Jean-Marc Vallée is pretty intent on making sure audiences get their yearly dose of heavy-duty emotion. After pulling our hearts out in Dallas Buyers Club and making our eyes red with last year’s Wild, it appears he’s back to beat on our empathetic heartstrings once again. And, this time, he’s getting literal.

In the new trailer for Demolition, which opened last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Davis Mitchell, who writes letters of complaint against a vending machine company for that too-often occurrence of a machine failing to deliver on its candy promise. An especially infuriating experience because his wife had died hours earlier in a car accident. When a customer service representative, Karen (Naomi Watts), calls back out of concern for Mr. Mitchell, the two form a wayward friendship which introduces Mitchell to Karen’s son Chris (Judah Lewis).

Davis struggles to truly mourn his wife’s loss and begins a literal deconstruction of his life, with the help of Chris. Chris Cooper plays his father-in-law trying to get him to move on. We imagine tissues will be a must for this one.

Demolition releases theatrically April 8th, 2016.

Facebook has become ubiquitous. An unavoidable entity of the modern era, it has reshaped how many people view the world, their friends, their social status, and themselves. The new film from Brant Pinvidic, Why I’m Not On Facebook, aims to explore the social media giant that has a restrictive grip upon our lives, and figure out just exactly what Facebook is. And now Way Too Indie’s got an exclusive clip from the film where Pindivic and co. take a look at just how easy it is to manipulate your life on the Internet.

Why I’m Not On Facebook follows Pindivic (who has a wide range of TV producing credits) as he searches for answers after his son asks why he can’t create a profile of his own. Built from interviews, archival news footage, and Pindivic’s eccentric quest, the film explores what Facebook has done to our daily lives, and hints at some of the darker aspects that we might not be aware of.

Check out the exclusive clip and the first trailer below. And feel free to air any Facebook related grievances in the comments.

Why I’m Not On Facebook goes On Demand on November 3rd.

At this time last year, The Theory of Everything was a week away from its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, and its star, Eddie Redmayne, was just a 32-year-old British scamp ready to shock the world with his performance as Stephen Hawking. A year later, Redmayne has positioned himself to become the first actor since Tom Hanks in ’94/’95 to win back-to-back golden statues. The Danish Girl reunites Redmayne with Les Miserables director Tom Hooper for an unexpectedly topical biopic co-starring Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Ben Whishaw.

Telling the story of transgender woman Lili Elbe, one of the first identifiable recipients of sexual reassignment surgery. Born in 1880s Denmark as Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener, Lili became an artist and married her wife Gerda Gottlieb before discovering she came to her gender identity realization. The soft lighting, period setting, and expositional dialog all seem reminiscent of director Hooper’s last sweeping Oscars success, The King’s Speech; however, the depiction of Lili’s transition from a man to a woman is bound to become a discussion point as The Danish Girl aims to be part of awards conversations.

The Danish Girl premieres September 5th as part of the Venice Film Festival and will be released Stateside on November 27th.

Not everyone holds the campy horror art form of ’80s slasher films in as high esteem as a few of us over here at Way Too Indie. But if you know anything about this pivotal direction in the history of horror, you may recall it was the first to introduce the concept of The Final Girl, referring to the female protagonist who takes a stand and defeats the (often masked) threat plaguing her and her friends/family/campers. It was a bit of a leap as far as feminism in horror films go, even if said characters had to abide by certain rules, such as remaining virginal to the end and thus deserving of victory. Baby steps, right?

Writers  M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller have found the inherent hilarity present in almost every slasher film and written a sort of meta spoof capitalizing on this unique genre. In this first trailer for The Final Girls from director Todd Strauss-Schulson, four friends at a movie marathon of a popular ’80s slasher franchise—starring the lead character’s (Taissa Farmiga) recently deceased scream-queen mother (Malin Akerman)—find themselves pushed into the film and forced to live out its plot to find their way out. Doing their best to keep everyone alive along the way while pursued by Billy the masked bad guy.

Due in theaters October 9, The Final Girls looks to be a refreshing addition to the slew of horror films pushed on us that time of year. Finally, a horror film you’re supposed to laugh at.

As the LGBT rights movement continues to make huge strides in America, it feels like a fitting time to start to look back at the many battles fought by this ostracized and abused group of people. One such historical turning point is the Stonewall riots of 1969 in New York City, the violence and passion of which inspired the greater LGBT community to rally and get organized in their efforts for equality and safety.

Now we have a stirring first trailer for Roland Emmerich’s Stonewall, a film following a fictional young gay man, played by Jeremy Irvine, forced to flee his home when his sexual orientation proves too much for his friends and family, who ends up on the streets of Greenwich Village, NYC. He befriends a group of people made up of young gays, lesbians, and drag queens who introduce him to the Stonewall Inn, a gay-friendly mafia-run club and safe-haven. But eventually even their safe space starts to be regularly raided by the NYPD, who harass the people there. The historical consequence to this constant persecution was an eruption of rage in the form of two days of riots and a kick-off of the modern LGBT movement.

Though not the first film version of this important historical event, it certainly feels like the man who gave us Independence Day, Stargate, and The Patriot is a seasoned pro at igniting pride, and this two-minute trailer is plenty inspiring. The film also stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Joey King, and Ron Perlman and will be released in theaters September 25.

Jason Schwartzman has always been a bit manic onscreen, his characters often charmingly smarmy. He’s quite possibly the perfect example of “flawed but likable”—which, by the way, is a deep compliment. So, while last year’s Listen Up Philip mixed up the formula a bit, Schwartzman seems to be back in his comfort zone with the first trailer for 7 Chinese Brothers.

The flick follows Larry (Schwartzman) as he’s booted from one job and forced to hunt down another—a large feat for the oft-inebriated slacker. Soon, though, Larry gets a bite at a tire and lube shop and meets Lupe, who just might help him get his life in order.

Written and directed by Bob Byington (Somebody Up There Likes Me), the cast is rounded out by Stephen Root, Olympia Dukakis, and TV on the Radio frontman Tunde Adebimpe. The film premiered at SXSW earlier this year to some positive nods, and the trailer promises laughs. But honestly, we’d line up for Schwartzman alone.

7 Chinese Brothers opens August 28th. Check out the first trailer below.

Now those who couldn’t be at Comic-Con this past weekend get a taste of what Hall H-ers have already seen, a first look at the hotly anticipated Suicide Squad. The trailer was part of the explosive Warner Brothers panel this past weekend where almost the entire cast was brought out on stage including Will Smith and Margot Robbie as well as the film’s director David Ayer.

The trailer definitely gives us a sense of the Suicide Squad’s darker anti-heroics, finishing with a goosebump-inducing look at Jared Leto’s Joker. Along with the foul-mouthed Deadpool being a huge draw this past weekend at Comic-Con, it seems like the masses are getting a little bored with the straight-laced do-gooding superheroes that have saturated the movies so far. Time for a new form of justice.

Let us know what you think of the trailer in the comments and if you think the Suicide Squad casting is everything we hoped.

Is it really possible that Lily Tomlin has gone this long without a starring vehicle of her own? The iconic actress has decades of perfectly timed, naturalistic punchlines under her belt, yet for years her parts have been largely reduced to limited arcs on TV shows or small, supporting roles in middling movies. Writer/Director Paul Weitz clearly saw the enormous potential in this market gap. Following his 2013 Tina Fey comedy Admission, in which Lily Tomlin played Fey’s mother, Weitz wrote an entire movie with Tomlin in mind.

Grandma premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival to slew of praise for Tomlin (Way Too Indie caught up with it at Tribeca and had glowing things to say, too). Despite its title, Tomlin’s character is far form a withered, weakened old lady. In Grandma, Tomlin plays Elle Reid, a misanthropic lesbian poet, whose granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner) shows up broke and in need of an abortion. Together, the two journey to collect cash, confront their pasts, and hit Nat Wolff in the balls with a hockey stick.

Grandma also stars a collection of familiar faces, many of them in the trailer, including Sam Elliott, John Cho, Marcia Gay Harden, Judy Greer and Laverne Cox. While New Zealanders will get a early chance to see Grandma at the New Zealand International Film Festival in July, Americans everywhere will have to cope with Granmda‘s August 21st release date by watching and re-watching the pleasant new trailer below:

We’re six years on from Flight Of The Concords, and while many still associate Jemaine Clement with the quintessential show, the Kiwi actor is slowly building a post-show name for himself. After a spat of vocal work and supporting roles, Clement has taken the lead in several winning indies. Earlier this year he starred in the hilarious mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows and now the first trailer has arrived for the forthcoming People, Places, Things.

Clement plays Will Henry, a floundering graphic novelist and professor in New York who is struggling to put his life back together, raise his twin daughters, and get back into the dating world after catching his long-time partner cheating on him with an old friend.

The formula for the film follows some familiar twists and turns, but with Clement up front, the proceedings look to have lots of potential. Written and directed by James C. Strouse (Grace Is Gone, The Winning Season), the support in this one is pretty stacked with Regina Hall, Jessica Williams, Stephanie Allynne, and Michael Chernus.

People, Places, Things won some winning reviews out of Sundance earlier this year, and we just caught it at the LA Film Festival this past weekend. The first trailer certainly has charm, so it’s safe to say we’ll be queueing up for this one on August 14th. Check out the trailer below.

Last night in media you were either jazz-handing your way through the Tony Awards, screaming at LeBron on your television screen, or getting rather depressed at the unfolding events in Westeros. Which means you probably missed that HBO gave us TWO new True Detective Season 2 trailers.

The show, which returns with an all new cast and plot June 21 at 9pm on HBO, has thus far only hinted at plot and characters and now it, well, it hints a little bit more? The first trailer is another non-verbal mood-focused trailer letting us know that, similar to the first season, we should probably prepare for some Debbie Downer characters in the midst of some truly dark cases. Well at least we know they’re keeping the theme of cops-who-need-antidepressants alive.

The second trailer gives us our first taste of dialogue. Colin Farrell’s Ray Velcoro asks immediately if he’s supposed to solve this thing. We’re hoping this means he’s moody AND cocky. Love a cop who knows what he’s good at a la Matthew McConaughey’s Rust Cohle. Vince Vaughn’s Frank Semyon claims to be “no good on the sidelines,” so we can only hope for some rogue bad-boy action on his part. And Rachel McAdams’ Ani Bezzerides generally looks tired, wary, and needing of a stiff drink. Given the twisted mystery of the first season, it makes sense that neither of these trailers would give us a whole lot more to go on, plot-wise, but our appetites are still most certainly whet.

Watch below and let us know if you’re as excited as we are:

When she passed away in 2011 at the mystically unlucky and considerably-too-young age of 27, musical artist Amy Winehouse left behind a huge following of admirers and fans. Her death was the sort that was all the more bitter in its feeling of inevitability. The singer/songwriter had struggled with alcoholism for many years, her visits to rehab made public by their obvious connection to her music and lyrics. But no matter how doomed she may have seemed, no one can deny the deep loss of a sincere and unique talent in the music world.

Now the acclaimed director of Senna and The Warrior, Asif Kapadia, has sliced together bits and pieces of footage of this deeply interesting women’s life into another of his deeply personal documentaries. Amy premiered at Cannes last week and has quickly become one of the most buzzed about films in competition this year. Already from the snippets put together in this first trailer the profound sadness of Amy Winehouse is deeply felt. Her rise to fame appears to be portrayed as something of a surprise occurrence to this highly artistic woman who only wanted to create the music she loved and got caught up (like so many have before her) in celebrity and expectation.

We know viewing this one will be a wrench in the heart, but Amy understood better than all of us what it means to go “back to black.”

When the film held its North American debut at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Manglehorn was one of two movies touted for featuring “the best Al Pacino performance in [x] years.” The other, The Humbling, came into theaters and onto VOD January 23rd without much fanfare. Five months later, Manglehorn is set for its own simultaneous theatrical and on-demand release with a new poster and brand-new trailer.

The latest from prolific director David Gordon Green (George Washington, Pineapple Express), Manglehorn is a dream-like look into the life of key maker A.J. Manglehorn (Pacino). Still heartbroken over a woman whose love he lost years ago, Manglehorn pens lovesick letters while serendipitously solving problems for the various people he meets around town. Co-starring Holly Hunter, Chris Messina and Harmony Korine in a scene-stealing role as a degenerate former Little League player that Manglehorn once coached, Green’s film is full of evocative visuals and a trippy sound mix that blends several scenes together. Manglehorn will get a limited release the same day it appears on VOD, June 19th.

Watch Al Pacino walking around with a cat in the Manglehorn trailer below:

Here’s the Manglehorn poster:

Morris Chestnut is one of those actors that’s seemingly elevated himself to leading man status through perseverance-based ubiquity and not any particular breakthrough role. Show his headshot to a collection of five friends and you’re bound to get five completely separate “he’s the guy from” answers whether it’s Boyz n the Hood, American Horror Story, Nurse Jackie, or Kick-Ass 1 and 2. For me, Chestnut always be NBA star Tracy Reynolds, surrogate father to a preteen Lil’ Bow Wow in the magical-basketball-skills-derived-from-lightning-strike classic Like Mike. Reynolds may have had a killer jumper, but his most clutch shot was being the dad Calvin always needed.

Anyway, Chestnut’s landed the lead in one of the new FOX shows unveiled at the network’s upfronts presentation. Rosewood is a Miami-set procedural that exists in the undefined space between Bones and Dexter, just without the distinctive hooks that both those shows had. As pathologist and medical examiner Dr. Beaumont Rosewood, Jr., Chestnut outperforms his job description by charming a crime scene until he uncovers a clue. Alongside the department’s newest detective (who is, shockingly, a woman), Rosewood rides on speedboats and gives dap to suspects in the pursuit of crime solving.

Rosewood is slated to air Wednesdays this Fall on FOX, watch the trailer for the new show, from Psych co-executive producer Todd Harthan, below:

Jack Black is one of the most hit and miss actors working today. Without a doubt he can knock it out of the park, in both hilarious supporting roles and serious leads. But for every Bernie there is a Gullivers Travels. Still, there is something about his manic energy that lends his every role a certain watchability.

For his first big headliner of 2015, Black is hopping on The D Train, a comedy that popped up at Sundance and sees its first trailer debut today.

The D Train stars Black as Dan, a perpetually uncool dude struggling to put together the perfect high school reunion, only to find that no one wants to show. His solution might just lie with his polar opposite, Oliver Lawless (James Marsden), the face of a national commercial. But when Lawless agrees to return home for the reunion, Dan watches his life get quickly taken over by his new pal.

Written and directed by Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul (the writing duo behind Yes Man), the film co-stars the ever-hilarious Kathryn Hahn (She’s Funny That Way, Parks and Rec) and Jeffery Tambor (Arrested Development, Transparent).

So far The D Train has chalked up mixed buzz, but the Black/Marsden team up holds a lot of potential. Check out the trailer below.

Have you ever wondered what the new Star Wars trailer would have looked like if the auteur Wes Anderson was in charge instead of J.J. Abrams? Well if you have then you’re in luck. Director Jonah Feingold creativity edited the newly released Star Wars teaser to emulate Anderson’s unmistakable style, which has become its own film genre—vintage film stock look, large typefaces that span across the screen, pastel color palette, and a foreign rock-and-roll soundtrack. Now this is a Star Wars film we’d love to see!

Wes Anderson Presents: Star Wars Force Awakens Trailer

If last week’s release of the new Jurassic Park trailer wasn’t enough to trigger some pleasant nostalgia, then the trailer for Alan Taylor’s Terminator: Genisys, the first of a new trilogy of Terminator films, should really cap off your Throwback Thursday. As if this jaunt down memory lane wasn’t exciting enough, Arnold Schwarzenegger is BACK, making good on that over-quoted promise, to reincarnate the much beloved cyborg hero.

This time, Skynet has it out for John Connor using both the past AND the future to stage the ultimate attack. So it’s a good thing Matt Smith is rumored to be among the cast as he does seem to have a penchant for time traveling gigs. No doubt John Connor, played by Jason Clarke, will be needing a Doctor over the course of this three film journey. Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke will be breathing new life into the indomitable character of Sarah Connor. Really, as if we needed another draw. With the usual exorbitant amount of explosions, gunfire, and car chases complete with air-flipping school buses, the release date for this robot reboot is set for July 1st, 2015.

“There has been an awakening – have you felt it?” Thus begins the all-new teaser for J.J. Abrams‘ Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

It’s a short teaser, that debuted in a select few theaters today and iTunes, but true fans will take whatever morsels Abrams gives us. Not much plot was revealed, and the teaser focuses on the tension around the force apparently waking up. The teaser focuses on the tech goodies, a new droid on a rolling ball, stormtroopers preparing for battle, a lightsaber that looks like a sword with a hilt.

We do get a slight glimpse at newcomers John Boyega and Daisy Riddle. They join Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, and original cast members Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Peter Mayhew.

What fans will undoubtedly be amped most about is some awesome action by the Millenium Falcon. This is the seventh film in the franchise and will take place 30 years after Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will hit theaters December of 2015. One more year guys, one more year.

Leave a comment, tell us your thoughts.

“You will never look at Indian cinema the same way again.” So says the trailer for Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur, and with all the chaos going on it’s easy to believe that statement. The film has taken a while to grace American screens; it premiered in 2012 at Cannes, but until now no one has picked up the film(s) for distribution. Thankfully, Cinelicious Pics have teamed up with producer Adi Shankar to release Gangs of Wasseypur in select cities across America on January 16th. Here’s the official synopsis of the film, which is being released in 2 parts:

From Guneet Monga, the producer of THE LUNCHBOX, GANGS OF WASSEYPUR is director/writer/producer Anurag Kashyap’s ambitious and extraordinary blood-and-bullets fueled crime saga that charts seventy years in the lives – and spectacular deaths – of two mafia-like families fighting for control of the coal-mining town of Wasseypur, India. Inspired by the real-life exploits of local gangs and beginning with the bandit-like career of Shahid Khan (Jaideep Ahlawat) in the 1940s, the film follows the ruthless rise of his son Sardar (a brilliant Manoj Bajpayee) and his offspring, the surreally-named Danish, Perpendicular and Definitive Khans and their numerous wives and girlfriends. GANGS OF WASSEYPUR mirrors the tumultuous and explosive growth of modern India with ferocious cinematic intensity. As with Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone in THE GODFATHER, it’s the least likely of Sardar’s children – the perpetually stoned Faizal (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) – who rises to the top ranks of the Khan crime family, vowing brutal revenge on their longtime nemesis, the wily and seemingly unstoppable Ramadhir Singh (Tigmanshu Dhulia).

The film has been a hit with audiences and critics around the world, earning comparisons to the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Sergio Leone and Quentin Tarantino, among many other big-name filmmakers. Gangs of Wasseypur looks like the sort of big, adrenaline-fueled crime saga people love to eat up, and after seeing this trailer we can’t wait to check it out. Watch the trailer below, and be sure to find out if the film will be playing near you.

Gangs of Wasseypur trailer

We have an exclusive clip of the first 10 minutes of The Calling, the new serial killer thriller starring Susan Sarandon and Topher Grace.

Sarandon plays Hazel Micallef, a detective in a quiet town who comes across a chain of gruesome murders with spiritual undertones. This is the first feature film from Jason Stone, who is most notable as a co-screenwriter of the Seth Rogan & Evan Goldberg apocalyptic comedy This Is the End. The Calling obviously takes on a much different tone with its sadistic killings in a serene location. Here is the official synopsis:

Detective Hazel Micallef hasn’t had much to worry about in the sleepy town of Fort Dundas until a string of gruesome murders in the surrounding countryside brings her face to face with a serial killer driven by a higher calling.

The Calling is available to rent or own on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube and your favorite streaming services.

First 10 minutes of The Calling

At the precipice of the Algerian War between France and Algerian independence fighters, a reserve soldier for the French military, living in Algeria as a schoolteacher (Viggo Mortensen), is enlisted to escort a prisoner (Reda Kateb) on a two-day trek to Tanguit to stand trial. Shot in expansive rocky deserts of Morocco, writer/director David Oelhoffen’s second feature film (following In Your Wake) is a story of survival adapted from the Albert Camus short story “The Guest.”

After debuting at the Venice Film Festival, Loin des Hommes, or Far From Men, made its North American debut this week during the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

In addition to Jauja, Loin des Hommes is one of two French-language dramas playing at TIFF with Viggo Mortensen in the lead role; however, in Oelhoffen’s film, Mortensen speaks some Spanish and both speaks and writes Arabic for a brief stretch showing off the breadth of his linguistic skills.

French distributor Pathé owns the French distribution rights without current plans for an international release.

Trailer for Loin des Hommes/Far From Men

James Franco and Kate Hudson star as an “ordinary couple” who stumble across a bag of stolen money in Good People. After they discover their tenant has died of mysterious causes, leaving behind a duffel bag full of 220,000 British pounds, the well-intentioned couple are caught up in a police investigation and pursued by the criminal who wants the cash.

The plot is well-worn and the trailer seems to show most of the obvious beats that come with similar films. Although, there is a touch of action promised from the trailer which is an interesting change for both Franco and Hudson. Neither of them have worked in a serious action thriller before, so they wouldn’t be your first choice for a project like this. But perhaps the most interesting casting choice in Good People is Omar Sy as the villain. Sy is most known for his breakthrough performance in the French buddy comedy The Intouchables, so a menacing bad guy will be a completely different role for him.

Good People is directed by Danish filmmaker Henrik Ruben Genz and also co-stars Tom Wilkinson. A release date has not yet been set.

Watch Good People trailer

Richard Linklater created a coming of age story unlike anything ever done before by remarkably filming the same cast for 12 years in an ambitious project entitled Boyhood. Linklater began filming a six-year-old boy named Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane) in 2002, and over the next 12 years we literally get to see him grow up. Although the film is primarily about life through the eyes of a child, the film is also about parenting, capturing Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as parents struggling to raise a child.

The trailer offers a small taste of how captivating this development process is to watch, see for yourself in the trailer below.

Watch Boyhood trailer

A trailer for Brian Knappenberger’s fascinating documentary The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz is now available for consumption. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival with a warm reception, then it played at SXSW (where I saw it), and it just recently showed at Hot Docs.

The documentary shows the tragic life of the computer programming wunderkind Aaron Swartz, a co-founder of the popular website Reddit, whose social justice and political hacktivism led to 13 barbaric felony counts from the FBI. The government was essentially just trying to make an example out of him by piling on so many charges and fines against Swartz, ultimately the pressure of it all led to Swartz taking his own life at the age of 26.

The Internet’s Own Boy delivers important messages of social awareness and political injustice in an insightful way, making the documentary a must-see. Watch the trailer below.

The Internet’s Own Boy trailer

God Forgive Us is the debut feature film by Director Michael Bachochin. The film is described as being “a dramatic collision of four strangers struggling through drug addiction, existential suicide, terminal illness and death.” Possibly not something for everyone, but certainly for those with an open mind and a willingness to understand the downfalls and imperfections of humankind.

This feature looks to be a stylistic and interesting insight into the troubled mind drawing upon religion to understand why the world is what it is and why we do the things we do, let’s hope that it will accomplish what it has set out to.

God Forgive Us trailer

Blue Ruin is a thriller focusing on the life of a curious man who returns home to claim vengeance upon hearing the news of a recent release of a prison inmate. After proving himself to be an amateur assassin, events conspire to have him fighting to protect his estranged family.

First screened in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival where it won the FIPRESCI Prize, Blue Ruin then screened again in the Vanguard section at the 2013 TIFF, writer/director Jeremy Saulnier started a successful Kickstarter campaign in order to continue production on the film.

Blue Ruin trailer

Wes Anderson, known for his distinctive visual and narrative style in such films as Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr Fox and The Darjeeling Limited, will be releasing his latest quirky comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The adventures of an infamous concierge at a well known and well frequented hotel between the world wars and Zero Moustafa, who becomes his confidant and trusted friend are detailed with this all star cast. Anderson loves to work with familiar faces and The Grand Budapest Hotel is no exception; Jude Law, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, and Adrien Brody are all listed as cast members. The film looks to be quite the dramatic comedy with the charm and flare we know Wes Anderson films to behold.

The Grand Budapest Hotel trailer

I’ll refer you to Dustin’s Cannes review of Like Father, Like Son where he sat amongst a ‘teary eyed’ audience and witnessed this huge festival success from 2013, and now in 2014 it’s allowed its big screen moment. I unfortunately missed its UK release back in October 2013, however from the reactions of festival-goers from around the world, it’s a story that has been seen as universally relatable regardless of its very traditional Japanese core.

Although Like Father, Like Son looks to play around with many different issues and hardships, it’s focus looks to be the choice to choose bloodlines or the primal importance of bonding with a child. Like Father, Like Son comes to US screens on 17th January.

Watch trailer for Like Father, Like Son

Reading the synopsis from Sundance Film Festival had one thinking that the second feature film from Zal Batmanglij, The East, sounded a lot like his previous film, which also featured and was co-written by Brit Marling. The film is about a person who looks to infiltrate an anarchist group, but ends up falling for its leader. That is shockingly close to the premise of Sound of My Voice, essentially swamping a cult group for an anarchist one. But an official trailer of the film was released today and judging from what is shown, The East appears to be more different than it sounds.

The cast of The East includes; Ellen Page, Alexander Skarsgård, and Brit Marling. The estimated budget of the film is 6.5 million. The film premiered yesterday at the Sundance Film Festival.

Watch the official trailer for The East:

Lore is Australia’s official submission to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film this year, and a trailer of the film is now available. Set in the spring of 1945 in Germany, the film follows a teenager and her younger siblings that seek refuge with their grandmother after finding out her father’s Nazi involvement. It looks to be an emotional film told from a perspective that is rarely examined.

Watch the official trailer for Lore:

Oh, Pedro Almodovar. It is slightly embarrassing that the first film I saw from the legendary director was his 2011 puzzling thriller The Skin I Live In. That film ended up being my favorite films of 2011 and consequently encouraged me to follow his other work. Most of his recent films have been more of the perverse thriller variety but his newest film, I’m So Excited, looks be much more of a true comedy. Although, given that it is Almodovar behind the camera, I would expect the film to have some colorful twists in store.

According to IMDB, at this time the plot is still unknown but the cast list has been released. Many of Almodovar go-to actors are present such as; Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Lola Dueñas and Javier Cámara. Others include; Cecilia Roth, Paz Vega, Hugo Silva and Blanca Suárez.

Teaser trailer for I’m So Excited:

Science fiction geeks fans and film critics cheered when the announcement was made that Shane Carruth’s sophomore film, Upstream Color, will be premiering at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in January. Not much is known yet about his new film, so it could be every bit as scientifically trippy as his first film, Primer. At the point, two teaser trailers have surfaced and yet the actual details of what the film is about remains mostly unknown. From watching the two introductory trailers, Upstream Color appears to contain the same kind of uniqueness as Primer, while still heavy with cryptic undertones.

Last week I posted a trailer to Terrence Malick’s To The Wonder and based purely on these trailers, the two films have the potential to make one remarkable double feature.

First teaser trailer for Upstream Color:

Second teaser trailer:

After premiering (and receiving a relatively warm reception) at TIFF in September, we really haven’t heard much about Derek Cianfrance’s new film, The Place Beyond the Pines. Some wondered what would come of the film. A couple months back the studio releasing the film, Focus Features, announced that it would see theaters near the end of March.

I personally saw this as a meaning that the film wasn’t as strong as some once thought. Well now we have a full length trailer and boy does it look to be an emotional experience. The film stars Ryan Gosling as a motorcycle stunt man who starts committing robbery’s to support his family. On the other side of the coin is a cop played by Bradley Cooper whose looks to take him down.

Cianfrance was last seen with the emotionally wrought drama Blue Valentine (also starring Gosling). By the end of that film, it felt like my heart had been ripped out and stepped on. This looks to have the same emotional impact. The film also stars Rose Byrne, Eva Mendes, Bruce Greenwood and Ray Liotta. Check out the trailer below.

Watch the official trailer for The Place Beyond the Pines:

To The Wonder is Terrence Malick’s uncharacteristically quick follow-up to his 2011 stroke of genius work of The Tree of Life. There were a lot of similarities in each of their trailers; both have excellent orchestra music accompanying characters that spend a lot of the time running through fields as if they are trying to escape from something. Malick appears to have made yet another visual masterpiece, one that could be a companion piece to his previous film.

Ben Affleck will likely be doing his more serious work of his acting career with his lead role as Neil. He and his girlfriend live happily together in Oklahoma until her visa expires, forcing her to return back to Paris. Making the situation complicated is when Neil’s childhood sweetheart (Rachel McAdams) re-enters his life.

Watch the official trailer for To The Wonder:

Starlet is an indie drama that tells a story about an unconventional friendship that begins when 21 year-old Jane discovers a hidden stash of money from an object she purchased from an elderly woman named Sadie. Many who have seen the film are claiming a breakout performance by the lead Dree Hemingway.

Synopsis of Starlet:

Starlet explores the unlikely friendship between 21 year-old aspiring actress Jane (Dree Hemingway) and elderly widow Sadie (Besedka Johnson) after their worlds collide in California’s San Fernando Valley. Jane spends her time getting high with her dysfunctional roommates and taking care of her chihuahua Starlet, while Sadie passes her days alone, tending to her garden. After a confrontation at a yard sale, Jane finds something unexpected in a relic from Sadie’s past. Her curiosity piqued, she tries to befriend the caustic older woman. Secrets emerge as their relationship grows, revealing that nothing is ever as it seems.

Watch the official trailer for Starlet:

It’s been over thirty years since Stanley Kubrick gave us the fantastic horror film The Shining, which still ranks up as one of my all-time favorite horror films. After all these years the film is still being studied and debated by scholars and hardcore fans. Rodney Ascher’s Room 237 explores theories about the hidden meanings behind The Shining.

Room 237 is appropriately named after the special room at the Overlook Hotel featured in The Shining. This documentary will feature five different points of view of the film from professors as well as authors. Even though the trailer does not offer much for details about the documentary, it does its job by making you excited to see what it has to offer about the mesmerizing 1980 horror film.

Room 237 is currently playing at festivals including CIFF.

Watch the official trailer for Room 237:

When the 4th sequel in the Die Hard sequel was announced I (along with millions of others) rolled my eyes. While the first three films are full of fantastic action, Live Free and Die Hard turned out to be a pretty uninspired (not to mention PG-13) mess. First, what the hell is Justin Long doing in the Die Hard series? Second off, as much as I love Timothy Olyphant, he was a terrible villain.

Ok, done ranting. Indiewire threw up the teaser trailer for the 5th film in series, A Good Day to Die Hard. While I was totally getting ready to start hating on the trailer before I started it, I have to admit that this looks like it could be a fun ride. This film looks to take our main squeeze John McClane (Bruce Willis, who else?) up against some Eastern Europeans. Those guys always seem to be trying to take over the world, am I right?

The trailer is loaded with tons of explosions and shootouts. While I’m not completely sold on the film, I feel less worried about how further the series will be ruined. The film is directed by John Moore who has directed such films as Behind Enemy Lines and Max Payne (both terrible). So sit back and enjoy a minute’s worth action porn.

Watch the teaser trailer for A Good Day to Die Hard:

Everyone knows Rob Zombie from his music days with his band White Zombie and of course with his solo career as well. But for the past few years he’s been carving his name in the Horror film echelon. His output has been pretty split in terms of quality. His first two films House of 1,000 Corpses and its sequel The Devil’s Rejects were inspired pieces of work. Corpses being an obvious homage to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, while Rejects was a highly inspired semi road film with spectacularly inspired violence and brutality.

His next two films were the Halloween remakes. I personally didn’t care for the first film, but you cannot deny some of the power its sequel has. The film is hands down one of the most violent I’ve ever seen. My point is that Zombie has a love of anything and everything Horror and actually has talent to showcase. He’s more than capable of putting together frightening images that shock his audiences.

My major grip with Zombie’s films is the persistent casting of his real life wife (the ever so aptly named) Sherry Moon Zombie. She’s a terrible actress. She’s not only terrible, but ghastly annoying. I’m sure she’s a really nice person, but please stop casting her. Please.

All of this leads me to my point. Uncle Bob is back with another tale of American gothic Horror. It’s titled The Lords of Salem and it has a new trailer. The film is about a radio DJ who accidentally summons a coven of witches in the town of (you guessed it) Salem, Massachusetts. Images of the film surfaced almost 2 months ago when the film was announced for the Midnight Madness program at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Reviews were pretty mixed but now we have a trailer and boy is it a good one. I’m not even going to talk about it, I’ll just let you guys watch and decide. I will say however that it looks like it could be a very creepy experience.

Watch the official trailer for The Lords of Salem: