This Week in Movie Trailers: The Counselor, Jobs, The Spectacular Now, Drinking Buddies, Prince Avalanche, Lovelace, and more...

I typically like to kick off these movie trailer posts with the one I am most looking forward to (like last time’s The Wolf of Wall Street). 

This time I start with another highly anticipated one – The Counselor.

A thriller, The Counselor stars Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, and Javier Bardem. Based on an original screenplay by author Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men, The Road, Blood Meridian), the film is directed by Ridley Scott.

Though this teaser is just a very brief look at the film, it is pretty safe to safe it has the potential to be quite great – sexy, crazy, and violent. Exactly what you would expect from this cast, plus Scott and McCarthy,

The Counselor hits theaters October 25.

Every year, countless coming-of-age films flood the market (many of which are indie flicks that emerge from Sundance). Some standout, some don’t. Poised to be one of this year’s standouts in the genre is The Spectacular Now.

Despite the fairly clichéd plot, the movie does look good and it got great reviews out of the previously mentioned Sundance, especially for its young lead performances. The film stars Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kyle Chandler, and Bob Odenkirk.

The Spectacular Now is due in theaters August 9.

Next up is the second trailer for Prince Avalance, another buzzing indie film that I really want to see.

It stars Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch.  The film marks a more-than-welcome return to form for one-time indie director turned lightweight-comedy director David Gordon Green (George Washington, Snow Angels, Pineapple Express, Your Highness).

After also debuting to much praise at Sundance, Prince Avalanche lands in theaters August 9.

Third, we have Drinking Buddies, yet another well-received indie that promises lots of laughs, charm, and re-examinations of life.

Drinking Buddies stars Jake Johnson (TV’s New Girl), Olivia Wilde, Anna Kendrick, and Ron Livingston.

The movie looks quite funny and endearing, in that indie-movie-kind-of-way. The film got great buzz coming out of its debut at South By Southwest earlier this year.

Drinking Buddies comes to theaters later this month on July 25.

Keep reading for more trailers, including Disney’s Frozen, The Mortal Instruments, the Steve Jobs biopic, Lovelace, and many more.

This year’s big new animated Disney movie (not Pixar, mind you) is Frozen, an epic journey to save a kingdom trapped in an eternal winter.

Frozen features the voices of Kristen Bell, Jonathan  Groff, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, and Alan Tudyk. The film is directed by Chris Buck (Disney’s Tarzan, Surf’s Up) and Jennifer Lee (who also wrote this film and Wreck-It Ralph).

Frozen hits theaters during the holiday rush, November 27.

Even before (and likely because) Ashton Kutcher was cast in the Steve Jobs biopic, Jobs, many people pointed out the actor’s similar appearance to a young Jobs. So it was no surprise he was immediately cast when a movie based on the Apple innovator's life quickly went into production.

In addition to Kutcher, Jobs stars Josh Gad, Dermot Mulroney, Matthew Modine, J.K. Simmons, Lukas Haas, and James Woods.

The film got pretty mixed reviews out of Sundance, and to be honest looks a lot like a movie-of-the-week-type entertainment. You can check it out for yourself in theaters August 16.

Next up is another biopic – Lovelace, the story of notorious adult film Linda Lovelace (Deep Throat), who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband, before taking control of her life.

Lovelace stars Amanda Seyfried as the titular star, Peter Sarsgaard as her manipulative husband, James Franco as Hugh Hefner, plus Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Juno Temple, Adam Brody, Hank Azaria, Bobby Cannavale, and Chloe Sevigny.

Another film that got mostly mixed reviews out of Sundance, Lovelace hits theaters August 9.

Next we have another animated film – Free Birds, about two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history - and get turkey off the holiday menu for good.

Free Birds features the voices of Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, and Amy Poehler. Appropriately, the film lands in theaters just before Thanksgiving – November 1.

Watch out Liam Neeson. Hugh Jackman is looking to replace you in the father-seeking- vengeance-for-his-kidnapped-daughter sub-genre. Prisoners is about a Boston man who kidnaps the person he suspects is behind the disappearance of his young daughter and her best friend. 

Despite the somewhat obvious comparisons to Taken, Prisoners looks much more like a family and psychological drama than an action film.  And it actually looks pretty good boasting a highly impressive cast, including Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Terrence Howard, and Melissa Leo. Prisoners comes to theater September 20.

Remember Bobcat Goldthwait? That kind of annoying guy with the weird, cracking voice from the Police Academy movies? Well now, he is pretty successful, yet kind of twisted indie director (World’s Greatest Dad, God Bless America).

His next feature film is a horror movie called Willow Creek, a found footage Bigfoot movie.

Willow Creek has no release date as of yet.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Mark Ruffalo also have a new film together coming out soon. Thanks for Sharing follows three people undergo a 12-step treatment for sex addiction.

The film also stars Tim Robbins, Pink, Josh Gad (again!), Patrick Fugit, Joely Richardson, and Carol Kane. Thanks for Sharing checks into theaters September 20.

Then we have Breathe In, a new indie drama from director Drake Doremus (Like Crazy). When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family's relationships and alters their lives forever.

Breathe In stars Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Kyle MacLachlan, and Amy Ryan.

 

Finally, we have the new red band trailer for I Give it a Year, a hilarious looking new British romantic-comedy about a newlywed couple.

 

I Give it a Year stars Rose Byrne, Rafe Spall, Minnie Driver, Jason Flemyng, Simon Baker, Stephen Merchant, and Anna Farris. The film has already gotten great reviews in Britain and comes to U.S. theaters August 9.

UNTIL NEXT TIME!!!

Check out last week's THIS WEEK IN MOVIE TRAILERS for looks at The Wolf of Wall Street, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues,  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Snowpiercer, 300: Rise of an Empire, Diana, Runner Runner, and much more!

Check out two weeks ago's THIS WEEK IN MOVIE TRAILERS for looks at Machete Kills, Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, The To Do List, Anton Corbijn's A Most Wanted Man, Insidious 2, Filth, and much more!