Warner Bros. sure is making a strong case for why cinephiles should consider a subscription to HBO Max, especially after dropping a new promo for the streaming service that features new footage from their 2021 slate of upcoming films. If fresh looks at films like Dune, Mortal Kombat, The Suicide Squad, James Wan's Malignant, and more ring your bell, then you're going to want to watch this new advert on a loop.
The first title up for grabs will be The Little Things. Written and directed by John Lee Hancock and starring Academy Award winners Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto, the film is set to be released in theatres and HBO Max on January 29th.
Here's the official synopsis for The Little Things:
Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe “Deke” Deacon (Washington) is sent to Los Angeles for what should have been a quick evidence-gathering assignment. Instead, he becomes embroiled in the search for a killer who is terrorizing the city. Leading the hunt, L.A. Sheriff Department Sergeant Jim Baxter (Malek), impressed with Deke’s cop instincts, unofficially engages his help. But as they track the killer, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deke’s past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case.
Then on March 31st, audiences will bear witness to 2021's most anticipated brawl with the release of director Adam Wingard's Godzilla vs. Kong.
Here's the official synopsis for Wingard's whole new take on a clash of the titans:
In a time when monsters walk the Earth, humanity’s fight for its future sets Godzilla and Kong on a collision course that will see the two most powerful forces of nature on the planet collide in a spectacular battle for the ages. As Monarch embarks on a perilous mission into uncharted terrain and unearths clues to the Titans’ origins, a human conspiracy threatens to wipe the creatures, both good and bad, from the face of the earth forever.
On April 16th, one of my most-anticipated films of the year, Mortal Kombat, is unleashed!
The full synopsis for Mortal Kombat can be read below:
From New Line Cinema comes the explosive new cinematic adventure “Mortal Kombat,” inspired by the blockbuster video game franchise, which most recently enjoyed the most successful video game launch in its history, Mortal Kombat 11. The film is helmed by award-winning Australian commercial filmmaker Simon McQuoid, marking his feature directorial debut, and produced by James Wan (“The Conjuring” universe films, “Aquaman,”), Todd Garner (“Into the Storm,” “Tag”), McQuoid and E. Bennett Walsh (“Men in Black: International,” “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”).
In “Mortal Kombat,” MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage—or why Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family’s safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade at the direction of Jax, a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden, an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and rogue mercenary Kano, as he prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana—the immense power from within his soul—in time to save not only his family but to stop Outworld once and for all?
Another notable release for horror fans is Michael Chaves' The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, the third film in the series tells a chilling tale of terror, murder and an unknown evil that shocked even experienced real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. One of the most sensational cases from their files, it starts with a fight for the soul of a young boy, then takes them beyond anything they’d ever seen before, to mark the first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a defense.
Beyond what we've already discussed, HBO's new promo also teases films like Judas and the Black Messiah, Tom & Jerry: The Movie, Godzilla vs Kong, Those Who Wish Me Dead, In the Heights, Reminiscence, Cry Macho, King Richard, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Malignant, The Many Saints of Newark, Dune, and, of course, the next chapter of The Matrix franchise.
If you don't have a subscription to HBO Max, it might be time to do some math, my friends. Break your piggy bank, scour the couch cushions! Do what you've got to do so you don't miss out on some of the biggest movies of the year.