It’s a joining of the established and the up-and-coming action stars as Bruce Willis and Henry Cavill play father and son in the globe-trotting action thriller The Cold Light of Day. Then it's shakes on a plane with the airborne supernatural horror flick 7500, which finds a Japan-bound flight terrorized by an angry presence. Willem Dafoe then searches for the near-mythical Tasmanian Tiger in The Hunter. Rumored to be the last of its species, he searches for the beast in the remote wilderness, all this amidst a greater conspiracy. Finally, Nicolas Cage takes a favor from some men you don’t want to be indebted to in Seeking Justice. We always pay our dues on Player Affinity – it’s Trailer Tracker.
The Cold Light of Day
In The Cold Light of Day, Henry Cavill (Immortals and the upcoming Superman adaptation Man of Steel) stars as the sheltered (a.k.a. clueless) son of a CIA operative (Bruce Willis) who gets a quick reality check when all of is family (besides his dear old dad) is kidnapped. It lands on him to clear up the mess his father apparently caused by stealing some sensitive information, all while being tracked down by the maybe-good-maybe-bad Sigourney Weaver. Cavill proved his physical chops in Immortals and he certainly has the distinguished charisma to helm a flick like this. As a relatively new talent, this is the kind of movie where an above-the-norm performance can surface.
The most enticing aspect of this particular production is the involvement of director Mabrouk El Mechri who helmed the rather genius JCVD (i.e. the shockingly cerebral and wildly entertaining Jean Claude Van Damm genre-bender). Although far more mainstream, a talented new director and solid acting talent do speak in favor of a nifty little action treat, and as the trailer promises (or at least seems to), there should be plenty of gunplay with Bruce Willis beating the shit out of people. The Cold Night of Day will shine on the screen Apr. 6.
7500
From the director of The Grudge comes another “angry presence” film with 7500, a movie about a 10-hour, trans-Pacific flight that is terrorized by a supernatural force. Starring Jamie Chung, Amy Smart and Ryan Kwanten, 7500 will take a similar approach to the M. Night Shyamalan-produced Devil – trapped and frightened with nowhere to go. This teaser doesn’t show much above the level of people screaming, being dragged into dark places, screaming and, well, you get the point. I like the setup but fear the execution for this particular horror offering as it does not look like the slow-burn, claustrophobic chiller that works so well in these types of settings. Instead, it promises plenty of “gotcha” moments and hammy dialogue. 7500 has my attention, but I want to see a bit more before I park my rear in a theater.
The Hunter
The Tasmanian Tiger, formerly the worlds largest marsupial, became extinct in 1930 due to over-hunting, urban sprawl and disease, but sightings are still common on the Australian island. This is the stance The Hunter takes, as an expert hunter (Willem Dafoe) hired by a biotech company must collect tissue samples from what might be the very last of the elusive species. While there, however, he becomes embroiled in the politics of the region, murder and a plot against his life. This is certainly not your typical thriller, but early reviews have been very positive, especially for cinematographer Mohammad Davudi's gorgeous work. Its limited release on Apr. 6 likely won’t garner much interest from North American audiences, but it could be an intriguingly odd little picture that surprises those who seek it out.
Seeking Justice
Nicolas Cage's tax problem saga continues with Seeking Justice, in which he plays a man who gets in bed with a vigilante group he tasks with avenging the assault and rape of his wife (January Jones). But when the leader of the gang (Guy Pearce) demands a favor in return, they frame him for murder. Bummer. Cage usually adds at least something to these standard-order thrillers but has become more and more on cruise control since his great double-shot of Bad Lieutenant and Kick-Ass in 2010. Director Roger Donaldson (The Bank Job) is an interesting choice, but this flick has been buzzing around the movie abyss for awhile now having already been released in some overseas markets to less-than-glowing reception. In a B-movie sense, Seeking Justice could deliver, but for those aching for the delightfully manic Cage of the past, I would suspect some impending disappointment.
