Glass
Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan has slowly been dragging himself back into the limelight over the past few years, and Glass — a sequel to both 2016’s Split and 2000’s Unbreakable – looks like his best shot yet at returning to his former glory. There’s something comforting and nostalgic about seeing Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson back as David Dunn and Mr. Glass, respectively. But those good vibes are tempered by James McAvoy’s performance as… well, as a lot of disturbing characters, including a supervillain known as The Beast. Unfortunately, Glass won’t be arriving in theaters until January 18th, 2019.
Overlord
When people think of J.J. Abrams, they probably think of Star Wars, Super 8, or Lost. What they likely don’t think of is World War II Nazi zombies. But hey, it’s 2018, and it seems like anything is possible these days. Abrams produces this movie from director Julius Avery, but don’t worry — it doesn’t look like it ties into the Cloverfield universe. Probably.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Mr. Robot’s Rami Malek stars in this film as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. I have to admit, I didn’t know quite what to make of this casting when it was first announced, and then it seemed like the film itself was legitimately in trouble when original director Bryan Singer was fired during production. But these early trailers have been fantastic, and Malek appears to be spot-on with his performance as Mercury. The film is scheduled for release this November.
Assassination Nation
Some movies are such raucous, outrageous audio-visual experiences that describing them with words becomes nearly impossible. Assassination Nation, which debuted earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, gets pretty close to that benchmark. My colleague Adi Robertson described it as a “vicious, cathartic horror film about misogyny” in her review, and that’s dead-on. But there’s a furious, nihilistic glee in the way that Sam Levinson directs this film that you almost have to see to believe. Thankfully, the trailer gets pretty close to capturing it.
Welcome to Marwen
Forrest Gump’s Robert Zemeckis directs this story of an artist, played by Steve Carell, who loses his memory after being brutally attacked. As part of his recovery process, he builds a miniature recreation of a World War II village named Marwen in his backyard. Based on the real-life story of Mark Hogancamp, the story was originally tackled in the 2010 documentary Marwencol, but it looks like Zemeckis’ version will continue the director’s exploration with uncanny valley-esque visual effects, with Carell and other live-action actors showing up in the movie both as themselves, and as tiny Marwen-sized dolls.
Robin Hood
Look, I don’t know what you want me to say. There’s a new Robin Hood movie. The guy from Kingsman is in it. So is Jamie Foxx. People shoot arrows. Cool?
Doctor Who, season 11
Right now San Diego Comic-Con is taking place, which means it’s time for geektastic trailers. So, of course, I’m including this new clip for the upcoming season of Doctor Who. It features Jodie Whittaker (Attack the Block, Black Mirror) as the Thirteenth Doctor — who just so happens to be the first female Doctor — and her new group of sidekicks.
Boy Erased
For his directing debut, actor-turned-filmmaker Joel Edgerton made the unsettling psychological thriller The Gift. His follow-up is Boy Erased, an adaptation of Garrard Conley’s memoir of the same name. It’s about a young gay man (Lucas Hedges) who is forced by his religious parents (Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe) to attend a gay “conversion therapy” program. If Edgerton’s past work is any indication, the filmmaking will be thoughtful, and the performances outstanding.
Hell Fest
Whenever I go to one of those big haunted house events like Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights or Knott’s Scary Farm, I always think it would be a huge drag if an actual masked serial killer started offing people. Turns out I’m not the only one, because the upcoming Hell Fest is pretty much that exact movie. Oddly enough, so is Rooster Teeth’s upcomingBlood Fest, which really makes me think somebody, somewhere, should have worked a little harder when they were coming up with titles. But hey — who doesn’t love a good fest?