New 'His Dark Materials' Trailer Offers Best Look Yet At HBO's Epic Fantasy Series

Every major network either has a TV series based on a popular fantasy novel, or is desperately trying to develop one. HBO is no different, and is constantly in search of what will be the next Game of Thrones. They're betting on His Dark Materials will be what they've been looking for.

Starring Logan breakout Dafne Keen, and based on the beloved (and a little controversial) series of novels by Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials follows a young girl named Lyra as she goes on incredible adventures while searching for a kidnapped friend and learning about a mysterious phenomenon known as Dust. There's a lot of new footage here, including a terrific look at one of the powerful panserbjørne, armored polar bears which play a big role in the series.

Alongside Keen is an incredible cast that includes James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Clarke Peters, James Cosmo, Anne-Marie Duff, and more. Prolific writer Jack Thorne (The Aeronauts) is behind the script, with episodes directed by Tom Hooper (The Danish Girl), Otto Bathurst (Robin Hood), and Jamie Childs (Doctor Who).

SYNOPSIS: Adapting Philip Pullman’s award-winning trilogy of the same name, which is considered a modern masterpiece of imaginative fiction, the series follows Lyra (Dafne Keen), a seemingly ordinary but brave young woman from another world. Her search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and becomes a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust.

HBO debuts His Dark Materials on November 4th.

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Comic-Con: HBO's 'His Dark Materials' Trailer Teases An Epic War

HBO isn't showing off much at Comic-Con this year, but one thing they're pushing pretty hard is His Dark Materials, their epic fantasy series based on the popular books by Philip Pullman, which have been described as the atheist take on The Chronicles of Narnia. Stars Dafne Keen (Logan), James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda were there to talk about the show, which HBO has committed to doing for two seasons minimum.

The series centers on Lyra Belacqua, a young girl who learns of a mysterious but powerful particle known as Dust that connects all things. Lyra finds herself drawn into a battle of good vs. evil, equipped with a magic compass powered by Dust. The trailer introduces us to some of the colorful characters that populate this world, including the great armored polar bear Iorek Byrnison, who was featured prominently in the promos for 200's The Golden Compass, the failed big-screen attempt to launch this into a franchise.

His Dark Materials hits HBO beginning this fall.

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'The Little Stranger' Trailer: Domhnall Gleeson And Lenny Abrahamson Reunite For A Creepy Ghost Story

If there's anything that has defined Lenny Abrahamson's career up to this point, it's his versatility and unpredictability. The Oscar-nominated Room director preceded that film with the offbeat musical comedy, Frank, and the two couldn't be more different. Now he's taking another sharp left turn with The Little Stranger, a gothic horror led by Frank star Domhnall Gleeson.

Penned by Lucinda Coxon (The Danish Girl) and based on Sarah Waters' novel, the film is set in 1948 when a country doctor treats a patient at the home where his housemaid mother used to work. There he encounters the strange family living there now, and ominous things start to occur. It looks to be a creepy little ghost story of a psychological nature, and the cast surrounding Gleeson is really strong. Will Poulter, Charlotte Rampling, and Ruth Wilson are just another reason to be intrigued by what Abrahamson has in store.

Here's the synopsis: Dr. Faraday, the son of a housemaid, has built a life of quiet respectability as a country doctor. During the long hot summer of 1947, he is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall, where his mother once worked. The Hall has been home to the Ayres family for more than two centuries and is now in decline. But Mrs. Ayres, and her two grown children, Caroline and Roddy are haunted by something more ominous than a dying way of life. When he takes on his new patient, Faraday has no idea how closely, and how terrifyingly, the family’s story is about to become entwined with his own.

The Little Stranger opens August 31st.

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Review: 'How To Talk To Girls At Parties', A Wonderfully Strange Punk Rock Sci-Fi Romance

Part High Fidelity, part Earth Girls Are Easy, the intergalactic punk rock rom-com How to Talk to Girls at Parties springs forth from the fertile mind of author Neil Gaiman (full disclosure: my favorite writer), whose bizarro world sensibilities find a kindred spirit in Hedwig and the Angry Inch director John Cameron Mitchell. Together they've created the most daft teen romance to ever take place during an alien invasion, or the most offbeat alien invasion to ever have a teen romance? There's no simple way to categorize this maniacal misfit love story, which, like the counter-culture icons it champions, is exactly what makes it so endearing. Who wants another bland, "normal" romance movie, anyway?

It's 1977 in the hard-scrabble London suburbs of Croydon where three rowdy punk-obsessed friends spend their time and limited resources looking for trouble, girls, and their latest punk rock fix. Enn (Alex Sharp, too old at 29 years of age) is the group's straight-arrow, although he's something of a square and at first he seems like the kind of guy Matthew Lillard would have ripped in SLC Punk!. His buddies are bad boy Vic (AJ Lewis) and amiable sidekick John (Ethan Lawrence), who join him at an underground club run by punk mistress Boadicea (Nicole Kidman), her resembling the lovechild of Andy Warhol and David Bowie.

After rocking out they are drawn by exotic sounds to a mysterious after party that resembles, all at once, a Coneheads skit, a Russ Meyer retrospective, and a human zoo of spandexed oddities. Into this spaced-out den of weirdos Enn connects with Zan (a luminous Elle Fanning), who turns out to be a member of an extraterrestrial clan/cult sent to Earth to consume as much of its culture as possible. But they have very strict rules on...well, everything (you should see their "mating" ritual. Hint: it involves anal probing and cell division), and Zan is only allowed 48 hours to run off with Enn so he can show her "the punk."

As someone who wouldn't know the Sex Pistols from the Ramones if quizzed on it, I've still always loved the rebellious attitude of punk rock at peak popularity. While the film only scratches the surface of the music scene, which may be disappointing to those seeking more, the constantly roaring soundtrack and anarchist spirit hit like a bass boom to the chest. Gaiman's gift for creative detail mixes with Mitchell's glam rock sensibilities like a Molotov cocktail, exploding in an array of wild colors, costumes, dance numbers, and the occasional psychedelic mind trip. It can be tiring to keep up with so many off the wall antics but Enn and Zan's romance, which blooms out of his innocence and her extreme curiosity about the world ("Show me the punk!"), is so charming that you just sit back and go with it. Their unusual, interspecies bond solidifies in an adrenaline-fueled display of impromptu harmonizing that's like Once if everyone was tripping on acid. Not only is it the film's most intensely satisfying moment but it serves to pump up what had been a sagging narrative. For all of the film's many bursts of energy it occasionally gets bogged down in its own weirdness. In expanding on Gaiman's short story, Mitchell and co-writer Philippa Gosett sometimes struggle to make this more than just one great idea. That said, it's tough to deny watching Zan discover the wonders of jam or make socially awkward sexual references.

How to Talk to Girls at Parties is many wonderfully peculiar things all at once, but it finds a certain rhythm that will be music to the right listener's ears. Zan, while trying her alien best to figure out this punk thing that Enn loves so much, captures it best: “There are contradictions in your metaphor. But I am moved by it.”

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Trailer For Netflix's Halloween Horror 'I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House'

With Netflix and other streaming services becoming major Hollywood power players, we're also seeing the turnaround time from festival-to-release shorten considerably. Case in point, horror I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives In the House made some waves at TIFF just last month and already its being released just in time for Halloween.

Starring Ruth Wilson, Bob Balaban, Lucy Boynton, and Paula Prentiss, the film centers on Lily, a caretaker charged with looking after a woman who was once a famous horror writer. Things start getting creepy inside the old woman's already-creepy manor when Lily starts reading one of her books. Here's the official synopsis:

Lily (Ruth Wilson) is a naïve young nurse hired to care for aging and reclusive author Iris Bloom (Paula Prentiss) — a character based on American mystery and horror novelist Shirley Jackson — in her isolated country manor. The old woman is lost in her memories and barely acknowledges her caregiver, except to repeatedly call her “Polly,” the protagonist of her novel The Lady in the Walls. Though Lily is squeamish and easily frightened, her curiosity gets the better of her and she reads the book: the chilling story of a beautiful murdered woman. It gets under Lily’s skin, and she comes unhinged as the shadows of Iris’ grand home begin to take on a more sinister appearance.

Written and directed by Oz Perkins, I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives In the House hits Netflix on October 28th. 

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Ruth Wilson and Sam Worthington Join 'The Titan'; Thomas Jane has 'Hot Summer Nights'

High-concept sci-fi film The Titan will be headlined by Sam Worthington, who knows a thing or two about the genre after Terminator Salvation, and Golden Globe winner Ruth Wilson of Showtime's The Affair. They join Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Star Trek Beyond) in the film directed by Lennart Ruff and penned by Max Hurtwitz. The futuristic story centers on the journey of a military family who are relocated in order to take part in a ground-breaking experiment of man’s genetic evolution into space.

Thomas Jane, Emory Cohen (The Place Beyond the Pines), and Maia Mitchell (Teen Beach Movie) are ready for some Hot Summer Nights alongside the previously-cast Maika Monroe, Timothee Chalamet, and Alex Roe. The indie coming-of-age romance marks the directorial debut of Elijah Bynum and follows "a teenager whose life spirals out of control when he befriends the town rebel, falls in love, and gets entangled in a drug ring all during one hot, stormy summer." [THR]

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Nicole Kidman Joins Elle Fanning in 'How to Talk to Girls at Parties'

The last time Nicole Kidman and John Cameron Mitchell it was for Rabbit Hole, a film that rejuvenated her career (somewhat) and launched Miles Teller's. It also showed Mitchell, who had directed Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus at that point, could be provocative in a completely different way. Now Kidman and Mitchll are reuniting for his adaptation of Neil Gaiman's short story, How to Talk to Girls at Parties.

Kidman joins Elle Fanning, Ruth Wilson, and Matt Lucas in the punk rock-era story about a pair of boys who encounter three very strange girls at a party in the London suburbs, only to discover they aren't of this world. Expect punk rock music to be a major component, too, with some big names being sought for the soundtrack. We can expect some of the cast to sing a few songs, as well.

Filming is set to begin this fall. [ScreenDaily]

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Review: 'Locke' Starring Tom Hardy

Whether he's the center of attention like in his furious breakthrough Bronson; under a mask and unintelligible as in The Dark Knight Rises; or part of the Inception ensemble, it's hard to take one's eyes off of Tom Hardy. More often than not it's Hardy's physical prowess that stands out; he's always had something of an animal presence about him that's undeniable. But no film has asked Hardy to keep the audience’s attention quite like Steven Knight's sterling single-location thriller, Locke, and it makes the case for Hardy as one of the most compelling actors working today.

The single-location film is a tough nut for even the most veteran director, but Knight shows an uncanny confidence in only his second feature behind the camera. Known mainly for his gritty screenplays such as Eastern Promises and Dirty Pretty Things, Knight shows his precise hand and a ton of guts in guiding a movie set entirely behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. It's a different sort of role for Hardy, as well, one that demands an exacting level of emotional control for his is the only face we're going to see, and one slip up means the whole thing could go astray.

Hardy is Ivan Locke, a top construction expert on the verge of the biggest concrete pour in Europe's history. It will make or break the company he works for, and on the eve it's to take place he hops in his BMW and skips town to London. Understandably, this freaks out his colleagues who are used to relying on the typically dependable Locke, but he's determined to get somewhere important. All we know at first is that it's to see a woman (voiced by Olivia Colman), and it must be that night. We also know that Locke has a family; a wife (Ruth Wilson) who is waiting for him at home and two boys (Tom Holland and Bill Milner) who are anxious for Dad's arrival so they can watch the big soccer match.

But Locke isn't coming home, and it's clear that this man, who seems like a good and decent person, is risking everything to fix a major screw-up. His personal and professional life is at stake through every mile of his journey, and Knight, who also penned the screenplay, ratchets up the tension or flips it around with every phone call Locke receives. It may not sound all that interesting to watch Hardy talk on his car phone for the duration, but Knight smartly doles out just enough new information that nothing stays dormant for long. What becomes obvious is that Locke is a man who has always prided himself on self-control, and a momentary lapse in judgment has shaken his sense of self.  "I'll fix it and it'll all go back to normal", he says with a certainty that borders on delusional. As Locke scrambles to assuage the fears of his nervous assistant, who must now handle the job alone, he must also calm down the woman he's racing towards while trying to hold his family together. The less said about the exact details the better, as Knight and Hardy guide us along deliberately through Locke's soulful journey. There are details revealed about Locke that will constantly alter our perceptions of him and the people who populate his life. His atypical actions have everyone on edge, and they bring us to the edge our seats, too.

It's rare that Locke takes us outside of the vehicle, but when he does the gorgeous, nocturnal cinematography only deepens the mood; sinking us further into Locke's plight. It's amazing how much one can learn about a man in a scant 90 minutes, but we know everything about Locke by the time the movie is done. All of his failings and strengths laid bare for us to see and judge; we know why he seems so eager to make hard decisions regardless of the personal cost. Where the story skids off the road is during Locke's imagined conversations with his deadbeat father. They seem like overkill, making a point about Locke's character that Hardy is more than capable of getting across. His performance here is understated, controlled, and he owns every single moment.

Other than a few false notes, Locke is impressively bold; as thrilling as it is resonant. If nothing else it marks daring new territory for Hardy and Knight alike.

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Tom Hanks Is Walt Disney In First Trailer for 'Saving Mr. Banks'

Disney pretty much has all of its Oscar bases covered with Saving Mr. Banks. Not only is the story interesting and relevant to the Mouse House, following Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers and her rocky relationship with Walt Disney, but it also has quite an assemblage of talent in front of and behind the camera. Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell, Jason Schwartzman, and Ruth Wilson are all on board, with The Blind Side director John Lee Hancock at the helm. It all amounts to a film that seems ready-made for a Best Picture nomination, but is it perhaps a little too safe and comfortable?

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Ruth Wilson and Margot Robbie Join Michelle Williams In 'Suite Francais'

Two actresses definitely making big moves this year are Margot Robbie and Ruth Wilson, but they're doing it in two completely different sorts of films. Wilson can currently be seen in theaters longing for Armie Hammer in The Lone Ranger, while Robbie hangs out with a madcap Leonardo DiCaprion in The Wolf of Wall Street. She also has a role in Richard Curtis' sci-fi romance About Time. But now they're coming together in what looks like a potential Oscar contender.

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Review: 'The Lone Ranger', Starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer

Disney doesn't put the Pirates of the Caribbean think tank on just any ol' thing. When the combination of Johnny Depp, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Gore Verbinski get together it’s with the intention of crafting another $1B franchise, and that's exactly what the hopes for The Lone Ranger are. And hey, maybe Disney will get what they want, because there's very little difference to be found between either. Depp does good quirk, Verbinski does big action, the jokes are plentiful but not necessarily funny, the running time is 40 minutes too long, and despite being an origin story on the iconic Western hero you'll still be asking "Who was that masked man?" when all is said and done.

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Johnny Depp Not Signed For 'The Lone Ranger' Sequels Yet; Talks Up Next Project

There's no doubt that Disney is hoping The Lone Ranger will turn out to be a franchise on the same level as Pirates of the Caribbean. They've certainly dumped enough money into it, reportedly well over $200M, and have all of the same key players in place. So it's not surprising to learn that most of the cast are signed on for sequels. What is surprising is the one who isn't locked in just yet.

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New posters for 'The Hangover Part III', 'Fast & Furious 6', and 'The Lone Ranger'

Warner Bros. has been releasing new posters for The Hangover Part III all week in order to get you hyped for tomorrow's trailer. Has it worked? Most of these have focuses on Ken Jeong's Mr. Chow character, who we know has an expanded role in the film. But the story really centers on Alan, who manages to go even further off the deep end after the death of his daddy. The latest posters show Alan, once again portrayed by Zach Galifianakis, on the run from some creep in a pig mask. The other shows off star Bradley Cooper, who looks genuinely confused at having to be there for the final chapter. Hasn't he moved beyond this sort of thing now? Directed by Todd Phillips, The Hangover Part III hits on May 24th.

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Sure Shots: Ruben Fleischer; Ruth Wilson; David Ayer

*After a few years in development, which saw Justin Lin, Dwayne Johnson, and Paul W.S. Anderson attached at various points, a big screen take on the Spy Hunter video game moved forward when Ruben Fleischer (Gangster Squad) entered talks to direct the film. Now Deadline reports he is officially on board to helm, based on a script by Carter Blanchard. The film will be based on the 1980s Midway racing/espionage game, but Fleischer has previously expressed a desire of turning it into a James Bond-style franchise.

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Emily Blunt and Ruth Wilson vying for Ms. Marvel role in 'The Avengers' sequel?

Marvel has been trying to get their hooks into Emily Blunt for awhile now, once having the actress pegged for the Black Widow role that ultimately went to Scarlett Johansson. With Joss Whedon the king of crafting strong female characters, along with the promise of at least a couple of new heroes assembling for The Avengers sequel, it makes sense that he'd would aim high if they're looking to cast for one of the most powerful lady characters in the entire Marvel Universe: Carol "Ms. Marvel" Danvers.

A rumor surfacing in the UK's Daily Mail has Blunt along with Anna Karenina's Ruth Wilson in the running to play Ms. Marvel in the sequel to this summer's $1B+ grossing hit....

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Sure Shots: The Lone Ranger; Paul Rudd; Chris Pine wanted for Robocop reboot?

* Shooting on director Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp's The Lone Ranger is set to begin in just a couple of months, but casting is still pretty shallow. Depp has been down as Tonto for ages, and Armie Hammer is set to play the masked gunslinger. Tom Wilkinson is in talks for a role, but where the ladies at? Deadline reports that Ruth Wilson, best known for her role in the Idris Elba crime procedural, Luther, has won the prime female role. She beat out both Jessica Chastain(The Tree of Life) and Abbie Cornish(Sucker Punch) for the gig.

* Paul Rudd has joined famed documentarian Errol Morris's adaptation of We Froze the First Man, based on Robert Nelson's memoir. Nelson was president of the Cryogenics Society of California, and took part in the first use of cryogenics to freeze a recently deceased human being. The story will also draw from a story featured on This American Life. The show's host, Ira Glass, is on board as a producer. Zach Helm(Stranger Than Fiction) wrote the script. [The Washington Post]

* Chris Pine(Star Trek, Unstoppable) is apparently at the top of MGM's wishlist to star in their upcoming Robocop reboot. Part of their pre-packaged plan of rehashing all of their popular 80s flicks, they made a smart move in signing Jose Padilha(Elite Squad 2) to direct. Pine is probably never going to be more in demand than he is right now, so signing him could be a smart move. However this is all speculation, and no deals have been made. I'm sure Pine's name is just one of many under consideration. [Twitch]

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