Seeing Taylor Sheridan attached was all I needed to be excited for the upcoming neo-western thriller “Those Who Wish Me Dead”. Since first jumping behind the camera in 2011, the 50-year-old Oscar-nominated Texan has written and/or directed several projects I have loved. He penned the two “Sicario” movies, 2016’s “Hell or High Water”, he wrote and directed 2017’s “Wind River”, and was co-creator of Paramount’s hit show “Yellowstone”. And he has Amazon’s “Without Remorse” starring Michael B. Jordan coming out this month. Sheridan’s latest dropped its first trailer and you can see his fingerprints all over it.

The film is based on Michael Koryta’s 2014 novel of the same name and stars Angelina Jolie as a guilt-ridden firefighter who mans an isolated fire tower in the Montana wilderness. When she steps in to help a lost 12-year-old boy (played by newcomer Finn Little) she finds herself caught between two deadly assassins and the wrath of nature itself. The film has a great batch of co-stars including Jon Bernthal, Nicholas Hoult, Aidan Gillen, and Tyler Perry. The fun cast along with Sheridan’s knack for great region-focused storytelling makes this a must-watch.

“Those Who Wish Me Dead” opens May 14th 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.

Ok, so technically this isn’t a first glance at the movie since its first teaser trailer dropped several months back. Instead consider this a first glance at trailer #2 for “Spiral: From the Book of Saw” which gives us a better feel for what this movie is going for. It’s officially the ninth movie in the “Saw” franchise and considered a sequel and not a reboot. I’m hardly what you would call a “Saw” movie connoisseur (I’ve only seen a couple of them). But this trailer caught my attention most notably for its casting.

“Spiral” stars comedian Chris Rock as a big city detective who gets caught up in a grisly murder investigation. Soon he’s sucked into a gruesome and deadly game by someone with all the markings of the Jigsaw killer. The film also stars Samuel L. Jackson playing a retired detective and Rock’s father. I’ll be honest, I’ve had a hard time visualizing Chris Rock in a role like this and the trailer doesn’t do much to ease my mind. It looks like it could be an interesting turn for the franchise but it will depend on how big of a hurdle Rock’s casting turns out to be.

“Spiral: From the Book of Saw” releases May 14th. Check out the new trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

After watching the new trailer for “Profile” you might be tempted to think of it as a crafty little indie made during the pandemic.  It takes place entirely over computer screens, it has a relatively small cast, and so on. Actually this taut looking thriller from director Timur Bekmambetov premiered way back at the 2018 Berlin & SXSW Film Festivals. Now it’s finally getting its US release courtesy of Focus Features.

The film stars Valene Kane as a British investigative journalist who goes undercover to expose extremists who recruit young women over social media. She creates a fake internet profile in hopes of baiting a terrorist recruiter. She gets a bite from a charismatic jihadist (Shazad Latif) who soon begin luring her into his trap. The movie advertises itself as “a new genre of thriller” and looks to tap into some of the same intensity as 2018’s “Searching” which starred John Cho and was produced by Bekmambetov.

“Profile” opens in theaters May 14th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

There is some pretty impressive talent behind the upcoming animated feature “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”. It’s produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, big names who had their hands in huge hits like “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and “The LEGO Movie” (full disclosure – I wasn’t as smitten with “Spider-Verse” as many were but I loved “LEGO”). Like so many other films, this one had its release plans upended by COVID-19. Now it has been acquired by Netflix who recently gave us our first look.

The new trailer for “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” introduces us to a self-described “weird” family who ends up being the world’s only hope against a robot apocalypse. The Mitchells are an everyday family who have essentially lost their ability to communicate. In an effort to regain the loving connection they once had, the four and their trusty pug head out on a bonding trip only to have it upended by a global machine uprising. Sounds ridiculous which is okay with me. I love the look of the animation and there are several comedy bits that land really well. I’m anxious to see this one.

“The Mitchells vs. the Machines” premieres April 30th on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Wasn’t I just saying there has been no shortage of horror movies in 2021? Now Searchlight Pictures is adding one to your watchlist. “The Night House” comes from horror director and fan David Bruckner. It premiered way back at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. With Covid-19 (hopefully) in our rear view the film is finally set to get its proper release. The first trailer hits some familiar beats – a spooky house, a grieving widow, creepy visions, and one of those ominous movie lines custom made for horror flicks – “Everyone has secrets.” But it also teases us with some really cool ideas that I’m anxious to see play out.

The film sees Rebecca Hall playing a woman still dealing with the sudden death of her husband. The now lonely lake house he built for them is full of memories which slowly turn into terrorizing visions. As she begins looking deeper into his life she discovers the above movie line is spot-on, everyone does have secrets. His just happens to lead to bloody footprints, ghostly apparitions, and (???) a gate to a parallel universe. I like everything in the trailer and it looks like Bruckner has some pretty original twists up his sleeve.

“The Night House” opens in theaters July 16th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Ben Wheatley taps into some timely horror with his upcoming film “In the Earth”. Following some good buzz at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, “In the Earth” sees the filmmaker returning to his horror roots after 2020’s imperfect yet thoroughly entertaining “Rebecca”. Wheatley shot this film over 15 days in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic with a small budget and an even smaller cast. The first trailer sells itself well, diving into its creepy setting and showing off a tense and moody appeal.

Set during a world-ravaging pandemic, the movie follows a scientist (Joel Fry) and a park ranger (Ellora Torchia) as they venture into the deep forest of a nature reserve to track down a former colleague who hasn’t been heard from in some time. Turns out (you guessed it), there’s something terrifying ‘in them there woods’. In his Variety review Peter Debruge called the movie “raw and weird and deeply unsettling”. Sounds perfect, I’m in!

“In the Earth” premieres in theaters April 23rd. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.