“American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally” is the new film from Michael Polish that tells the story of Mildred Gillars, later given the nickname “Axis Sally”. She was an American broadcaster who shared propaganda over the airwaves for Nazi Germany during World War II. After the war she was taken into custody and put on trial by the US government. But it was quickly learned that her case was far from cut-and-dry.

The film sees Al Pacino in his first role since his Oscar-nominated work in “The Irishman”. He plays James Laughlin, an attorney tasked with defending Mildred Gillars (played by Meadow Williams) who faces eight counts of treason. “You are right now at this very moment the most hated person in America,” he tells her. I’m a sucker for a good courtroom drama and I’m interested in seeing how this one turns out. It may not be the best trailer, but the story is intriguing and watching Pacino is (almost) always a treat.

“American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally” comes out May 28th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Stephen Chbosky, best known for helming 2017’s “Wonder” and 2012’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, is back in the director’s chair with the teen musical “Dear Evan Hansen”, an adaptation of the Tony Award winning stage play by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. The film stars Ben Platt who won a Tony himself for starring in the stage version. The first trailer dropped yesterday and is a little hard to read. In fact you wouldn’t even know it was a musical until close to the end when Platt suddenly breaks out in song.

The 27-year-old Platt plays Evan Hansen, an insecure and isolated high school student who pens letters to himself as recommended by his therapist. A classmate played by Colton Ryan snatches one of Evan’s letters hours before committing suicide. The boy’s parents find the letter and think it was written from their son to Evan leading to complicated but well-meaning deception that sees Evan forming a close bond with the grieving family. The film sports quite a cast including Julianne Moore, Amy Adams, Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, and Danny Pino. The trailer really lays on the emotion and sure seems to lay out pretty much the entire story. I’m not sure what to think of it.

“Dear Evan Hansen” opens in theaters September 24th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Liam Neeson playing an ice road trucker leading the charge to save the lives of some trapped diamond miners? Sure, I’m in. What can I say, I’m a sucker for these Neeson thrillers that often feel unmistakably similar minus a few small story details. “The Ice Road” actually does feel a little different. While the new trailer doesn’t rule out gunfights, violent antagonists, a special forces background, etc., it does see Neeson showing off a very different ‘particular set of skills’. Namely handling a big-rig across 300 miles of frozen highways, thawing lakes, and collapsing bridges. As I said, I’m in.

“The Ice Road” is written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh whose last film was 2011’s “Kill the Irishman”. Here he puts together a movie that seems right up Neeson’s alley. It also stars Laurence Fishburne, Holt McCallany, and Amber Midthunder. The trailer alone lets us know that everything that can go wrong will go wrong. And with only thirty hours of air left before the miners suffocate we are ensured a steady race-against-the-clock element. So we’re given a good idea of what to expect and that’s more than enough for me.

“The Ice Road” opens June 25th on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

If you were going to find a way to bring G.I. Joe back to the big screen, focusing on its most compelling character and bonafide fan favorite Snake Eyes is a smart way to do it. The two early attempts at bringing the once beloved property to theaters didn’t end with the best results. But they did have one thing going for them – the Snake Eyes character. In the new teaser for “Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins” Paramount is digging into the ninja commando’s ripe and complicated backstory. Even more intriguing is that Henry Golding will star as the titular character.

As a kid in the 1980’s I watched some of the G.I. Joe cartoons and at one point joined the toy craze. But my main connection was through the comic book series which was known for its gritty semi-realism and great storytelling (at least until they started going into space, teaming with Transformers, etc.). It’s hard to tell from the action-packed teaser which direction the filmmakers are going. But if handled right, “Snake Eyes” could be a really good action flick. And there are plenty of good characters in that universe the explore if they’re given the proper treatment.

“Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins opens in theaters July 23rd. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

For me, Michael Keaton is an instant seller. His status as one of my favorite actors has been solidified in this second stage of career. These days you’ll find him in fascinating variety of starring and supporting roles. They may be in big budget blockbusters or small indies. You may find him with flying around with metal wings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or a traveling milkshake machine salesman on the verge of founding the world’s largest fast-food chain. In “The Protégé” he plays the big baddie, something he’s always been able to do extremely well.

The film is directed by Martin Campbell, the man behind the incredible “Casino Royale” but also the not-so-incredible “Green Lantern”. In “The Protégé” Maggie Q plays an assassin hunting down those responsible for murdering her mentor (played Samuel L. Jackson). In her quest for revenge, secrets from her past are brought to light and (of course) Michael Keaton in knee-deep in it all. Admittedly the trailer looks pretty conventional but the big names add some intrigue. Hopefully it takes this common revenge tale and adds some flavor all its own.

“The Protégé” opens August 20th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Just yesterday I was telling a movie-loving friend of mine about my experiences with the trailers for the last two “Purge” movies. I fell for the creepy and well-made teases for “The First Purge” and “Election Year” only to be let down by the actual movies themselves. Series creator James DeMonaco’s attempts at mixing action-horror with heavy-handed political exploitation ended with messy results. Highly profitable, but messy nonetheless.

Getting our first look at “The Forever Purge” left me with similar feelings as before. It’s yet another effective trailer full of chills and tense, rousing moments. This one (allegedly the final film of the surprisingly popular franchise) is set around the southern border between the United States and Mexico. After the end of yet another annual Purge night, a band of baddies decide to keep the violence and mayhem going. While it sounds like an interesting idea, it doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny. But that’s nothing new for the series and I don’t expect fans to be too concerned with it making sense.

“The Forever Purge” premieres in theaters July 2nd. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.