For this week's Trailer Park we're taking a Rube Goldberg approach, with an intricate series of mechanisms (metaphorically speaking) allowing us to careen from one trailer to the next by one connection or other. Ready? Let's start with: X-Files: I Want to Believe Yes, I want to believe too. X-Files became unwatchable for me in its last few years on the air, but prior to that it was one of the best hours of dramatic television ever. I'd love to see the series revived as a successful film franchise, but this trailer isn't doing much for me. We have the reappearance of Fox Muldar (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), as well as the theme from the TV show, but the rest is a muddle of chaotic imagery. This being X-Files, details are being kept to a minimum, but I'm not seeing enough here to get me revved up, which is how I was hoping to feel. Here's Elisabeth's take on it. And speaking of Gillian Anderson...
Kidding? Yes, that's right, as in kids, young 'uns, rug rats. This week on Trailer Park, we're scoping out previews of movies that are for or about the kiddies. The Rocker Kid is a relative term, but the teens populating this comedy are kids from where I'm sitting. Probably best known for playing Dwight on NBC's The Office, Rainn Wilson stars as a washed up 80s rocker who was booted out of a succesful band right before they hit it big. Kind of like Pete Best but with spandex and big hair. His teenage nephew's band is playing at the prom and they need him to fill in. The gig goes well and Wilson's character ends up touring with the band. There's a definite hint of School of Rock, but Wilson is so appealing in the role that I've chosen to overlook that and the groin injury joke (a hokey device that is often a deal breaker for me). Here's what Erik thought of the trailer.
Iron Man is hitting screens this weekend, leaving a trail of positive reviews in its wake. Check out James' and Scott's reviews, and if you need even more iron in your diet, head on over here. With that in mind, this week's Trailer Park is all about the heroes.
Batman: Gotham Knight Returning as the voice of the caped crusader is Kevin Conroy, who lent his voice to The Bat in Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League. This new version, however, doesn't look like any previous animated version of the character. Going straight to DVD shortly before The Dark Knight hits theaters, this feature offers six different visual interpretations of Batman from six celebrated anime artists. The approach is similar to The Animatrix, which gave an anime take on the universe of The Matrix films. The trailer looks amazing with striking interpretations of not just Batman, but also of the urban sprawl of Gotham City. Hancock I mentioned the teaser for this one in a previous Trailer Park, but now we've got a full length preview to ogle. Will Smith plays Hancock, a hero with super strength, the ability to fly and the power to piss off just about everybody (you don't get that from your average Kryptonian). His hard drinking ways have damaged his public persona seemingly beyond repair, but a PR agent played by Jason Bateman sets out to heal Hancock's relationship with the people. The humor is still there, but the new preview plays up the action, and I've got to say I'm dying to see this. While I'm not as down on Rob Zombie's Halloween remake as some, that film's detractors will probably get a kick out of the scene where Hancock tosses Daeg Faerch, the actor who played the young Michael Meyers, almost into orbit.
Remember those lines in your high school yearbook that claimed so and so was most likely to do such and such? You know, like most likely to succeed, most likely to be famous, most likely to be the target of a senatorial investigation. That's the angle were going with today as we look at five recent trailers with an eye for what they're most likely to accomplish.
The Spirit This one is the movie most likely to have people saying "who the hell is The Spirit." This is a character with a long and illustrious history in the world of comics (check out his Wikipedia entry for the full story) who was created by one of the acknowledged masters of the form, but outside of the comics niche, most people have never heard of him. To the best of my knowledge, the only time the character appeared in another medium was when Sam Jones of Flash Gordon fame played the him in a failed TV pilot in 1987. This film version is directed by Frank Miller and his Sin City style is very much in evidence. I like the look, and I like the fact that Miller has The Spirit leaping off the title logo as he often did in the comics. Here's what Elisabeth thought of it.
Sea of Dust This is the film most likely to give people Grindhouse flashbacks, as long as you see the version of the trailer that's up on Youtube or the one at upcominghorrormovies.com. The preview has the intentionally worn and scratched look consistent with what Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino did with Grindhouse. Not exactly an original idea, but it looks cool and it certainly got my attention. Oddly, the version shown on the film's official site doesn't have the weathered look. This period horror flick is an homage to both the classic Hammer horror films and the works of Italian scare maestro Mario Bava (there's a scene with a dank dungeon hallway lit with multi-colored lights that's pure Bava). The film stars Tom Savini as the villainous Prester John whose evil threatens the residents of a small village, with Hammer films alumnus Ingrid Pitt (The Vampire Lovers, Countess Dracula) also starring. I'm still a bit hazy on the plot even after reading the synopsis at the official site, but I love Hammer and Bava, so I have to see this one.
This week I've got a quintet of trailers for movies that recall other movies. It's Echoes of Movies Passed on this week's Trailer Park.
House Bunny I can imagine the pitch meeting for this one starting with a suggestion to remake Legally Blonde, but without all that annoying charm and wit. That theory actually might hold water when you realize the screenplay for this one was written by the same team behind the Legally Blonde script. Anna Faris stars as a Playboy Bunny who, at the age of 27, finds herself kicked out of the Playboy mansion for getting too long in the tooth. With nowhere else to go, she takes a job as house mother to a sorority full of nerds/geeks/dorks, and everybody learns something important (I guess). If there's anything worthwhile here the trailer keeps it well hidden. Here's what Jessica thought.
Not long after we got our first look at the Star Wars: The Clone Wars trailer, Yahoo has debuted the first preview for Batman: Gotham Knight (watch it there or above via YouTube). Unlike the Clone Wars look, this one comes with better quality and it won't be pulled in a matter of minutes (at least not from Yahoo). In the spirit of the Animatrix, Batman: Gotham Knight is very similar in that it utilizes several acclaimed directors (Yasuhiro Aoki, Futoshi Higashide, Toshiyuki Kubooka, Hiroshi Morioka, Jong-Sik Nam, Shoujirou Nishimi) over the course of six interlocking stories that are meant to serve as a bridge between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
Kevin Conroy will once again don the voice of Batman, and some of the villains rumored to be making an appearance include Deadshot, Killer Croc and the Scarecrow. Batman: Gotham Knight will be released directly to DVD on July 8. I totally dug the Animatrix when it came out, and the animation on Gotham Knight looks pretty ridiculous based on this trailer. Of course, I have to ask: What do you think about this one? Is this a DVD you simply must own?
This week week I'm feeling like one of the Scooby gang. Each trailer I see provides a clue that leads me to the next. For example:
Space Chimps "From one of the primates who brought you Shrek," says the trailer. Obviously it's not the funny one. This computer animated tale of chimps being launched into space is chock full of jokes from the "been there, done that, got the t-shirt" school of humor. There's the slow-mo walk from The Right Stuff, a slip on a banana peel, and a pratfall followed by "that's gotta hurt." Younger kids may enjoy this one, but the string of cliche jokes is quite irritating. I begrudgingly cracked a smile only once, which is a good indicator that I should avoid this one. As is required by law for all animated features, Patrick Wharburton is one of the voice actors (I love his work as Brock Samson on The Venture Brothers). Monika first posted about this one last June.
Each of the trailers we're looking at this week are for a film with an element of the fantastic. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Fantastic Five. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army As excited as I was after seeing the teaser trailer, this new preview for Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy sequel has me wanting to see the movie right now. There are tons of supernatural beasties on display here, making this kind of look like Pan's Labyrinth on steroids. We hear Abe Sapien talk, and I still miss David Hyde Pierce's voice, but I imagine once I'm in the thick of the film it won't be a problem. Here's what Eugene thought. Paranormal Activity The trailer is shown from the perspective of a home video camera, though I'm not sure how much of the film uses this first person perspective. The whole thing looks awesomely creepy. A woman believes she has been followed all her life by a supernatural entity, and her husband sets up his camcorder in hopes of proving or disproving the phenomenon. The idea seems kind of like The Blair Witch Project meets The Entity, and I'm anxious to see this one. The official website for this low budget scare flick carries some promising review excerpts, including one from Cinematical's own Kim Voynar, and you can read her full review right here.
Usually I have at least one trailer in the bunch that makes me groan, roll my eyes, or -- as happened in one case -- slam my head in a car door. I'm keeping it positive this time. The common thread for the trailers we're looking at this week is that they all gave me something to look forward to. Death Defying Acts I haven't seen Guy Pearce in a film since 2000's Memento, but he blew me away in that one, and his presence here caught my attention. This time out he's playing Harry Houdini, and he is offering a reward to anyone who can make contact beyond the grave with his late mother. A Scottish psychic played by Catherine Zeta Jones takes the challenge and enters into a romantic relationship with the great magician. Romance, deceit, intrigue and a cool period setting. What's not to like?
The Tracey Fragments Last month I posted that The Tracey Fragments starring Ellen Page had scored a U.S. theatrical release. Page plays Tracey Berkowitz, a 15-year-old girl desperately trying to find her little brother who she has hypnotized into thinking he's a dog. The trailer gives a good taste of the film's non-linear style that often uses spit screens, and it's got an intriguing look. Also in the plus column is the fact that it's directed by Bruce McDonald, who was the man behind the punk rock fake documentary Hardcore Logo, and of course Page was terrific in Juno. Erik Davis reviewed the film here, and the movie goes into limited relase on May 9.
Did you ever notice how Beavis and Butthead was often a TV show about two guys watching TV? The videos they were watching became the stories within the story. That's the theme we're shooting for this week. We're peeling back the layers of a handful of recent trailers to get at the story within the story.
Tropic Thunder During the production of an extremely troubled Vietnam movie, a handful of actors are sent into the jungles of southeast Asia to inject realism into the flick. Things don't go quite as planned and our heroes, including Ben Stiller (who also directs), Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr., find themselves in actual combat with guerrilla forces. Basically, this is the plot of Three Amigos as seen through an Apocalypse Now lens, but this looks like it could be really funny. I can't decide whether or not Robert Downey, Jr.'s performance as a white actor pretending to be black is going to be hilarious or just embarrassing, but it being Downey I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Elisabeth posted about this one as well as the age-restricted teaser trailer, and like her I want to know what the heck Stiller is doing with those baby pandas, though he does appear to be channeling Zoolander in that shot.
Nothing fancy this week. I'm tossing darts at the latest trailers and writing up whichever ones I hit. Time now for a random sampling.
Righteous Kill Robert De Niro and Al Pacino doing a cop movie together? Sounds like a license to print money. The last police drama I saw was the tepid We Own the Night which really soured me on a genre that has already been beaten to death on television, but the star power behind this one sets things at a whole new level (despite some of the uninspired comedies with which De Niro has padded his resume). Our two stars play a pair of world weary police detectives who have no sympathy for the scum who make a mockery of the justice system. Apparently they aren't the only ones who feel this way, because our heroes are soon on the trail of a vigilante killer. As with most teasers it's hard to get a feel for the movie. We get the basic idea of the plot followed by lots of quick cuts set to The Stones' "Sympathy For the Devil." I'm still probably going to see this, but more for who's in the film than what's in the trailer. Here's Monika's take on the trailer.
The Incredible Hulk The onscreen representation of Marvel Comics' jade giant has come a long way. I first saw him as a crappily animated character who barely moved in the Marvel Superheroes animated series in the 1960s, then as a body builder wearing grease paint and green tights (easier than applying makeup to his shins, I suppose). And let's not forget the 80s animated incarnation whose clothes would magically reappear when he returned to human form. The all CGI version seen in Ang Lee's Hulk made many mistakes, but I think the biggest one was to make his face too sympathetic. The Hulk is not a superhero, people, he's a monster and should look like one. That problem appears to have been addressed in this latest incarnation. This is one badass Hulk, and his foe -- the equally gamma irradiated Abomination -- looks pretty cool too, though his head is tiny. I never thought Eric Bana had much screen presence, and what we see of Edward Norton as the new Bruce Banner has a lot more appeal.
Deja vu time once again. Today's gaggle of trailers all, for varying reasons, have a ring of familiarity to them. All together now: Once more with feeling. Wanted I've seen this before, haven't I? Not exactly. This is a brand spanking new trailer for the Angelina Jolie film based on the graphic novel by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones. A young man with the rare gift of being able fire a bullet along a curved trajectory is asked to join a secret society of good guy assassins ("kill one so a thousand can survive"). Morgan Freeman plays, well, Morgan Freeman with a slightly gruffer edge to his usual fatherly demeanor. Jolie is hot to the point of being incendiary here (nice tats, and no that isn't a typo), but the "I'm cooler than God" shtick gets pretty annoying. The new trailer gives a better feel for the film than the teaser that's been out for awhile, and it looks like it might be a fun ride if you're in the mood for over-the-top action. Here's Elisabeth's take. 100 Feet This one definitely looks familiar. Didn't this used to be called Disturbia, and it looks like Shia Labeouf has had a sex change. Oh wait, that's Famke Janssen. She's playing a woman sentenced to three years of house arrest, nifty ankle bracelet included, for killing her abusive cop husband. Christopher Campbell first posted about this one a little over a year ago. I'm no lawyer, but doesn't it seem odd to place someone on house arrest for that long? Prison starts to look pretty good, though, when the ghost of her dead S.O.B. husband starts looking for some payback. In addition to the echoes of Disturbia, the scene where Janssen screams "What do you want?" to the unseen entity reminded me a lot of George C. Scott in The Changeling, and the house arrest for killing a cop part recalls a decent little indie flick called Cherish. Still, this looks like it might be good for a few scares.
Intense drama, romance, horror, even documentaries are just fine. Right now, though, I'm in the mood for trailers that will make me laugh. Pineapple Express I've got to say I'm liking this Seth Rogen guy. 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, it's all good. I'm looking forward to Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and on a recent rewatching of Donnie Darko I realized for the first time that's Rogen playing scumbag Ricky Danforth. The red band trailer for Pineapple Express has Rogen smoking dope (big stretch, I know) and managing to be quite funny while doing so. Spider-man's James Franco is Rogen's stoner sidekick and the two find themselves on the run after witnessing a murder committed by Gary Cole. Rogen also serves as co-writer, so I've got high expectations. Erik Davis also posted some pretty good things about the trailer not long ago. By the way, if you have trouble connecting to the official SONY pictures link above like I was, you can see a grainier but more reliable version on YouTube. Step Brothers What is it about someone wearing a Pablo Cruise shirt that I find so damn funny? I haven't yet had the chance to see Semi-Pro, Will Ferrell's new flick that's opening this week, but this trailer has already got me looking forward to his next effort. Step Brothers stars Ferrell and Talladega Nights co-star John C. Reilly as a pair of forty-ish slackers who not only still live with their parents, but now find themselves to be step-brothers when Ferrell's mother marries Reilly's father. Animosity soon gives way to friendship, and these two man-children are faced with having to get jobs and move out. This looks funny as hell and that July 25 release date can't come soon enough.
When they work they can be awesome (X-Men or Sin City anyone?), but when things dont go so well (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comes to mind) comic fans everywhere will hang their heads in shame. Today's trailers aren't necessarily for comic book movies, but there's a connection for each one of them. Let's have a look, shall we?
Coraline The idea of Henry Selick, director of The Nightmare Before Christmas joining forces with fantasy novelist and comic book scribe Neil Gaiman strikes me as a whole lot of awesome. Gaiman has written some great comics in his day. I would say that his Sandman series for DC is one of the best ongoing series in the history of American comics. I haven't read the novel Coraline, but I have no reason to believe it's not up to his usual standards. Unfortunately this teaser trailer does nothing to reinforce my expectations. The movie is shot in stop-motion animation, will be presented in 3-D and is based on a Gaiman novel, and that's all you can really tell. To be honest, though, I don't need to be told anymore to know this is something I won't want to miss.
Star Wars: Clone Wars Star Wars didn't start out as a comic book, but the first several issues of Marvel's adaptation of the original film were on the stands before I had a chance to catch the flick back in 1977, so I've always thought of it as kind of a comic book film. This trailer is for an all CGI theatrical feature releasing on August 15 which will serve as a lead in to a TV series that will launch in the fall on Cartoon Network and TNT. This maneuver reminds me of the decision to theatrically release the pilot episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. I still can't believe I paid to see that. The sensory overload of Revenge of the Sithhas soured me on the idea of returning to George Lucas's galaxy far far away, but I have two nephews who will go ape over this, so I suspect younger Star Wars fans will flock to this.
We're celebrating the independent spirit (and giving a tip of the hat to our companion site Cinematical Indie), and looking at trailers for films that have gestated outside the studio system. This week it's all about the indies.
The Visitor A professor who finds himself coasting through the day to day requirements of his job finds a young couple squatting in the New York apartment that he rarely uses. After a tense initial confrontation, the professor finds the two have nowhere else to go and allows them to stay. Just as a friendship is beginning to develop, one of the professor's new tenants is arrested, and as he is not a U.S. citizen, is in danger of deportation. This looks to be an earnest little drama about friendship and rediscovering what's important. This one goes into limited U.S. release on April 11. Scott Weinberg caught the film at Sundance and you can read his review here.
The Hammer No, this has nothing to do with the pop star with the baggy pants. I really liked Adam Carolla during his stint as co-host of The Man Show, and his voice work as Spanky Ham on Comedy Central's animated series Drawn Together is tastelessly hilarious. I wouldn't have imagined him playing the lead in a film, but he comes off as very appealing here. Carolla plays Jerry Ferro, a middle aged former amateur boxer. By day he works construction and in his spare time he teaches boxing. When he's asked to spar with an up and coming fighter, Ferro manages to clean his opponents clock as they say and he decides to get back into the game. Basically it's the story of a man trying to get his act together before it's too late. There's a few laughs here, and I think the movie will be worth a look.
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SCOOP: Spider-Man 4 and 5 Might be Shot at the Same Time!
Cinematical Seven: Disney's Awesome Live-Action Kid Adventures
