[Trailer] Rosewater
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The Daily Show's Jon Stewart makes his directorial debut with Rosewater, a film based on a true story about perseverance and hope in the face of adversity. Gael Garcia Bernal (The Science of Sleep) stars as Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-born Canadian journalist sent to Iran to cover the 2009 Iranian elections. While in the country, he was arrested under suspicion of espionage and held for 118 days of torture and interrogations. Early reviews following the film's premiere at the Venice Film Festival have been mostly positive for the film, with some comparisons to Ben Affleck's Argo being made.
Rosewater will be in theaters on November 7th. You can read the film's synopsis and take a look at the official poster below.
Rosewater is based on The New York Times best-selling memoir “Then They Came for Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival,” written by Maziar Bahari. The film marks the directorial debut of “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, and stars Gael García Bernal.Rosewater follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was the prime challenger to president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Mousavi’s supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed, Bahari endured personal risk by sending footage of the street riots to the BBC. Bahari was arrested by police, led by a man identifying himself only as “Rosewater,” who tortured and interrogated him over the next 118 days.With Bahari’s wife leading an international campaign to have her husband freed, and Western media outlets keeping the story alive, Iranian authorities released Bahari on $300,000 bail and the promise he would act as a spy for the government.
[Red Band Trailer] As Above, So Below
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Everybody knows about the catacombs that lay dormant below Paris, right? They're a long series of underground tunnels beneath Paris where the remains of about six million people were discarded into that, for whatever reason, are open for tourists to come view as one of the official 14 City of Paris Museums. This already sounds like a horror film in the making, no?
In As Above, So Below, three Americans decide to explore deeper into the catacombs for... well, I don't know what. Adventure? Shenanigans? GoPro footage? Whatever the case may be, as they descend deeper into the catacombs, they begin to individually face their own demons from their past, manifested into very real, very physical apparitions. Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman (Mad Men), and Edwin Hodge (The Purge: Anarchy) star as the three adventurous explorers.
As Above, So Below will be hitting theaters this Friday, August 29th. You can read the film's official synopsis below.
Miles of twisting catacombs lie beneath the streets of Paris, the eternal home to countless souls. When a team of explorers venture into the uncharted maze of bones, they uncover the dark secret that lies with this city of the dead. A journey into madness and terror.
[Trailer] White Bird in a Blizzard
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After a successful festival circuit run, White Bird in a Blizzard is set for release on VOD on September 25th with a limited theatrical release on October 24th. To commemorate the release dates, a new trailer has been cut for the film, giving viewers a taste of what to expect. Shailene Woodley (The Spectacular Now) stars as a 17-year-old girl on the cusp of discovering her sexuality when her mother begins experiencing a mental descent into bi-polarity and hysteria, then suddenly vanishes one day. What began as a coming-of-age drama soon dovetails into this surreal, dream-like murder mystery full of twists and sex... lots and lots of sex.
White Bird in a Blizzard was a knee-jerk reactionary watch for me at this year's Sundance Film Festival. I'll be honest: Woodley and the film's title were all it took to get me to attend. Imagine my surprise when I realized Gregg Araki, director of 2004's dark Mysterious Skin, was attached to the film. You can read my review of the film here if you feel so inclined, but be cautioned that it has spoilers. Fans of heady, cerebral indie films (and especially those of Araki's) will definitely enjoy White Bird in a Blizzard.
[Trailer] Nightcrawler
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Can a film audience empathize with a glorified paparazzo? That might be what we'll find out in Dan Gilroy's upcoming film, Nightcrawler. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a man down on his luck desperate to make money. When he stumbles upon a late night crime scene, it dawns upon him to pick up a camera and begin scouring the city for exclusive footage from crime scenes across Los Angeles to sell to a local news network for quick money. However, what happens when Lou himself becomes entangled in the very crimes he set out to document?
Nightcrawler will be in theaters on Halloween. You can read the film's full synopsis below.
NIGHTCRAWLER is a pulse-pounding thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous realm of nightcrawling -- where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents. Aided by Rene Russo as Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news, Lou blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.
[Trailer] Automata
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Finally, a sci-fi/speculative fiction film that doesn't pander to audiences or get lost in hard sci-fi pretension. Automata follows a theme that's been in explored in films like Bicentennial Man, I, Robot, and A.I. (amongst others, naturally): What happens when robots become sentient? Directed by Gabe Ibañez, Automata has the visual and thematic tone of District 9 with the gravitas of Blade Runner, headed up by Antonio Banderas. When discussing the film with a friend earlier, he mentioned Automata looks like the film I, Robot should have been, and I couldn't agree more. I'll keep my expectations tempered, of course, but I can't help but be excited.
Automata will be in theaters on October 10th. You can read the film's official synopsis below.
Fast forward fifty years into the future, planet earth is in the midst of gradual desertification. Mankind struggles to survive as the environment deteriorates and the slow regression of the human race begins in AUTÓMATA. On the brink of life and the reality of death, technology combats the prevailing uncertainty and fear with the creation of the first quantum android, the Automata Pilgrim 7000. Designed to bring support to society’s plight, man and robot reveal what it means to co-exist in a culture defined by human nature.
The descent of civilization is juxtaposed by the rise of ROC, the corporation at the helm of robotic intelligence. Despite the demise of humanity, the company has set forth security protocols to ensure mankind always maintains control over the manufactured population. As ROC insurance agent, Jacq Vaucan (Antonio Banderas) routinely investigates cases and complaints surrounding defective androids, he begins to uncover the secrets behind who is really manipulating the Automata Pilgrim 7000. Jacq’s own suspicions propel the mystery— uncovering a truth that is far more complex than the make or model of any machine.
[Trailer] The Tale of Princess Kaguya
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While Hayao Miyazaki might be retiring (or might not... conflicting reports still haven't cleared the entire situation up), Studio Ghibli was seen as being stuck in a limbo. To be fair, while Miyazaki was the driving force that made Studio Ghibli the purveyor of family Japanese animation films, there are still other animators and directors on staff that have received their own critical acclaim and success, just not at the level Miyazaki has. One such director is Isao Takahata, and if his next film is as good as his previous films Grave of the Fireflies (one of my personal favorites) and Pom Poko (an underrated classic), Studio Ghibli fans will be in for a treat.
The Tale of Princess Kaguya follows a classic Japanese folktale about a bamboo cutter and his wife finding a young princess. The English dub will feature James Caan (The Godfather), Mary Steenburgen (The Help), and Chloe Grace Moretz (The Equalizer) in the lead roles. What I find most compelling about the film is its art style. It's completely hand-drawn, which is more of a rarity in animation these days than you might think, but also features a sketchbook, crayon-esque look that certainly lends itself well to the film's classic tale.
The Tale of Princess Kaguya will be in theaters on October 17th. You can read the film's official synopsis below:
Legendary Studio Ghibli cofounder Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies, Pom Poko) revisits Japan’s most famous folktale in this gorgeous, hand-drawn masterwork, decades in the making. Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter (James Caan) and his wife (Mary Steenburgen), a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady (Chloë Grace Moretz). The mysterious young princess enthralls all who encounter her – but ultimately she must confront her fate, the punishment for her crime.
[Trailer] Open Windows
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We live in a world that is full of sensory overload where celebrities seem closer than ever thanks to the immediate access to social media. For better or worse, we have an intimate window in which we can peer into the lives of our favorite actors, models, athletes, celebrities, etc. This also means that the ultra-obsessed have an easier path to do the unthinkable. In Nacho Vigalondo's (Timecrimes/Los cronoscrimenes) next film, Open Windows, he analyzes this very notion of celebrity and privacy (or lack thereof) with Elijah Wood (Cooties) and Sasha Grey (The Girlfriend Experience).
Wood stars as Nick, a fan of an actress, Jill, played by Grey. After winning a dinner date with her, he's rebuffed by her as she refuses to follow through with it. A mysterious man then gives Nick complete access to Grey through all forms of screens and windows, such as her tablet, phone, laptop, etc., allowing Nick an intimate look at Jill's personal life. From what I've read, Open Windows is seen through the aforementioned windows/screen rather than through a traditional camera, which sounds absolutely amazing if its execution is sound.
Open Windows will be released into the big window that is the theater screen on September 29th. You can read the film's official synopsis below:
Jill, the most exciting actress of the moment, refuses to have dinner with Nick, a fan who won a date with her in an Internet contest organized by the distributor of her latest film. In return, a guy named Chord, posing as Jill’s campaign manager, help Nick to follow in the footsteps of the actress from his own computer. Nick starts a game in which he realizes that is only a puppet into the manic plans devised by Chord, to hunt down the star.
[Trailer] Revenge of the Green Dragons
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Awhile back when we listed some of notorious Hollywood remakes of foreign films, I wrote about Infernal Affairs and The Departed. As one of my all-time favorite Martin Scorsese films, The Departed was both a remake and amazing homage to Infernal Affairs, a near-brilliant 2002 Hong Kong action film that was a huge blockbuster hit in China. With Infernal Affairs directors Andrew Lau and Andrew Loo shooting a New York-set film, it would only make sense to have Scorsese be a part of the production right?
That's the case with the directing duo's upcoming Revenge of the Green Dragons with Marty set to executive produce the film based on "the true story of New York's most notorious street gang." Set in the late '80s and early '90s, the film is based on a New Yorker article that detailed one of New York's most infamous Chinatown gangs, The Green Dragons. The trailer has everything you'd want in a modern crime film: guns, action, and vengeance.
Revenge of the Green Dragons will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, air exclusively via DirecTV for a 30-day window, then be released into theaters in October. You can check out the film's synopsis and gorgeous poster below.
In the vein of crime classics like MEAN STREETS and INFERNAL AFFAIRS, REVENGE OF THE GREEN DRAGONS follows two immigrant brothers Sonny (Justin Chon) and Steven (Kevin Wu) who survive the impoverished
despair of New York in the 1980s by joining Chinatown gang “The Green Dragons”. The brothers quickly rise up the ranks, drawing the unwanted attention of hard-boiled city cops. After an ill- fated love affair pits Sonny against his own brother, he sets out for revenge on the very gang who made him who he is. From acclaimed Director Andrew Lau and Andrew Loo, and legendary Executive Producer Martin Scorsese comes a brilliant mix between a Hong Kong action film and a New York City crime thriller, portraying the never-before-told true story of “The Green Dragons”.
