News out of Berlin has Sony Pictures Classics acquiring U.S. and Latin American rights to writer-director Claudia Llosa’s Aloft.  The drama stars Jennifer Connelly as Nana, a struggling mother who is able to establish herself as a respected healer and artist, but an investigative journalist sets in motion a reunion between Nana and her estranged son.  We also have a bunch of first-look images from the film to share with you today.

Aloft also stars Cillian Murphy, Mélanie Laurent, Oona Chaplin and William Shimell.  Hit the jump for more on the film and to check out the images.

A24 Films has released a full theatrical trailer and an excellent poster for Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming psychological thriller Enemy.  The twisty premise revolves around a university lecturer (Jake Gyllenhaal) who discovers that he has a double, whom he tracks down and engages, resulting in “a complex and dangerous struggle.”  The pic earned strong marks when it played at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, and this trailer does a nice job of teasing the dark and haunting tone with which this fascinating premise is executed.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer and to check out the fantastic theatrical poster.  The film also stars Melanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon, and Isabella Rossellini.  Enemy debuts exclusively on DirecTV February 6th followed by a theatrical release on March 14th.

Director Denis Villeneuve (Incendies) makes his studio debut with this weekend’s solid thriller Prisoners starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, but Villeneuve also has another Gyllenhaal-fronted film poised to be released soon, and it’s decidedly more twisted.  Enemy, like Prisoners, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last week, and while I was unable to make it to any screenings of the pic, I heard plenty of great/terrifying things about the film from others.  Gyllenhaal stars as a paranoid teacher who believes that he has found his exact doppelganger and he sets out to find out who this person is.  I’ve been told not to learn too much about the film before going in, but this teaser trailer and excellent poster are damn tantalizing.

Hit the jump to check out the teaser trailer and poster.  The film also stars Melanie Laurent and Sarah Gadon and recently secured distribution from A24 Films.

The opening line of Louis Leterrier‘s Now You See Me warns “The closer you look, the less you’ll see.”  But it doesn’t matter how closely or carlessly you look because there’s not much worth seeing in the film.  For a movie that centers on magicians, the most spectacular thing about Now You See Me is how spectacularly it wastes both its premise and its cast.  Leterrier seems torn between wanting to provide cool magic tricks that could conceivably be performed in real life, and then he swings wildly to effects-laden set pieces.  The story also doesn’t seem to have much affinity towards magicians since it portrays them as smug and self-satisfied.  But the film’s most egregious trespass is taking an outstanding cast and forgetting to give them characters.  The movie should craft an intriguing illusion, but aside from some clever moments and Mark Ruffalo‘s performance, Now You See Me is a cheap trick.

Summit Entertainment has released eight character motion posters for Now You See Me.  I’ve enjoyed the posters for the film since they’re employing trippy optical illusions that fit in well with the plot about four magicians who use their tricks to rob banks.  This looks like a fun movie, and I hope it’s good because it would be a shame to waste a cast that includes Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Melanie Laurent, and Morgan Freeman.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  Now You See Me opens May 31st.

With director Louis Leterrier’s (The Incredible Hulk) magician-centered thriller Now You See Me opening May 31st, Summit Entertainment has provided us with six clips.  For those unfamiliar, the story follows an FBI squad on the heels of a team of bank-robbing magicians who share their profits with the audience, and the pic boasts an impressive ensemble cast that includes Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Melanie Laurent and Morgan Freeman. 

Hit the jump to watch the clips, and if you missed any of my set visit coverage, here’s my video blog recap, and on set interviews with Ruffalo, Eisenberg, Fisher, and Leterrier.

Summit Entertainment has released a new trailer for Now You See Me.  The story centers on a group of magicians who pull off bank heists during their death-defying acts, and the FBI squad tasked with catching them.  It appears that Morgan Freeman is tasked with being the expository character as he spends most of this new trailer explaining things, but we do get a closer look at the technical side of the group’s magic tricks in this clip.  The premise is admittedly a bit outlandish, but director Louis Letterier (The Incredible Hulk) has put together a great cast and this trailer hammers home the promise that Now You See Me should be a lot of fun.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, and Melanie Laurent.  Now You See Me opens May 31st.

Summit has released a few new images from director Louis Letterier’s (The Incredible Hulk) magician-centered thriller Now You See Me.  The film follows an FBI squad on the heels of a team of bank-robbing magicians who share their profits with the audience.  The impressive ensemble cast is lead by Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Morgan Freeman, and Mark Ruffalo, and judging by the trailer the pic looks to be a lot of fun.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images, and click here to check out the film’s debut poster.  The pic also stars Melanie Laurent, Dave Franco, Common, and Michael Caine.  Now You See Me opens on May 31st.

Just yesterday the first trailer for the magician-centered pic Now You See Me was released online, and now a large batch of images from the film have surfaced.  The movie follows an FBI squad on the heels of a team of bank-robbing magicians who share their profits with the audience.  Directed by Louis Letterier (Clash of the Titans), the film boasts an impressive ensemble cast that includes Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Melanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine.  The trailer played a bit like a “fun” version of The Prestige with a dash of Ocean’s Eleven thrown in for good measure, and I’m interested to see what the full has in store.

Hit the jump to peruse the images.  The film also stars Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, and Common.  Now You See Me opens on June 7, 2013. [Update: We've been asked by the studio to take the images down as they were not part of an official release.]

The first trailer for Now You See Me has been released.  The film follows an FBI squad on the heels of a team of bank-robbing magicians who share their profits with the audience.  Sounds like Ocean’s Eleven with a magical twist, right? Well, the trailer shows that that’s certainly the case, but the “magic” tricks rely heavily on spectacle and computerized effects, throwing practicality right out the window. So it appears to be more of an action adventure flick with magical elements than any kind of head-scratcher; still could be fun though!

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Louis Letterier (Clash of the Titans), the film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, Melanie Laurent, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine.  Now You See Me opens on June 7, 2013.

When I received the DVD for Beginners in the mail last week, I was out of my mind excited. After all, Beginners is one of my favorite films of the year. I couldn’t wait to check out the supplemental material and I’m glad to report the disc doesn’t disappoint.

First things first: the film itself. Mike Mills’ semi-autobiographical tale follows Oliver, played wonderfully by Ewan McGregor, at two very different times in his life. The first timeline follows Oliver’s time with his father Hal (an Oscar-worthy Christopher Plummer), who has recently been diagnosed with cancer and come out of the closet. The second timeline follows Oliver as he embarks on a romance with Anna (Inglourious Basterd’s Melanie Laurent), a French actress staying in Los Angeles. Oliver is kept company at all times by his faithful terrier Arthur.  Continue reading for my full review.

Director Louis Letterier’s heist-thriller Now You See Me is quickly becoming one of my most anticipated films of 2013. It’s got a stellar cast (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco and Melanie Laurent), an intriguing/adventurous premise, and magic! Lots and lots of magic. The story centers on a group of magicians who pull off bank heists during their death-defying acts, and the FBI squad tasked with catching them. Today we’ve got the first full synopsis and a promo poster for the pick from the American Film Market, which you can check out after the jump.

The film was written by Boaz Yakin (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time) & Edward Ricourt, Josh Applebaum & Andre Nemec (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), and Ed Solomon (Men in Black). Now You See Me opens January 18th, 2013.

We have a couple of casting bits to bring you tonight. First up, Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) has signed on to star opposite Jesse Eisenberg in the heist pic Now You See Me. Variety confirms Laurent’s place in the Louis Leterrier film which follows an FBI team as they track a group of the world’s greatest illusionists who rob banks and then “make it rain” on their audiences. Laurent can currently be seen alongside Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer in writer/director Mike Mills’ dramedy Beginners.

Next up, Treme‘s Kim Dickens has landed a role next to Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron in Killer Films’ Heartland. The pic tells the story of a father (Quaid) who wants nothing more than for his son (Efron) to take over the family’s Iowa-based seed business. Unfortunately for him, the son has his heart set on driving a race car. According to Deadline, Dickens will play the role of Efron’s mother, Irene. Dickens can next be seen on the silver screen in director Craig Brewer’s Footloose remake which hits theaters later this year on October 14th.

A trio of new clips from writer/director Mike Mills’ (Thumbsucker) “dramady” Beginners has landed online. Starring Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, and Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Bastards), the film is a boy (McGregor) meets girl (Laurent) story with the twist coming when boy reflects on the lessons taught to him by his recently deceased father (Plummer) who, at the age of 75, came out of the closet to finish his sunset years in style. Beginners premiered at TIFF last year and I’m looking forward to checking it out when it hits theaters stateside on June 3rd.

Hit the jump to check out the new clips entitled “Awfully Alone,” “Fatherly Advice,” and “Joy of Sex” respectively. In case you need more Beginners in your life, you can click here for the trailer and click here for two older clips entitled “Akbar” and “Ask Me Anything.”

The trailer for writer/director Mike Mills’ (Thumbsucker) comedy/drama Beginners has landed online.  Starring Ewan McGregor, Oscar-nominee Christopher Plummer (The Last Station), and Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Bastards), Beginners follows a man named Oliver (McGregor) as he meets Anna (Laurent) and proceeds to reflect on the lessons taught to him by his late father (Plummer).  I heard very good things about Beginners after it screened at TIFF and this sentimentally charming trailer (and delightfully simplistic poster) does little to undercut that praise.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer, poster, and synopsis.  Beginners hits select theaters this summer on June 3rd.