For those who haven’t gotten their fill of old slasher movie franchises being revived, along comes “Scream”. Though advertised as a franchise relaunch, this is a direct sequel to “Scream 4” from 2011. It’s worth noting that his will be the first “Scream” movie not to be directed by the late Wes Craven. It also continues a trend of dropping the number at the end of the title and simply reusing the original name (I still haven’t figured out why that’s a thing).

The first trailer dropped today from Paramount and franchise fans will instantly notice the similarities between this and the original movie. We see a modernized remake of the famous Drew Barrymore opening from the 1996 film. And of course we see the signature characters: Neve Campbell’s Sidney, David Arquette’s Dewey, and Courteney Cox’s Gale. A smattering of new young faces ensures that the new ghost-faced killer has plenty of fresh meet to slash.

“Scream” hits theaters January 14th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Full disclosure (again) – I don’t have any real connection the “Paranormal Activity” series. I don’t know anything about its timeline and couldn’t tell you anything of value about the previous movies outside of the first couple. I’m also not a fan of found-footage horror movies (they were fun at first but wore out their welcome years ago). Yet strangely, the new trailer “Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin” grabbed my attention.

“Next of Kin” is essentially the seventh installment in the “PA” franchise, but it’s advertised as a full reboot of the series. Horror guru Jason Blum produces this story of a young woman shooting a documentary that chronicles her visit to an Amish village. There she’s set to meet a biological relative who may have information about her late mother’s past. As the trailer makes abundantly clear, things get pretty macabre and her visit quickly turns terrifying.

“Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin” premieres October 29th on Paramount+ streaming. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

The movie musical resurgence continues with “Cyrano”, an upcoming adaptation of Erica Schmidt’s 2018 stage musical which was an adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s classic 1897 play, “Cyrano de Bergerac”. The film comes for director Joe Wright who last film “The Woman in the Window” didn’t quite live up to its potential. But Wright has a pretty good track record so there’s reasons to be optimistic.

Rather than being the story of a man with giant nose, the Cyrano in Wright’s film is of tiny stature (played by the always superb Peter Dinklage). Cyrano is in love with a young beauty named Roxanne (Haley Bennett) but he’s convinced himself he’s unworthy of her affection. He’s finally able to express through romantic love letters written in the name of a dashing young suitor (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.). There are definitely some of Wright’s signature visual flourishes and the cast is intriguing. That’s enough for me to give it a go.

“Cyrano” opens in theaters December 31st. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

The mere mention of a new Paul Thomas Anderson movie is sure to garner a heap of attention. The much beloved PTA is a filmmaker with his own unique style of filmmaking and storytelling. I admit, I appreciate his work but have often been pretty mixed on the results (I absolutely loved his last film “Phantom Thread” and “There Will Be Blood” is an all-time favorite if that’s any consolation).

Armed with one the craziest but best titles of the year, PTA’s new film “Licorice Pizza” is a coming-of-age drama set in the San Fernando Valley during the 1970s. The much anticipated first trailer really digs into the setting while highlighting the film’s interesting cast. It stars Cooper Hoffman (son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman), Bradley Cooper, Alana Haim, Benny Safdie, Sean Penn, Nate Mann, Skyler Gisondo, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Destry Allyn Spielberg, Tom Waits, and Maya Rudolph. In one since I’m compelled by Anderson’s vision. At the same time the trailer resembles a host of other of these kinds of teen movies. Hopefully Anderson has some cool stuff up his sleeve.

“Licorice Pizza” gets a limited release November 26th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Since its enthusiastic premiere earlier this month at the Venice Film Festival, Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer” has become one of the most talked about movies of the Fall movie season. Most of the excitement has centered around Kristen Stewart’s highly acclaimed portrayal of Diana, Princess of Wales. Today Neon dropped the first full trailer and there’s a lot to like in what it shows us.

Larrain, who also directed 2016’s “Jackie”, brings along his unique and arresting style which can be cause for both curiosity and caution. We trailer is filled with striking camera shots and leaves the impression that the film will be leaning heavily on Stewart. There is an eye-catching supporting corps including Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Sean Harris, and Jack Farthing. Count me among the group who is excited to see how this plays out.

“Spencer” lands in theaters November 5th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

“Venom: Let There Be Carnage” has been scheduled and then delayed and then rescheduled and then delayed and then moved up (did I miss anything?). Now it looks like it is finally hitting theaters next week and to get ready, Sony released four new posters. Up to this point the posters for the Venom sequel have been fantastic. These four…meh. Take a look and tell me what you think.

DIRECTOR – Andy Serkis

WRITER – Kelly Marcel

STARRING – Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham

RELEASE – October 1, 2021