Whether you like heading to the movies to munch on popcorn in the dark or sitting at home snuggled up on the lounge watching your streaming service of choice, there are a lot of movies coming your way.
The five selected here are a beguiling mix of the fantastical, the heartfelt, the obsessed and the very funny with all possessing the promising potential of escapist entertainment of the kind that makes the real world seem not quite so bothersome for a few hours at least.
In addition to these five trailers, there comes news of the cast for new Laika Studios’ (Kubo and the Two Strings and Coraline) film Wildwood, which offers up an “enchanting wonderland” in which to lose ourselves with a voice cast featuring Carey Mulligan, Jacob Tremblay and Angela Bassett.
No release date has been announced but while we wait for the next Laika gem, there are five wondrously good films coming up with tickets to be bought, popcorn to be bought, or made, and all kinds of magical stories waiting in which you can disappear …
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Slumberland takes audiences to a magical place, a dreamworld where precocious Nemo (Marlow Barkley) and her eccentric companion Flip (Jason Momoa) embark on the adventure of a lifetime. After her father Peter (Kyle Chandler) is unexpectedly lost at sea, the young Nemo’s idyllic Pacific Northwest existence is completely upended when she is sent to live in the city with her well-meaning but deeply awkward uncle Phillip (Chris O’Dowd). Her new school and new routine are challenging by day but at night, a secret map to the fantastical world of Slumberland connects Nemo to Flip, a rough-around-the-edges, lovable outlaw who quickly becomes her partner and guide. She and Flip soon find themselves on an incredible journey traversing dreams and fleeing nightmares, where Nemo begins to hope that she will be reunited with her father once again. Slumberland is directed by filmmaker Francis Lawrence, director of Constantine, I Am Legend, Water for Elephants, Red Sparrow, and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire + Mockingjay 1 & 2, and Red Sparrow previously. The screenplay is written by David Guion and Michael Handelman. (courtesy First Showing)
Slumberland releases 18 November on Netflix.
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When you wish upon a star… Academy Award winner Robert Zemeckis directs this live action retelling of the beloved tale of a wooden puppet who embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy. Tom Hanks stars as Geppetto, the wood carver who builds and treats Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as if he were his own son. Joseph Gordon-Levitt also stars as Jiminy Cricket, who serves as Pinocchio’s guide as well as his “conscience”; Academy Award nominee Cynthia Erivo is the Blue Fairy; Keegan-Michael Key is “Honest” John; Academy Award nominee Lorraine Bracco is Sofia the Seagull, a new character, and Luke Evans is The Coachman. Pinocchio is directed by visionary Oscar-winning American filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, director of many movies including Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Contact, Cast Away, Forrest Gump, The Polar Express, Beowulf, Flight, The Walk, and Allied, Welcome to Marwen, plus The Witches most recently. The screenplay is written by Chris Weitz and Robert Zemeckis; based on Disney’s Pinocchio and The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. (courtesy First Showing)
Pinocchio premieres on Disney + on 8 September 2022.
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A young boy, Gary, lives with his eccentric parents and an exotic bird in a Parisian apartment. And each night, Gary’s parents Camille and Georges dance lovingly to their favorite song, “Mr. Bojangles”. There is only room for fun, fantasy, and friends while at home. But as his mesmerizing and unpredictable mother descends deeper into her mind, it is up to Gary and his father to keep her safe from harm. Waiting for Bojangles, originally known as En Attendant Bojangles in French, is directed by French filmmaker Régis Roinsard, director of the films Populaire and The Translators previously. The screenplay is by Romain Compingt, adapted by Régis Roinsard, based on the novel by Olivier Bourdeaut. This originally opened in France in January at the beginning of the year. (courtesy First Showing)
Waiting For Bojangles opens on 2 September in US & Canada.
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In 2012, having been lost for over 500 years, the remains of King Richard III were discovered beneath a carpark in Leicester. The search had been orchestrated by an amateur historian, Philippa Langley, whose unrelenting research had been met with incomprehension by her friends and family and with scepticism by experts and academics. The Lost King is the life-affirming true story of a woman who refused to be ignored and who took on the country’s most eminent historians, forcing them to think again about one of the most controversial kings in England’s history. The Lost King is directed by veteran British filmmaker Stephen Frears, director of many films including High Fidelity, Dirty Pretty Things, The Queen, Chéri, Tamara Drewe, Philomena, The Program, Florence Foster Jenkins, and Victoria & Abdul previously. The screenplay is written by Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope. (courtesy First Showing)
The Lost King premieres at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival with a cinematic release in UK on 7 October and in Australia on Boxing Day, 26 December.
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In this delightful comedy romp, Jon Hamm stars as the roguishly charming and endlessly troublesome Fletch, who becomes the prime suspect in a murder case while searching for a stolen art collection. The only way to prove his innocence? Find out which of the long list of suspects is the culprit – from the eccentric art dealer and a missing playboy to a crazy neighbor and Fletch’s Italian girlfriend. Crime, in fact, has never been this disorganized. Confess, Fletch is directed by American comedy filmmaker Greg Mottola, director of the films The Daytrippers, Superbad, Adventureland, Paul, and Keeping Up with the Joneses previously. The screenplay is written by Zev Borow and Greg Mottola, adapted from the novel by Gregory McDonald. Produced by Bill Block, Jon Hamm, and Connie Tavel. (courtesy First Showing)
Confess, Fletch opens in select US cinemas and via Video on demand on 16 September 2022.