“Why are you so angry?” “Why are you not angry?” HBO Films has revealed the first official trailer for the indie film The Tale, a controversial but still very remarkable, important film from filmmaker Jennifer Fox. This first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews, with many calling it the best of the festival (including me – it really is a stunningly bold work of cinema). The Tale is the true story of a woman who looks back on her youth and a sexual relationship she had with a man who coerced her into loving him. Laura Dern stars as Jennifer, and Isabelle Nélisse plays her as her younger self. The cast also includes Jason Ritter, Ellen Burstyn, Common, Elizabeth Debicki, Laura Allen, and… [Read More...]

“What happens when you secretly pay someone to romance your Mom?” Freestyle Media has debuted an official trailer for a cute New York-set indie romantic comedy titled Born Guilty, from writer/director Max Heller. The ensemble comedy is about a mother and her son, both intervening in their lives a bit too much. Acclaimed actress Rosanna Arquette (of Pulp Fiction, After Hours, The Whole Nine Yards, Desperately Seeking Susan) stars as a “lonely and frazzled New York social worker.” Her son is played by Jay Devore, and he decides to setup his free-spirited Australian friend Rawl, as played by David Coussins, with his mother – all the while trying to balance his own relationship, too. The cast includes Keesha Sharp, Anna Lore, Jay Klaitz… [Read More...]

“I can make you happy.” “Yes, you can.” Lionsgate UK has released the trailer for Rupert Everett’s film The Happy Prince, which he not only wrote and directed (and produced), but he also stars in it. Everett plays the infamous, talented writer Oscar Wilde, who was exiled from London at the end of the 1800s after it was discovered that he is gay. He spends most of his time in Paris, drunkenly making a fool of himself. The film’s cast includes Colin Firth, Emily Watson, Colin Morgan, Edwin Thomas, Tom Wilkinson, and Anna Chancellor. This premiered at Sundance and played at Berlinale, but unfortunately it’s an awful film, not only forgettable but the kind of film you want to scrub from your memory as soon… [Read More...]

“This is you’re future, and you are going to win.” Netflix has debuted an official trailer for an indie drama titled Candy Jar, from indie director Ben Shelton. This quirky comedy is about dueling high school debate champs who are at odds on just about everything forge ahead with ambitious plans to get into the colleges of their dreams. Of course, even though they’re at odds, opposites attract and then sparks fly. Candy Jar stars Sami Gayle (of Vampire Academy, “Blue Bloods”) as Lona, and Jacob Latimore (of Sleight, “The Chi”) as Bennett, with a cast including Christina Hendricks, Uzo Aduba, Helen Hunt, and Tom Bergeron. This honestly looks fun, though nothing new (see Rocket Science), but I admit I am curious to check it out… [Read More...]

“Don’t be who you isn’t!” Lionsgate has launched a trailer for the indie buddy comedy Blindspotting, which first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year to quite a bit of acclaim. Longtime friends and collaborators, Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, co-wrote and star in this timely and wildly entertaining story about friendship and the intersection of race and class set against the backdrop of Oakland. Described as “a provocative hometown love letter that glistens with humanity,” Diggs stars as a guy trying to finish his last three days of probation without any problems, but his friend keeps getting him into trouble. The film’s cast includes Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Ethan Embry, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Wayne Knight. This was one… [Read More...]

“I’m here about the puzzles.” Sony Pictures Classics has revealed a trailer for the lovely indie film Puzzle, from producer + filmmaker Marc Turtletaub, his second feature film that he’s directed. This premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and ended up being one of my favorites of the fest, it’s just so very delightful and elegantly inspiring. The supremely talented Kelly Macdonald stars as a suburban mother who discovers she has a knack for putting together puzzles fast. She befriends Irrfan Khan as her puzzle partner and he helps her grow and break out of her monotonous existence. The cast also includes David Denman, Bubba Weiler, Austin Abrams, and Liv Hewson. I raved about it in my Sundance review, praising “how such a simple story told… [Read More...]

“All we need is five minutes alone in that vault.” Freestyle Digital Media has released an official trailer for action comedy heist film Carter & June, the latest from producer / director Nicholas Kalikow (Concrete Blondes). This dark comedy, action crime thriller mainly features “inventive blackmail schemes, flamboyant gangsters, power politics, greed, evangelicals and sex,” which sounds like fun. The cast features Samaire Armstrong as June, and Michael Raymond-James as Carter, and also includes Timothy Omundson, James Landry Hébert, Paul Rae, Lindsay Musil, and Will Beinbrink. This doesn’t look as good as I was expecting, but it does have some offbeat humor to offer. Not for me, but may be for you, give it a watch. ››› Continue Reading Samaire Armstrong in Official Trailer for… [Read More...]

“I promise not to quit if you don’t.” Check out this trailer for a little indie film profiling the life of a BMX rider from Glasgow, Scotland. Ride is about BMX pro John Buultjens, played by Shane Graham. Raised by a white supremacist family, John spent most of his youth locked up in a juvenile detention center. He eventually gets introduced to a foster family, only to discover his new father is black, but together they work through to overcome his racism and “form a bond that helps thrust him down the path to BMX glory.” The cast includes Ludacris, Sasha Alexander, Blake Sheldon, Jessica Serfaty, Ali Afshar, Nic Luken, Christina Moore, and Zaire Adams. This is premiering at the Newport Beach Film Festival, and… [Read More...]

“I know this isn’t where you imagined yourself at this age.” Vertical Ent. has unveiled an official trailer for an indie romantic comedy titled Social Animals, from writer/director Theresa Bennett. Not to be confused with the documentary also titled Social Animals, which just premiered at SXSW, this is a quirky rom-com about a young woman who is trying to get her life in order. Noël Wells (from Infinity Baby, Mr. Roosevelt, Happy Anniversary) stars as a “childless, single, broke, stoner” who attempts to salvage her failing business and love life while falling for a married man. Josh Radnor also stars, with Aya Cash, Carly Chaikin, Fortune Fiemster, and Samira Wiley. This “honest, uncompromising comedy of modern relationships” looks like pretty much every other movie… [Read More...]

“You want him to be somewhere he can thrive, right?” IFC Films has debuted an official trailer for an indie drama titled A Kid Like Jake, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Adapted from Daniel Pearle’s play, described as a “timely, honest, emotionally rich look at 21st-century parenting.” Claire Danes and Jim Parsons star as parents of a precocious, creative young child named Jake, played by Leo James Davis. As they attempt to challenge the private school world in New York City, they must determine whether their son’s “gender nonconformity” is something that matters, can help them, or make matters even worse. The cast includes Octavia Spencer, Priyanka Chopra, Amy Landecker, and Ann Dowd. I heard some great things about… [Read More...]

“How far does this go?” Uncork’d Entertainment has released the first official trailer for a super creepy horror thriller titled Gehenna, or Gehenna: Where Death Lives in full, from Japanese director and SFX veteran Hiroshi Katagiri. This film is about a group of white tourists who travel to Saipan in the Mariana Islands, and go into a WWII bunker they think is the perfect place for a resort. Once inside, they discover there’s much more to the bunker – including a very pasty old slender man, as well as the horror trope of “they must face their most private secrets.” Gehenna stars Lance Henriksen, Patrick Gorman, Simon Phillips, Sean Sprawling, Eva Swan, Justin Gordon, and Katherine Wallace. Plus Doug Jones as the “Creepy Old Man” (literally… [Read More...]

“This is so good…! You wrote this?” “Yeah, with my dad.” Gunpowder & Sky has released the first official trailer for the heartwarming, lovely indie film Hearts Beat Loud, which premiered to some rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. I adore this film, it was one of my favorites of the fest – check out my full review here. Set in Red Hook, Brooklyn, the film is about a father and daughter who become an unlikely songwriting duo in the last summer before she leaves for college. Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons star, along with Ted Danson, Toni Collette, Sasha Lane, and Blythe Danner. With original songs and music by Keegan DeWitt, which you can hear a bit of in this trailer… [Read More...]

“We want to take it back for the fans.” Sony has released the first red band trailer for Zak Knutson’s indie comedy Supercon. Yes, this is as bad as it sounds, so don’t be surprised. Supercon stars comedian Russell Peters as a former TV actor named Keith Mahar, who is bored of going from convention to convention. So he teams up with his other semi-famous friends and tries to get banned from the convention. The full cast includes Ryan Kwanten, Maggie Grace, Mike Epps, Brooks Braselman, Clancy Brown, and John Malkovich (crazy enough). This looks upsettingly absurd and potentially amusingly, but I’m not so sure. It seems like they went totally overboard trying to mock cosplay and conventions, and it doesn’t look that fun. ›››… [Read More...]

“I don’t know a lot of things, but I know what it means to love someone…” Paladin has released an official trailer for an indie drama titled Anything, from writer/director Timothy McNeil. Anything is a story about the infinite possibility of love. Matt Bomer plans a transgender woman who meets a middle-aged man who moved to Los Angeles after his wife’s death, played by John Carroll Lynch. They strike up a relationship, and together experience the turbulence and challenges that come with falling for each other. The film’s cast includes Maura Tierney, Margot Bingham, Michael Boatman, and Tanner Buchanan. This looks like a compelling, modern look at the complexities of romance, putting a trans relationship front and center. It’s particularly impressive to see how… [Read More...]

“You have the biggest heart of any man I know.” An international trailer has debuted for the indie comedy Ideal Home, the latest feature made by Hamlet 2 (remember that one?) director Andrew Fleming. Ideal Home is both written and directed by Fleming, and is about a wealthy, bickering gay couple whose life is turned inside out when a ten-year old boy shows up at their door claiming to be Erasmus’ grandson. This is a familiar story, but the twist is the two dads aspect. Steve Coogan and Paul Rudd star as Erasmus and Paul, and the cast also includes Jake McDorman, Jesse Luken, Jack Gore, and Alison Pill. This looks surprisingly warm-hearted, not as overtly comedic as I was expecting from that description… [Read More...]

“We all have our demons.” What the heck is this? Vertical Entertainment has revealed an official trailer for a very weird indie film titled The Cleanse, formerly known as The Master Cleanse when it first premiered two years ago at the SXSW Film Festival. Described as a “darkly humorous, weird, and soulful fantasy that examines the inner demons in all of us”, the film is about a heartbroken man who attends a spiritual retreat, only to discover that the course releases more than toxins and traumatic experiences. Johnny Galecki (from “The Big Bang Theory”) stars, with a cast including Anna Friel, Oliver Platt, Kyle Gallner, and Anjelica Huston. I actually really like the concept of this – I’m curious to see how he deals with his ugly… [Read More...]

“Never take your mistress on an annual guys’ getaway, especially one devoted to hunting – a violent lesson for three wealthy married men.” Neon has debuted an official red band trailer for an action thriller titled Revenge, from newcomer Coralie Fargeat making her feature directorial debut. This played to some rave reviews at Fantastic Fest and TIFF last year, and seems like a gritty film with a helluva pitch (see the one-line synopsis at the start of this post). Matilda Lutz stars as Jen, with a cast including Kevin Janssens, Vincent Colombe, and Guillaume Bouchède. It’s described as a “razor-sharp feminist subversion of the revenge-thriller”, that “gloriously blurs the lines of vengeance and survival while simultaneously delivering a ferocious dissection of gender and genre… [Read More...]

“What you fix to do today, man?” Amazon Studios has released the first official trailer for the new Spike Lee joint, titled Pass Over, an adaptation of Antoinette Nwandu’s stage play. This isn’t so much of a movie, Lee has instead decide to film the play as a performance piece, and release it on Amazon that way. Nwandu’s Pass Over is a fresh, “provocative riff” on Waiting for Godot, about two boys standing on a Chicago street corner. “As they dream of their promised land, a stranger wanders into their space with his own agenda and derails their plans. Emotional and lyrical, Pass Over crafts everyday profanities into poetic and humorous riffs, exposing the unquestionable human spirit of young men stuck in a cycle just looking… [Read More...]