John Carter (of Mars) Trailer

Apparently this is something for the Internet to get excited about. Or trash. It’s always both

A few new trailers

The screenplay for Source Code is rightly lauded as one of the more original of the past few years, but even though I’ve read it and know the story, I found the teaser trailer slightly confusing. It looks visually appealing, and Michelle Monaghan is always worth watching, but there’s some worry that they might have made an already complicated story muddled. There was a rewrite by Billy Ray apparently, but I’m putting my trust in Moon director Duncan Jones that this will turn out as good or better than that film.

I read Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer on a trip years ago and enjoyed it. A well written but standard crime novel seems to have been made into a well made but standard crime film, judging by this trailer. Matthew McConaughey stars as the slightly amoral lawyer and Ryan Philippe his client. Both are good actors that got pigeonholed as pretty boys for a long time, but they might be slowly climbing out of that hole.

Found this trailer for Green Hornet better than the previous one. It still looks like a superficial sfx bonanza, but we see more of the interaction between Rogen’s character and Kato, and they look to have more personality and interplay than the previous hinted at. I like that there seems to be some buried rage that Rogen is hinting at, what with the last scene in the trailer, but perhaps that’s just me.

Another Green-something superhero film trailer is the one for The Green Lantern. I don’t think I’m the only fan here of Martin Campbell’s craftsmanship as a director, but even I’m wondering about the overabundance of cgi here. Even the suit? He looks like a sequined disco queen out of Studio 54. So this one gave me pause, despite the pedigree of many of those involved.

The teaser for Cowboys & Aliens is one of those that will divide people into two groups. Either you like it or you just wonder wtf that’s supposed to be. Since I’ve admitted that Wild, Wild West is one of my critical blind spots, you all know where I fall. I mean, it has Harrison Ford back in a saddle again, so I don’t know how not to love it. But I’ll admit that it didn’t exactly make my heart start racing. On the other hand, it is just a teaser.

Poor Boo-Boo

Ingenious Twilight Eclipse Tie-in

I’ve never read the books, nor do I intend to. I have not seen the movies, nor do I intend to. But this postcard from my local blood bank made me roll my eyes at first glance, laugh at second, and then come to appreciate how clever this really is! Clearly not sponsored or endorsed by the film at all, this is just coattail riding that will have all Twi-hards forcing their parents and/or loved ones to donate blood so they can get free tickets to a morning showing.

The donation even happens from the afternoon through the evening – aka twilight. Witty! These vampires sure have a creative way of getting their meals…

Edge of Darkness

If you have seen the previews (any of them) or are familiar with the original BBC miniseries from 1985 (I was not) you know that in Edge of Darkness the lead character’s (Boston detective Craven – played by Mel Gibson) daughter Emma is gunned down at the outset. The rest of the story involves the father trying to figure out if he or his daughter was really the true target, who did it and why did they do it. This is a return of sorts to the style of character and movie we were used to seeing Gibson in 20+ years ago so watching him in this film is certainly comfort food in that regard. Parallels will immediately be drawn to Taken, Ransom, Man On Fire and a host of other kidnap/murder revenge thrillers but I do think this one can stand slightly apart.

We are never given the history of the relationship between father and daughter and we never find out what happened to the mother or if she was ever around. The only backstory we have is that Craven constantly flashes back to his daughter as a 4-year old and imagines her still as that innocent little girl. This is a common attribute of loving fathers and is often played simultaneously for laughs and sentimentality (Steve Martin’s imaginings in Father of the Bride come to mind) but is oddly eerie at times in this film as Craven occasionally converses with his adult daughter’s disembodied voice. I’m not quite sure if it works but it can certainly be chalked up to the trauma he has just experienced. Certainly he had years of drawings, notes, crafts, gifts, vacations, experience, etc. with his daughter and the prospect of Emma’s life being just a memory would be enough to mentally and emotionally break him completely.

The Road

Full disclosure – I haven’t read the novel.

The Road is a painfully bleak look at a world (or at least northeast USA) some 9 or 10 years after a widespread disaster. We are not privy to the actual details of what went down (I have not seen 2012 but I doubt the bombastic Mayan apocalypse was this movie’s precursor) but enough waste was laid to kill most nonhuman life by the time the viewer arrives on the wintry scene.

Have a (decade old) Coke and a smile!

A man (Viggo Mortensen) and his young son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) are heading south, but we don’t know what they hope to find when they get there – if ‘south’ can be described as a destination. Perhaps warmth or remnants of civilized society exist somewhere closer to the equator. Armed with a couple backpacks, a stuffed animal, one gun and two bullets the father instructs his son on how to end them both should the worst happen. So very early on we are shown that every man is for himself in this ‘new’ world and we sense immediate danger and despair lurking all around - our two familiars scurry to hide in a forest as a group of men pass by on a truck and we very quickly find out why the man trusts no one. The helplessness and hopelessness on display is suffocating. Only the young boy has retained his innocence and some optimism. He wants to see the good in everyone no matter what his father says.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol: Trailer

Click on the rather unfortunately expressive poster below:

(picture from IMPAwards)

New Wolverine movie will sink Marvel’s future movie prospects

Well, it seems, just from the new “epic” (FirstShowing.net’s words, not mine) trailer for X-Men Origins Wolverine, that the Donner’s company and Marvel may just have sounded the death knell for superhero flicks.

Now, before you get all heated on me, and yell at me for not having seen the film or that 2003′s Hulk was bad, or Daredevil was atrocious or Ghost Rider was the nail in not only Mark Steven Johnson’s career (which it wasn’t), but superhero movies in general (don’t even  start the argument that Ghost Rider isn’t truly a superhero), I have only to say this:

No matter how bad or poorly-constructed those movies were, they all concentrated on one mainly single character, and everything that came with that character along whatever specific journey the character took and there was something specifically worthy that ultimately could be gleaned from each movie.

When there was a movie with ancillary characters like X-Men and Spider-Man, the latter which, no matter how fun and well-constructed a movie it was, it still seriously dropped the ball on the Green Goblin. Had it shown any of the weakness that just the trailer for the new Wolverine shows, there may not have been an Iron Man or even Spider-Man 2, a strong contender for best modern superhero flick.

However…far from the daring choice Bryan Singer was for X-Men, Gavin Hood appears, again, simply from the terrible final preview, to be an inferior cousin of Mark Steven Johnson, who, for all his weaknesses, may have chosen Michael Clarke Duncan, but at least knew enough to capture the “essence” of Kingpin, no matter how lame the final “showdown” was.

Hood has taken some massive liberties with characters and, in the trailer, shown us a seriously misguided Deadpool, some seriously wonky CGI and a Sabretooth that seems both banal and utterly toothless and really tries to make a strong dramatic-action hero out of a guy who uses playing cards to fight people. Okay…for all his shortcomings (I mean, a teleporting blue circus freak?), Singer made Nightcrawler integral to the beginning of the story and gave him an introduction that none of the other characters except him needed. Deadpool and Gambit seem to be central to the main conceit of the movie and are even given weird capabilities that don’t fit with what the character is or has been. What the hell was Deadpool, in this movie incarnation, doing spinning in the air? Who but a dedicated fanboy can look past Ryan’s stupid sleeveless shirt and accept what they see? And then accept the wonky CGI on a criminally mis-used Liev Schrieber as Sabretooth?

Many of you will watch this movie and tell me I have to eat my words, but I stand by this and believe that the Avengers movie and Captain America movie listed after this one will not only suck in theory, but the final Avengers movie will not only not make it to theaters, butwill fail to even get made.

Trailer for Abrazos Rotos

This teaser of Pedro Almodóvar’s Los Abrazos Rotos (The Broken Embraces) makes me think that it may end up being one of the year’s best films. Composed of short scenes of Penelope Cruz embracing a variety of men in a variety of ways, the brightly colored wardrobe make it look like it could take place in the sixties, but feels modern. The title hints that there is something missing in these embraces, and behind there is a wall consisting of a collage of torn photos. One of my favorite trailers in a while.

Almodovar’s Hable Con Ella is in my opinion one of the best films of this decade, and though I wasn’t as much a fan of Volver and La Mala Educación, this film looks like it might be a truly fully realized work. It’s been talked about as a possible Cannes contender, but it will be released in Spain on the 18 of March.

Watch This Space

Whoever watches The Watchmen apparently needs to watch this space because a new trailer will be launching in a few hours.
EDIT: I’ve linked it up.

Crowing over Crowe Vindication

When Nick and I posted our review of the screenplay for Cameron Crowe’s next a few months back, several sites that picked up the story insinuated we were (how best to put it?) full of shit. “Crowe’s scripts are better protected than nuclear launch codes!” they said. “It doesn’t sound like a real Crowe film!”, etc.

Now, casting sides are out and (SURPRISE!) they match the details in our review to a tee. Yey, us!

The Red, White and Blue Bunny? Vincent Gallo to hoist flag for Marvel/Paramount’s ‘Captain America’

Marvel chief Kevin Feige has announced that the studio is in final negotiations with Vincent Gallo (The Brown Bunny) to write and direct 2011′s Captain America: The First Avenger.

Pic will be a more intimate, character-based drama (described as the “calm before the storm” by Faige) serving as launchpad for the hero before he headlines the studio’s mega-budget The Avengers later that summer. Marvel is currently sewing up a multi-picture pact with helmer John Cameron Mitchell (Shortbus, Hedwig and the Angry Inch) for that franchise.

Gallo cites CBS’s series of Captain America telefilms in the late 1970′s (featuring the character as a cross-country driving motorcycle enthusiast) as major inspiration on his later works, including ‘Bunny’.  Helmer plans to incorporate a modernized version of that storyline into his tale. Pic will not shy away from political commentary, as Gallo feels Cap could serve as “antidote” to the overabundance of “Liberal, Anti-American fag talk” infecting most mainstream Hollywood productions.

Director has not ruled out Feige’s suggestion that he step in front of the camera as the star-spangled Avenger, but plans to actively explore other casting options.

While the studios have certainly not shied away from unorthodox hires for their super hero tentpoles (Christopher Nolan, Bryan Singer and Gavin Hood all cut their teeth on low-budget indies) the hiring of Gallo is surprising given the mixed reception to his earlier directorial efforts. 2003′s The Brown Bunny was savaged at that year’s Cannes Film Festival for it’s pretentious nature and raw presentation of human sexuality. In what would lead to a war of words with the director, film critic Roger Ebert labelled Bunny “the worst film in the history of Cannes”. IMDB reviewer shannygoat1 added “if you’ve ever seen, given or received head, you’ve seen it before.” Ebert and Gallo later reconciled after the critic gave a “thumbs up” to the director’s 2004 cut of the film.

Marvel will self-finance the film via its $500 million credit facility through Merrill Lynch with distribution handled by Paramount worldwide. Pic is part of an aggressive slate that includes two sequels to 2008′s Iron Man, Kenneth Branagh’s Thor and Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man.

Gallo recently completed filming the title role in Francis Ford Coppolas’s Tetro and called Molly Friedman a “slut” in New York magazine.

James’ ideal Captain America casting is now an official rumor

I’ve been shouting this idea from the rooftops for months and now MTV reports that my insane rantings might be reality:

Marvel and Paramount have ALLEGEDLY offered the role of Captain America (which would begin in Iron Man 2, lead to a solo film and then The Avengers, whatever sequels) to WILL SMITH.

The fanboys at AICN, etc. are already spitting venom and I really don’t know why. This makes perfect sense from a historical perspective; instantly wipes out ALL of the international sales issues the studio would have with the property; and makes their interconnected suicide pact-style release slate a heck of a lot closer to a safe bet.

No word on Smith’s potential deal could be or even how serious talks are – but expect pay records to be shattered.

Covert Wolverine Trailer Images look blurry, Elektra-y

Direct from Comicon comes a series of camera phone snapshots of the trailer for FOX’s Wolverine. While the images are low-resolution, badly framed and out-of-focus, they’ll have to do until the studio releases a Quicktime version of the footage (probably sometime in the next few days).

Initial thoughts: Wolverine looks the same.  Good seeing my favorite character, Emma Frost.  Not good seeing her in this instead of the solo film David O. Russell was toying with.  Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool seems to be casting perfection, but not sure why they ditched the character’s (mostly excellent) costume in favor of slapping a red t-shirt on the actor.  The sheer number of B/C level Marvel characters in garish colors reminds me of FOX’s ill-fated Elektra spin-off.

Source and additional images can be found HERE, courtesy of Photobucket User ‘Untiltied’

Yeah, God hates you.

Following Warner Brother’s aggressive one-sheet campaign for The Dark Knight (during which new posters seemed to pop up daily) they’re now employing the same strategy for another eagerly-anticipated sequel: Ace Ventura Jr:

I’d assume the above will be littering multiplexes from coast to coast soon, although it’s still unclear whether AvJR is a theatrical or DTV release.  Here’s hoping for neither.

Source: filmz.ru