New Trailers 5 | Hold the Dark, Roma and The Dig
New Trailers on Headstuff is the place to catch up on all the latest teasers released in the world of Film and TV. Stephen Porzio tells you what’s hot.
Most Anticipated – Hold the Dark, Dir. Jeremy Saulnier
Netflix are making some serious power moves in the film world. Not only did they recently hire award season PR guru Lisa Taback, they’ve recruited some of world’s greatest directors to make movies for them. While Martin Scorsese’s 2019 release The Irishman is garnering the most hype, we here at Headstuff are more excited for the latest from Blue Ruin and Green Room’s Jeremy Saulnier.
Based on a novel from William Giraldi and written by Saulnier’s frequent collaborator Macon Blair (I Don’t Feel at Home…), Hold the Dark stars Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) as a hunter hired by Alaskan family (Riley Keough, Alexander Skarsgård) to find their child who they believe was kidnapped by wolves. However, it seems the reality of the situation is even more sinister…
The Alaskan wilderness looks bleak and beautiful. The casting seems both off-kilter but perfect. The trailer is filled with foreboding: “the behavioural term is savaging.” Essentially, Hold the Dark looks like what fans of icy noirs wanted The Snowman to be. The stage is set for another gripping, visceral masterpiece from Saulnier. Let’s hope he delivers.
2. The Other Side of the Wind, Dir. Orson Welles
Another big move from Netflix – perhaps done solely to irritate the snobs at Cannes who dissed the streaming service – is to release this Orson Welles’ lost movie.
Shot during Welles’ later experimental F for Fake period, the somewhat autobiographical film centres on grizzled director J.J. “Jake” Hannaford (played by legendary filmmaker John Huston) who returns from years abroad in Europe to a changed Hollywood, where he attempts to make his comeback.
Orson Welles shot some of the most gorgeous looking films of all time – Citizen Kane, The Lady from Shanghai and Touch of Evil. This appears no different, with the blend of black and white cinema verite style camera work and the more classical style of the film within the film (an Antonioni spoof) looking very visually striking.
On top of this, the film’s story – seemingly based on Welles’ experience as a Hollywood outsider – will no doubt appeal hugely to film fanatics, as will the opportunity to witness finally a seemingly lost curio.
3. The Dig, Dir. Ryan Tohill, Andy Tohill
Hallelujah! Finally some Irish filmmakers are utilising the countries history and unique landscapes to make some solid genre pics. Last year we saw Bad Day for the Cut, this year Kissing Candice. Now comes Galway Film Fleadh winner The Dig.
The film stars Black 47 and Michael Inside’s Moe Dunford as a man who after being released from prison for a murder he can’t remember committing, winds up forced to help his victim’s father find her body.
Using the stark beauty of the Irish countryside as the backdrop for this Blood Simple-esque bleak thriller seems like a stroke of genius. Perhaps, The Dig could be the Irish break out movie of 2018.
4. Roma, Dir. Alfonso Cuaron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp_i7cnOgbQ
What do you do after winning a Best Director Oscar for a special effect driven space-set thriller? Follow in the foot steps of Fellini of course, and make an autobiographical film called Roma. Cuaron’s latest drama chronicles a year in the life of a middle-class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s.
While this trailer – seemingly like the film itself – isn’t heavy on plot, it does boast a sort of Boyhood or Moonlight rush of emotions. The teaser shines a spotlight on the important moments of one’s life – playing with friends as a child, spending time with family, falling in love and being witness to broiling societal tensions – things many can relate to. Meanwhile, the gorgeous monochrome look – evoking the sense of looking into the past is absolutely stunning to watch.
5. American Vandal Season 2, Netflix
American Vandal’s first season – spoofing true crime docs like Making a Murderer or The Keepers – was one of Netflix’s best shows, managing to be both hilarious but oddly gripping and emotional. This new series sees young documentarians Peter Maldonado (Tyler Alvarez) and Sam Ecklund (Griffin Gluck) investigate not “Who drew the dicks?” but “Who is the turd burgular?”
The focus of the sophomore season perhaps is more broad than the first. Whereas the graffiti dicks felt like something that could actually happen in reality, this feels more artificial. That said, this trailer still boasts a handful of great jokes – the suspect list that has a photo of ‘Hot Janitor’, the conversation about the burgular’s motive. We know the gags are there. Hopefully, this new season will also feature the realistic complex suspects, that made the first so unique.
6. True Detective Season 3, HBO
This is not much of a trailer – more of a ‘Hey guys, we know the second season was weak but this is a return to form’ statement from HBO. However, there is a lot to be excited about if the season leans into the time shuffling and brooding gothic atmosphere that made the first season one of the most critically acclaimed shows of all time.
Also intriguing is that Hold the Dark’s Jeremy Saulnier is helming the opening two episodes while David Milch (Deadwood) has been brought on to assist showrunner Nic Pizzolatto on writing duties. Meanwhile, there’s the stacked cast of character actors including Carmen Ejogo, Ray Fisher, Sarah Gadon and Scoot McNairy – fronted by Oscar winner Mahershala Ali. 2019 cannot come fast enough.
7. Outlaw King, Dir. David MacKenzie
Chris Pine re-teams up with Hell or High Water’s David Mackenzie for this film about Robert the Bruce, the King of Scots – who fought during his 1306 to 1329 reign for the country’s independence. Lady Macbeth’s Florence Pugh stars as his wife Elizabeth de Burgh.
A nice companion piece to Mary Queen of Scots, another upcoming film where a non-Scottish person plays a member of the country’s royalty – Outlaw King has a lot of elements that make it more interesting than the typical medieval flick. Firstly director Mackenzie is Scottish and seems to have used any carte blache he received from making surprise hit Hell or High Water to pursue what one assumes is a passion project. Plus, in the wake of the controversy surrounding the country’s role in Brexit, a drama centring on a character committed to an independent Scotland could be unexpectedly timely.
Meanwhile and perhaps most impressively, American Pine’s accent sounds decent.
