First Glance: “The Guilty”

Today Netflix dropped the trailer for their upcoming tight-knight thriller “The Guilty”. The movie is actually a remake of a terrific 2018 Danish film of the same name from director and co-writer Gustav Möller. This American version is helmed by Anthony Fuqua (“Training Day”, “The Equalizer”) and stars Jake Gyllenhaal. It features an interesting supporting cast that includes Ethan Hawke, Paul Dano, Riley Keough and Peter Sarsgaard.

Seeing those names attached is intriguing considering the movie takes place entirely in a 911 dispatch center and focuses on a single emergency operator (Gyllenhaal). The story unfolds after the operator takes the call from a girl believed to be abducted. Over the film’s tense 90 minutes the operator tries to piece together the mystery and save the girl with only fragments of information. I’m not sure if we needed an American remake, but I enjoyed Möller’s film enough to give this one a try. And with a cast like that…

“The Guilty” premieres in select theaters September 24th and on Netflix October 1st. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

First Glance: “Belfast”

Focus Features dropped the first trailer for their upcoming drama which could be a legitimate player come awards season. “Belfast” is written and directed by Kenneth Branagh who calls this the “most personal” film is his career. It had its world premiere yesterday at the Telluride Film Festival and now sets its eyes on a November theater release. Judging by the first trailer, we may have something pretty special to look forward to.

“Belfast” is set in Northern Ireland during the tumultuous late-1960s. It follows a young boy named Buddy (Jude Hill) who watches the unrest in his city unfold before his eyes. Meanwhile his parents (played by Jamie Dornan and Caitríona Balfe) must decide whether to leave Belfast or stay as the violence and chaos festers. The film also stars Judy Dench, Ciarán Hinds and Lara McDonnell. The trailer is full of sparkling images and has an emotional tug that I wasn’t expecting. I’m really excited for this and it will be interesting to see if Branagh has an Oscar contender on his hands.

“Belfest” lands in theaters November 12th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

First Glance: “Red Notice”

The upcoming action-comedy-thriller “Red Notice” sees streaming giant Netflix pouring in more money on one film than at any time in their company’s history. This big sprawling blockbuster comes from writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber and stars the high-profile trio of Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds. Netflix hasn’t told us much about their Fall tentpole, but they have finally dropped the first trailer.

“Red Notice” sees the beefy Johnson playing the FBI’s top profiler who is on the trail of two rival criminals (Gadot and Reynolds). At first the three are at odds, but the trailer teases a potential partnership that should lead to a healthy platter of action and comedy. There’s still a lot we don’t know about this movie, but this first bite is pretty tasty. It could be a fun big-budget distraction and right in the middle of the super-serious awards season. Sounds good to me.

“Red Notice” premieres November 12th on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Movie Poster Spotlight: “The Card Counter”

It’s hard not to be excited about a movie with names like Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Oscar Isaac and Willem Dafoe attached. It’s Schrader’s first film since his stellar “First Reformed” and the trailers have looked pretty great. Now Focus Features has given us some terrific new posters for their upcoming crime drama that has all the ingredients to be something special.

DIRECTOR – Paul Schrader

WRITER – Paul Schrader

STARRING – Oscar Isaac, Willem Dafoe, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan

RELEASE – September 10, 2021

First Glance: “No Time to Die” Final Trailer

Could it be that we are finally going to see the 25th installment of the James Bond franchise? After several delays due to a pandemic and other things, “No Time to Die” is just over a month away. Directed by Cary Fukunaga, this action-packed spy thriller has teased us with some exhilarating glimpses that show off the movie’s $300 million budget. And with Daniel Craig ready to hang up his tux (allegedly), the film is sure to wrap up several storylines that fans have followed as far back as “Casino Royale”.

The final trailer for “No Time to Die” dropped today and it did what I didn’t think was possible – it made me even more excited. It starts with a cool flashback to Craig’s four other Bond movies. Then it shifts to the new film which shows Craig with a number of familiar faces: Lea Seydoux, Rami Malek, Naomie Harris, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes, Jeffrey Wright and Ben Wishaw. There’s also some intriguing new faces: Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch, and Billy Magnussen. No need in repeating story details. Just watch the final trailer and enjoy!

“No Time to Die” is set to hit theaters October 8th. Check out the new trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

First Glance: “Spencer”

After teasing us with some stunning images and one terrific poster, Neon has dropped the first teaser trailer for “Spencer”, their much-anticipated Diana Princess of Wales biography. Directed by Pablo Larraín (“Jackie”) from a script by Steven Knight, “Spencer” is set to have its big premiere next week at the Venice Film Festival. The rest of us will have to wait a while longer, but Neon has given us a captivating first look to tide us over.

“Spencer” sees Kristen Stewart playing Diana and up until now all we have seen were the eerily similar appearance she shared with the late Princess. Now we get to see bites from the actual movie and it looks like Larraín is really going for it. The production design and costumes really stand out, but it all comes back to Stewart. Many are predicting a possible Oscar nomination which doesn’t seem out of the question. Hopefully “Spencer” delivers on the enormous promise it has shown so far.

“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.