Disclaimer: While there are international trailers for Rogue One that have some pretty interesting new footage, they're too similar to previous trailers to warrant a closer look.
Live by Night
Directed by and starring Ben Affleck, Live by Night is An adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s 2012 prohibition-era thriller about an outlaw who crosses a powerful mob boss and must pay the price. Elle Fanning (Maleficent, The Neon Demon), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges), Chris Messina (Argo), Sienna Miller (American Sniper), Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy), and Academy Award winner Chris Cooper star alongside Affleck.
The second trailer for Live by Night goes for a much slower and more subdued pace than the first, right up until the last stretch, which dials the action up to eleven. It's a tried-and-true formula and it works well here, giving us a chance to soak in the beautiful cinematography and atmosphere before getting you pumped with non-stop thrills. Ben Affleck still looks oddly huge, with clothes so large they make him stick out like a sore thumb, but apart from that, everything about Live by Night looks rock solid.
Live by Night is set for a limited theatrical release on December 25, and a wide release on January 13, 2017.
Solace
When FBI Special Agent Joe Merriwether (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is unable to solve a series of homicides, he decides to enlist the help of his former colleague Dr. John Clancy (Anthony Hopkins), a retired physician with psychic powers. The two, along with FBI Special Agent Katherine Cowles’s (Abbie Cornish) are on the trail of a vicious murderer, Charles Ambrose (Colin Farrell), whose extraordinary powers are more than a match for Clancy's abilities.
This is a cheesy trailer for a movie with a cheesy premise that will almost certainly be bad, despite the great cast. Nevertheless, I find myself oddly intrigued. It does seem like the kind of bad movie one can still enjoy, both despite and because of its flaws. The crime procedural in which law enforcement turns to an expert outside the system has been done to death, and even the paranormal twist is far from new - but honestly, this trailer does scratch a very particular itch, so Solace might be worth checking out after all.
Solace is set to open in theaters and On-Demand on December 16.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
From writer and director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Lucy) and based on the French science fiction comic book series Valérian and Laureline, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets stars Dave DeHaan (Chronicle, The Amazing Spider-Man 2) and Cara Delevingne (Suicide Squad, Paper Towns) as special operatives for the government of the human territories, charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. They are sent by their Commander (Clive Owen) to the intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all four corners of the universe.
Writer and director Luc Besson is undoubtedly a visionary but he's also probably one of the most inconsistent creators out there. The trailer even proudly makes a point of it, by reminding us he directed the sci-fi classic The Fifth Element, as well as the pile of garbage that was Lucy. You never know which Luc Besson you're getting when you walk in and that's something everyone should be mindful of - in this case, while the breathtaking visuals, lush alien world and overall sci-fi extravaganza are certainly awe-inspiring, the fact that the trailer doesn't articulate a premise is worrying. This probably won't be the next Jupiter Ascending, but it is too early to tell if it's bound for sci-fi greatness either.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets opens in theaters on July 21, 2017.
Collateral Beauty
Directed by David Frankel from a script by Allan Loeb, Collateral Beauty stars Will Smith as a New York ad executive who suffers a personal tragedy and closes himself off to the world. While his friends and loved ones try to reach out to him, he meets three mysterious individuals, describing themselves as Death, Love and Time. The movie co-stars Edward Norton (Birdman, Fight Club), Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game, Pirates of the Caribbean series), Michael Peña (The Martian, Ant-Man), Naomie Harris (Spectre), Jacob Latimore and Oscar winners Kate Winslet (The Reader, Steve Jobs) and Helen Mirren (The Queen, Trumbo).
The second trailer for Collateral Beauty isn't any more convincing that the first. The movie still looks bland, cheesy and like it's fishing for Oscars, particularly for Will Smith. It seems to be taking itself far too seriously considering the premise and also miraculously manages to make a movie with this many names attached to it appear utterly boring.
Collateral Beauty is opening in theaters on December 16, 2016
