George Clooney makes his return to movies as star and director of Netflix’s upcoming science-fiction film “The Midnight Sky”. The last time Clooney appeared in front of the camera was in 2016’s “Money Monster”. The last film he directed was the 2017 disaster “Suburbicon”. His latest works from a screenplay by Mark L. Smith and features an intriguing cast including Felicity Jones, Kyle Chandler, David Oyelowo, Demián Bichir, and Tiffany Boone.

The post-apocalyptic story sees Clooney playing a scientist in the Arctic. The Earth has become inhabitable following some unknown global calamity. Clooney gets word that a team of astronauts are returning to Earth but they are unaware of the planet’s state. If he doesn’t warn them in time they will surely die, but sending a message would require him to venture into the icy contaminated unknown. I love the premise and there is still plenty we don’t know about the story. The first trailer gives us a really good taste. Clooney has called it “Gravity” meets “The Revenant”. I’m sold.

“The Midnight Sky” premieres December 23rd on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Tom Hanks meets the Western genre – what a combination! Few things excite me more than seeing this almost perfect union which we’ll be getting in “News of the World”. Another interesting tidbit – the film will reunite Hanks with director Paul Greengrass. The two previously worked together in 2013’s “Captain Phillips”. And wouldn’t you know it Hanks plays another Captain in their new film. So many cool connections!

Hanks plays a traveling newsman telling real-world stories in towns all across the west. He encounters a traumatized 10-year-old girl (Helena Zengel) who’s lost and all alone. The Captain decides to make the trek across the treacherous frontier to return the young girl to her family. But it won’t be easy in a land full of violence, conflict, and peril. The new trailer strikes all the right chords and it has the potential to really shake up awards season.

“News of the World” is set for a Christmas theater release. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

I think I’m becoming a Jessica Rothe fan. The 33-year-old Denver, Colorado native has brought energy to nearly every movie I’ve seen her in. She had a small but sparkling roll in “La La Land” contributing to one of my favorite musical numbers in the film. She was a lot of fun and showed her range in the two “Happy Death Day” films. And earlier this year she once again showed off her singing chops in the flawed but enjoyable “Valley Girl”. Now she’s set to star in “All My Life”, a film that’s one part mushy romance, the other part terminal illness drama. Hmm.

Rothe stars as a young woman named Jenn who meets and falls for Solomon (Harry Shum Jr.) Over time the two grow more and more in love and want to spend their lives together. But when Solomon finds out he has cancer, it (as you can imagine) dramatically challenges their plans for the future. The first trailer gives equal time to both sides of their story, and while I’m anxious to see Rothe, this looks a little iffy. Could be sweet and heartwarming. Could be sappy and cheese-filled.

“All My Life” opens later this year. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Streaming giant Netflix is hoping to add yet another Oscar contender from their 2020 movie Catalog with “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”. The attention-getting title comes from the August Wilson play of the same name about legendary Blues singer Ma Rainey. Touting Denzel Washington as a producer, Viola Davis as its star, and featuring the final film appearance by the late Chadwick Boseman, the film sports a lot of exciting big name recognition.

Director George C. Wolfe teams with screenwriter Ruben Santiago-Hudson to tell the story of a tense recording session in 1927 Chicago. At the center is Ma Rainey herself, the “Mother of Blues”, the “Songbird of the South”. She begins butting heads with her white manager and record executives. Meanwhile Chadwick’s Levee is a troubled yet ambitious trumpeter hungry to make his own mark in the bustling blues world. The movie looks full of period style, great music, and loads of charisma.

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” premieres December 18th on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

A few days ago Sony Pictures teased us with a first look at “Monster Hunter”. Wednesday they released the full trailer for their upcoming action-adventure film starring Milla Jovovich. This part fantasy, part creature-feature is inspired by Capcom’s popular video game series and is directed by Paul W. S. Anderson who’s no stranger to adapting video games into movies.

From what we see it looks like Jovovich leads a military unit searching for a team of missing soldiers. In the process they are sucked into an ancient gateway that transports them to a land inhabited by massive dinosaur-like monsters. And all of the creatures seem to have their claws out for the human visitors. “I’m getting us all home.” Aside from Jovovich, some of the performances look a little cringy and it is made by a self-proclaimed “populist filmmaker”. Still the effects look pretty cool and there could be enough here for a fun popcorn movie escape.

“Monster Hunter” releases December 30th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

I was huge fan of “Fast Color”, an empowering female-led superhero origin story of sorts. The supernatural drama was directed by Julia Hart from a script she co-wrote with her husband Jordan Horowitz. It was one of my favorite films of 2018. So naturally I’m excited to see the trailer for “I’m Your Woman”, a 70’s era crime thriller that sees Hart and Horowitz working together again.

“I’m Your Woman” comes from Amazon Studios and it stars Rachel Brosnahan. She plays a wife and new mother named Jean who is forced to flee with her young child after her husband double-crosses his literal partners in crime. A mysterious man named Cal (Arinzé Kene) takes Jean into his care while her husband’s ex-associates try and track her down. The look, the vibe, the story potential – this could be REALLY good.

“I’m Your Woman” is set to premiere December 11th on Amazon Prime. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.