September 17th

Devil

Who did it? Directed by Drew Dowdle and John Erick Dowdle; Written by Brian Nelson; Starring Geoffrey Arend, Bojana Novakovic and Chris Messina

What is it? Five people enter an elevator. Only one of them is the devil.

What about it? This trailer recently garnered hushed attention followed by intense laughter and booing when M. Night Shyamalan’s name popped up. Despite his producing here potentially tainting the whole damned thing (and I mean damned literally), it looks like it has at least the potential to be a tense, closed-quarters thriller. Or it could be laughable beyond comprehension. Either way, it’s sort of a win. -CA

Watch the trailer:

Easy A

Who did it? Directed by Will Gluck; Written by Bert V. Royal; Starring Emma Stone, Penn Badgely, Amanda Bynes and Thomas Hayden Church

What is it? An adorable high school student fakes it ’til she makes it with an invented life as a highly sexually active (“slutty” just promotes double standards) girl who happens to be studying “The Scarlet Letter.”

What about it? Emma Stone is said adorable young high school student. That should be enough to get most into theaters right there – the young actor is on a roll when it comes to comedy, and this film seems to turn the tables on Superbad by shifting away from losers who can’t get laid to a female loser who pretends to get laid. On the skepticism front, Will Gluck also directed Fired Up! which wasn’t a total abomination. It appears formulaic, and including the book your referencing into the movie you’re making is eye rollingly moronic, but hopefully Stone’s sweetness will rise above it all. -CA

Watch the trailer:

The Town

Who did it? Directed by Ben Affleck; Written by Ben Affleck, Peter Craig and Aaron Stockard; Starring Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, and Blake Lively

What is it? Bank robbers realize they can’t use rubber masks of ex-Presidents because it’s been done before, so they don nun costumes in an homage to Nuns on the Run. Meanwhile, one thief is caught in the middle of the FBI investigating him and the tingly feelings he gets for a bank employee from an old job.

What about it? There’s a lot of Affleck up there, but the man has a solid directing streak (of one) with Gone Baby Gone. Plus, the thing looks unrelenting. The line up here is a mix of rising stars like Renner, Lively and Hamm mixed with old favorites like Chris Cooper and Pete Postlethwaite. If you happen to be one of the many who doubt Affleck’s abilities, check out the trailer and have your mind changed. -CA

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Never Let Me Go

Who did it? Directed by Mark Romanek; Written by Alex Garland; Starring Kiera Knightley, Andrew Garfield, and Carey Mulligan

What is it? Three children grow up in a boarding school but find themselves in the outside world as adults, struggling with emotions and loyalties as well as the mysterious future that seems to await them.

What about it? The novel is highly acclaimed, the premise is sufficiently dramatic (with a eerie air about it), and the personnel involved is stellar. Romanek has done extensive work in music videos and documentaries, but he also hit the directing scene hard with Static and One Hour Photo – showing that audiences might be in for creepiness and isolationism. Mulligan proved herself as a powerhouse with An Education and Knightley is more than capable of scaring an audience with intensity. If none of that has you interested, go to see Andrew Garfield before he becomes Spider-Man. -CA

Watch the trailer: