Opening this weekend
View a guide to this weekend's new theatrical releases including Dunkirk, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Girls Trip, and more.
New trailers and updates for upcoming films
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James Franco's disaster is anything butJames Franco’s adaptation of Greg Sestero’s The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside the Room, The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made earned excellent reviews when it premiered as a work in progress at the SXSW Film Festival. Franco stars as The Room’s writer, director and star Tommy Wiseau and is featured in the first trailer, adopting Wiseau's unique accent and strange combination of ineptitude and earnestness. Coming to select theaters December 1st before expanding the next week, The Disaster Artist also stars Dave Franco as Sestero, Seth Rogen as script supervisor Sandy Schklair, as well as Alison Brie, Zoey Deutch, Eliza Coupe, and Josh Hutcherson.
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Blade Runner 2049
Blade Runner 2049 brings back Harrison Ford As Rick Deckard and introduces Ryan Gosling as K, a new blade runner who uncovers a long-buried secret. In the latest trailer, that secret puts many characters in jeopardy. Written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, directed by Denis Villeneuve (Arrival), and shot by Roger Deakins, the October 6 release features a supporting cast of Jared Leto, Ana de Armas, Robin Wright, Sylvia Hoeks, Mackenzie Davis, Carla Juri, Lennie James, and Dave Bautista.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Kingsman: The Secret Service divided critics upon its release in 2015, but enough people turned out to see it to justify a sequel. Kingsman: The Golden Circle, coming to theaters September 29th, returns director Matthew Vaughn and stars Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, and Colin Firth, whose Harry Hart was presumed dead at the end of the first film. Joining them in their spy games is an American contingent called the Statesman, featuring Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry, and Pedro Pascal. Their target this time around is played by Julianne Moore.
Snowman
Michael Fassbender stars as detective Harry Hole in this adaptation of Norwegian author Jo Nesbø’s seventh Harry Hole novel, The Snowman. Directed by Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), the story follows Harry and a new recruit (Rebecca Ferguson) as they try to catch a serial killer before the next snowfall. The October 20 release features a supporting cast of J.K. Simmons, Toby Jones, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Chloë Sevigny, James D’Arcy and Val Kilmer.
The Shape of Water
Guillermo Del Toro (Crimson Peak) might have his detractors, but even they can’t deny his ability to create unique creatures and enveloping atmospheres. The director’s latest, co-written by Del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, is an original fairy tale set in 1963 America. Sally Hawkins plays Elisa, a mute, who, along with her co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer), discovers a secret classified experiment in a high-security government laboratory. Out December 8, The Shape of Water also stars Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg and Richard Jenkins.
A Wrinkle in Time
The 12th-best director on our new list of the Best Movie Directors of the 21st Century (So Far) is Ava DuVernay. Her next film, coming to theaters March 9, 2018, is an adaptation of Madeline L’Engle‘s 1963 novel A Wrinkle in Time. Written by Jennifer Lee (Frozen), the film takes audiences across dimensions of time and space with a cast that includes Storm Reid as Meg, Chris Pine as her scientist farther, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as her mother, as well as Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, and Zach Galifianakis.
Wonderstruck
When it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, critics split on Todd Haynes follow-up to Carol, Metacritic’s best-reviewed movie of 2015. Based on Brian Selznick’s acclaimed novel, Wonderstruck follows Ben (Oakes Fegley of Pete’s Dragon) and Rose (newcomer Millicent Simmonds), two children exploring New York City 50 years apart. Find it in theaters beginning October 20th.
Only the Brave
Only the Brave chronicles the sacrifice of an elite crew of Prescott, Arizona firefighters who battled the June 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, one of the deadliest wildfires in history. Directed by Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion, Tron Legacy), the October 20 release stars Miles Teller, Josh Brolin, Jennifer Connelly, Jeff Bridges, Taylor Kitsch, James Badge Dale, and Andie MacDowell.
Wind River
The directorial debut of Hell or High Water and Sicario writer Taylor Sheridan is set on an Indian Reservation where a U.S. Fish & Wildlife agent (Jeremy Renner) and a rookie FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) team up to solve the murder of a teenage girl. Wind River has already played Sundance and Cannes, earning good reviews. Look for it in theaters August 4th.
Bright
Will Smith re-teams with his Suicide Squad director, David Ayer, for this fantasy-action movie in which humans, orcs, elves, and fairies all live together in the present day. Smith and an unrecognizable Joel Edgerton play cops who encounter a strange force while out on a routine patrol one night. Noomi Rapace, Lucy Fry, Edgar Ramirez, Margaret Cho, and Ike Barinholtz make up the supporting cast. Written by Max Landis (American Ultra), Bright will premiere on Netflix December 22nd, becoming the streaming service's most expensive original film to date.
Proud Mary
Taraji P. Henson plays an assassin working for a Boston crime family in Proud Mary. Directed by Babak Najafi (London Has Fallen), the film follows Mary as she reassesses her choice of profession when she meets a young boy (Jahi Di'Allo Winston) on a botched hit. The January 12, 2018 release also stars Neal McDonough, Danny Glover, Xander Berkeley, Billy Brown, and Margaret Avery.
Crown Heights
Based on a true story detailed on This American Life, writer-director Matt Ruskin’s Crown Heights stars Atlanta’s Lakeith Stanfield as Colin Warner, a man who spent decades in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Producer and former NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha plays Warner’s best friend and advocate, Carl King, who devotes his life to freeing Warner. The August 25 release won the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Professor Marston & the Wonder Women
Professor Marston & the Wonder Women tells the true story of what inspired Harvard psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans) to create Wonder Woman in the 1940’s. Marston's muses for Wonder Woman were his wife Elizabeth Marston (Rebecca Hall) and their lover Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote). This October 27 release is written and directed by Angela Robinson (D.E.B.S.).
The Incredible Jessica James
In this romantic comedy with good early reviews from Sundance, Jessica Williams reunites with her People Places Things writer-director, James C. Strouse, to play a struggling playwright dealing with a recent break-up with her boyfriend (Lakeith Stanfield) and the possibility of new love with a divorcee (Chris O’Dowd). The Incredible Jessica James will be available on Netflix next Friday.
Beach Rats
When Beach Rats premiered at Sundance, writer-director Eliza Hittman’s follow-up to her 2013 debut It Felt Like Love earned her the Directing Award in the U.S. Dramatic competition. Like her first film, the new film is a look at burgeoning sexuality, but this time Hittman focuses on the opposite sex, a boy named Frankie (newcomer Harris Dickinson in a widely praised lead performance) who is struggling to come to terms with his attraction to men while spending time with his girlfriend and troublesome friends. Look for it in select theaters beginning August 25th.
Brigsby Bear
Co-written by and starring SNL’s Kyle Mooney, Brigsby Bear follows 25-year-old James (Mooney) as he copes with the sudden end of his favorite TV show, Brigsby Bear Adventures. Realizing he’s the only person who has seen the show, James sets out to finish the story himself. Deftly combining comedy with sincere emotions, and featuring Mark Hamill, Claire Danes, and Greg Kinnear, the film opens in select theaters next Friday.
Jigsaw
Coming to theaters October 27th, Jigsaw continues the Saw franchise in typical bloody fashion. Michael and Peter Spierig (Predestination) direct this sequel which finds new gruesome deaths pointing to the return of John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, who was thought to be dead.
Unlocked
Unlocked, starring Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, Michael Douglas, Toni Collette, and John Malkovich, has already opened to mediocre reviews in the U.K., but here’s the trailer for its U.S. release on September 1st. Directed by Michael Apted (Amazing Grace), the film follows CIA agent Alice Racine (Rapace) as she goes on the run after discovering classified information.
Alpha
Albert Hughes’ first feature directing gig without his brother Allen is the Ice Age adventure Alpha. Kodi Smit-McPhee stars as a young man injured in a bison hunt who befriends a wolf, and together they struggle to survive in a brutal world. Look for it in theaters March 2, 2018.
Short takes
Here’s the latest behind-the-scenes featurette for Star Wars: The Last Jedi:
John Boyega wants you to join the Jaeger Uprising. Pacific Rim: Uprising, to be exact.
The Judd Apatow-directed music doc May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers will play in theaters one night only on September 12th.
Boo 2! A Madea Halloween, the sequel to the poorly reviewed but financially successful Boo! A Madea Halloween, opens on October 20th.
With some good early reviews, The Villainess might be what action fans are looking for when it opens in select theaters later this year.
News and notes
- Alexander Payne’s Downsizing will open the Venice Film Festival. Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water and George Clooney’s Suburbicon are also rumored to premiere at the festival. - Variety
- Sandra Bullock will star in director Susanne Bier’s adaptation of Josh Malerman’s novel Bird Box. Eric Heisserer (Arrival) will write the screenplay for the post-apocalyptic thriller. - THR
- Will Smith will star as the Genie, and newcomers Mena Massoud and Naomi Scot will play Aladdin and Princess Jasmine in Guy Ritchie’s live-action remake of Aladdin.
- Mads Mikkelsen is in talks to play the villain opposite Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley in Chaos Walking. - Heat Vision
- Andy Muschietti (It) will develop and direct a Robotech adaptation for Sony. - Heat Vision
- Felicity Jones will star as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Mimi Leder’s On the Basis of Sex. - Deadline
- Juno Temple and Claire Foy are the stars of Steven Soderbergh’s next movie with the working title Unsane. It was recently shot on an iPhone. - Variety
- Kiersey Clemons will star in Hearts Beat Loud, director Brett Haley’s follow-up to The Hero. - Variety
- Walt Goggins has joined Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, Michael Douglas, and Michael Peña in Ant-Man and The Wasp. - Deadline
- Storm Reid (A Wrinkle in Time) has joined David Oyelowo in Jacob Estes’ thriller Only You. - Heat Vision
- Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (Nerve) are in final talks to direct and write an adaptation of the video game franchise Mega Man. - Heat Vision
- Matt Lauria and Cristina Rodlo have joined Gina Rodriguez in Sony’s Miss Bala remake. - Variety
- Nikolaj Arcel (The Dark Tower) will direct Matt Damon as Robert F. Kennedy in the biopic RFK. - THR
- Zoey Deutch (Before I Fall) will star alongside Johnny Depp in Richard Says Goodbye. - Variety
- Dev Patel and Ben Stiller will star in a film based on the true tale of the Chippendales strip club murders. - Deadline
- Bill Hader is in talks to join Anna Kendrick in the female Santa Clause film Nicole. - Variety
- Noah Hawley (Legion, Fargo) is developing a Dr. Doom movie for Fox. - Variety
- The fourth Purge movie will be directed by Gerard McMurray (Burning Sands). James DeMonaco, the writer-director of the first three films, will write the script. - Heat Vision
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