Although some found being trapped in a box with Ryan Reynolds for 90 minutes a bit much, Rodrigo Cortés‘ claustrophobic thriller Buried garnered critical acclaim following its premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. His follow-up film, the paranormal thriller Red Lights, shows much more promise for Cortés’ as a writer and director – even if it fumbles in the third act. Featuring a strong cast and fantastic visuals from cinematographer Xavi Giménez, Red Lights tackles a slew of weighty themes like perception, reason, and faith while remaining firmly grounded in reality. If only it could have stuck the landing. Hit the jump or my full review of Red Lights on Blu-ray.

The first trailer for Clueless director Amy Heckerling’s vampire comedy Vamps has landed online.  The film stars Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter as two eternally young vampires navigating the dating world.  Though the premise doesn’t exactly have the most appealing logline, the trailer looks like the movie could be kind of fun.  Heckerling’s Clueless-style goofiness is put to good use with the vampire stuff and Silverstone and Ritter have some great chemistry.  Moreover, the supporting turns by Justin Kirk, Wallace Shawn, and Richard Lewis look pretty promising.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Sigourney Weaver, Dan Stevens, Marilu Renner and Kristen Johnston.  Vamps will open in select theaters on November 2nd and hits Blu-ray and DVD on November 13th.

Just in time for the presidential election, the hit romantic comedy Dave, from director Ivan Reitman and screenwriter Gary Ross, debuts on Blu-ray on September 25^th, for the first time since its 1993 theatrical release.  The film tells the story about what happens when the U.S. President goes into a coma and a mild-mannered office manager, named Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline), with an uncanny resemblance is hired to impersonate him and fool not only an entire country, but also an increasingly suspicious First Lady (Sigourney Weaver).

At a press day for the Blu-ray release, director Ivan Reitman and producer Lauren Shuler Donner talked about how Gary Ross came to write the film, how the script was developed, what made Kevin Kline the right actor to pull off the dual role, why Sigourney Weaver was the perfect First Lady, and how they think young audiences will react to the film today.  Reitman also talked about the huge interest in sequels these days, the status of another Ghostbusters film and the Twins sequel, Triplets, and how he thinks audiences will be knocked out by the story they’re telling in Hitchcock (due out November 23^rd and starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren), which he’s producing, and Shuler Donner talked about the importance of focusing on character when you’re making superhero movies, like she’s done with the X-Men films.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

The dramatic thriller Red Lights, from writer/director Rodrigo Cortes (Buried), follows a pair of top paranormal researchers facing their greatest challenge, as they set out to discredit a powerful psychic.  Dr. Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) and her partner, Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) are the world’s foremost investigators of paranormal phenomena.  When legendary blind psychic Simon Silver (Robert DeNiro) comes out of retirement after 30 years, Tom becomes determined to discredit the seemingly genuine showman, regardless of the consequences.

At the film’s press day, actor Cillian Murphy talked about creating this character and the world he lives in, how skeptical he personally is of paranormal activity, working with his esteemed co-stars, how his nationality affects him as an individual, and the type of work that he looks to do.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Though 20th Century Fox ensured that James Cameron’s next film after Avatar would be a sequel to the highest grossing film of all time, the director has been taking his sweet time getting the project going.  Cameron’s been busy diving to the ocean’s deepest point and documenting it in the film Deepest Challenge, but it appears he’s finally getting ready to return to Pandora.  We previously heard that the director would probably be filming Avatar 2 and 3 at the same time, and latest word from the filmmaker was that he was “in the Avatar business period,” meaning he’s only interested in making Avatar films from here on out.  At the same time, Cameron first dropped word about a possible Avatar 4, and now star Sigourney Weaver claims that the director will film all three Avatar sequels at once.  Hit the jump for more.

Today, we have an exclusive clip for Rodrigo Cortes‘ thriller Red Lights. The story focuses on two physicists (Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver) who investigate hoaxes, but must wrestle with the possibility of the supernatural when they encounter renowned psychic Simon Silver (Robert De Niro).  In this clip, we see Silver talking up his audience before he performs some seemingly supernatural healing ability, but what the clip really showcases is how De Niro can still turn in a strong performance when he wants to.

Hit the jump to check out the clip, and click here for my film review from Sundance.  The film also stars Elizabeth Olsen as a student who joins Murphy and Weaver’s characters.  Red Lights opens July 13th.

Following the release of these character posters earlier this week, a new trailer for director Rodrigo Cortes’ supernatural thriller, Red Lights, has gone online.  The picture stars Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver as two paranormal investigators with a long track record of debunked psychics, faith healers and outright frauds.  One such mystic who has escaped their deductive logic is the blind psychic, Simon Silver (Robert De Niro).  When Silver comes out of retirement, the junior investigator sees a chance for a big win for science and recruits his star pupil (Elizabeth Olsen) to help, even while being warned to back off by his partner.  The new trailer features a bit more footage than the previous one and highlights the stand-off between Murphy and De Niro.  As a bonus, it’s introduced by the lovely Ms. Weaver.  Hit the jump to check it out.

Millennium has released four character posters for Rodrigo Cortés‘ supernatural thriller Red Lights.  The story focuses on two physicists (Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver) who investigate hoaxes, but must wrestle with the possibility of the supernatural when they encounter renowned psychic Simon Silver (Robert De Niro).  I dug almost the entire film when I saw it at Sundance, but the ending really leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and I’m hoping Cortés will have tweaked it when the film opens this summer.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  The film also stars Elizabeth Olsen and Toby Jones.  Red Lights opens July 13th.

The UK trailer for Rodrigo Cortes‘ Red Lights has gone online.  The film stars Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver as scientists who investigate paranormal activity, and who find a dangerous challenge when controversial psychic Simon Silver (Robert De Niro) comes out of retirement.  I caught the movie at Sundance and thought it was terrific up until the ending, which not only leaves the movie on a sour note, but undoes a lot of what was accomplished earlier in the picture.  There’s a chance the ending has been changed (most of the people I spoke to at Sundance also had a problem with it), but we’ll have to wait and see.  The UK trailer does a fairly solid job of selling the film, although it should play up the paranormal investigations from the first half of the movie since those are the best parts.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Toby Jones and Elizabeth Olsen.  Red Lights opens in the UK on June 22nd and in the US on July 13th.

Director Rodrigo Cortes’ (Buried) thriller Red Lights now has a release date.  According to a Wall Street Journal piece (via STYD), the supernatural pic will hit theaters on July 13th.  The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and stars Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver as two physicists who debunk claims of paranormal activity, but they run up against a man (Robert De Niro) who may actually have special powers.  Matt caught the film at Sundance and really liked most of it, but he had issues with the ending.  It’s worth noting that filmmakers often make tweaks to their movies following festivals and prior to wide release, so Cortes may have made some changes to the film’s conclusion.

I think the trailer looks pretty solid and I like the cast, so I’m interested to check the thing out this summer.  I’m assuming the pic will get a limited release on that July 13th date, but the wide releases opening that weekend include Seth MacFarlane’s comedy Ted and Ice Age: Continental Drift. Hit the jump to watch the trailer for Red Lights.

Today in TV casting news, we’re featuring two sci-movie heroines who are making the jump to the small screen. First up is Sigourney Weaver (Avatar), who will be making her TV series debut in USA’s Political Animals. The Oscar-nominated actress will play Elaine Barrish, a divorced former first lady and recently-appointed Secretary of State who embraces her new job after overcoming her failed marriage and the loss of the presidential nomination.

Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) can also be seen on the small screen in the untitled CBS series pilot based on Ralph Lamb, a 1960s rodeo cowboy turned Las Vegas sheriff. Moss will play assistant district attorney Katharine O’Connell, the daughter of a local rancher and neighbor to the Lambs. The pilot also stars Dennis Quaid (The Day After Tomorrow) and Michael Chiklis (The Shield). Hit the jump for more on both pilots.

An English-Language trailer for Rodrigo Cortes’ Red Lights has gone online.  For those unfamiliar with the flick, it stars Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver as two physicists who debunk claims of paranormal activity, but they run up against a man (Robert De Niro) who may actually have special powers.  I dug almost all of the film when I saw it at Sundance, but the ending needs to be reworked since the execution undermines the power of what came before.  The new trailer sells the movie as a straight-up supernatural thriller, and while that’s technically true, the trailer also makes the film look generic and forgettable.  There’s more personality and fun in Red Lights than what’s on display here.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Millennium picked up Red Lights for U.S. distribution, but no release date has been announced.

The first trailer for the action-thriller Cold Light of Day has gone online. The film centers on a man (Henry Cavill) whose family is abducted while vacationing in Spain. As he puts the pieces of their disappearance together, the man uncovers family secrets and a government conspiracy that are responsible for the crime. It looks like a neat little espionage actioner, but I’m not really seeing anything new or interesting being brought to the genre. That said, Cavill sure seems like he can handle himself. Bruce Willis stars as Cavill’s father in another one of his “seasoned law enforcement veteran” roles, while Sigourney Weaver is a nice addition as someone connected to Cavill’s family’s disappearance. Many will be interested in checking the film out if only to see our next Superman (Cavill dons the tights for Man of Steel) take his shot at a leading American role.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer. Cold Light of Day opens April 6th.

Although the release date for The Raven has been pushed back a month, that’s allowed Relativity to give us more looks at the property, like this new poster. It’s not quite as ink-soaked or blood-soaked as previous efforts and resembles more of a phoenix than a raven, but it’s stylish nonetheless. Here’s what you need to know about the posters we’ve rounded up today:

• Director James McTeigue’s The Raven stars John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe, who joins a detective (Luke Evans of Immortals) to stop a killer who’s committing crimes based on Poe’s works.
• The Imposter, a documentary film by director Bart Layton (Locked Up Abroad) that follows a young Frenchman who posed as a Texas family’s 16-year-old son who had been missing for three years
• From director Rodrigo Cortes (Buried) comes Red Lights, a paranormal thriller that questions the supernatural and whether a world-renowned psychic is actually gifted or just a charlatan. The film stars Robert De Niro, Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver and Elizabeth Olsen.

Hit the jump to check out the full-size posters.

Mysticism and superstition can provide hope.  If there’s something beyond our world, something we can’t see, then perhaps there’s a shortcut, a fount of secret knowledge, anything that can provide a solution when the real world doesn’t have one we like.  That’s where con artists come in and appeal to our desire for a great beyond.  These frauds carry themselves as the special people who will use their gift (and a curse! It’s always a blessing and a curse with these things) to heal the body and/or soul.   Rodrigo Cortés supernatural thriller Red Lights puts us on the side of skeptical scientists who aren’t opposed to the paranormal, but have yet to see any evidence of it.  Dr. Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) and her assistant Dr. Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) use the power of science rather than the supernatural to debunk these phony mystics.  But in its second half, Red Lights makes a major narrative turn, shifts the tone, draws the viewer deeper into the possibility of the paranormal, and has its characters struggle to keep a hold on reality.  However, the film ends in a serious backfire where a clumsy execution breaks the spell.