Trailer Round-Up – July 9, 2016

Goat Goat, directed by Andrew Neel and co-written by Neel, David Gordon Green and Mike Roberts is based on the acclaimed memoir by Brad Land. 19-year old Land (Ben Schnetzer) starts college in a campus where his older brother Brett (Nick Jonas) has already made a name for himself. Desperate to belong, Brad decides to join his brother's fraternity, which means going a pledging ritual. A rite of passage for any new members, the pledging tests Brad and a handful of other boys in increasingly brutal and humiliating ways, putting friendships and and the boys themselves to the test. Goat was one of the movies that I couldn't go see during the Sundance London Film Festival this year and judging by the trailer and the early reactions, I may have missed out. The trailer starts out like this is going to be your typical college party movie, before switching gears halfway to showcase the brutal pledging ritual. There's a real sense of escalation and desperation and the trailer makes it clear that the movie won't hold anything back. Paramount Pictures will release Goat on September 23 in New York, LA and select cities, digitally and on VOD. Table 19 Table 19, directed by Jeffrey Blitz and co-written by Blitz and brothers Mark and Jay Duplass is a romantic comedy that sees Blitz once again working with star Anna Kendrick (the two previously collaborated on Rocket Science). Maid of honor Eloise (Kendrick) is relieved of her duties after the best man, who is the bride's brother, dumps her via text. Despite all this, she decides to attend the wedding anyway and find herself seated at a random table with a group of strangers and ends up befriending them. This is a premise that lives and dies by the chemistry of its cast and fortunately, the cast looks rock solid. The movie also stars Craig Robinson, June Squibb, Lisa Kudrow, Stephen Merchant, Tony Revolori , Wyatt Russell and Amanda Crew and to be honest, Robinson and Kendrick alone would have been enough of a reason to go see it. The trailer makes it look like the fun, sweet, bubbly kind of movie it probably is. The January release date is a little worrying, but it doesn't necessarily spell disaster - this might actually be a good time. Table 19 is set to open on January 20, 2017. Imperium Imperium, the R-rated feature directorial debut of Daniel Ragussis, co-written by Ragussis and Michael German is based on German's experience as an FBI undercover agent. Nate Foster (Daniel Radcliffe) is a young, idealistic FBI agent that goes undercover to take down a radical right-wing terrorist group. Foster must maintain his new cover identity while also struggling to uphold his principles as he dives head first into the dangerous world of white supremacy. This is a textbook undercover agent type of story that's been done a million times before and the fact that's its based on real life experience does not necessarily mean it will stand out. It's a solid premise, no doubt about that, but it will all come down to the execution and this trailer unfortunately is a little too generic and lacking in tension to really sell the movie. It's worth keeping an eye on, but it's too early to tell if it will be good or not. Lionsgate Premiere will release the Imperium in theaters and On Demand August 19.