Trailer Round-Up: 'Adam', 'Burn', 'Catherine The Great', 'A Score To Settle', 'Dead Water', 'Human Discoveries', 'Daniel Isn't Real'
We tend to devote entire posts to trailers for big movies around here. But sometimes, smaller films need love too. And that's where our trailer round-ups come in. Here we've gathered together trailers for several under-the-radar films (and TV shows) that you might want to check out when they head your way. Watch them all below!
A Score to Settle
It's been a while since we've been blessed with a Nicolas Cage VOD thriller. Thankfully, A Score to Settle is here. In Cage's latest he plays Frankie Carver, a man diagnosed with a fatal illness, and then released from prison after serving 19 years. "With only a short time left to live, Frankie must desperately try to make amends with the son he left behind while he plots a bloody course of revenge – tracking down his old gang to make them pay one by one." This sounds a lot like Payback, the Mel Gibson movie and that's fine. By all means, give us more movies where Nic Cage tracks down his old gang members to murder them. A Score to Settle arrives In Theaters and On-Demand on August 2, 2019.
Adam
In Adam, "Awkward, self-conscious Adam Freeman (Nicholas Alexander) has just finished his junior year of high school in 2006. When his cool older sister Casey (Margaret Qualley) suggests he visit her in New York for the Summer, Adam has visions of meeting a girl and finally gaining some actual life experience. The fantasy doesn't materialize exactly as expected. Casey has enthusiastically embraced life amidst Brooklyn's young LGBTQ community and invites Adam to tag along with her to queer bars, marriage equality rallies, and other happenings. When Adam falls at first sight for Gillian (Bobbi Salvör Menuez), a smart, beautiful young woman in this new crowd, she mistakenly assumes he is trans. Flummoxed and enamored, he haplessly goes along with her assumption, resulting in an increasingly complex comedy – and tragedy – of errors he's ill-equipped to navigate." Our own Ethan Anderton reviewed the film at Sundance, writing: "Adam doesn't reinvent the wheel when it comes to romantic comedy, but that's not the point. This is a movie that aims to be inclusive by not approaching the LGBTQ crowd as a niche population, but just as another group of friends you might be hanging out with on the weekend." Adam opens in NYC on August 14 and LA on August 23.
Catherine the Great
Helen Mirren loves playing royalty. The latest piece of entertainment to crown the actress is HBO's Catherine Great, "the tumultuous monarch and politician who ruled the Russian empire and transformed its place in the world in the 18th century." Here's the synopsis: "Set against the politically tumultuous and sexually charged court of Russian empress Catherine the Great, who wielded supreme power throughout Russia for nearly half of the 18th century, the limited series follows Catherine towards the end of her reign during her passionate affair with Grigory Potemkin. Amid scandal, intrigue and immense conflict, they develop a unique and devoted relationship, overcoming their adversaries and together serving as the architects of modern-day Russia." Catherine the Great is coming to HBO this fall.
Burn
Burn is described as "a contained thriller following a lonely female gas station attendant who must face a desperate man who tries to rob the store. When the heist goes wrong, she takes the opportunity to make a connection with the man." Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games Films), Suki Waterhouse (Insurgent), Tilda Cobham-Hervey (Hotel Mumbai), Harry Shum Jr. (Crazy Rich Asians) and Shiloh Fernandez (Evil Dead) all star in this indie film from director Mike Gan. You can look for Burn On Demand and Digital on August 23, 2019.
Dead Water
Finally, the world of film has given us what we deserve: Judd Nelson as a modern-day pirate. In Dead Water, "John (Casper Van Dien) invites his buddy David 'Coop' Cooper and his attractive wife Vivian onto his new yacht, encouraging the couple to relax and get away from it all. They embark on a sea journey on John's yacht, The Bella which, becomes the stage for a deadly game that puts friendships and lifetime love to the test. As the ship treks farther into the open horizon, the characters become more isolated; and an unexpected mechanical malfunction leaves the yacht dead in the water, they decide to launch a mission to seek help. But is soon met by a modern-day pirate (Judd Nelson) which becomes a fight for survival in the dead open water." Dead Water arrives in theaters and On Demand July 26, 2019.
Black and Blue
In Black and Blue, a rookie cop played by Naomie Harris "inadvertently captures the murder of a young drug dealer on her body cam. After realizing that the murder was committed by corrupt cops, she teams up with the one person from her community who is willing to help her (Tyrese Gibson) as she tries to escape both the criminals out for revenge and the police who are desperate to destroy the incriminating footage." This looks like it has potential. Or, at the very least, it looks like the perfect movie to throw on Netflix one day when you're bored. Look for it in theaters this fall.
Human Discoveries
Did you forget that Facebook has its own original programming on something called Facebook Watch? I sure did! But here's a trailer for Human Discoveries to remind you. This animated series features the voices of Zac Efron as Gary, Anna Kendrick as Jane, Lamorne Morris as Trog, Jillian Bell as Minerva, and Paul Scheer as Ugg, and "follows a group of friends living at the dawn of human civilization as they discover necessities like fire and the wheel. But, much more importantly, they stumble onto humanity's best, and worst, innovations. Art. Alcohol. Fashion. Racism. Small talk. And, much to their confusion, monogamy." You can stream the series right now.
Daniel Isn't Real
I saw Daniel Isn't Real at the Overlook Film Festival this year, and was mostly impressed. It has some cool ideas, and some strong performances and that might be enough for some viewers. In this horror-thriller, "Troubled college freshman Luke (Miles Robbins) suffers a violent family trauma and resurrects his childhood imaginary friend Daniel (Patrick Schwarzenegger) to help him cope. Charismatic and full of manic energy, Daniel helps Luke to achieve his dreams, before pushing him to the very edge of sanity and into a desperate struggle for control of his mind – and his soul." The film arrives this December.