Normal, Apex and More Great Trailers

Plus: A Thousand Blows, Midwinter Break

Here are some trailers that caught our eye this week.

Normal
Magnolia Pictures
Trailer Agency: Intermission Film

This one opens with a clever 40-second misdirect: Light-hearted piano music plays under a narrator describing a quaint town called Normal, Minn. When the narrator describes it as, “peaceful and predictable,” we see Bob Odenkirk, its sheriff, dodge shots as he enters a bank. The mayhem continues as Bob uncovers a criminal conspiracy in the heart of this small community. It ends with a montage of shootouts, knife fights and car explosions. “That’s not where I was aiming,” Odenkirk snarks. Hits theaters soon.

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Apex
Netflix
Trailer Agency: AV Squad

A woman testing her limits in the Australian wilderness is targeted by a ruthless predator. This teaser begins with Charlize Theron’s character rock climbing. The Seige’s “Run For Your Life” provides the perfect cue for the danger Taron Egerton’s character brings when Theron realizes she’s not alone. The stop-downs add to the drama of this cat-and-mouse game. Theron tells Egerton, “You’re a sick f%%ck” as she falls from a cliff’s edge into the river. Find out who survives on April 24.

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A Thousand Blows
Hulu, Disney+ UK
Trailer Agency: Trailer Park UK
Editor: Alex Battershall
Producer: Darcy Shaw
Music: Jaron Lum

Set in London’s East End in the 1880s, the show explores boxing, organized crime and the social realities of the Victorian era. We open on Mary Carr (Erin Doherty) pleading with Sugar (Stephen Graham) to help her get back on top again (she runs an all-women crime gang). Raye’s, “Hard Out Here” adds the perfect tone to this gritty, survive-or-die scenario. It ends with a boxing match, Sugar wielding chaos with a hammer and Mary pointing her gun while explaining, “It’s the dawn of a new era.” From the creators of Peaky Blinders. The epic series returns this week.

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Midwinter Break
Focus Features
Trailer Agency: Zealot
Editor: Will Thede

A day they can’t forget, a truth they can’t escape. This promo begins with Stella (Lesley Manville) giving her husband Gerry (Ciarán Hinds) two tickets to Amsterdam as a Christmas present. What starts as an adventure slowly turns into a life-changing trip for both. Props for not giving away the secret and only showing glimpses of a police raid involving Stella when she was young and pregnant. She sums it up: “There’s a debt to be paid and I’ve been looking for a way to pay it.” Based on the acclaimed novel. In theaters Feb. 20.

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