Set for release in the States on September 21st, the official trailer for Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal’s directorial debut The Words has arrived via Yahoo. Starring Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, J.K. Simmons, and Ben Barnes, the film follows a struggling writer who becomes a huge star after plagiarising a work that was actually written by an isolated elderly man (Irons).

The trailer hints at an appealing thriller dealing with the consequences of the central character’s actions, but it is difficult to understand the purpose of some of the supporting characters. Nevertheless, the film features a tremendous cast and an interesting story, and this is a very positive first trailer. Check it out below!

Watch the official trailer for Brian Klugman & Lee Sternthal’s The Words:

Rory Jansen, a struggling writer, aspires to be the next great literary voice. When he discovers a lost manuscript in a weathered attaché case, he realizes he possesses something extraordinary that he desperately wishes he had created. Rory decides to pass the work off as his own and finally receives the recognition he desperately craves. However, he soon learns that living with his choice will not be as easy as he thought as he faces a moral dilemma that will make him take a hard look at the man he has become.

What do you think of the trailer?

While we have already seen many photos and video blogs for the film, Sony Pictures is now really starting up its marketing campaign for Skyfall, directed by Sam Mendes. With a teaser trailer set to arrive next week, Sony has released the first teaser poster for the film. Following 007 as he tracks down a threat to MI6 that revolves around M’s past, the 23rd Bond feature stars Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Albert Finney, Bérénice Marlohe, Naomie Harris, Helen McCrory, and Ola Rapace. The slick black-and-white poster features a nice play on the iconic gun barrel imagery seen in Bond introductions, with Craig emerging out of it rather than being targeted at the other end. With less than a week until the trailer, this is a great piece to keep us happy! Take a look below!

Take a look at the teaser poster for Sam Mendes’ Skyfall:

Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

Thoughts?

The Cannes Film Festival website has debuted the first trailer for Franck Khalfoun’s remake of William Lustig’s 1980 cult slasher film Maniac, starring Elijah Wood as a serial killer of women who has a fetish for scalps. Written by Alexandre Aja and Greorgy Levasseur, the film is set to premiere at Cannes, and the trailer quickly shows us why – it is depicted almost entirely in the first-person. While most features that employ the technique ultimately fail in its execution, Wood’s channeling of his work in Sin City and the dirty and brutal nature of the film could elevate it beyond mere gimmick. With plenty of questions yet to be answered, I’m looking forward to reading reactions from Cannes. Check out the trailer below!

Watch the trailer for Franck Khalfoun’s Maniac:

Just when the streets seemed safe, a serial killer with a fetish for scalps is back and on the hunt. Frank is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store, but his life changes when young artist Anna appears asking for his help with her new exhibition. As their friendship develops and Frank’s obsession escalates, it becomes clear that she has unleashed a long-repressed compulsion to stalk and kill.

Thoughts?

After an impressive run at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Focus Features has debuted a quick US trailer for Nacho Vigalondo’s sci-fi drama-comedy Extraterrestrial. Starring Julián Villagrán, Michelle Jenner, Raúl Cimas, Miguel Noguera and Carlos Areces, and following a man who falls for a girl on the eve of an alien invasion, the trailer sells the film as a sitcom rather than the director’s smart direction and his focus on characters. Considering this is Vigalondo’s follow-up to the excellent time-travel feature Timecodes, it is one to get excited about – despite this poor trailer. Set for a June 15th limited release backed by the new Tugg system, where one can demand a screening in their hometown, alongside Video On Demand, check out the clip below.

Watch the trailer for Nacho Vigalondo’s Extraterrestrial:

Julio wakes up – horribly hungover and with no memory of the night before – next to a mind-blowingly sexy girl, in a stunning apartment. She wants him out now but the alien invasion that’s just begun outside is the perfect excuse for Julio to stay. And even though things are growing worse by the minute, even though the girl’s husband has arrived on the scene… even though the alien threat is getting more and more terrifying, Julio’s clear about one thing: just like the monstrous creatures that have travelled across galaxies to destroy Mankind, he’s here to stay.

What do you think of the quick trailer?

Lionsgate is gearing up promotion for a new low-rent horror feature titled The Possession, produced by Sam Raimi and directed by Ole Borneda (Nightwatch). Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Madison Davenport, Natasha Calis, and Matisyahu, the film follows a couple trying to save their teenage daughter from a demonic spirit after she opens an evil antique box. Running with the regular “based on a true story” tag, the film thankfully does not incorporate found-footage (as far as we can tell), but it still contains the generic demonic spirit controlling a child while insanity ensues. There is nothing new here and it does little to separate from other horror films. Check out the trailer below!

Watch the official trailer for Ole Bornedal’s The Possession:

A young girl buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that inside the collectible lives a malicious ancient spirit. The girl’s father teams with his ex-wife to find a way to end the curse upon their child.

Thoughts?

Walden Media has debuted the official trailer for Daniel Barnz’s Won’t Back Down, a drama that follows two mothers from different backgrounds who fight a failing public school system and institute a charter school for children in the neighborhood, including their own. Starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Holly Hunter, Ving Rhames, Oscar Isaac, Bill Nunn, and Lance Reddick, and set for release on September 28th, the film’s trailer shows off an awards-bait drama that ticks all of the boxes. Featuring a talented cast fighting for their children on an important issue recently discussed in documentaries such as Waiting for Superman, the characters are faced with insurmountable challenges that they consistently choose to fight. I truly hope the film does not get bogged down in cliches but the footage says otherwise. Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think!

Watch the official trailer for Daniel Barnz’s Won’t Back Down:

Two mothers from different backgrounds – a postal worker and a reporter – join forces to take on a failing public school system and institute a charter school for children in the neighborhood, including their own.

What do you think of the trailer?

Thanks to Verizon FiOS, a new viral clip has arrived for Ridley Scott’s sci-fi blockbuster Prometheus. The film stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Sean Harris, Guy Pearce, Kate Dickie, Rafe Spall, Benedict Wong, Emun Elliott and Patrick Wilson and follows a team of explorers who discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth and must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

While previously released virals have focused on Fassbender as the David-8 robot or Peter Weyland (Pearce), the new clip showcases Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Rapace), an archaeologist seeking the help of Weyland Industries. With the video being thoroughly analysed by someone, the innocent message contains an ominous sense of voyeurism. It is a nice introduction to Rapace’s character beyond what we have seen in trailers, but her warmth is shrouded by the clip’s cold tone. Watch the video below!

Watch the new viral clip for Ridley Scott’s Prometheus:

A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

Thoughts?

Hopefully this list aids your decisions in the section. If you have already bought tickets to any films in the Special Presentations section, we would love to know your choices and your most anticipated of the category!

Few films in the program are accompanied by the same weight of expectation as Beasts of the Southern Wild, with the feature’s 2012 Sundance Film Festival grand jury prize and cinematography award wins, as well as near-universal critical acclaim, accounting for the hype surrounding writer / director Benh Zeitlin’s first full length feature. Its accompanying poster does little to dispel the high esteem in which it is currently held, courtesy of an evocative, ethereal image that aptly encompasses the intriguing concept (described by many as the film Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are adaptation could’ve been).

Similarly, Wes Anderson’s latest feature Moonrise Kingdom is another on many movie-goers must-see lists, as we discussed in March. The arrival of a new poster that plays to the other’s design strengths (intricate font included) whilst emphasising the film’s all-star roster of talent – including Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand and regulars Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman – may not be necessary to increase excitement levels, however it is hard not to be even more enthused by the image of the aforementioned actors assembled in typical Anderson family portrait fashion.

Josh Radnor may be better known to Australian audiences for his starring role on television sitcom How I Met Your Mother, however the actor is in the fledgling stages of forging an alternative career as a writer and director. Whilst his first feature Happythankyoumoreplease bypassed local festivals and theatres, his second helming effort Liberal Arts has been spared the same fate. Here’s hoping that the comedy / drama – another that was well received in Utah in January – offers more than indicated by the rather average amber-toned poster, complete with its clichéd tagline.

Director Kevin Macdonald has proven his deft hand at fictional and factual content, from recreation Touching the Void and biopic The Last King of Scotland to remake State of Play and Youtube amalgam Life in a Day. In his latest feature, he delves into the man and the myth that was revered reggae singer / songwriter Bob Marley. If the poster campaign to date is anything to go by  – first stencilling the titular subject in Rastafarian colours against a hessian-textured background, and now reconstituting his image in a series of symbols (peace signs, hearts, musical instruments and marijuana leaves among them – the appropriately named Marley may just match the might of his enduring legacy.

During her decades in and on the edges of show business, Jennifer Lynch has witnessed the highs (her father David’s film and television output) and the lows (the controversy surrounding her directorial debut Boxing Helena) of the industry. Now, she attempts to shoot on location in India, with Penny Vozniak’s Despite the Gods providing a glimpse behind the scenes. The documentary’s colourful poster thrusts her to the fore, whilst highlighting the frenzied nature of film production in Bollywood. With a striking central image of Lynch styled in a similar post to a Hindu goddess, it evokes an air of intrigue amidst the colour and chaos, if nothing else.

First Position may be a documentary about children’s ballet, however its central picture is devoid of the small slippers and tiny tutus most commonly associated with the dance style. Instead, it showcases the silhouetted figure of an aspiring dancer, with beams of sunlight streaming from behind the airborne form. In doing so, it accentuates the movement and majesty of the underlying act of artistic expression, whilst contextualising its contemporary relevance against a city streetscape. It may not intimate the film’s status as a chronicle of six youths from around the globe as they prepare for one of ballet’s most prestigious competitions, but it certainly does make for an arresting image.

Fox Searchlight and Red Flag Releasing have debuted a trailer for Jay and Mark Duplass’ newest comedy The Do-Deca-Pentathlon. Shot before finishing Cyrus and Jeff, Who Lives at Home, the film stars Mark Kelly, Steve Zissis, Jennifer Lafleur, Julie Vorus, and Reid Williams, and centres on two bickering brothers (Zissis and Kelly) who agree to compete against each other in an over-the-top sporting event – in secret – during a family reunion. While the storyline is a scrappy and unusual affair, the trailer shows off a rivalry containing strange traditions and small victories, and the humour seems astoundingly grounded. Watch the trailer below!

Watch the trailer and take a look at the poster for Jay & Mark Duplass’ The Do-Deca-Pentathlon:

The story of two grown brothers who secretly compete in a homemade Olympics during a family reunion. When their fierce and disruptive competition is uncovered, the brothers must choose between their passion for beating the hell out of each other and the greater good of the family.

Thoughts?