If the first word out of Cannes is to be trusted, Leos Carax‘s (more or less) 12-year-long absence was worth the end result. No other film hitting the south of France over this past week has earned the kind of uniform raves being heaped upon Holy Motors — a development that, while not necessarily a shock to the director’s fans, isn’t a reaction this writer honestly expected. (Something about a film centering on, according to past reports, an actor who jumps into the consciousness of different people over a 24-hour period — from man to woman to “monstrous creature” — sounds, on paper, like it could be overshooting in its ambition.) But, here we are.

Even knowing that plot synopsis, though, Motors‘ first trailer is basically inscrutable and, for me, impossible to react to in a manner that extends past “I’m interested.” Combined with the exuberant praise, I think I’m giving Carax‘s new film my full attention from here on out.

Watch the preview below:

Holy Motors is expected to open sometime later this year.

What are your impressions from this preview?

For his next lavish, star-studded production, Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, Australia) is going the 3D route with an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s revered classic The Great Gatsby. Headlined by Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton and Carey Mulligan, we’ve got the first trailer today.

Starting things off with Jay-Z and Kanye West‘s No Church In the Wild, this tease segues into a Jack White cover of U2‘s Love is Blindness and while the production design seems to be spot-on as expected, there is a lack of energy and cohesiveness to the editing here. With a stacked cast and Luhrmann at the helm, who seems to be having fun in the 3D realm as seen in some framing here, I’m still looking forward to this one. Also starring Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki and Amitabh Bachchan, one can see the trailer below via Apple.

Synopsis:

“The Great Gatsby” follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.

The Great Gatsby hits theaters on December 25th, 2012.

After winning an Oscar for his short The Shore this year, Hotel Rwanda director Terry George is also finally returning to feature film territory after 2007′s Reservation Road. Premiering at Tribeca last month, Whole Lotta Sole sees the helmer switching to a more fun tone, with the story revolving around Brendan Fraser and a robbery in a Irish town. We were mixed on the film (full review here), complaining about his over-abundant subplots, but enjoying the overall light nature. The first trailer has arrived today and you can check it out below for the film also starring Colm Meaney, David O’Hara, Yaya DaCosta and Martin McCann.

Synopsis:

In a rowdy little corner of Belfast, hapless young father Jimbo Reagan is having an unlucky week. Indebted to big-time gangster Mad Dog Flynn for $5,000, Jimbo decides to knock over the local fish market, only to find out post-robbery that it’s a front for Mad Dog’s illegal operations! On the lam with nowhere to turn, Jimbo holes up in a local antique shop and things go from bad to worse when he unwittingly takes five hostages. Shop manager Joe Maguire (Brendan Fraser) is one of these wrong-place-wrong-time hostages, but the situation proves to be serendipitous as Jimbo and Joe unearth encouraging discoveries about their intersecting pasts.

Whole Lotta Sole has US distribution, but no release date yet.

Disney’s been busy on the 3D re-release front. First came the double feature return of Toy Story and Toy Story 2. Then came the successful 3D run of The Lion King, followed by Beauty and the Beast and announcements for The Little Mermaid and Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo. While there was a short teaser early this year, Disney just released a full-length trailer for the heartwarming return to the screen for Marlin and Dory.

Written and directed by Andrew Stanton, whose John Carter only made just over $72 million domestically this year, we wonder if this re-release will actually surpass that sci-fi blockbuster. Disney’s re-release of The Lion King made nearly $95 million last fall in the states, while the same 3D re-do of Beauty and the Beast made around half of that earlier this year. If this release falls somewhere in the middle, it could certainly best Stanton’s failed Edward Rice Burroughs adaptation domestically. Regardless, it will certainly be more profitable as these 3D upgrades are relatively cheap. Check out the newly released trailer below.

Finding Nemo stars Albert Brooks as Marlin, Alexander Gould as Nemo, and Ellen Degeneres as Dory in the story of a cautious clownfish father whose only son, Nemo, is taken away from home to become the newest member of a dentist office fish tank. Joining Marlin on his journey is Dory, a lovable Regal Blue Tang fish with a bit of a memory issue. As they travel across the ocean searching for Nemo, Dory’s optimism and the dangers he overcomes help Marlin find the courage to be daring and the strength to believe that everything will be okay.

Finding Nemo hits 3D theaters on September 14th.

Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 news team have returned. Attached to Paramount’s The Dictator this weekend was the first teaser for their upcoming comedy Anchorman 2. It’s now made its way online in official form and shows off Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and David Koechner on what looks to be a soundstage as they gear up for imminent production on the comedy. It plays it pretty easy, with Brick Tamland the butt of the joke as always, but I’m looking forward to director Adam McKay returning to these characters. Stay classy and check out the teaser below, followed by the first poster.

Theatrical Teaser Trailer:

Update: Online Exclusive Teaser Trailer (via FunnyorDie):

Anchorman 2 is expected to go into production this year for a 2013 release.

It’s finally here. Today we have our first look at footage from Paul Thomas Anderson‘s highly-anticipated upcoming feature The Master. In the form of a teaser trailer, we hear Joaquin Phoenix being interrogated about a previous event, filled with enticing imagery. The period drama stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Laura Dern, David Warshofsky, Rami Malek, Jesse Plemons, Madisen Beaty, Joshua Close and Fiona Dourif. Check out the teaser below via the official site.

Hoffman leads the film as a man “who returns after witnessing the horrors of WWII and tries to rediscover who he is in post-war America. He creates a belief system, something that catches on with other lost souls.” Joaquin Phoenix plays Freddie, “a young drifter who is swept up in the movement and becomes Hoffman’s character’s lieutenant. As everything builds, however, Freddie begins to question the system he’s helped to create.”

The Master hits theaters on October 12th, 2012 .

Finally. The long-awaited return of James Bond has begun with this teaser for Skyfall, which provides our first real look at Sam Mendes‘ spin on the classic, revered franchise — and, thank God, it looks to have been worth the wait. Though frustratingly brief and endlessly vague, we’re already getting snatches of a morose, real-world nature promised by Mendes and Daniel Craig, along with the massive scale fans of the series have come to expect. It’s, again, very little, but this tantalizing promise only brings my (already considerable) anticipation to a new high. And isn’t that exactly what a teaser’s supposed to do?

Watch it below:

Synopsis:

In 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.

Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem, Judie Dench, Ben Whishaw, Ola Rapace, Helen McCrory, Bérénice Marlohe, Naomie Harris, Tonia Sotiropoulou, and Albert Finney also star in the film, which is set for a stateside release on November 9th, after bowing in the UK on October 26th.

While he is currently at Cannes promoting Wes Anderson‘s Moonrise Kingdom, Bill Murray potentially has a major awards contender this December with Hyde Park on Hudson. Portraying President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the film from Roger Michell (Morning Glory, Notting Hill) takes a look at just a small slice of the man’s life.

As the actor has mostly taken just supporting roles the last few years, it’s great to see Murray in something of more weight. Michell hasn’t been known to direct anything too serious and this has the light tone we’re accustomed to from the helmer. But it’s certainly looking leagues better than last year’s US government icon offering J. Edgar and similar, structure-wise, of My Week with Marilyn. Also starring Laura Linney, Samuel West and Olivia Colman, one can see it below, along with the first poster.

Synopsis:

In June 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor host the King and Queen of England for a weekend at the Roosevelt home at Hyde Park on Hudson, in upstate New York — the first-ever visit of a reigning English monarch to America. With Britain facing imminent war with Germany, the Royals are desperately looking to FDR for support. But international affairs must be juggled with the complexities of FDR’s domestic establishment, as wife, mother, and mistresses all conspire to make the royal weekend an unforgettable one.

Hyde Park on Hudson hits theaters on December 7th.

Although he was only briefly spotted in the first trailer, the Brits must love Alex Pettyfer. In a new UK trailer for Steven Soderbergh‘s male stripper story Magic Mike he is the primary focus, as he rises the ranks of stripperdom with Channing Tatum, in the film based on his own life. The trailer is actually more appealing than the domestic version, which geared heavily toward a somewhat generic romance.

As for Pettyfer, the actor who last appeared in In Time, Beastly and I Am Number Four is also gearing up for another project. Variety reports that he’ll lead the next film from Pascal Chaumeil (Heartbreaker), an English-language project titled Diamond Dogs. He’ll play a “popular high school quarterback whose life is turned upside down after he accidentally kills someone, a crime that his father, who is the local sherrif, is covering up.”

For now, check out this new trailer for Magic Mike from HeyUGuys and more behind-the-scenes footage at EW for the film also starring Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Gabriel Iglesias, Olivia Munn, Riley Keough, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Cody Horn, Adam Rodriguez, Kevin Nash and Betsy Brandt.

Synopsis:

A dramatic comedy set in the world of male strippers, “Magic Mike” is directed by Academy Award® winner Steven Soderbergh (“Traffic”) and stars Channing Tatum in the title role. The film follows Mike as he takes a young dancer called The Kid (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing and schools him in the fine arts of partying, picking up women, and making easy money.

Magic Mike hits theaters on June 29th.

Premiering at Sundance this past year, Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal’s directorial debut The Words features Bradley Cooper struggling with revealing the truth about a manuscript. The cast is strong, also featuring Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana and Ben Barnes, but I was disappointed by this drama. Poor narration and useless supporting characters, in addition to flashbacks that seem to drag on, don’t make this story as involving as it could have been. Our own Dan Mecca had a more positive take, calling it an “an unabashed piece of romantic cinema” and now the first trailer has arrived today. It certainly makes it appealing and one can see it below.

Synopsis:

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.

The Words hits theaters on September 21st, 2012.