Trailer Blitz: Rental Family, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Adulthood, Jay Kelly, The Cut, Eden, The Thursday Murder Club, The Choral
Time to catch up on this week's movie trailers! Here's a list of films coming to screens soon!
★ “Rental Family” Trailer: Brendan Fraser Poses as a Hired Dad in Hikari’s Heartfelt Tokyo-Set Dramedy — In Theaters November 21st
Who doesn’t love Brendan Fraser? He just might be the warmest actor in Hollywood, a man with a big smile and an even bigger heart. So who wouldn’t want him to act as your long-lost dad?
Well, in the upcoming drama Rental Family, the Oscar-winning actor takes his craft to a whole new level, playing a struggling American actor living in Tokyo.
While getting by as a commercial actor forced to wear embarrassing outfits for each random gig, Fraser’s character gets a shot at something more stable (and strangely meaningful) when he’s hired by a “rental family” agency. His job? To act as a stand-in father, husband, or friend for Japanese clients looking to reenact personal scenarios in hopes of finding closure or emotional healing.
Think Nathan Fielder meets Lost in Translation, but with equal parts awkward cringe and heartfelt resolution.
Directed and co-written by Japanese-born filmmaker Hikari (aka Mitsuyo Miyazaki)—who earned acclaim for her directing work on Netflix’s Beef and HBO Max’s Tokyo Vice—the film is inspired by a real-life service in Japan where agencies hire performers to act out scripted reenactments for clients seeking emotional closure, therapeutic healing, or simply companionship.
Also starring Takehiro Hira (Shōgun), Mari Yamamoto (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters), and Japanese vet Akira Emoto, and co-written by Stephen Blahut, Rental Family promises to be a light-hearted, bittersweet dramedy that blurs the boundaries between performance and genuine connection.
It’s set to make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September before landing in theaters November 21st.
★ “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” Trailer: Rose Byrne Spirals in Mary Bronstein’s Motherhood Meltdown Dramedy with Conan O’Brien — In Theaters This October
Okay, it would be easy to point out that comedian and talk show host Conan O’Brien is co-starring in a new A24 film where he’s showing off his dramatic chops as a frustrated therapist who doesn't normally respond to his clients’ emails. But the funnyman himself has tweeted out to say it was simply “dumb luck” to have been cast in writer-director Mary Bronstein’s meltdown dramedy If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.
Conan further extends his gratitude to have worked with “the frighteningly talented Rose Byrne,” who might be the real reason people should check out the film, as it looks like she delivers a showstopping performance as a woman on the verge.
In this Sundance sensation—which also stars Danielle Macdonald, Christian Slater, Ivy Wolk, and rapper ASAP Rocky—Byrne plays Linda, a working mother who is barely holding it together. Her child is sick with no answers on why, her husband (Slater) has gone AWOL, and her therapist (O’Brien) is becoming more foe than friend.
As reality frays at the edges, Linda spirals into a surreal, darkly funny odyssey through grief, confusion, and defiance. It’s a motherhood meltdown where anxiety and absurdity collide, and the only way out might be through total emotional detonation... kaboom!
New York filmmaker Mary Bronstein writes and directs—marking her second feature film following her 2008 debut Yeast, a small mumblecore comedy that she also starred in, featuring early performances from Greta Gerwig and brothers Benny and Josh Safdie.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You will be arriving in theaters in October, via A24.
★ “Adulthood” Trailer: Josh Gad and Kaya Scodelario Discover Deadly Family Secrets in Alex Winter’s Dark Crime Comedy — In Select Theaters September 19th, On VOD September 23rd
Josh Gad and Kaya Scodelario play brother and sister in this new dark crime comedy. Now before you go assuming it’s all laughs and sibling squabbles... well, you wouldn’t be wrong, but there’s more. This one takes a sharp left turn into twisted territory once the sibling duo discover their ailing mother has been holding some truly dark secrets—some of them hiding right under their noses, and others quite literally buried in the walls of their childhood home’s basement.
Directed and produced by actor/filmmaker Alex Winter (aka Bill S. Preston, Esq. from the Bill & Ted films), Adulthood is a darkly funny crime caper about how some family secrets can spiral out of control with little warning... and getting rid of a dead body is a lot harder than one can reasonably plan for.
When siblings Megan (Scodelario) and Noah (Gad) learn their elderly mother has fallen into a coma at a local hospital, they reunite to look after the family home. But when they discover a decades-old corpse in the walls of the basement, their reunion takes a sharp turn into chaos. Still reeling from the idea that their mother might be a murderer, panic sets in, causing them to spiral into a darkly comic descent through blackmail, bad decisions, and an accidental body count. Turns out, adulthood isn’t about paying bills... it’s about staying out of jail.
Billie Lourd (Scream Queens, American Horror Story) co-stars as the mother’s in-home nurse who has heard her murder confession and now wants $25,000 for her silence. This extortion attempt sets off a series of horrible choices that quickly snowball into a full-blown police investigation. And the deeper Megan and Noah dig, the worse things get... and the closer they come to a prison cell.
Co-starring Anthony Carrigan (Barry, Superman), Adulthood is slated to open in select theaters September 19th before arriving on VOD/Digital September 23rd.
★ “Jay Kelly” Teaser: George Clooney Plays a World-Famous Movie Star in Noah Baumbach’s New Identity Crisis Comedy with Adam Sandler and Laura Dern — In Select Theaters November 14th, On Netflix December 5th
Quentin Tarantino once said that he believed George Clooney wasn’t someone he would consider to be a legit movie star. Naturally, this statement angered Clooney a little bit. But whether you take Tarantino's side or not, Clooney can at least portray a world-famous movie star—something he does with self-deprecating charm in the upcoming comedy Jay Kelly, the latest Netflix feature from acclaimed filmmaker Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story, The Meyerowitz Stories, White Noise).
Co-written by Baumbach and actress Emily Mortimer (Doll & Em), Jay Kelly casts Clooney in the title role as a world-famous movie star who’s forgotten who he is behind his famous characters. Alongside his longtime manager Ron (played by Adam Sandler), Jay sets off on a whirlwind journey across Europe—one that forces both men to reckon with their pasts, their families, and the futures they never planned for.
While Jay might be the most famous actor in the world (take that, Tarantino!)—someone everyone thinks they know—he’s still figuring out what he stands for and what it means to truly be himself when the cameras aren’t rolling.
Brimming with big names in the cast, including Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Isla Fisher, Jim Broadbent, Grace Edwards, Alba Rohrwacher, Patrick Wilson, Eve Hewson, Greta Gerwig, Stacy Keach, and Mortimer herself, Jay Kelly is set to make its world premiere in competition later this month at the Venice International Film Festival.
The film is scheduled to open in select theaters on November 14th before premiering on Netflix December 5th.
★ “The Cut” Trailer: Orlando Bloom Fights for Redemption in Sean Ellis’ Gritty Boxing Comeback Drama with John Turturro and Caitríona Balfe — In Theaters September 5th
Sports dramas—especially when it comes to boxing—are at their best when they center around an underdog looking for a comeback. And boxing films are the best metaphor for struggling against life’s hardest punches and still finding the will to get back up before the final bell. Who can’t relate to someone literally fighting for their life, refusing to stay down even when the odds are stacked against them?
Well, Orlando Bloom taps into his inner Rocky to lace up his gloves to play a former professional Irish boxer who comes out of retirement with one goal in mind: to reclaim the title and prove he still has what it takes to be a champion.
In The Cut, a gritty boxing drama directed by acclaimed British filmmaker Sean Ellis (Anthropoid, Metro Manila), Bloom sets off on one of the toughest comebacks of his life, as he only has 28 days to lose the pounds, get back in shape, and make the weight.
Under the brutal guidance of an unorthodox trainer (played by John Turturro), and with the support of his estranged partner (Outlander’s Caitríona Balfe), he pushes his body to the brink. But as the lines between discipline and delusion blur, the biggest fight may be with his own mind.
The Cut is being released in theaters September 5th. Perhaps bring a towel. ‘Cuz you might just break a sweat watching it, or you might want to throw it in when you can’t take the intensity anymore.
★ “Eden” Trailer: Jude Law Builds a Doomed Utopia in Ron Howard’s Island Survival Thriller with Ana de Armas, Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Kirby, and Daniel Brühl — In Theaters August 22nd
Paradise was the goal. But they got something entirely different, far from heaven on earth. More like a postcard from hell!
In Eden, Oscar-winner Ron Howard turns a sun-drenched utopia into a pressure cooker of ambition, obsession, and betrayal. Based on a true story, this island-set survival thriller follows Dr. Friedrich Ritter (Jude Law), a German scientist who flees 1930s Europe to build a perfect society on the Galápagos Islands. But paradise doesn’t stay peaceful for long.
As idealism gives way to control, and new arrivals—including a charming couple (Daniel Brühl and Sydney Sweeney) and a seductive baroness (Ana de Armas)—upend the balance, tensions boil over. Vanessa Kirby stars as Ritter’s brilliant partner, caught between vision and madness as the island’s dream turns deadly.
With a script by Tetris writer Noah Pink and a cast full of fire, Eden reveals the chilling truth about what really happened when one man tried to build a utopia—and human nature tore it apart.
Hitting theaters August 22nd.
★ “The Thursday Murder Club” Trailer: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Ben Kingsley Solve Crimes in Chris Columbus’ Cozy Netflix Whodunit — Premiering August 28th
In The Thursday Murder Club, retirement is anything but restful. Based on Richard Osman’s beloved novel, this Netflix whodunit serves up cozy mystery with a sharp British wit, starring Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie as four retirees with a taste for tea, biscuits... and solving murders.
When a real corpse lands in their quaint village, their weekly cold case hobby turns into a full-blown investigation—complete with suspects, secrets, and plenty of English sass.
Directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire) and co-written by Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote (Killing Eve), this cheeky caper brings serious firepower both in front of and behind the camera.
The supporting cast is a who’s-who of British talents, including Daniel Mays, David Tennant, Naomi Ackie, and Richard E. Grant, just to name a few.
Premiering August 28th on Netflix, this mystery is anything but retiring. So, if Wednesday is Hump Day, then it seems Thursday is for those who prefer their tea hot and their murder cases cold.
★ “The Choral” Trailer: Ralph Fiennes Leads a Yorkshire Choir in Heartfelt WWI Drama from the Director and Writer of ‘The Lady in the Van’ — In Theaters This Christmas
From director Nicholas Hytner and writer Alan Bennett, the creative team behind the British hits The Lady in the Van, The History Boys, and The Madness of King George, comes a new British historic dramedy about how sometimes, in times of great destruction, the most powerful voices are the ones that carry a note.
In the upcoming WWI film The Choral, Ralph Fiennes stars as Dr. Henry Guthrie, an enigmatic chorus master from Germany. It’s Yorkshire, 1916—and as the Great War drains Ramsden of its men, the local Choral Society faces collapse. That is, until a defiant committee recruits Guthrie to bring new life to the faltering group. What follows is a stirring tale of resilience, redemption, and the healing power of music in a time of grief, sadness, and uncertainty.
And as the weight of war bears down, the townspeople discover that amidst loss and upheaval, music may be their most powerful act of unity—especially when Guthrie enlists some of the injured soldiers who have recently returned home. Together, they form an unlikely chorus, finding strength in harmony when the world around them is falling apart.
Co-starring Roger Allam, Mark Addy, and Simon Russell Beale, The Choral is coming to theaters this Christmas. It will also make its world debut at TIFF in September.
