Tag: Movie Trailer

Trailer Reaction: Dracula, A Love Tale–From Francis Ford to Luc Besson, Whose Film Will Be Better?

Luc Besson’s Dracula, A Love Tale looks lavish. The biggest thrill is Christoph Waltz as Van Helsing, which instantly makes this feel like more than another retread of familiar lore.

Dracula A Love Story Movie PosterVertical will release this film nationwide on February 6th, 2026

The first trailer for Luc Besson’s Dracula: A Love Tale (yes, that’s the full title) is here, and it looks gloriously historic. I didn’t pay much attention to the early reports, but learning that Christoph Waltz plays Van Helsing has me giddy as a school child. I love every role he takes on, and the idea of him going toe-to-toe with Vlad is catnip.

The tale is familiar, sure, but this version looks like it’s being filtered through the eyes of a dreamer rather than an angry stalker. In the short, Dracula the loss of the love of his life, and he believes he can find Elisabeta again. He knows her soul reincarnated and is searching for her. This take may well cover more ground about his beloved before the events of Bram Stoker‘s novel. But by the time we reach the Victorian age, instead of an accidental encounter where he realizes Mina contains Liz’s soul, the trailer makes the vampire’s journey a long crawl toward reaching love eternal than immortal.

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All The Fears About Strange Tales of Liaozhai: Lanruo Temple Are Revealed With The Final Trailer

The upcoming Strange Tales of Liaozhai isn’t a simple anthology as far as _ is concerned!

Strange Tales of Liaozhai- Lanruo TempleLight Chaser Animation

As the date nears for Strange Tales of Liaozhai: Lanruo Temple to hit theatres, fans of this studio’s works will finally get to know more about the book Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Amazon link). This work contains many short stories, and we finally have confirmation of which tales are being adapted. They are:

  • The Taoist Priest of Laoshan Mountain: A classic zhiguai story about a wandering Taoist encountering supernatural threats.
  • Princess Lotus: A spirit romance centered on a flower fairy—echoing themes of love across realms.
  • Nie Xiaoqian: A melancholic ghost tale where a female specter falls in love with a scholar—the inspiration behind many film/TV adaptations.
  • The Painted Skin: A chilling demon tale where a beautiful woman is revealed to be a monstrous spirit.
  • The Daughter of Magistrate Lu: A supernatural courtroom fable where a magistrate in the afterlife judges the dead.

The main narrative, set at Lanruo Temple, will incorporate each of these works. This historical building sits on the Yangtze River, and locals call it a “little-known travel destination.” With the final trailer out, with subtitles, fans from around the world have a better idea about what’s going on. Although it primarily focuses on one tale, it’s easy to tell there’re multiple stories involved.

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Updates on Light Chaser Animation’s Next Film, Curious Tales of a Temple or should that be Strange Tales?

Whatever title Light Chaser Animation’s Curious Tales of a Temple uses for this year’s release, let’s hope this anthology of shorts will be just as scary too!

Curious Tales of a Temple Teaser PosterRelease Date:
July 12, 2025

Light Chaser Animation might want to stick to one name for their next film rather than come up with variants. When I was checking in to see if there’s any new content for Curious Tales of a Temple, I found Strange Tales: Lan Ruo Temple too! That’s mostly because this studio is using both and listed the latter as an alternate title. I suspect that a different translator is figuring it out every time a new video is offered.

I prefer the original, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (which was used in the announcement trailer) from which this latest is taking ideas from.

When there are over 100 short stories contained within, to decide on which tale to adapt may well be with less than six pieces–or they’ll come fast and furious, told during one summer’s night over a campfire. Whatever the case, I’m excited about this take and hope there are plans for an international release. The last two films got a very limited run; even though I had to wait, I finally saw Chang’n and White Snake: Afloat. When I checked in on who is distributing, it seems to be some from a Chinese company rather than Well Go USA.

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Regarding Two Movie Trailers From Super Bowl Sunday. Quick Thoughts.

When DreamWorks and Disney are riding on the live-action remakes of two celebrated IPs, the movie trailers offered today are not necessarily exciting but will give long time fans hope.

Lilo & Stitch Teaser Poster & Super Bowl Sunday Movie TrailersAlthough the movie trailers for the live-action take on How to Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch during Super Bowl Sunday make the creatures look fantastic, I still don’t think of these cinematic updates as essential viewing. What I offer here are some quick thoughts about the latest promos. Overall, the photorealism is exemplary, and if they were only real, I’d love to play them!

As for what these latest teasers offer:

Stitch on the football field–and the fact Chris Sanders is the voice actor–is enough to get me invested. While this promo is not offering movie footage, I hope all the other CGI elements will be as good. As long Disney delivers the same effort into realizing Jumba and Pleakley as they have into Stitch, this take may well succeed. Continue reading “Regarding Two Movie Trailers From Super Bowl Sunday. Quick Thoughts.”

Top Three Choices to Hail In the Chinese New Year (2025 Edition)

Chinese New Year is almost here, and I offer my list on what I expect to be the top three films that’ll be big! And all the movie trailers I could find are also assembled here:

Creation of the Gods 2 Well GO USA Poster for Chinese New YearChinese New Year is coming! And for those folks who want to enjoy part of that day at the movies, five ‘official’ films are being released January 29th! What I offer here are my top three choices. Although I mentioned the sequel for Crazy Alien is coming in my review, it’s not a mandatory must-see.

And what I offer here are nearly every trailer for each of these films to get a sense of what’s going to be presented.

Creation of the Gods II:
Demonic Confrontation

This continuation of the epic fight between clans can spell disaster for all of China, if all parties aren’t careful. That’s because, after the ascension of the last ruler of the Shang dynasty, the transition is not quiet. When the fox-spirit Daji has a dastardly role to play, all will not be well.

As part two of a trilogy, what’s expected will be like Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings–to break the narratives down to smaller pieces. Part three is titled Creation Under Heaven. and that’s scheduled for release next year. As for this middle release,  Well GO USA has IMAX screenings available at select cities (please visit link) on Jan 29th, and will get a wider release at the end of the month.

Trailer 1 (International Release)

Trailer 2 (Chinese)

Behind the Scenes

Continued on page 2

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Dave Bautista. From The Killer’s Game to In The Lost Lands, What is He Seeking?

The answer is not the next bunch of films this action-star will appear in. As Dave Bautista continues to be a fan-favourite for action-adventure, maybe it’s time for a change of pace.

The Killer's Game Movie Poster starring Dave BautistaThe Killer’s Game is Available to Stream or purchase on Amazon Prime.

In the Lost Lands Release Date: Feb 28, 2025

After keeping up with Dave Bautista with the recent movies he’s appeared in, I’m glad he’s still got the right stuff. He’s a presence which can’t be tamed. And based on these latest works, I think he’s looking for that next great idea so he can show to the world he’s leading man material. He needs a movie to show how versatile he is. While I enjoyed My Spy, the sequel didn’t really do much since it fell into a traditional formula. After Guardians of the Galaxy, he’s on the quest for the next big franchise.

After The Killer’s Game, a respectable action-romance thriller, he’s still searching. With this film, he’s a hit-man who finds out he has an incurable disease. But after finding love early in this tale, he wants to get out of the game. Although he keeps Maize (Sofia Boutella) out of the loop in what he does, everyone is out to assassinate him! The idea is good, and the two performers have some great chemistry. But it didn’t screen everywhere and I had to wait for its VOD release, which wasn’t long at all. Overall, it deserves a C+ for effort, and showing how easily this actor can get typecast.

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