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.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A group of the world’s best intelligence specialists join forces to stop a mysterious terrorist organization threatening to start World War III. The new action flick “The 355” brings together superspies from around the globe but with one obvious twist – they’re all women. The first trailer proudly sports an old-school action movie vibe completely with lots of bullets, big set pieces and cheesy one-liners. In other words, exactly what you want from a film like this.

Director and co-writer Simon Kinberg puts together a killer cast of superspies. Jessica Chastain gets the “I’m putting together a team” role. She’s joined by an international flavor of great female talent including Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, and Fan Bingbing. Sebastian Stan and Edgar Ramirez get supporting roles. I’m thinking “Mission: Impossible” meets “Ocean’s 8”. But ultimately it’s the cast that sells it for me.

The strangely titled “The 355” hits theaters January 15, 2021. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.