Well here’s an interesting one. “Gran Turismo” takes its name from the popular racing simulation video game. But its mostly inspired by the true story of Jann Mardenborough who went from playing Gran Turismo in his bedroom to beating 90,000 other gamers for an opportunity to train as a professional driver. It’s a remarkable story that is being brought to the big screen by director Neill Blomkamp. The recently released first trailer highlights the film’s intriguing cast and some pretty intense racing sequences.

The movie sees Archie Madekwe playing a teenage Jann Mardenborough. He dreams of racing cars despite the lack of support from his skeptical father (Djimon Hounsou). Unexpectedly, his love for the video game Gran Turismo gives him his shot. Soon he’s courted by motorsport marketing executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) who connects Jann with trainer Jack Salter (David Harbour). Like many, Jack doesn’t believe a video game player can actually become a race car driver. But wouldn’t ya know it Jann just might prove him wrong. I’m curious to see how this turns out.

“Gran Turismo” speeds into theaters on August 11th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

They had me at Denzel Washington. The endlessly charismatic 68-year-old Oscar winner has such a presence and has proven to be able to do just about anything. Take his action-fueled Equalizer films which see him playing a retired Marine turned vigilante. He brings such intensity to the role and you never doubt him for a second. He’s among our greatest actors and it’s a treat whenever he delivers something new. In this case its “The Equalizer 3”, the final chapter in his surprise hit trilogy.

“The Equalizer 3” is Washington’s fifth collaboration with director Antoine Fuqua. It also sees him reuniting with Dakota Fanning for the first time since starring together in 2004’s “Man on Fire”. In this film Washington’s character, Robert McCall has finally found what looks like peace in a quiet town in Southern Italy. But after a local mob boss takes control, things take a deadly turn. Suddenly McCall once again finds himself serving up justice on behalf of the persecuted. The red band trailer shows Denzel pouring out his own brand of bloody judgement. Fuqua looks to be giving fans a rousing finish to the Equalizer series.

“The Equalizer 3” hits theaters September 1, 2023. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Patriot Pictures, XYZ Films, and Wayward Entertainment have officially announced the upcoming release of writer-director Nick Cassavetes’ revenge thriller “God is a Bullet”. The film stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jamie Foxx, January Jones, and Maika Monroe. It’s set to hit theaters June 23rd. See below for the official press announcement and the first-look poster….

Los Angeles, CA –-Patriot Pictures and XYZ Films have brought on Wayward Entertainment to release GOD IS A BULLET, screenplay written and directed by critically-acclaimed director Nick Cassavetes, for a wide release exclusively in US theaters on June 23, 2023. The action thriller stars Maika Monroe, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Karl Glusman, January Jones, Paul Johansson, David Thornton and Jamie Foxx. The film will expand to a digital release in the US on July 11, 2023.  

Inspired by true events and based on the best-selling novel “God Is A Bullet” written by Boston Teran, the film is produced by Michael Mendelsohn from Patriot Pictures and Donald V. Allen. Kim H. Winther and Jim Steele are co-producing. Executive producing is Natalie Perrotta, Paul Johansson, Sidney Kimmel, Jamie Foxx, Chuck Pacheco, Jim Steele, Santiago García Galván. Mendelsohn’s Union Patriot Capital Management fully financed the film. 

The film follows detective Bob Hightower (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who finds his ex-wife murdered and his daughter kidnapped by an insidious cult. Bob takes matters into his own hands and infiltrates the secretive cult to try to save his daughter. With the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin (Maika Monroe), Bob and Case go down the rabbit hole with The Ferryman (Jamie Foxx) to save his daughter and find closure for Case from the cult – and its maniacal leader (Glusman) – that took so much away from her. 

Patriot Pictures Michael Mendelson states “We are looking forward to working with Wayward and are so excited that GOD IS A BULLET will be hitting theaters nationwide this summer. Audiences are back and want to see films that keep them on the edge. Nick and I, with an amazing, multi-national cast and crew, are excited to release a badass, action-packed revenge classic, made to be enjoyed on the big screen.” 

Nick Cassavetes added “I’ve been trying to tell this great story for the last 18+ years. It’s tough, violent, has two flawed and fantastic characters, and absolutely pulls no punches. I love it! There’s nothing else out there like it, not even close!” 

XYZ Films is handling global sales for the Patriot Pictures production. XYZ and Patriot previously collaborated on SYNCHONIC (TIFF 2019) starring Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie, CUT THROAT CITY (SXSW 2020) starring Ethan Hawke and Wesley Snipes and the Sundance world premiere (2021) entry PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND starring Nicolas Cage.

Astute horror movie aficionados may remember a 2005 film called “Boogeyman”. It wasn’t well-recieved by critics, but it did earn enough money for two straight-to-video sequels. Anyway, the upcoming chiller “The Boogeyman” isn’t connected to those three films in any way. This one is a film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1973 short story of the same name. It comes from director Rob Savage and is taken from a story conceived by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the duo who wrote “A Quiet Place”.

“The Boogeyman” follows two sisters (Sophie Thatcher and Vivien Lyra Blair) who have been emotionally devastated by the recent death of their mother. The hurting young girls haven’t gotten much support from their grieving father (Chris Messina). The struggling family soon find themselves being preyed upon by a malevolent spirit who targets their pain and feeds on their crippling feelings of loss. There seems to be some compelling themes at work even if the trailer puts off a pretty conventional horror vibe. I’m interested to see how it turns out.

“The Boogeyman” opens in theaters on June 2nd. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

“White Bird” is an upcoming inspirational war drama from director Marc Forster (“Finding Neverland”, “World War Z”, “A Man Called Otto”). It’s written by Mark Bomback and is an adaptation of R. J. Palacio’s 2019 graphic novel of the same name. The film is being called a spin-off and a companion piece to the 2017 coming-of-age drama “Wonder”. The first trailer has been released by Lionsgate and reveals a warm-hearted period film packed with a powerful message.

The trailer shows Bryce Gheisar reprising his role as Julian Albans, the school bully from “Wonder” who was expelled from his former school. Julian is payed a visit by his grandmother from Paris (played by Helen Mirren) who shares the story of her childhood in Nazi-occupied France. Through it Julian learns a valuable life lesson. He learns that a little kindness and empathy can go a long way. The film also stars Gillian Anderson, Ariella Glaser, and Orlando Schwerdt.

“White Bird” lands in theaters August 18th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

How’s this for giving a classic Universal monster movie a fresh reintroduction? “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” from Norwegian director André Øvredal gives us a new look at Dracula but from an older perspective. Written for the screen by Bragi F. Schut and Zak Olkewicz, the film is based on “The Captain’s Log”, a chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 novel “Dracula”. The first trailer gives us an exciting first taste of what we can expect from what might be a surprise horror hit of the year.

Corey Hawkins, David Dastmalchian, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, and Javier Botet star in this period horror story set aboard a merchant ship sailing across the high seas. But wouldn’t you know it, there’s some particularly deadly cargo onboard. Soon the ship’s captain (Cunningham), his first mate (Dastmalchian), the ship’s doctor (Hawkins), and a stowaway (Franciosi) find themselves trapped aboard their vessel fighting for their lives. The trailer looks terrific, from its period production design to the cool makeup and effects. I love the look of it and it seems ready-made for the big screen.

“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” sails into theaters on August 11th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.