Tasty Trailers: ‘Cold Souls’ and ‘Whiteout’

I find myself often turned off by the recent popularity with studios to release clip after clip of a movie leading up to it’s release. Some recent major releases have unveiled so many clips that it seems we’ve watched half the movie by the time it hits theaters. No, I am more traditional in this realm, much more old school. I prefer the art of the trailer. Sure, trailers are often misleading, but there’s a craft to creating a trailer and the good ones are like watching little mini-movies. On the contrary, clips are nothing more than linear segments of a movie removed from their context and shown with the sole intention of hyping interest. With that said, I am always on the lookout for new trailers and will share the ones I find most interesting with you, our readers. Enjoy…

Title: ‘Cold Souls’

Directed by Sophie Barthes and starring Paul Giamatti, Emily Watson and David Strathairn, this exciting and original new dark comedy tells the story of, yes… Giamatti as himself, having unloaded his heavy soul into cold storage, now wants it back but finds it has become the object of criminal soul-trafficking. The film appears similar in style, if not directly influenced by the works of Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry. The trailer suggests a smart, philosophical/sci-fi tone with intelligent humor and a first-rate performance from Giamatti. Very excited!

Title: ‘Whiteout’

Directed by Dominic Sena and starring Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht and Tom Skerritt, this suspenseful thriller takes US Marshall Carrie Stetko (Beckinsale) into the frigid and frightening white void of Antarctica to investigate the first ever murder on the continent. Stetko has three days in which to investigate and solve this murder mystery before the six-month long winter hits.   As if braving the harsh and dangerous environmental conditions wasn’t difficult enough, Stetko must also survive what could turn out to be Antarctica’s first serial killer. The film is based on the Eisner Award-winning graphic novel, written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Steve Lieber.