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.

Matt Damon teams up with director Tom McCarthy in the new film “Stillwater”, a crime thriller about a father trying to prove his estranged daughter’s innocence after she is accused of murder. This is McCarthy’s first dramatic feature since “Spotlight”, a movie that earned him Oscars for Best Picture and Best Screenplay. The premise is full of potential and the trailer shows off a wonderful international flavor. And it goes without saying there is plenty of talent at the top.

Damon plays an Oklahoma oil-rig worker who learns his daughter (Abigail Breslin) has been charged with murder while studying overseas in Marseille. So he flies over to exonerate her and find the truth behind what happened. But the clashes of culture and hard-to-penetrate language barriers complicate matters. And navigating the country’s complex legal system proves to be more than he can handle. There’s a lot to like about the first trailer, especially Damon walking around the streets of Marseille with his truckers cap, Carhartt work shirt, and thick Southern drawl. Hopefully the story meets its potential.

“Stillwater” releases in theaters July 30th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

This morning the loooong awaited full trailer for A24’s upcoming film “The Green Knight” finally dropped. It was around a year ago that a well made teaser gave us our first look at this medieval fantasy from writer-director David Lowery (“Pete’s Dragon”, “A Ghost Story”). Now we have an even better taste of what Lowery and company and cooking up. And knowing the film is only a couple of months away amps up the excitement and anticipation.

Adding to the allure is the cast led by Dev Patel who plays Sir Gawain, the reckless and strong-willed nephew of the legendary King Arthur. Joining him is Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, and Barry Keoghan among others. The story follows Gawain as he sets out to confront the Green Knight, contending with all sorts of obstacles (both man and beast) along the way. Oh, and I forgot to mention the talking fox! Lowery has established himself as a filmmaker with a bold vision and that once again looks to be on full display. I can’t wait.

“The Green Knight” releases July 30th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Several months ago we got an incredible cool teaser for “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”, the follow-up to 2018’s critically panned but big box office success “Venom”. The film is part of the strange symbiotic (see what I did there) relationship between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios. The Venom movies are not part of the MCU although there are vague connections that leave room for future possibilities. Still, director Andy Serkis (yep, THAT Andy Serkis) tells IGN that this Venom story is very much as its own world….for now.

Tom Hardy returns as Eddie Brock and from the comical opening moments of the new trailer it doesn’t look like he and his alien alter-ego Venom have worked out all the kinks in their symbiotic relationship. But of course get more serious when we see Woody Harrelson who plays psychotic serial killer Cletus Kasady. Fans of the comic storylines Carnage in 1992 and Maximum Carnage in 1993 have a good idea of how dark and violent things are liable to become. I’m hoping Sony goes that route rather than making this a light comical jaunt. If so, this could be really good.

“Venom: Let There Be Carnage” opens in theaters September 24th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

I’m always up for more Pierce Brosnan, but I’m not sure what to think of his new film “The Misfits”. It comes from director Renny Harlin who’s perhaps best none as the director of “Die Hard 2”. The film is built around a very familiar premise – a ragtag group of (you guessed it) misfits team up to pull off the ultimate heist. While nothing new, these movies can still be fun with the right people in place. After seeing the first trailer it’s hard to tell if “The Misifts” has the right people or not.

Brosnan plays a brilliant architect and international thief who is persuaded by a group of young Robin Hoods to help them swipe a ton of gold from a ruthless businessman (Tim Roth) known for funding terrorists. And it just so happens the architect and the businessman happen to have a history. The film co-stars Nick Cannon, Jamie Chung, Rami Jaber, Hermoine Corfield, and Mike Angelo. The trailer doesn’t leave the best first impression, showing a movie that seems content to mimic numerous other films. Hopefully I’m wrong.

“The Misifits” releases June 11th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Netflix’s upcoming apocalyptic thriller “Awake” sees Gina Rodriguez playing a mother protecting her two children after society plunges into chaos following a mysterious end-world event. The film is directed by Mark Raso whose last film was the 2017 road-trip drama “Kodachrome”. Along with Rodriguez, “Awake” stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Barry Pepper, Finn Jones, and Shamier Anderson.

The first trailer dropped earlier today and opens things up quite a bit. It looks like Rodriguez and her kids wake up in a world where all access to technology has been wiped out. To make matters even worse, no one is able to sleep. As scientists frantically look for a cure, humanity quickly begins falling apart. Without question it’s an interesting concept with a lot of potentially fun and fertile ground to cover. At the same time it needs to have some kind of reasonable explanation. Hopefully Raso and company can pull it off.

“Awake” premieres June 9th on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.