New Trailers 25 | Birds of Prey, Ema and The Irishman
New Trailers on HeadStuff is the place to catch up on all the latest teasers released in the world of Film and TV. Stephen Porzio tells you what’s hot.
Most Anticipated – Ema, Dir Pablo Larrain
Having recently attended the Venice Film Festival (read the highlights of what I caught there here), my one major disappointment of the experience was missing out on seeing the latest from Pablo Larrain (Jackie, Neruda). Not only did a handful of people I spoke to say it was one of the best films of the year, some even said it was one of the best they had ever watched.
Starring Mariana di Girolamo and Gael Garcia Bernal, the two play an estranged married couple who work together at a dance company, reeling from the aftermath of an adoption that went very awry. Based on the trailer and conversations with other critics, this looks and sounds like a cross between a gripping arthouse-thriller and an extended music video. I for one am here for it.
2. The Irishman, Dir Martin Scorsese
Finally! After five years of anticipation this De Niro, Pacino, Pesci and Scorsese super collaboration will actually be available to the public. Based on this trailer and early buzz, it won’t disappoint either.
The film tells the story of Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a mob hitman and World War II vet who reflects on the events that defined his career as a killer. This is in particular the role he played in the disappearance of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino).
This trailer is everything Scorsese heads wanted. It has the humour, epic scope and lived-in authenticity that Casino and Goodfellas had. There is the swaggering rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack. There’s the dizzying camera work and slick editing, courtesy of the director’s frequent collaborators Rodrigo Prieto and Thelma Schoonmaker. Maybe most importantly though, the de-aging work on his older lead cast really looks great.
The Irishman is out in cinemas from November 8 and on Netflix from November 27.
3. Uncut Gems, Dir Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie
The pair behind cinematic panic attacks Good Time and Heaven Knows What are back with their most ambitious project yet – an 134-minute jewelery centred crime thriller starring Adam Sandler like you’ve never seen him before.
Few things are more satisfying onscreen then watching Sandler scream (Don’t believe me? Watch the below trailer!). So teaming him with the Safdie Bros, whose films all feel like someone telling you about their sweaty three-day coke bender (I mean this in the best way possible), is a masterstroke.
4. 1917, Dir Sam Mendes
Speaking of cinematic panic attacks, a trailer was also released for 1917 – Sam Mendes’ return to prestige filmmaking after his two Bond flicks. Imagine Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk but in WWI and choreographed by legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins (Blade Runner 2049) to look like one continuous take. The great George MacKay (Captain Fantastic) and Dean-Charles Chapman (Blinded by the Light) star, bolstered by a terrific supporting cast including Andrew Scott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Richard Madden.
5. Dark Waters, Dir Todd Haynes
Those who loved Mark Ruffalo as a dogged determined man in search of the truth in Spotlight should no doubt get a thrill from this trailer. Based on a true story, the actor in Dark Waters plays a corporate attorney who uncovers the connection between a string of mysterious deaths in and around Parkersburg, West Virginia and a giant chemical company. Using the knowledge he gained representing similar big businesses, he seeks to expose them.
Based on this teaser, Dark Waters – like 1917 and the next entry on this list – seems tailor made for older audiences alienated from the current mainstream cinema landscape, one dominated by franchises and low-budget horror. That being said, the three films have enough artistic pedigree behind the camera to potentially be critically acclaimed and award-season players. In Dark Waters, this is down to director Todd Haynes, the man behind masterpieces of melodrama Carol and Far From Heaven.
6. Richard Jewell, Dir Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood continues his run of making films centring around American heroes with his latest. It tells the story of the true-life title figure. While working as a security guard at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Jewell discovered a bomb and helped evacuate people from the area before it detonated. However, following the incident he was considered a suspect and vilified by the press.
This teaser makes Richard Jewell look similar in theme and structure to Eastwood’s 2016 film Sully about a comparable figure. That said, the casting of Paul Walter Hauser as Jewell has me very intrigued. Not only does he bear a striking resemblance to his real life counterpart but the actor has been scene stealing for years, including in Oscar-winning movies I, Tonya and BlackkKlansman.
7. Birds of Prey, Dir Cathy Yan
It’s hard to comment on this trailer. This is because Suicide Squad had a string of pretty decent teasers. However, then we saw the final film and it still felt like a trailer – a series of vaguely connected moments cut unnaturally together.
However, even taking the Birds of Prey promo with a pinch of salt, the movie still seems promising. Margot Robbie looks more comfortable in Harley Quinn’s skin than ever and the colours and costumes really pop here in a way that stands out from some other superhero flicks (looking at you Spider-Man: Far From Home).
Plus, within 20 seconds, this teaser tells viewers to rest assured – the Joker isn’t going to be in it. This is good for two reasons. One: Jared Leto won’t appear. Two: critics, journalists and anyone vaguely interested in movies will have something else to talk about after months of fearmongering and debating about Todd Phillips’ take on the character.
8. Wounds / Eli, Dir Babak Anvari / Dir Ciaran Foy
Netflix is celebrating Halloween in style this year, releasing two horrors from promising filmmakers of the genre on October 18.
The more starry of the two is Wounds, directed by Babak Anvari – who made a name for himself a few years ago with Iranian-set ghost story Under the Shadow. Looking like The Ring by way of Cronenberg and Lovecraft, his latest stars Armie Hammer – alongside Dakota Johnson and Zazie Beetz – as a New Orleans bartender whose life becomes a living nightmare when he finds a mysterious phone.
Joining Wounds on Netflix is Eli, a film about a boy (Charlie Shotwell) with an auto-immune disorder who is moved by his family (Kelly Relly and Max Martini) into a sterile manor for treatment. There, the child is tormented by terrifying visions. Deemed hallucinations by his doctor (Lili Taylor), something sinister may actually be lurking. Looking like an interesting twist on the old haunted house tale, the film is helmed by Irishman Ciaran Foy, whose 2012 debut Citadel was named earlier this year by Headstuff as one of the best horrors ever from the Emerald Isle.
9. The Gentleman, Dir Guy Ritchie
The writer-director behind Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and RocknRolla returns to the genre where he made his name with this British crime-comedy. Featuring a geezered up Hugh Grant, a weed dealing Matthew McConaughey and – from the looks of it – a gas turn from our own Colin Farrell, this could be quite fun.
10. The Rhythm Section, Dir Reed Morano
Blake Lively: action star? It’s not what I saw coming. Yet after her great turns in shark thriller The Shallows and campy murder mystery A Simple Favour, it’s something I’m curious to see. And that’s even before you get a glimpse in this teaser of Dublin’s Talbot Street, where the film was partly shot.
11. 6 Underground, Dir Michael Bay
Michael Bay, Ryan Reynolds and the world’s biggest magnet come to Netflix with this $150 million dollar action flick which – with the stunts and set-pieces on display in the teaser – looks like it cost that much. Released December 13 to the streaming service, fans of Bay’s non-Transformers work like The Rock, Bad Boys or Pain and Gain are hopefully in for a treat.
