What do you get when cross a revolutionary, a Svengali, a hungry puppy, Moby Dick, and Nicolas Cage? You get a bounty of must-watch trailers, that's what. This combo may sound like an amalgamation only a mother could love, but it turns out this wonky formula still hits the spot. We've got two returning trailer all-stars in the mix with Mockingjay and The Foxcatcher, and they're being joined by newcomers like a serious Edward Snowden documentary, a not-so-serious Japanese action-comedy about gang wars, and Ron Howard flick about a group of 19th century whale hunters. Sounds like just another day at the movies.
This new Mockingjay teaser takes us right to Heartbreak Central with Katniss. It starts by reminding us, through a voiceover from Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), that the braintrust of District 13 believes our heroine may be useless to the revolution since the last Hunger Games left her emotionally feeble and completely burned out. (Haters.) So to catalyze her wrath, and reignite the Girl on Fire, they send her on a little homecoming journey to the smoking remains of her home, District 12. Way harsh, guys. But we get it. You've got a coup d'état to stage.
Pause at: 0:19 and 0:28 for all that's left of Panem's mining hub. A gift from President Snow (Donald Sutherland) at 0:53.
Song: Lorde, "Yellow Flicker Beat"
Essential Quote: "We need to make it personal for her. Let her see what the Capitol did to District 12."
Awwwww! It's a little puppy and he's so hungry! Feast is the latest animated short from Disney, and it's the first directorial effort from Patrick Osborne. Osborne sharpened his skills working on projects like Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph, and dabbled in the Disney shorts realm as head of animation on this little project called Paperman. You may remember it won an Oscar in 2013. NBD. Feast shares the same hand-drawn aesthetic as Paperman, and tells the story of a man's life through the eyes of his rescued street pup, Winston. We're melting already.
Pause at: 0:17, 0:24, 0:26, 0:28 ... oh, hell. Just keep pausing to see baby Winston being adorable, and doing what he does best. (Hint: It's the title.)
Essential Quote: All the puppy squeaks!
The second teaming of director Ron Howard with man-god and very talented actor Chris Hemsworth tackles the legend of Earth's angriest white whale: Moby Dick. Yeah, we all know the story, but in case you don't know the story, here's what we're looking at. The Essex was a 19th century whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts. In 1819, the ship and its crew set out on a routine expedition of murdering on the high seas, which, like so many other things, is all well and good until an 80-foot sperm whale goes H.A.M. on your boat. The Essex sank and its crew was left adrift in the ocean, fighting for survival. This movie is adapted from the nonfiction book of the same name by Nathaniel Philbrick, which means it's going to focus on the aftermath of the whale attack. The trailer shows a lot of action and a lot of pissed off Moby Dick attacking the crew, so we're kind of assuming that all takes place over the first half or third of the film. The shallow, blood-thirsty viewer in us is kind of bummed this isn't a total vengeful-sentient-whale flick, but the thoughtful lover of cinema is looking forward to Ron Howard's examination of the human spirit under uniquely harrowing circumstances. And the last time the director teamed up with Hemsworth, we got the very under-appreciated Rush, in which character development was favored over pulse-pounding Formula 1 racing porn. In other words, this movie is probably going to be sneaky great. Ben Whishaw and Cillian Murphy are also on board, which puts two more points in the optimism column.
Pause at: 0:34 for the poster and eventual Blu-ray cover. 0:35 is the scariest bump in the surf since Godzilla. Obviously a pre-Moby sighting at 0:47. Battle of the Blackwater flashbacks at 0:58 and 1:32. At 1:36, 1:41 and 1:53: the whale!
Essential Quote: "The tragedy of the Essex is the story of men, and a demon."
Well, if you make enough movies, one of them is bound to be good at some point, and Dying of the Light looks to be that one! Maybe! Possibly? Nicolas Cage looks like he's putting his usual playing-myself gambit on hold here to take on the role of Evan Lake, a revered CIA agent heading into retirement, or more accurately, who's being forced into it. The trouble is, his protégé, Milton Schultz (friend of the show Anton Yelchin) finds evidence that Lake's nemesis, Mohammad Banir (probably a super-terrorist), isn't as dead as everyone thought he was. That means Lake cannot rest until his star-crossed enemy is vanquished for real real—or until his terminal illness puts him in the ground. The race is on! We will never forget that Cage is an Academy Award winner, and so maintain faith in his ability to deliver hard-hitting, substantial character drama. His role-selection process may be a little wonky, but he's still talented, dammit.
Pause at: 0:27, Cage goes prestige makeover. Plot enhancement at 0:55.
Essential Quote: "There are two kinds of people in this world: men of action and everyone else."—Evan Lake
Apparently Katie Holmes and Katherine Heigl are swapping notes these days, because here comes Suri Cruise's mom sprinting out of the shadows with a twisted genre piece of her own. Holmes plays the titular Miss Meadows, an elementary school teacher who lives her life with Emily Post levels of propriety ... until you cross her and she reveals herself as a strapped vigilante who has made it her personal mission to rid her surroundings of those who would behave badly. This movie doesn't even have to be good for us to applaud the move Holmes is making to step away from convention. But we really do hope it's fun—or at least super disturbing.
Pause at: 0:15 and 0:19 for sugar sweet Miss Meadows. This whole frame at 0:30. Gee, you think this guy at 0:54 is up to no good?
Essential Quote: "I'm not scared of anything."—Miss Meadows, because she is the one who knocks
This is the final trailer before Foxcatcher opens on Nov. 14. And it's just as compelling as all the ones that have come before it. Frankly, this, alongside Interstellar and Mockingjay are our most-anticipated big releases for the remainder of 2014. The casting feels right—especially this surprising turn from Steve Carrell. The tone feels right, with almost a Lynchian kind of tension oozing throughout everything. It's just so ... right. And even though we get more of out this spot than any of the previous ones, it still feels shrouded in mystery. A fine conclusion to an excellent trailer campaign.
Pause at: 0:18 for acro-Channing Tatum. Whoooa, Anthony Michael Hall at 0:35. This transformation at 1:12 is just ... wow. We're dying to know about 2:05.
Essential Quote: "I have spent my lifetime looking for a father and I have found one in John DuPont."—Mark Schultz (Tatum), having fully drunk the Kool-Aid
In this fortunately fictional tale, a scrappy film crew called the F*ck Bombers is out to make an epic action movie, and the official description of the movie is just so good we'll go ahead and let it do the talking: "Ten years ago, yakuza mid-boss Ikegami led an assault against rival don Muto. Now, on the eve of his revenge, all Muto wants to do is complete his masterpiece, a feature film with his daughter in the starring role, before his wife is released from prison. And The F*ck Bombers are standing by with the chance of a lifetime: to film a real, live yakuza battle to the death ... on 35mm!" So, if you have any further questions, we've got zero answers for you. Enjoy!
Pause at: 0:22. Let the melee begin! Is that a Kill Bill outfit at 1:04? Something awesome at 1:21. Machine gun cinematography at 1:29
Essential Quote: "Hell yeah, I want to make a movie!"
Citizenfour is the codename Edward Snowden used to sign his e-mails to director Laura Poitras when they first came into contact with one another. And this documentary is the outcome of her partnership with Snowden and journalist Glenn Greenwald as they worked together to reveal widespread abuses of power by the NSA. If the movie is even a fraction as interesting as the information Snowden released into the world about massive covert surveillance programs, then it should be riveting.
Pause at: Public enemy number one and possible national hero at 1:06.
Essential Quote: "Every border you cross, every purchase you make, every call you dial, every cellphone tower you pass, friend you keep, website you visit and subject line you type is in the hands of a system whose reach is unlimited, but whose safeguards are not."—e-mail from Snowden to Poitras
Powers is a PlayStation venture about a world where people with special abilities, referred to as Powers, aren't just heroes. They're also mischievous and sometimes murderous and sometimes just fame-seekers. So, it's a lot like the real world. The show focuses on two homicide detectives assigned to cases involving individuals with exceptional abilities. And one of those detectives, Christian Walker (Sharlto Copley), used to be a Power himself before his gift of flight was mysteriously taken from him. Superheroes are cool and all, obviously, but we've got a lot of those kinds of stories being produced these days. The edgy feel of Powers seems like a nice change, as long as it doesn't get too cynical on us. But honestly, we're most excited for Sharlto Copley. If you saw the American remake of Oldboy or caught him in Elysium, you know he can spin sweet lemonade out of whatever lemons he's given. And when he's got great source material to work with, a la District 9, he's a complete powerhouse. So no matter what, he should be awesome. Let's hope the show follows suit. And with Eddie Izzard and Noah Taylor as co-stars, we're feeling pretty good about the whole thing.
Pause at: 0:53, 1:05, and 1:08 for ominous things.
Essential Quote: "I lost my powers. So they gave me a badge. What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?"—Christian
