Category Archives: thriller

“Emily the Criminal” Trailer and Poster

thriller, , ,

Written and directed by John Patton Ford, Emily the Criminal follows Emily, played by Aubrey Plaza. She has saddled herself with student debt and locked herself out of the job market because of a minor criminal record.

Desperate for income, she takes a sketchy gig as a “dummy shopper,” buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a charismatic middleman named Youcef, played by Theo Rossi.

Faced with a series of dead-end job interviews, Emily soon finds herself seduced by the quick cash and illicit thrills of black-market capitalism and increasingly interested in her mentor Youcef.

Together, they scheme a plan to bring their black-market business to the next level in Los Angeles.

Ford brings his personal experience of having graduated with 90 thousand dollars in debt. “The housing crisis was still doing damage, and I ended up delivering food and struggling to pay my interest each month. Not the principal, just the interest.”

That’s when Ford decided to make a movie about a millennial hitting the breaking point and choosing to operate on her own rules.

On the surface, Emily the Criminal is about a woman who becomes a criminal to pay her student loans. “I’m not a criminal (or a woman for that matter), but the story is personal, nonetheless.”

Being in so much debt scared Ford. “I was trying to be a filmmaker, and the whole thing filled me with fear — the fear of failure, the fear that someday I might regret having spent so much time even trying.”

Ford poured all that fear into the script, and a story came about just going for it. “A story about running toward your passion despite the warning signs. Emily discovers that she loves being a criminal … and unlike most of us, she has the guts to follow her love to the bloody end. Maybe I was giving myself a hero to follow.”

Emily the Criminal

They made the film in 20 days, one hundred and thirty scenes, including stunts, a car chase and Covid. “Somewhere along the line, I morphed into the character: feral, driven, and no longer concerned with the imminent dangers of chasing the dream. I was all in.”

Ford was all in, just like Emily — Being all in. “The moment when you discover what you want — and commit to it. There is fear and joy in that moment, nobody escapes clean, and you suffer losses along the way.”

Emily the Criminal is a thriller, but to Ford, it’s also a coming-of-age story about embracing your deepest desires and daring to follow them. “Whether they lead you into the underbelly of the Los Angeles crime scene or into finishing your debut feature or into a new place altogether.”

Aubrey Plaza also produces the movie and starts in the latest Guy Ritchie movie, Operation Fortune: Rue de Guerre, which is not out in the theaters yet. Theo Rossi is on the Netflix limited series True Story opposite Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes.

The rest of the cast includes Megalyn Echikunwoke and Gina Gershon.

“Beast” Trailer, Clips and Poster

action, adventure, thriller, , ,

Beast stars Idris Elba in a pulsating, thriller-driven movie directed by Baltasar Kormakur and written by Ryan Engle.

The movie follows recently widowed Dr. Nate Daniels, played by Elba. He returns to South Africa, where he met his late wife. He brought his family to South Africa, hoping for a successful healing journey after her passing.

The doctor’s plan is to take a long trip with their daughters, played by Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries. The trip is through a game reserve managed by Martin Battles, played by Sharlto Copley.

The healing journey quickly jolts into a fearsome fight for survival when a mistreated lion by a poacher attacks them. The vicious lion stalks Daniel’s family and others because it now sees all humans as enemies.

“All the Old Knives” Movie Details, Trailer and Poster

based on a book, thriller, , , ,

Directed by Janus Metz with a screenplay by Olen Steinhauer, adapted from his bestselling novel of the same name, All the Old Knives starts on a bleak winter morning in Vienna. CIA Chief of Station Victor Wallinger, played by Laurence Fishburne, visits veteran case officer Henry Pelham, played by Chris Pine, and delivers volatile news.

Ilyas Shushani, played by Orli Shuka, the Chechen extremist who masterminded a deadly hijacking that killed more than 100 airline passengers and crew in Austria eight years ago, has been captured by the agency. During interrogation, Shushani revealed that a mole in the Vienna station provided vital intelligence to the hijackers, resulting in the catastrophic loss of life. With this new information, Henry is assigned to reopen the case of Flight 127 and identify the traitorous double agent.  

But the mission means revisiting painful memories and laying traps for old friends. Even for a spy as adept at compartmentalizing his emotions as Henry is, that’s no easy task. His first stop is a pub in London, where he surprises his former superior, Bill Compton, played by Jonathan Pryce, who was second in command in Vienna during the hijacking. Long since retired from the agency, Bill considers the incident ancient history. Still, Henry points out several disturbing inconsistencies in Bill’s story, suggesting he knows far more than he’s letting on.   

With troubling investigation details piling up, Henry travels to Northern California to question another retired Vienna station colleague, Celia Harrison, played by Thandiwe Newton. Henry and Celia were once passionate lovers, more than just ex-coworkers, but their relationship fell apart after the hijacking disaster.

When they meet for a meal together at a stylish cliffside restaurant in Carmel, romantic sparks reignite as the two seasoned spies reminisce about their bittersweet past. But as night falls and the dinner conversation gradually becomes an interrogation, their intimate rendezvous becomes a sly cat-and-mouse game played by two experts, where the stakes are life and death.

As his second feature film, Danish filmmaker Metz found the script most intriguing because of its powerful emotional depth and the complex ethical questions it raises. “I fell in love with the script from the moment I read it,” says Metz. “It was a very compelling story about two CIA agents meeting for dinner, one tasked with interrogating the other. Essentially, it’s a love story interwoven with a spy thriller. There’s a whodunit plot that drives the film, but Henry and Celia’s tragic relationship anchors everything.” 

Metz believes the film is about people forced to make difficult choices to preserve what they care about, regardless of the consequences. “It’s a story about trying to do the right thing at the right moment,” he says. “But the dilemma for Henry and Celia is that they are in a situation where that becomes next to impossible.”  

“Firestarter” Based on Stephen King Novel

based on a book, remakes, thriller, , ,

Coming to us again from Stephen King’s classic thriller and directed by Keith Thomas, Firestarter is about a girl, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, with extraordinary pyrokinetic powers, who fights to protect her family and herself from sinister forces that seek to capture and control her.

For decades, parents Andy a new adaptation of Stephen King’s classic thriller from the producers of The Invisible Man, a girl with extraordinary pyrokinetic powers fights to protect her family and herself from sinister forces that seek to capture to control her.

For more than a decade, parents Andy, played by Zac Efron, and Vicky, played by Sydney Lemmon, have been on the run. They are desperate to hide their daughter, Charlie, from a shadowy federal agency that wants to harness her remarkable gift for creating fire into a weapon of mass destruction.

Andy has taught Charlie how to defuse her power, triggered by anger or pain. But as Charlie turns 11, the fire becomes harder and harder to control. After an incident reveals the family’s location, a mysterious operative, played by Michael Greyeyes, becomes deployed to hunt down the family and seize Charlie once and for all. Charlie has other plans.

Drew Barrymore played the girl with the powers in the first movie. The CGI special effects will prove most beneficial as a popcorn thriller with the technology today.

“No Exit” Thriller Based on Bestseller

based on a book, thriller, , , ,

Directed by Damien Power from the bestseller No Exit by Taylor Adams, the movie follows Darby Throne, played by Havana Rose Liu. Darby is driving to see her mother in the hospital when a blizzard hits.

Darby end ups at a lodge where a handful of people are also waiting out the snowstorm, played by Dale Dickey, Daniel Rameriz, Dennis Haysbert and David Rysdahl.

She discovers a young girl, played by Mila Harris, locked in a van parked in the parking lot outside. Darby tries to find out who of the handful of people snowbound put the girl in the van.

Goodreads and IMDB helped with information about this movie, which will play on Hulu.

“The Outfit” Gripping Thriller

historical, suspense, thriller, , , , ,

Written and directed by Graham Moore, the Oscar-winning writer of The Imitation Game, The Outfit is a gripping thriller that follows an expert tailor, Mark Rylance. He must outwit a dangerous group of mobsters in order to survive a fateful night.

Zoey Deutch (left) stars as “Mable” and Mark Rylance (right) stars as “Leonard” in director Graham Moore’s THE OUTFIT, a Focus Features release. Courtesy of Nick Wall / Focus Features.

Also starring in the movie are Dylan O’Brien, Zoey Deutch, Johnny Flynn, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Simon Russell Beale.

“Dangerous” Action Movie With Mel Gibson and Scott Eastwood

action, thriller, , , ,

Written by Christopher Borrelli and directed by David Hackl, Dangerous follows ex-con Dylan Forrester, played by Scott Eastwood. He attempts to reform his life outside of prison by seeing a psychiatrist, played by Mel Gibson.

In the trailer, Gibson’s portrayal of the psychiatrist is accurate, having psychotic episodes. Because Dylan’s brother dies under mysterious circumstances, he risks his freedom by taking off to find answers about his brother’s death.

The eccentric psychiatrist stays in touch by phone to ensure his patient remains stable. In fact, it is the psychiatrist who has lost his marbles, which is fun to watch in the trailer. During this time, Dylan is sidestepping the FBI agent, played by Famke Janssen, and confronting a gang of mercenaries who are also in the same pursuit as Dylan. The leader of the thugs, played by Kevin Durand, is hellbent on discovering the secrets. So, Dylan has to use his criminal mind to survive his latest pursuit.

The thriller also stars Tyrese Gibson.

Thank you, Collider, for some of this information.

“Hard Luck Love Song” Innovative Crime Thriller

romance, thriller, , , , , ,

In this modern-day gritty love story, directed by Justin Corsbie, Hard Luck Song follows Jesse, played by Michael Dorman. The movie inspiration comes from Todd Snider’s seminal Americana hit, “Just Like Old Times.”

Jesse is a charismatic but down on his luck troubadour living out of cheap motels and making bad decisions. Jesse finds himself at an existential crossroads during a chance encounter with Carla, played by Sophia Bush, an old flame, as their complicated past and current troubles threaten to destroy their blissful reunion.

Watch Dermot Mulroney in the trailer. He’s hardly recognizable. The cast also includes RZA, Brian Sacca, Melora Walters and Eric Roberts.

“Reminiscence” Drives Backwards into Time

romance, science fiction, thriller, , , ,

Written and directed by Lisa Joy, Reminiscence follows Nick Bannister, played by Hugh Jackman, as a scientist who develops a technology to go back into time. He searches for his long, lost love, played by Rebecca Ferguson.

Also starring in this science fiction movie are Thandiwe Newton, Natalie Martinez and Brett Cullen.

“Last Night in Soho” Makes Horrific Surprise to 1960s

drama, horror, thriller, , , , ,
Last Night in Soho

Co-written by Krysty Wilson-Cairns and Edgar Wright, Last Night in Soho is Wright’s story, and he also directs. The film follows Thomasin McKenzie, who plays a young girl named Eloise, and she’s passionate about fashion design. But London is overwhelming for her.

McKenzie had a similar experience of London, which she barely knew before taking the role as her character. “It makes an incredible setting for this film because, like Eloise, I think the whole world looks at London as being very shiny, a big city full of opportunities. Like Eloise, when I first got off the plane and started driving around, I was kind of star-struck trying to take everything in. It’s been amazing working in London because although there is a bad side, it is a magical city, and there are really incredible people.”

She can go into the past and enter the 1960s. There, she encounters her idol, Sandie, a dazzling up-and-coming singer played by Anya Taylor-Joy. 

Taylor-Joy was initially “a tiny bit anxious” because she didn’t want to be pigeonholed as a horror actress because she had just finished The Witch. But she quickly realized that this was no stereotypical effort. “As he kept telling me more and more about the story, I realized that I was going to have a lot of fun with it.”

Thomasin McKenzie stars as Eloise and Anya Taylor-Joy as Sandie in Edgar Wright’s LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2021 Focus Features, LLC

At first, both the star and director thought she might play Eloise. But by the time the script materialized, Wright had another idea, and he sent the script with a note asking the star to consider the Sandie role. “Seeing her in other roles over the years and watching her grow up in public, I thought, maybe she’s the other part,” says Wright. “I sent her an email and said, ‘I have two surprises. One, the Soho script exists. Two, I want you to look at Sandie’. She was 100% onboard.”

Anne Taylor-Joy as Sandie

That’s no exaggeration to hear Taylor-Joy describe her immediate reaction to Sandie. “I enjoyed the fact that she scared me. I’ve played a lot of outsider-y type roles, and Sandie is so confident and so sure of herself as this kind of sexy kitten. When I first read it, I was like, ‘How on earth am I going to pull this off?'” Sandie is outgoing, vivacious and confident: she comes to London determined to become a star. “I think she wants to do it all!” says Taylor-Joy. “She’s an aspiring singer and actress, and dancer. She just wants to see her name up in lights. I call her ‘Brass Balls Sandie’ because she really just throws herself into every situation. I wish I had a bit more of her in me, in that respect.”

Wright is best known for directing Baby Driver, and the large cast includes Matt Smith, Jessie Mei Li, Terence Stamp and Diana Rigg.  

“I would love the audience to go on that journey too when the film opens on October 29th. We purposely pushed the film back to this autumn date, not just so that it can hopefully be enjoyed on the biggest screen possible, but also so the nights would be longer and the audience could go in cold… literally.”

In the Final Production Notes, Wright also asked that anyone who sees the film doesn’t spoil it for others by telling them what happens.