The Trailer Round-Up: July

This brand new regular feature showcases the best trailers from the upcoming month, hand-picked by us as the ones to watch out for. Any that you think we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Action / Adventure

Starting July off with a bang (or potentially a nuke) is Terminator Genisys, the weirdly-spelled fourth sequel to the 1984 classic. By this time, you may be feeling fatigue at yet another Terminator movie – but this one stars Emelia Clarke, AKA Mother of Dragons from Game of Thrones, and a storyline that zig-zags across the 1991 blockbuster Terminator 2: Judgement Day, so it has a lot of potential. However, the trailer – while literally exploding with action at every opportunity – doesn’t come off well with its schlocky CGI and worrisome rehashing of the franchise’s one-liners. But come on – it’s still Terminator. Release: July 2

And then we have Marvel’s next gamble, Ant-Man. The project’s seen a lot of trouble during its eight-year production, coming to a head when original director Edgar Wright dropped out at the last minute. We could still have another gag-fuelled action extravaganza of the like that the studio have poured out effortlessly over the years, or it could end up as Marvel’s first major failure. But while the first teaser failed to ignite much in the way of interest, the second one is more confident in its laughs, its set pieces, and its overall premise of a man that can shrink down to the size of an ant. Release: July 17

Science Fiction / Fantasy

While  the above two movies may technically fall into science-fiction, they’re more all-out action affairs. As such, July is a bit thin on the ground for strict sci-fi – but there is one Ryan Reynolds / Ben Kingsley vehicle by the name of Self/less that could right that wrong. The trailer opts to leave out any of the murky moral waters of its high concept, but hopefully the movie itself will mine its premise far deeper. Release: July 17

Drama / Thriller

July looks like a pretty strong month for actors to go against type, and force themselves into some uncomfortably dark places. But before we get to the more gritty stuff, let’s take a brief look at Comet, starring Justin Long. One watch of this beautifully put-together trailer brings to mind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, where the very art of cinema itself is brought to the fore as a means of articulating our deepest emotions. Or, you know, it could end up as just another neurotic, self-important slice of stream-of-obnoxiousness. Release: July 3

Lightening things up a little bit is The Choir (known as Boychoir in different territories), which stars Dustin Hoffman as a tough music teacher who must get his latest prodigy into shape before his choir’s reputations is shredded into tatters. Hoffman’s about the right age now for him to take on more and more ‘old, wise mentor’ roles, and he seems to having a great time doing so here. Release: July 10

Love & Mercy threatens to fall apart at any second, what with two interweaving narratives that feature what look like wildly different portrayals of the same character (the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson) by Paul Dano and John Cusack. But early reviews have been very positive (here’s our own, in fact), so hopefully this could be a contender for one of the better biopics of 2015. Release: July 10

Southpaw takes it all the way back into dark places, and we can look forward to yet another extraordinary, transformative performance from Jake Gyllenhaal. However, the movie’s director – Antoine Fuqua – hasn’t had the best few years in terms of quality, so we’re fairly certain that The Wrestler, this ain’t. Nonetheless, we can expect lots of hard knocks and some tense in-ring sequences. Release: July 24

Comedy princes James Franco and Jonah Hill are no strangers to taking on seriously dramatic, award-worthy roles; it’s just a little jarring to see them both in the same room together and keep a straight face. Despite the feeling that the two are going to burst into some farcical routine at any moment when sitting opposite each other, True Story could be a bit of a sleeper hit, using its real-life inspiration to its advantage. Release: July 17

Comedy

Sure to be a massive box office hit, Ted 2 follows on where the first one left off. Although you wouldn’t have thought there was much steam left in the whole rude-teddy-bear idea, Seth MacFarlane has certainly found a way to milk his rote gags and uninspired narratives for more cash. Our review is actually quite positive, but don’t expect everyone else to be. Release: July 8

Although original director Steven Soderbergh isn’t returning for the inevitable sequel (and having departed from filmmaking altogether), Magic Mike XXL forgoes all normalistic sequel numbering and makes it known from the outset that this will be bigger, ballsier, and better than the first. Channing Tatum’s charm alone could hold the movie together – but let’s hope for the best, and look forward to a worthy follow-up to the surprisingly deep first film. Release: July 3

Rounding off the end of the month quietly will be Ruth & Alex, starring greying megastars Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton. This seems like one of those New Yorker comedies that Woody Allen dreamt up once upon a time, and Keaton’s appearance here is promise enough that there might be more meat to this pleasantly scented light comedy than meets the eye. Release: July 24

Family

As if you needed to be reminded that another Pixar movie was on the horizon. Nonetheless, let us present once more the trailer to Inside Out, which has been getting rave reviews across the board (including our own), with many citing it as a return to form for the studio that makes producing movie magic look as easy as falling out of bed. Release: 24 July

Aside from Inside Out, what else should you be keeping an eye on to take the kids to, or to go with your parents? That would be Song of the Sea, possibly the most beautiful-looking film we’ve yet glimpsed this year. Take one look at the gorgeous trailer, and tell us we’re wrong (we’re not). Release: July 10

Horror

July is a bit of a treat for horror fans: firstly, there’s the critically acclaimed Housebound, a horror-comedy that makes sure a felon is kept inside a haunted house thanks to her electronically tagged ankle bracelet. The gore and the laughs come thick and fast in equal spoonfuls in the trailer. Release: July 3

For many, The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence) is a good thing: it marks an end to the tortuous, morally abandoned hell-scape of the first two films, the second of which didn’t even receive a BBFC rating in the UK. For others, it’s another ample serving of misery-porn bent to the utmost end. Brace yourselves before clicking ‘play’. Release: July 10

We’ve been featuring a lot of clips recently for the upcoming found-footage chiller The Gallows – and not without reason. We’ve high hopes that there’ll be more smart scares than featured in the trailers so far. Release: July 17

Maggie sees Arnold Schwarzenegger take a break from his terminating to tend to his daughter, who’s slowly becoming the Z-word in a post-apocalyptic present. It’s horror that comes from a very human place, so there’s every chance there’ll be many future midnight screenings for fans of Arnie, and holds up as a worthy addition to a genre that just keeps on giving. Release: July 24

World Cinema

Still the Water could turn out to be a bit of a snoozefest, but if everything else is as wonderful as its sumptuous visuals, then Naomi Kawase’s eighth feature could be a grand piece of cinema indeed. Release: July 3

The world could be a very different place if the events of 13 Minutes unfolded as its protagonist intended. Starring Christian Friedel (who was so magnetic in this year’s Amour Fou) as a man whose attempt on Hitler’s life is foiled, this could be a nail-biting period piece. It’s also from the director of Downfall; another reason to get excited. Release: July 17

Bursting with life and flavour, the trailer for The Wonders is as punkish and colourful as its hero – a young girl rebelling against not only the adults in her life, but possibly her whole community too. This clip is funny, sweet-natured and three-dimensional without really giving anything away about the movie; just how we like them. Release: July 17

Documentary

And what about real life? Highest on the doc agenda this coming month is Asif Kapadia’s Amy, whose Senna remains one of the best documentaries of the last few years. Under fire from sources (Winehouse’s family) claiming that the events depicted in Amy are contorted, the singer’s life nonetheless seems shone on with an empathetic, insightful light (our five-star review thought so, too). Release: July 3

Casting an eye on another highly influential figure is Magician: The Life and Work of Orson Welles. Although the title may scream straightforward, we’re certain that unless Welles himself were making the documentary, then a film on him was never going to be perfect anyway. Release: July 3

But possibly the most interesting-looking doc of July is Best of Enemies: in 1968, Gore Vidal and William Buckley’s televised intellectual debates sprung modern political propaganda into the public consciousness as a powerful tool. Quick-fire lines from Vidal and Buckley, plus some wonderful editing, makes sure that you tumble deeper and deeper into this short-lived yet influential period in Western history. Release: July 24