trailer last night when it first arrived, but didn’t get a chance to do so. Then his morning, I received a trailer news release of a movie I didn’t even know was being made, DOWNHILL. Well, as I always like to mix the tone/genre/style when posting trailers, these two are perfect to highlight.

TENET

An action epic revolving around international espionage, time travel, and evolution.

Every single trailer of Christopher Nolan‘s movies always had me salivating and wish I could see it as soon as possible. Well, the same with TENET, which plot is still shrouded in mystery, but based on the deliberately-vague IMDb description and poster, it has an INCEPTION vibe all over it. I’m already sold when they said it’ll be a a time travel spy movie!!

I LOVE seeing John David Washington in the lead role, who was excellent in BlacKkKlansman. He sure has the screen presence like his thespian father Denzel, not to mention an enigmatic charisma. The movie itself teases something ominous, as Washington’s character and Clémence Poésy‘s talking about preventing world war III and dealing with something worse than a nuclear holocaust.

One thing is clear that there’ll be time traveling involved… it shows Washington’s character dying then coming back to life. When Martin Donovan‘s character said ‘welcome to the afterlife’ it literally gave me the chills!

As for the cast, I’m becoming more and more interested in seeing Robert Pattinson on screen, and though he doesn’t speak in the trailer, I think his role is an important one. Then of course there’s the Nolan’s regular, Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh. Aaron Taylor-Johnson gets top billing on IMDb for some reason, not sure what role he’ll play. Also nice to see Elizabeth Debicki and Himesh Patel among the ensemble cast.

Everything about this trailer looks mysterious and thrilling. Ludwig Göransson‘s score sounds terrific too, but then again most of Nolan’s  films have such fantastic soundtrack. Billed as Nolan’s most ambitious movie yet (boy that’s saying a lot!) comes with a reported budget of more than $220 million. It’s shot and will be released in the IMAX format, but unfortunately, we’ve got such a long wait as the movie isn’t released until July 17, 2020.

Barely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation in the Alps, a married couple is thrown into disarray as they are forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell star in this biting comedy.

I’m sold on the two leading cast for this one, which is based on the Swedish film Force Majeure. I hadn’t got a chance to see that acclaimed film, which also took place in the French Alps. I haven’t seen Julia Louis-Dreyfus in any movie before, but the pairing with Will Ferrell as husband and wife sounds like a genius idea!

Comedic writing duo Nat Faxon and Jim Rash won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Descendants, a familial comedy during a vacation that deals with a rather difficult subject. Their co-writer Jesse Armstrong, is a British writer who did In the Loop and creator of the HBO show Succession. So plenty of acclaimed talents behind this one. This black comedy is released just in time for Valentine’s Day next year for those who prefer something darker than a rom-com.

What do you think of these trailers? 

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Bond 25 – NO TIME TO DIE first trailer + character posters!

On By ruthIn 007 Chatter, Flix Trailers10 Comments

I’ve been waiting for this!! After revealing the new title last August, No Time To Die finally has its first trailer… and as a longtime Bond fan, color me excited!!

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I personally can’t wait to see what director Cary Fukunaga would do with this 57-year-old franchise, and from what I’m seeing here, it certainly looks promising!

The one I’m most curious about is Lashana Lynch’s character, and this trailer confirms that she is indeed has been assigned as a Double-O while Bond’s away from active duty. Oooh and she’s fierce!

Stay in your lane. You get in my way, I’ll put a bullet in your name.

She also reminds Bond that the world has changed… a way the studio reassure moviegoers that ‘this new Bond movie is woke, guys!’ I had to chuckle a bit seeing how reluctant Daniel Craig says the name ‘Bond… James Bond.’ He doesn’t look too happy to come back from retirement… just like Craig himself who can’t wait for his Bond contract to expire, ahah.

So Christoph Waltz is back as Blofeld, let’s see if they’d redeem his character here after what they did in Spectre where he’s basically playing a clichéd psychopath. And now Rami Malek is the new Phantom of the Opera er, Bond villain named Safin, complete w/ a preposterous accent to go with his eeee-vil plan. Looks like Safin will be one of those baddie with a more global ‘vision’ for his malevolent schemes… not simply a guy on a personal vendetta w/ Bond.

“… your skills die with your body. Mine will survive long after I’m gone.”

Nice to see Léa Seydoux back as Dr. Swann. So is she supposed to be new Vesper? Blofeld said ‘you gave up everything for her’ but there’s talk about her  knowing Safin’s secret… hmmmm, are they alluding to a Stockholm syndrome of some kind as Dr. Swann was kidnapped (presumably by Safin) and Bond had to rescue her? Not sure yet who Ana de Armas is playing, but hey she looks fabulous in a low-cut dress firing out two guns, so that’s all that matters, right? 😉

The cinematography looks gorgeous, plenty of cool-looking shots here. DP Linus Sandgren has worked with Damien Chazelle in La La Land and First Man. Composer Dan Romer is also new to the Bond franchise,  so far the music sounds good to me.

Ahead of the trailer, they released these new character posters… I’d say they look pretty sleek! I like the vintage, art deco vibe of the font, but yet looks very modern overall. Hey even Ben Whishaw gets his own character poster as the quirky Q, but no Ralph Fiennes as M??

Even in his poster Craig looks like he absolutely can’t wait to be done w/ his Bond stint, ahah. Well, I like him in the role, but honestly, I’m pretty ready to see a new Bond myself.

In any case, I am excited for Bond 25. There’s no shortage on the writers apparently… Cary Fukunaga also wrote the script which started with Neil Purvis, Robert Wade, then Scott Z. Burns and Phoebe Waller-Bridge were brought in to make some updates. Release date in North America is April 8, while the UK and its territories will see it first on April 2.

What do you think of NO TIME TO DIE trailer? Let’s hear it!

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Advanced Screening Giveaway to OFFICIAL SECRETS

On By ruthIn Flix Trailers, Giveaway/ContestLeave a comment

Happy Friday! We have another giveaway for this coming Tuesday!

Thanks to Allied Global Marketing, you + a guest are invited to an advanced screening of OFFICIAL SECRETS in honor of National Whistleblower Day:

Tuesday, July 30
Alamo Drafthouse Twin Cities at 7:30 pm

RSVP using the link below, while supplies last.

rsvp here

Seating is based on first come, first serve and is not guaranteed.
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Witness the untold true story of one woman’s fight for truth. 

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She risked everything to stop an unjust war. Her government called her a traitor. Based on world-shaking true events, Official Secrets tells the gripping story of Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley), a British intelligence specialist whose job involves routine handling of classified information.

One day in 2003, in the lead up to the Iraq War, Gun receives a memo from the NSA with a shocking directive: the United States is enlisting Britain’s help in compromising information on United Nations Security Council members in order to blackmail them into voting in favor of an invasion of Iraq. Unable to stand by and watch the world be rushed into an illegal war, Gun makes the gut-wrenching decision to defy her government and leak the memo to the press. So begins an explosive chain of events that will ignite an international firestorm, expose a vast political conspiracy, and put Gun and her family directly in harm’s way.

Matthew Goode
Matt Smith

The film also stars Ralph Fiennes, Matthew Goode and Matt Smith. Official Secrets is directed by Gavin Hood (Eye in the Sky)

The film hits select Twin Cities theaters on September 13.

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Trailers Spotlight: HARRIET and JOJO RABBIT

On By ruthIn Flix Trailers, Upcoming Flix5 Comments

Happy [almost] Friday, folks! Today we have a set of trailers I think are worth checking out, and per tradition, I always like to mix the tone/genre/style when posting trailers. Both of these films deal with the horrifying injustices befallen our humanity, slavery and the holocaust, but done in two very different ways. One is a biopic drama and the other an anti-hate satire, both to be released this Fall.

HARRIET

Based on the story of iconic freedom fighter Harriet Tubman, her escape from slavery and subsequent missions to free dozens of slaves through the Underground Railroad in the face of growing pre-Civil War adversity.

I first saw Cynthia Erivo in Steve McQueen’s extremely-underrated thriller WIDOWS (one of my top 10 of 2018). I was so impressed with her performance, her feature film debut no less, that I’m thrilled to see her leading this overdue biopic. I’m surprised there hasn’t been any film made about Harriet Tubman, a real-life hero who’s become an icon of courage and freedom.

Glad to see a black, female director at the helm of this important film. This is Kasi Lemmons‘ fifth feature film, the last one she directed was Black Nativity (2013). Looks like we can expect a thrilling, intense and gut-wrenching biopic, I’m already tearing up watching the trailer. Of course some people surely have issues with Erivo’s casting, given that she’s British. Originally her Widows‘ co-star Viola Davis was supposed to play Tubman for HBO but not sure what happened to that project. But then again, a bunch of other Brits have played iconic American heroes, i.e. Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln and David Oyelowo portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. Erivo may not be an American, but she does have African heritage (Nigerian) and who’s to say she won’t be able to do Harriet Tubman justice if she wasn’t born in the US? Apparently there are calls for boycotts which I think is just sad.

Janelle Monáe, Leslie Odom Jr. and Joe Alwyn also star in this film, and it’ll have its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival in September and opens in theaters on November 1st. Fingers crossed it will also make the TCFF lineup this year!

A young boy whose imaginary friend is Hitler finds out his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.

Anything by visionistical (apparently he coined a new term) filmmaker Taika Waititi always intrigues me. Described as an anti-hate satire by the filmmaker, it’s based on a book called Caging Skies by Christine Leunens, a US-born novelist who lives in New Zealand. It’s worthy of note not only because Waititi is one of the most exciting filmmakers working today, but here he also plays the imaginary friend, that is Hitler himself. Per IMDb, when Taika who is Jewish, was asked about why he chose to play the role of [a plumb] Adolf Hitler he said “The answer’s simple, what better f***you to the guy” Ha! You gotta love his zany brand of humor.

I’m thrilled to see Thomasin McKenzie amongst the cast, the NZ breakout star of Leave No Trace, another movie on my Top 10 list of last year. She plays the young Jewish girl hiding in the German boy’s (Roman Griffin Davis) attic. Scarlett Johansson plays his mother and the rest of the star-studded cast include Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen, and Sam Rockwell. 

This has that dark comedy whimsy that’s quintessentially Taika’s… it’s wacky and irreverent yet with a touch of earnestness. What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Thor: Ragnarok are all immensely watchable and highly-quotable, I have a feeling this one would be as well.

Jojo Rabbit will also have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and opens in theaters on October 18th. Man, I’m officially excited for Fall movies now, though no, I’m not ready for summer to be over yet.

 

Thoughts on these trailers, folks?

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Advanced Screening Giveaway to ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD

On By ruthIn Flix Trailers, Giveaway/ContestLeave a comment

Happy Monday, folks!! Guess what, we have another passes giveaway!

Thanks to Allied Global Marketing, you and a guest are invited to an advance screening of ONCE UPON A TIME … IN HOLLYWOOD on:

Wednesday, July 24
Showplace ICON (West End) at 7pm.

RSVP using the link below for your chance to attend (while supplies last)

rsvp here

Seating is based on first come, first served.
It is recommended to arrive early.  The film hits theaters on July 26.

“In this town, it can all change…like that.”

Some interesting trivia of the movie courtesy of IMDb:

This is Quentin Tarantino‘s ninth film and according to IMDb, he said he worked on the screenplay for five years and it’s also his most personal one yet. Apparently he started writing the story as a novel before realizing a film script would better suit the material.

Per THR, Tarantino describes it as “a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a Western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbor … Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie).” But QT has maintained that the movie is more about the era it’s set in and not about the Manson murders.

#OnceUponATimeInHollywood

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood opens in theaters this Friday 7/26. Are you excited to see this film?

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Advanced Screening Giveaway to Lulu Wang’s THE FAREWELL

On By ruthIn Flix Trailers, Giveaway/Contest1 Comment

One of my most anticipated movies this Summer isn’t a blockbuster, but it’s this indie drama from writer/director Lulu Wang that was a major hit at Sundance. I was tearing up already just watching the trailer, I know I’ll pack tissues when I go to the screening. The film features Awkwafina in her first leading role. Apparently it’s based on Wang’s own poignant story about a family that, upon finding out their beloved matriarch is dying of cancer, gathers for a ‘wedding’ in China so they could all spend time with her before she dies.

Thanks to Allied Global Marketing, you’re invited to see THE FAREWELL early before it opens in Minneapolis next weekend.

The Farewell ADVANCED SCREENING

Monday, July 15 at 7:30pm at
Alamo Drafthouse Woodbury (@alamotwincities)

RSVP using the link below for your chance to attend with a guest.
RSVPs will be granted on a first come, first serve basis.

rsvp here

THE FAREWELL hits select Minneapolis theaters on Friday, July 19.
It’s rated PG.

With THE FAREWELL, writer/director Lulu Wang has created a heartfelt celebration of both the way we perform family and the way we live it, masterfully interweaving a  gently humorous depiction of the good lie in action with a richly moving story of how family can unite and strengthen us, often in spite of ourselves.

Check out the trailer if you haven’t already:

Are you excited to see The Farewell? If you have seen it, what did you think?

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Trailers Spotlight: ‘Knives Out’ and HULU’s ‘Four Weddings & A Funeral’ miniseries

On By ruthIn Flix Trailers, Upcoming Flix4 Comments

Film/Show trailers come out every day, but only a few are worth posting about. Well, yesterday TWO trailers came out that caught my eye. Yes they couldn’t be more different from each other in terms of plot, tone and setting, but I’m excited for both! So let’s start with the Rian Johnson‘s star-studded whodunnit thriller…

A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.

I mean, just LOOK. AT. THIS. CAST.

It’s gotta be quite a feat just scheduling THIS kind of ensemble to be in the same room, dayum! Looking at some of the character names on IMDb, sounds like Captain America and General Zod are related? With the Scream Queen herself Jamie Lee Curtis, James Bond’s got his work cut out for him to solve this case, ha!

And here’s the trailer…

After directing Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017, writer/director Rian Johnson is now channeling Alfred Hitchcock and Agatha Christie in his family murder mystery with an amazing cast! Right off the bat it reminds me of the excellent miniseries Ordeal by Innocence on Amazon Prime starring Bill Nighy as the patriarch of a wealthy family. This one seems far more comedic, at least from the way the trailer is cut. Interesting to see Christopher Plummer co-starring with Daniel Craig in similar roles as in David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which I saw not too long ago. Apparently Craig’s character Benoit Blanc is described as an American Poirot, but what is that accent??! In any case, the scene stealer in this trailer is definitely Chris Evans, shedding his Cap’s goody-two-shoes image with his devil-may-care attitude and a potty mouth. I’m SO down for this suspenseful-but-mirthful wild ride this promises to be. I quite enjoyed Looper, though I should check out Brick one of these days.

KNIVES OUT is released on 27 November, perfect for the Thanksgiving holiday where family gatherings can be murder 😉

Maya, the young communications director for a New York senatorial campaign, receives a wedding invitation from her college schoolmate now living in London. She leaves her professional and personal life behind, in favor of traveling to England and reconnecting with old friends and ends up in the midst of their personal crises. Relationships are forged and broken, political scandals exposed, London social life lampooned, love affairs ignited and doused, and of course there are four weddings… and a funeral.

Now, normally I’m not into remakes of a classic, especially when it’s one of my all time favorites. But when I heard that Mindy Kaling is writing this miniseries AND I saw the cast includes the lovely Nathalie Emmanuel and my current crush Nikesh Patel, I’m SO down for this! Plus the original exec producer/writer Richard Curtis (who also wrote my fave rom-coms Notting Hill, Love Actually, About Time, etc.) himself is involved in this project.

I LOVE that they’re still setting this in London with a diverse cast. Ok my only gripe is the ‘Ryan Gosling dipped in caramel’ comment. Puh-leeze! The Goz wishes he’s got cut-glass cheekbones and voice like Mr. Patel! Glad Nikesh gets to use his own British accent this time, while Nathalie is playing American – not sure why, but I wonder if she’s related to Andie MacDowell’s character Carrie from the original movie who’s also part of this cast.

In any case, I’ve been enjoying the British Indian actor since my bestie Vony tipped me to watch Indian Summer (it’s on Amazon Prime, highly recommended!!). It’s like Downton Abbey but with more POC cast + more intrigue and higher stakes.  It’s time for him to shine as a romantic leading man and based on this trailer, methinks he’ll steal plenty of hearts!

Now, I suppose they could make an entirely new series that’s inspired by the 1994 classic, but considering how tough it is to launch any new tv show, sometimes leveraging something that’s beloved in people’s mind might get more attention. I don’t know what the real reason is, but in the case of this particular series, I’m willing to give this one the benefit of the doubt. A fresh new spin on a classic isn’t automatically bad, so yeah, I look forward to July 31 for the premiere!

Thoughts on these trailers, folks?

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