First NEON gave us “Pig”, now A24 is giving us “Lamb”. But don’t think the two films from two of the premier independent film distributors have much in common. The new trailer for “Lamb” has an entirely different story to tell – a weird, twisted and slightly disturbing tale by the looks of it. It marks the directorial debut for Valdimar Jóhannsson who also co-wrote the script alongside Icelandic poet Sjón. The film had its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival to mostly positive reviews.

The story revolves around a grieving couple (Noomi Rapace and Hilmir Snaer Gudnason) living on an rural Icelandic farm. They find a semblance of “happiness” in the form of a baby sheep that (brace yourself) they take in as their own child. But mother nature doesn’t approve leading to a dark and eerie reckoning. The bonkers central hook is what first grabs you, but the trailer shows us that there is far more meaning under the surface. And Jóhannsson creates a creepy atmosphere that gives the trailer a sinister edge.

“Lamb” is still listed as “Coming Soon”. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Focus Features has finally given us our first look at Paul Schrader’s follow-up to his brilliant “First Reformed”. Once again sporting a tortured male as his central character, Schrader’s “The Card Counter” sees Oscar Isaac in the meaty lead role. He’s joined by an intriguing supporting cast that includes Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan, and Willem Dafoe.

Isaac plays a former soldier turned gambler haunted by ghosts from his past. He becomes a mentor of sorts to a revenge-hungry young man (Sheridan) looking to pay back a certain Colonel (Dafoe) with links to both of their pasts. Tiffany Haddish also has prominent presence in the trailer although her character is surrounded by mystery. I love the cast with Haddish being the one exception. Can she tone down her loud high-energy routine for a role like this? I’m anxious to see.

“The Card Counter” premieres at the 2021 Venice Film Festival and opens wide September 10th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

To be completely honest, the upcoming Ghostbusters movie hasn’t been on my radar since it was first teased last year. But the new nostalgia-soaked trailer for “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” suddenly has me interested. This proper sequel to the original two movies overlooks the messy and misguided 2016 attempted reboot. The film is directed and co-written by Jason Reitman, the son of original director Ivan Reitman, who looks to reignite the once popular 80’s franchise for a new generation.

Set thirty years after the events of the second film, “Afterlife” focuses on a struggling single mother (Carrie Coon) and her two sons (McKenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard) who are evicted from their home and forced to move into a rundown old farmhouse left to them by her late father Egon Spengler. When tremors start shaking the nearby town of Summerville the kids quickly discover their grandfather came out to the remote Oklahoma area for a very specific reason. Paul Rudd fills out the cast playing a local school teacher and there may be a special cameo or two that we can forward to. It’s a good trailer and it has me genuinely interested in what Reitman and company have up their sleeves.

“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” premieres in theaters November 11th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Back on June 29th many readers finally got their hands on the hotly anticipated first novel from filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. It’s 400-page novelization (of sorts) of his 2019 big screen hit “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”. I wasn’t able to nab a copy during its first couple of weeks, but I FINALLY got one shipped my way. I’ve gobbled up the first thirty pages and I can already see it expanding (in a great way) on the movie. Will it keep up this early wild energy or fall over into pointless self-indulgence? I’ll have to get back to you, but so far I’m hooked!

Have you read Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” novelization? Are you planning to? I’d love to know.

The first trailer for the hotly anticipated “Dune” landed back in September of 2020. Now just weeks away from its big release, Warner Bros. has dropped a second trailer – an eye-popping three minute-plus dive into Denis Villeneuve’s sprawling science-fiction epic. This thing only looks better and better with each reveal.

Where the first trailer felt more like a tease, trailer #2 really pulls you into this massive immersive world Villeneuve is creating. We also get better looks at the movies enormously talented cast. Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, and Josh Brolin all get highlighted. And of course Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya are the centerpieces. I’ll be honest, last year’s trailer got me interested in “Dune”. This one has be genuinely excited. I can’t wait.

“Dune” opens October 22nd in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

When he’s not making big-budget superhero blockbusters for the DCEU, you can usually find filmmaker James Wan hanging out in the horror genre. He was the director of the first “Saw” film, the first “Insidious” movie, and of course the first two “Conjuring” films. Now he’s back with “Malignant”, a brand new original horror thriller with all the creepy markings of a James Wan production.

In the new trailer for “Malignant” Annabelle Wallis plays a woman tormented by gruesome dreams of people being murdered. She’s shaken to her core when she discovers that her visions aren’t actually dreams but realities and that both she and the murders are inescapably connected to a malevolent entity known as Gabriel. This is one killer trailer (bad pun shamelessly intended). Wan knows how to ratchet up tension and if the trailer is any indication this could be a real nail-biter.

“Malignant” opens wide September 10th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.