David Oyelowo stars and makes his directorial debut in the upcoming family adventure drama “The Water Man”. Oyelowo’s personal love for these kinds of movies and a desire to share the types of films her grew up on with his own children inspired him to jump into screenwriter Emma Needell fantastical world. The first trailer shows a movie that has some cool fantasy elements but also a visible human pulse which could lead to a potentially fun and emotionally rich experience.

While “The Water Man” features a terrific adult cast including Oyelowo, Rosario Dawson, Alfred Molina, and Maria Bello, the movie is about a young boy named Gunner (Lonnie Chavis) who with the help of local girl named Jo (Amiah Miller) ventures into the mysterious forest in search of the Water Man. Gunner’s mother is sick and local legend says the Water Man knows the secret to immortality. So it becomes a heart-filled story of a son doing whatever he can to save his ailing mom. I like our first look at the movie which comes across as warm and thoughtful and as something that could resonate with all ages.

“The Water Man” opens in theaters May 7th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

While the spin-off movies have been pretty hit-or-miss, the two main Conjuring films are among my favorite horror movies from the last decade. The third installment, the aptly titled “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”, was set for release last September but was knocked back by COVID-19. Now it’s back on the schedule and the first trailer gives fans of the franchise plenty to look forward to. In an interview director Michael Chaves told IGN that producer James Wan pitched the sequel as “Se7en” set within the Conjuring universe. As if I needed more reasons to be excited.

“The Devil Made Me Do It” sees the return of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (the perfectly cast Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga). This is yet another ‘based on a true story’ story, more specifically the case of Arne Cheyenne Johnson who was convicted for killing of his landlord. During his trial Johnson claimed he was demon possessed, the first time it was ever used in American courts as a defense. Ed and Lorraine are called in to find the truth and (of course) chills and terror ensue. The trailer looks great and this could be another top-notch installment in what has turned into a stellar horror series.

“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” releases June 4th in theaters and on HBO Max. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

There is a simple yet infectious charm all throughout the trailer for the upcoming road trip dramedy “The Man in the Hat”. The film opened last fall in the UK and marks the directorial debut for British composer Stephen Warbeck. It’s finally making its way to the States and there’s so much to love about the smile-inducing new trailer – good music, the gorgeous French countryside, the always dependable Ciarán Hinds. I’m in.

We don’t get a lot of information about the story other than a man (played by Hinds) quickly packing up a suitcase, grabbing a photo of an unnamed woman, and puttering off in his 70s-ish Fiat 500. What follows are clips of beautiful scenery, several encounters with a variety of interesting locals, and a mysterious woman who keeps popping up wherever he goes. There’s no dialogue, just Hinds seeing things with a wide-eyed sense of wonder. And I can’t shake the wonderful Jacques Tati/Monsieur Hulot vibe.

“The Man in the Hat” releases May 14th in select theaters and on VOD. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

I can’t remember the last time I had a reaction this mixed to a movie trailer. “Annette” has pieces that should put it near the tip-top of my ‘Most Anticipated’ list. Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver are among my very favorites and the idea of them together on screen is enough to sell almost any movie. On the other hand, the film is directed by Leos Carax whose last film was 2012’s “Holy Motors”. That film received near universal acclaim, but aside from a killer accordion jam, I found it to be eccentric to a fault and incredibly challenging to sit through.

The first trailer for “Annette” highlights the diverse acting chops of Cotillard and Driver as well as the wildly unconventional style of Carax. It leads to some cool images and shots of the two leads really going for it. The big question is how will it all come together? There’s no way I can pass it up, but I’ll be going in with fingers firmly crossed and hoping for something that connects with me much more than “Holy Motors” did.

“Annette” is opening the 2021 Cannes Film Festival on July 6th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Marvel Studios has been making entertainment headlines with their second successful Disney+ streaming series. But now they’re ready to tease their return to the big screen (after “Black Widow” or course) by giving us our first look at “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”. This is an interesting character choice for the MCU and a chance to breathe some much-needed fresh air into the universe. Shang-Chi (aka The Master of King Fu) is a character with a rich history and the first trailer gives an exciting glimpse into that world.

Simu Liu plays the titular martial artist, trained as an assassin but now hoping to put his troubled past behind him. But when your father is none other than the Mandarin (Tony Leung), one of the greatest supervillains in Marvel history, living a normal life isn’t so easy. The movie is clearly going a different route with the father-son story by tossing out Fu Manchu and bringing in Mandarin. But if that helps erase the Ben Kingsley “Iron Man 3” debacle from my mind I’m all for it. From the peak we get, I love the action, the style, and the assortment of intriguing characters. This could be really good.

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” hits theaters September 3rd. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Mads Mikkelsen? Sold! That’s all I needed to be interested in the upcoming film “Riders of Justice”. This Danish action-black comedy mix comes from writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen who previously worked with Mikkelsen on the underrated Western “The Salvation” and the astutely titled “Men & Chicken”. With “Riders” Jensen looks to be pulling from both of those movies, meaning we are in for some gritty violence along with some wacky spurts of dark humor. The new trailer certainly backs that up.

Mikkelsen plays a soldier returning from deployment after his wife is killed in a subway explosion. Late one evening a survivor shows up at his house and tells him the explosion wasn’t an accident. He claims it was a bombing meant to kill the brother of a notorious biker gang leader. This sets the grizzled Mikkelsen on a violent revenge-fueled quest to uncover those responsible and (of course) make them pay. I love the look of this and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more layers to the story than what the trailer shows us.

“Riders of Justice” opens May 21st in select theaters and on VOD. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.