Oz: The Great and the Powerful
First up is the first trailer for Sam Raimi’s Oz: The Great and Powerful which was revealed at the Disney panel at Comic-Con. Exploring the origins of L. Frank Baum‘s classic children’s novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the film is a prequel to his work, looking at how the Wizard arrived in Oz and became the ruler. The new trailer introduces us to James Franco as the main character, Diggs, who will transform in to the Wizard we know, as well as the three witches of Oz played by Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis. Filmed in full 3D and beginning in black and white as The Wizard of Oz did, the film comes from the producers of Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland fairy re-telling, with the original novel by Lewis Carroll being one of Baum’s biggest influences. This new trailer really expresses this, full of bright colours, enchanted settings and magical creatures. It looks great, but we will have to wait until March 2013 to see it for ourselves.
The Dinosaur Project
Another first trailer is for the upcoming UK found footage film, The Dinosaur Project. Directed and co-written by Sid Bennett, the film follows a team of explorers in an expedition into the Congo jungle where they stumble upon a colony of Dinosaurs. After all the parties mysteriously go missing, their recovered footage shows stunning images of dinos thought to be extinct for 65 million years. The trailer looks like a weird mix between Blair Witch and Jurassic Park... But it doesn’t look completely awful, so maybe it is one to keep an eye on. Starring Peter Brooke (Red Lights), Matt Kane (The Cut) and Natasha Loring (Beaver Falls), the film is set to be released on 10th August.
Jack Reacher
And then there’s Christopher McQuarrie’s Jack Reacher, an adaptation of Lee Child’s One Shot, part of the Reacher series of novels. Starring Tom Cruise in the title role, the film follows a gunman who, after taking five lives with six shots, gives a single note on interrogation: “Get Jack Reacher!” So begins an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Reacher against an unexpected enemy. He has a skill for violence and a secret to keep. The film kind of looks like Drive, but not nearly as good. Are people even still interested in Tom Cruise? I’m afraid this one doesn’t take my fancy at all. Also starring Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, David Oyelowo, Robert Duvall, and Werner Herzog, Jack Reacher will be released on 28th December.
Gangster Squad
As for second trailers (and the star of Drive, Ryan Gosling), we have a new international trailer for Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad, giving us a couple more seconds of footage for the Zombieland-director’s upcoming crime drama. Starring Sean Penn as the ruthless New York gangster Mickey Cohen, the film is set in Los Angeles in 1949 and is a colourful retelling of events surrounding a special task force known as the Gangster Squad. The Squad focused their efforts on taking back their nascent city from one of the most dangerous mafia bosses of all time. The new trailer makes me even more excited for this one, and it’s certainly a must-see for this year. Also starring Josh Brolin, Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Mackie, Mireille Enos, Frank Grillo and Michael Pena, Gangster Squad is set to be released on 9th November.
Lawless
We also have the second trailer for in John Hillcoat‘s gangster drama Lawless. Formerly known as The Wettest County, the film is an adaptation of the 2008 historical novel The Wettest County in the World (written by Matt Bondurant). With screenplay by Nick Cave, the film follows three brothers - Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and Jason Clarke - who find their bootlegging business under threat in a Prohibition-era Franklin County, Virginia. The new trailer puts this on scale with Gangster Squad, looking like a brilliant crime drama with a really talented cast. Also starring Jessica Chastain, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Guy Pearce, Noah Taylor and Dane DeHaan, Lawless is set to be released on 31st August.
Take This Waltz
The final second trailer is for Take This Waltz, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and opened in a limited release in North America last weekend. Now with a UK trailer, it is confirmed that this comedy drama will be getting a release over here too. Starring three-time Oscar-nominee Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn) and funny man Seth Rogen (50/50), the film comes from writer and director Sarah Polley, and promises another stunning performance from Williams as she plays a woman named Margot who, happily married to Rogen’s character in the film, ends up falling for the artist who lives across the street (Luke Kirby). We can now expect to see this from 17th August.
For A Good Time, Call…
But that’s just for the some of this year’s more anticipated films. There’s also a couple of new trailers for a number of films that you’re likely not to of heard much about - yet. The first being the new green-band trailer for Jamie Travis’ For A Good Time, Call… With Ari Graynor and Lauren Miller in the leads, the film follows the two high school enemies who end up living together. At first it’s war, but the girls soon team up to start their own dirty hotline, where a genuine friendship is forged through fake orgasms. Well, at least you can say it’s a unique plot. The trailer seems to give most of the story line away but it looks a lot better than you would imagine. With support from Justin Long, Mark Webber, and Nia Vardalos, with cameos from Seth Rogen (Miller’s husband) and Mimi Rogers as well, the film is set to be released in the US nationally on 7th September, but no word yet on a UK release date.
Moving Day
Not quite as quirky, we have the trailer for Trailer Park Boys’ creator/director Mike Clattenburg’s return to the big screen with Moving Day, previously titled The Guys Who Move Furniture. The film follows Clyde (Will Sasso -the upcoming Three Stooges film) who, overworked and underpaid, is struggling to make ends meet and starting to feel like a failure. But a new day has arrived for Clyde at Redmond’s Furniture and with the help of a few of his ex-con, womanizing and boozing co-workers, he is ready to take on his neurotic boss and whatever else stands in his way. Also starring Charles Murphy (Night at the Museum), Emmy Award winner Victor Garber (Alias) and acclaimed comedian, Gerry Dee, the film is set to be released sometime this year. I wouldn’t wait around for it though.
Hello I Must Be Going
And finally, we have the trailer for Todd Lousio’s Hello I Must Be Going which debuted at Sundance last January. Divorced Amy (Melanie Lynskey)'s prospects look bleak when she is condemned to move back in with her parents at the age of 35. Everyone wants to help, but, just as her patience level with advice is plummeting, a bold teenage boy enters her life, igniting her last bit of self-esteem. It looks like a bit of weird love story, but Lynskey’s lead performance may be able to redeem that. Also starring Christopher Abbott (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Blythe Danner (Meet the Parents), John Rubinstein (Red Dragon), and Julie White (Transformers), the film will be released in the US on 7th September but there’s still no word on a UK release yet.
