Trailer Tracker: The Rum Diary, The Hunger Games and more

The Hunger Games shows Jennifer Lawrence at her arrow-slinging best, followed by acclaimed director Roman Polanski’s latest Carnage starring four exceedingly talented individuals: Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly and Jodie Foster. Spy thriller The Double stars Richard Gere and Topher Grace as veteran and rookie agents tasked with bringing down an assassin; a killer that may be closer than they think. There is double the everything on Player Affinity —especially fun. It’s Trailer Tracker.

New clips this week:
The Rum Diary
The Hunger Games
Carnage
The Double

The Rum Diary

Johnny Depp returns to the world of Hunter S. Thompson in the adaptation of The Rum Diary.  Depp plays Paul Kemp, a journalist sent to Puerto Rico to write for a newspaper. He discovers a fondness for rum, struggles with reaching middle age and falls for a young beauty played by Amber Heard. Aaron Eckhart, Giovanni Ribisi and actor Richard Jenkins also star in this lavish and star-studded endeavour. 

Hunter S. Thompson wrote the 1961 novel The Rum Diary. Published in 1998, it drew attention from filmmakers in the early 2000s. Bruce Robertson (Jennifer Eight) directs and writes the film. A recovering alcoholic, Robertson fell under the influence once again after being struck with writers block before eventually completing the script and returning to sobriety; perhaps his state at the time of inception will give us a unique insight into the mind of a boozer. The Rum Diary is in theatres October 28.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games also debuts this week. It is the first in a trilogy of books centering on a dystopian society where children from different districts in the country Panem (formerly North America) are forced to compete in a gladiator-style death match. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harelson, Elizabeth Banks and Stanley Tucci star among others in this Lionsgate production. The setting is in North Carolina. During the first part of the movie, we see Lawrence’s Katiniss charging through a besieged forest before coolly firing an arrow. The first scene does not tell us much about the movie's potential, however the cast and source material is enough to stay put.

Carnage

Exiled auteur Roman Polanski assembles a cast of four in a modern adaptation of stage play God of Carnage by French playwright Yasmina Reza. Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly and Jodie Foster portray couples who discuss their children’s recent scuffle on the playground with disastrous —but darkly comedic — results. It is always difficult to turn one's nose at a Polanski film. This has awards potential. Let's see how it fares after its Venice Film Festival debut.

The Double

Richard Gere and Topher Grace evoke the veteran/protégé subplot seen in In the Line of Fire, however The Double does do something different in saturating the trailer with ample spoilers. I suspect there are a number of sub-twists in this assassin-on-the-run tale. What appears to be the biggest turn is shown mid-way through the clip. because I interested I am particularly interested in seeing this film because I like the cast. The Double will be released September 23.