Lou Diamond Phillips, Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly aren’t aiming to please, but Robert Pattinson seeks a “Damsel” in distress.
Every so often, we aim to round up trailers for upcoming film and TV offerings that might be of special interest to C&I readers. Lou Diamond Phillips, Jake Gyllenhaal, Joaquin Phoenix and Robert Pattinson are among the notables who loom large in this batch.
What’s it all about? According to the official production company announcement: “A tenderfoot from Philadelphia, two misfit gamblers on the run, and a deadly preacher with his colorful gunslinger Johnny Kane, have a date with destiny in a boom town gone bust called Big Kill.”
Award-winning French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, Rust and Bone) attempts a darkly comical take on that most American of movie genres, the western, in The Sisters Brothers, his adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Patrick deWitt. Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly star as gunmen ordered by their fearsome boss (Rutger Hauer of the original Blade Runner) to kill a troublesome prospector (Jake Gyllenhaal) in 1850s San Francisco. Not surprisingly, nothing goes according to plan.
After what likely will be a high-profile run on the fall film festival circuit, The Sisters Brothers is slated to open October 12 in theaters and drive-ins everywhere.
Damsel — which is set to kick off a limited theatrical run Friday, June 22 — has been described as “an affectionate reinvention of the western genre,” with a heaping helping of comedy tossed in for good measure. And if you remember lead player Robert Pattinson from the Twilight movies, well, you may not recognize him here. And not just because he doesn’t sparkle.
According to Magnolia Pictures: “It’s the age of The Wild West, circa 1870. An affluent pioneer, Samuel Alabaster (Robert Pattinson), ventures deep into the American wilderness to reunite with and marry the love of his life, Penelope (Mia Wasikowska). For his journey he brings Butterscotch, a miniature horse intended as a wedding present for his bride, and enlists drunkard Parson Henry (David Zellner) to conduct the ceremony. As they traverse the lawless frontier, their once simple journey grows treacherous, and the lines between hero, villain, and damsel are blurred.”
