Walker's last stand, Joaquin's new girlfriend, and JLaw reuniting with Bradley Cooper... Trailers for Dec. 6

Oscar season is in full swing, and I'll take a look at two movie that should contend in major categories, but first, let's address the death of Paul Walker...

Hours (December 13)

As you've no doubt heard, Hollywood lost Paul Walker last week.  Walker, who was 40, was best known for his role in The Fast and the Furious franchise, which debuted in 2001. The franchise is incredibly successful at the box office, making gobs of money.  Fast & Furious 7, which Walker was slated to star in, will be coming out as planned.  

I loved the first three F&F movies, probably because I was a teenage boy when they came out, and the movies had fast cars, hot girls, and things blowing up.  Walker wasn't an A-list actor, but the way he went out, in a fiery car crash, seems both fitting and eerie at the same time.  I decided to review the trailer for his latest film, being released posthumously, Hours.

The movie starts off with an interesting premise; "Man takes wife to hospital for birth in midst of tropical storm".  We know that it's during a hurricane in New Orleans, but it's never explicitly said if it's Hurricane Katrina, or a fictitious storm. It kinda bugged me that this was never made clear, since I tend to really like fictitious stories based in historical events.

Just when we think we know where the premise is going, we get a twist.  Walker's premature daughter is hooked up to a life support machine, and it has a bad battery, meaning he has to crank the battery every three minutes.  It might seem a little gimmicky at first, and I'm not sure if the science checks out, but it seems to lead Walkers character into some interesting situations to save his daughter.  

I kind of hated the screen wipe promoting "From A producer of The Conjuring". A) The Conjuring was an average movie. B) It was a horror movie, not a drama. C) Nobody cares about 95% of the producers out there, especially for average horror movies.

The movie looks like it'll give us a chance to see Paul Walkers range (Angry Paul Walker, Emotional Paul Walker, Ass Kicking Paul Walker) one last time, and I'm sure its box office will probably be huge in light of his recent death.  I'm not sure if the movie was always planned for a December 13 release date; I hope the studio didn't move it up to take advantage of that.

Trailer: 2.5 stars

Wait for it on Netflix.

her

I've been watching a lot of Black Mirror lately, and this trailer was really jarring when taken in the context of that show. It feels like it could easily be a creepy, harrowing warning about technology and the dangers of taking it too far, but it seems to be a thoughtful Dramatic Romance about overcoming societal norms.

If this film was directed by someone other than Spike Jonze, and the cast didn't include Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams, I'd be way more skeptical.  But in the hands of these talented people, I couldn't be more excited for this movie.  It's going to make some serious noise come Oscar time, and I can't wait to buy a ticket.

The trailer does a good job of showing the moviegoer the concept, which should draw in a lot of people, as well as giving a lot of face time to Phoenix.  Amy Adams isn't recognizable to most of the popular audience out there quite yet, which is a shame, so I get why we don't see more of her in the trailer.  Listening to Scar Jo's voice is always a pleasure — it's just too bad we won't get to see her in this movie.  Rooney Mara should play a great "bitchy ex-wife".

The movie got an R rating, so I guess we'll see some explicit stuff, which didn't really come through in the tone of the trailer.

Trailer: 3 stars

See it.

American Hustle

Both stars and the director from my favourite movie last year are collaborating again?  Including my favourite actress?

And Amy Adams (mentioned above), Christian Bale, and Jeremy Renner are joining him?

AND LOUIS CK IS IN IT TOO!? 

This movie, about a con man working for an undercover FBI agent, is my Christmas present.

All of the stars.

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Time travel, Bible stories, and a Dead Best Man - Trailer Reviews for Nov 22.

Been a little off track with my last two blog posts (but if you haven't already, check out Black Mirror and Aningaaq) so let's get back to some trailers.  (As always, titles are links to higher quality videos)

Noah

"Let's take one of the most implausible but sacred Bible stories ever and turn it into a major motion picture featuring four superstars."

Tall order, but if anyone is up to the task, it's Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream).  I'm really interested to see what he does with the source material here.  I mean, he's talking about a guy who got visions from God about a world destroying flood who proceeds to build a science defying boat that was somehow able to fit two of every animal on it.  And that flood kills everyone except for his family, who then has to repopulate the planet?

I don't even want to think about Russel Crowe and Emma Watson like that.  Just... no.

I've got no religious bias towards this story, but it's obviously going to draw some interest with the Christian crowd so it should be interesting to see how Aronofsky handles that aspect of it.  For the record, my favourite take on the Noah story is a wonderful novel by a Canadian authour, so if this movie can somehow use the old tale to comment upon today's society in a meaningful way like that book did, I'll be impressed.

The trailer itself it's incredibly well shot.  Aronofsky isn't known for shooting breathtaking nature or battle scenes, but the glimpses we do get of the storm and of the King's crew attacking the arc look pretty impressive.  If those shots can be combined with the director's ability to really dig into the heart and soul of his actors, the movie should be worth a watch at least.

Also, badass movie poster.

Trailer: 4.5 stars

See it.

Best Man Down

Alright, disclaimer; I'm a massive Justin Long fan.  I've been told that I remind people of his character from Waiting and this makes me unreasonably happy.  So I'll be checking this out at some point.

The trailer starts off great; drunk best man dies at wedding.  Awesome premise.  The shift in tone from 'happy go lucky wedding vibe' to 'best friend's dead vibe' around 0:35 is jarring -- in a good way.  It subverts your expectations of what the trailer is going to be like.

But then around the 1 minute mark it gets way too sappy, and I lose interest.  What could've been a really neat, different, quirky movie trailer turns into something about "finding out who your friends really are".  I got real bored real quick.

That being said, I really enjoyed the line "He's not your best friend, just your oldest friend".  Anyone in their mid twenties can identify with that, I think.

Trailer: 3 stars

Skip it. (Unless you're a Justin Long fan, in which case we should probably hang out and go see it together)

About Time

*Screen Wipe*

From the creator of Love Actually....and Notting Hill...

*End Wipe*

I see where this is going....

Alright, this might seem like the typical three-act romantic comedy that I will never, ever stop making fun of, but I'm actually holding out some hope for a few reasons:

A) Time Travel

Time travel is badass, and always will be.  I will watch anything about Time Travel, because one day, damnit, I'm going to go forward in time and come back with all of the sporting results I need to be a professional gambler who never loses.  My fantasy football teams will be unreal.

B) British Accents

FAAAAAANK YOUUUUUUUUU. (1:20 mark)  It's adorable every time.

C) Rachel McAdams

Canadian icon.

D) My girlfriend wants to go see it.

We're actually going tonight, so yep.  Getcha popcorn ready!

Nice little trailer, but it gave away too much.  I think.  Time travel really screws with narrative in trailers.  Bonus marks for the Of Monsters and Men tune they use throughout the trailer.  Here's a cool video for that song.

Trailer: 3 stars
See it on a date night.

Cheers guys.  Happy weekend!

"Anningaaq", the seven minute Gravity companion

I reviewed a trailer for Gravity earlier this year.  Several trailers were released for the film prior to its massively successful run in theatres, and they were all really well done, so it should come as no surprise that a seven minute short film has come out as a companion to the movie.

The short film is called Anningaaq.  In it we (MINOR SPOILERS FOR GRAVITY) are shown the other half of the conversation that Dr. Ryan Stone has when she's alone in the Chinese spaceship.

You can find the info and the film itself at this link.

The short film itself is done beautifully, and the juxtaposition of the lonely man in the arctic with the woman fighting for her life by herself up above him is just wonderful, and haunting.

If you haven't already seen Gravity I'd recommend checking it out as soon as possible.  And if you've already had a chance to catch it, give this short film a look when you've got seven minutes to kill.

Black Mirror - The best television show you've never heard of

Little bit of a different speed with today's blog post...

I stumbled upon the British television mini-series Black Mirror today, and I'm instantly hooked.  It premiered in America tonight, and is currently unavailable, but it's 2013 and you have the internet, so you probably know how to check it out.

The series isn't linear, but rather a series of independent short films that tell their own story in their own world.  It reminds me of The Twilight Zone, except instead of dealing with really supernatural subject matter, everything is based on plausible (if unlikely) events.

Watch the pilot, "National Anthem" if you've got 45 minutes to spare, it's worth it.  Not only is it highly entertaining, but it manages to say a lot about our current society, as well as where we're headed as a culture that depends on social media for our news.  Without spoiling anything, I'll just say it deals with a Princess, the Prime Minister, and a Pig.

I was also really interested in the portrayal of Public Relations departments and Journalists and the relationship they share.

So check it out, and let me know what you think.  It's the type of show that can really start a good conversation, and media like that is always better consumed with others.

Remember that Wes Anderson trailer...

A couple weeks ago I reviewed the trailer for 'The Grand Budapest Hotel', and I made the shameful confession that I wasn't familiar with Wes Anderson's films.

I've watched a couple of his movies over the last couple of weeks, and I see what all the fuss is about.

His colourful visual style and sharp, witty dialogue is really entertaining, even if it seems like he's trying a bit too hard to be "different" at times.  Overall, they're really fun movies that I suspect have a high degree of rewatchability (<---- not a word).

I was catching up on SNL tonight and I came across this mock trailer for a fake Wes Anderson movie "The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders", and it's just perfect.  Enjoy!

Oscar Bait! Trailer reviews for November 1

Halloween's over, it's starting to get chilly outside, and guys everywhere are growing cheesy moustaches.  With the beginning of November also comes the beginning of Oscar season, which means lots of great (or potentially great) movies are coming out.  Let's check out some trailers, so you can decide what to go see over the next few weeks when the theatres are packed with Oscar bait.

Inside Llewyn Davis (December 20)

More than anything, the appeal for this film (for me, anyway) is obviously The brothers Coen, Joel and Ethan (it's strange, and pretty annoying that IMDB doesn't have them listed as a group, but whatever.) Just looking through their filmography is enough to bring back memories of some of my favourite movies, so I'm pretty psyched for this one.  I trust these guys more than anyone not named Quentin when it comes to making movies.  This movie looks a little different than anything they've ever done before, but the Coen brothers have shown an aptitude in so many different genres that I've got no worries they'll kill it here.

Some dude named Oscar Isaac is playing the titular Llewyn Davis, and I've never heard of him before, but you might remember him from his role as Standard in Drive.  That haunting folk song that plays in the background (a cover of Bob Dylan's 'Fare Thee Well') of the trailer is actually him singing, so the musical parts should work out nicely (not to mention JT is in it as well).

A strong cast surroungs Isaac, with the always spectacular John Goodman and Carey Mulligan (who played alongside Isaac in Drive) standing out.

The trailer was great, it really managed to establish the tone early, when Goodman is saying that Isaac's former partner threw himself off the wrong bridge.  The movie looks to be pretty depressing, dealing with the titular characters struggles in music, life, and love, but with some dark comedy thrown in for good measure.

Oh, and there was an adorable unnamed cat.  Cat's are good.

Trailer: 4 stars

See it!

Diana (November 1)

Naomi Watts playing one of the most beloved, tragic women of all time, who just so happened to be a princess?  Yeah, that's Oscar bait.

It's really weird, Naomi Watts has been making movies for what seems like forever (she's got 62 credits on IMDB) but I still have no idea how to feel about her as an actress.  I feel like I should respect her, but looking at her work nothing jumps out at me and makes me say "oh yeah she was great in that".

On that note, this movie looks like a mess.  I was only ten when Princess Di had her fatal car crash, but I remember the day after it happened and the week of hysteria that followed pretty vividly.  I was hoping this movie could successfully recreate that (like 2006's The Queen did), and show why she was so beloved, but it seems like they're just going to make a shitty 3 act romance movie with a tragic ending.  Yawn.  Everything about this screams "emotional manipulation".

Trailer: 1.5 Stars

Skip it.

All Is Lost

We already had an awesome stranded alone movie  and an awesome trouble at sea move this year, so the market might be a little bit saturated for this one.

That being said, Robert Redford in a life raft catching sharks for two hours?  Yeah, I'm in.  The trailer was a little stock and quote heavy for my liking, but I'm still down.

Trailer: 2.5 stars

See it.

Pastels! Disco! Cocaine!

Hey guys remember the 80s?  Pastels, disco, cocaine.  Good times right?  The 80s were the best three months of my life.  Let's check out a couple 80s flicks.

Anchorman 2: Electric Boogaloo The Legend Continues

It's almost here... Almost a decade after one of the most quotable movies of all time was released, Anchorman 2 is slated to be released this December.  There's been plenty of cross promotion hype leading up to it, including about six-hundred of these:

Seriously, if you've got an hour to burn you could do a lot worse than running through those.  Anyway, the trailer itself is pretty promising.  It hints at lots of what made the first Anchorman (and most Ferrell movies) successful: plenty of gags, and not a lot of plot.  Sure it seems like Ron Burgundy loses his job and his wife, and Harrison Ford plays a bad dude, and there's a bunch of crack, but that's not what we're here for.  We're here for Paul Rudd's condom closet and Brick missing his legs and gay vampires.

Oh, and the moustache.

Should be a fun parody on the '80s, having that cast of characters cracked out can only lead to good things.

Can it live up to the hype?  Probably not.  But it'll be decent, and make a shitload of money.

Trailer: 3.5 Stars

You're going to see it at some point, probably multiple times.

Let's stick with the 80's.....

Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

!!!

!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!

This is a thing that happened.  Can we just look at those outfits for a second?  I can't believe this isn't a parody.

Sweet dance moves everywhere.  Angry old white guy in tha hood.  Backflips in the geriatric ward.  This is a gem of trailer.  The lyrics are amazing too.

The imdb description of this movie reads: A developer tries to bulldoze a community recreation center. The local breakdancers try to stop it.

In conclusion, Yes.

Trailer Review: All of the stars.

Don't see it ever because it's probably horrible, and why would you ruin that for yourself?

Ensemble Casts Everywhere! Trailer Reviews for Oct 17

When I'm deciding on a movie to watch, a few factors make an impact on what I'm going to spend the next two hours watching.  Really great directors (Tarantino, Scorcese) will catch my attention sometimes, but usually it's the cast.  One or two great actors can raise my interest, but if a film can deliver an exceptional ensemble cast featuring several actors that I really respect, than the movie studio already has my money.  The three trailers I've got this week all have that in common.

August: Osage County

Ahhh, family.  Everybody has one, and every once in a while you kinda hate them.  This film, which is based on a play, touches on that familiar theme: "How long can you deal with your family before you try and strangle them?"

Judging by this movie poster, not very long with this family.  Yes, that's Julia Roberts trying to assault Meryl Streep, so I'm sold.

Take a look at the names below the title in that poster.  There's twelve of them.  Twelve!!!  That's an insane number of people to credit, and their names are all flashed in the trailer as well.  That top line in particular is super impressive, ranging from an old master of the craft in Meryl Streep, to the always impressive Julia Roberts (who never seems to age), down to one of my favourite young talents, Abigail Breslin who has seven movies coming out this year.  The men are no slouches either, especially Ewan McGregor.  It should be interesting to see if all these stars can make the most of their screen time, as the movie only has so much time to dole out.

The trailer itself was effective, mixing a gloomy, depressing family that obviously has its issues (Meryl Streep as the stereotypical Valium addicted, bitchy, racist matriarch that speaks her mind because she just doesn't care anymore, McGregor and Roberts as a separated couple because of the man's extra-marital affairs) with a few comic moments.  Some of the lines in this trailer were great, and I'm looking forward to watching Breslin act out the generational gap between the older members of the cast.

Good use of the Lumineers song near the end of the trailer, it did a good job of giving it that small town feel.  While the cast is strong, I'm worried this movie may try and do a bit too much and turn into a bit of a mess, but we'll see.

Trailer: 3.5 Stars

See it, on DVD.

The Counselor

This film's been on my radar for a little while now.  Directed by Ridley Scott and written by Cormac McCarthy, it falls under the category of a movie I'd probably go see regardless who's in it.  But look at that cast

Pitt (In a cowboy hat!). Diaz (Actually doing some serious acting!).  Cruz (Being Penelope Cruz!).  

And those three aren't even the star.  Michael Fassbender is finally getting some big time recognition starring in this movie ahead of Pitt.  Apparently his roles in Prometheus has vaulted him to the top of call sheets everywhere, as he's got NINE movies either freshly completed, underway, or announced.  Good for him.

Rounding out this impressive group of actors is Javier Bardem.... 

who I will never not mix up with Benicio Del Toro, Hank from Breaking Bad, and a Cheetah!

What's the movie about?  Well it's some type of sexy thriller involving these people and guns

so I'm sold.  Great use of AWOL Nation's "Sail" in the trailer as well.

Trailer: 4 Stars

See It!

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Okay, confession time.  The only Wes Anderson movie I've ever seen is about an animated fox.  I know, I know, I'm just the worst.  Trust me though, I plan on rectifying this soon, I've got The Royal Tenenbaums and Moonrise Kingdom ready to go, and there's no way I'll be missing The Grand Budapest Hotel.

This ensemble cast is phenomenal.  Ed Norton is one of my favourite actors ever, and just take a look at the names on top of this poster:

Like I said, I'm not very familiar with Anderson's work, but he's known for being quirky and a little out there, which sounds right up my alley.  This trailer indicates more of the same from him here, and I'm hoping to become another Anderson fanboy by the time I see it.  If the vibrant, colourful visual style and quick witty dialogue in this trailer are anything like the rest of his work, I'm sure I'll be charmed just like everybody else.

Hat Tip to Marcel Picard @marcelpicard for sending me this trailer the second it came out.

Trailer: 4.5 Stars

See It!

Divorce, Doubles, Homeless Paul's. Trailer Reviews for October 8.

This week's reviews feature a cute, trendy Romantic Comedy, an adaptation of one of my favourite authours short stories with Jesse Eisenberg, and a movie with two Pauls.  Let's get to it!

A.C.O.D

I'm a sucker for this type of movie.  The quirky, fun, romantic comedy that's just smart enough so that I don't feel guilty about shelling out twelve dollars.  It features cool actors whose names most people remember like Ben from Parks & Rec (who really needs to start getting more recognition, he's becoming the new Paul Rudd), The Kid With Glasses From Hot Tub Time Machine, The Dad From Stepbrothers, and Sue Sylvester.  Oh and hey!  Amy Poehler and Jessica Alba, bonus!

These movies are coming out more and more frequently as Hollywood tried to tap into the young market that considers themselves too cool and smart for more basic, formulaic, Rom-Com's.  I'm not saying this is a bad thing, I'll definitely continue to gobble films like this up -- they're perfect date movies.

The trailer for this movie is really well done.  The beginning provides a great hook, since you're presumably already wondering what A.C.O.D stands for if you know the name of the movie already. When it's revealed to stand for "Adult Children of Divorce", the trailer has just captured the full attention of (by its own proclemation) 54% of the population.  "Look guys this movie is about meeeeeee" all of the grown up children of divorce are presumably supposed to say.  For everyone else, the movie seems merely like a nice way to spend 90 minutes.

I really enjoyed the way the trailer played with the conventional roles of some of the actors I mentioned above.  People who watch Parks & Rec are obviously used to seeing Adam Scott and Poehler in a romantic relationship, but here she is playing his father's new squeeze.  My favourite moment of the trailer was the line by Jane Lynch that she's "not a therapist".  I'd rolled my eyes at the beginning when she appeared to be reprising that role, which she's done several times.  The trailer knew I would expect that and gave me a nice little wink.

Music's used well, particularly with a nice Okkerill River tune that sets the tone at the 1:15 mark.

I'm looking forward to this movie.  It's going to be a funny, cute, heartwarming story, and I'm sure my girlfriend and I will enjoy it in theatres.  It has the potential to say something new and different about a very interesting topic, and one that's becoming more relevant with more children of divorce growing up and taking larger roles in society.  Hopefully it can touch on that, instead of becoming just another "quirky" 2010's Rom-Com.

Trailer: 4 Stars

See It.

The Double

What's better than Jesse Eisenberg?  How about TWO Jesse Eisenberg's!  I love this kid, he can really act.  This trailer was shown during the Toronto International Film Festival, and while it's pretty vague, it got me excited for the movie.

The Double was a short story written by Russian authour Fyodor Dostoevsky.  It's got kind of a trippy hallucinatory feel to it, which is shown really well in the trailer.  Typical Dostoevskian themes of existentialism are explored in the story, and it'll be up to Eisenberg to convey that.  I think he's got the chops to nail this character.

I'm a fan of this kind of trailer, one that doesn't give away any lines, instead just trying to give the viewer a feel of the atmosphere of the movie.  The music choice and the fast moving camera really does build excitement and intrigue.  It's short and sweet, inviting the viewer to go find out more about the movie instead of overwhelming them.

Trailer: 4.5 Stars

See It (If you can find it.  Seems doubtful to get a wide release)

All is Bright

So this is about Paul's Rudd and Giamatti's homeless facial hair?

No?  Okay...

I've never really liked Christmas movies.  They're usually too corny, you can only watch them one month out of the year, and they tend to fall into all the usual tropes.  Except for Home Alone 1&2. Don't talk shit about Kevin McCallister 

Sigh... So much promise Macauley....

Anyway, this Christmas movie appeals to me.  It's dark, but looks absolutely hilarious.  And I have no idea how much a tree costs either Paul Giamatti, so don't feel bad.  Props to Paul Rudd for the Team Canada Hockey toque.

Trailer: 3 Stars

See It (And then re-watch Home Alone while weeping for poor Kevin McCalister.)

Oldboy, and some old boys. Trailer Reviews for the week of September 27.

We've got some fun stuff this week for you guys.  De Niro and Stallone lace up the gloves, Will Arnett's delusional dad becomes a millionaire in the prairies, and Josh Brolin gets locked in a room for twenty years.  Plus, we've got a Samuel L Jackson weird hair alert!

Grudge Match (December 25)

Hmmmm, Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone in a boxing movie?  Why does this seem familiar? Seriously, these guys made their boxing debuts ages ago... Let's look at a quick tale of the tape.

Stallone:

Age: 67

Former Boxing Experience: Rocky Balboa

Years since first entering ring: 37

Years since last bout: Seven. (Yes, it's been seven years since this happened.)

Oscar Noms: 2

Years since last Oscar Nom: 36

Could he kick my ass?: Definitely

De Niro:

Age: 70

Former Boxing Experience: Jake LaMotta (Raging Bull)

Years since first entering ring: 33

Years since last bout: 33

Oscar Noms: 7 (Two wins, Raging Bull and Godfather II)

Years since last Oscar Nom: One

Could he kick my ass?:  No??

So, if they were boxing, the edge has to go to Sly here, but since this is apparently a legitimate film that's happening, De Niro has to be considered the champ, right?  In all seriousness, this movie should not be getting made.  Who wants to watch a couple of senior citizens wail on each other for 90 minutes with comic relief from Kevin Hart  and the heroin addicted grandpa from Little Miss Sunshine?  Oh, literally every man over the age of 35?  I guess that makes sense.

I really hate that this movie exists, but the trailer is absolutely great.  It's three minutes of "is this really happening?  Is this a real trailer or am I watching a 'Funny or Die' skit".  The throwback to the meat locker scene from Rocky is both painful and hilarious at the same time.  Great job, guys.  Cash those paycheques!

Trailer: 4 Stars

Skip it. Seriously guys, it's Christmas, go hang out with your family.  Wait, how did I get to the movie theatre.  Why is there a ticket for Grudge Match in my hand.  Dad, what are you doing here?

Nebraska (November 22)

I hit 'play' on this trailer without knowing too much about it, and almost turned it off as soon as I saw it come up in black and white.  Black and white in movies is usually pretty gimmicky, and if I'm going to shell out money to catch a movie, I want the whole, technocolourful experience.  That being said, this trailer grabbed my attention.

I'll always watch sad Will Forte.  Sad Will Forte always manages to make me feel better about myself, which probably says something about my psyche and how I'm a terrible person.  This movie seems to be about getting old -- not in the "hang on to your youth and you can do anything even though you're ancient" way we saw with Grudge Match, but in the "yeah getting old is really shitty and depressing" way that is much closer to reality.  Mix that in with the "Million Dollar American Dream" and some vast prairie shots, not to mention the ugliness of human greed and you've got a recipe for a quirky, depressing, insightful film that will probably leave you feeling existential and sad. 

If THAT doesn't sell you, then, hey, Better Call Saul! 

Trailer: 3.5 Stars

See It!

Oldboy (November 27)

This is a Spike Lee remake of a 2003 Korean film known for its insane violence scenes.  I haven't seen it, since I am neither Korean, nor enough of a hipster or cinephile to watch Korean movies, but it's really highly regarded by those types of people.  Fans of the original movie are calling this american remake "unnecessary" and a "bastardization" but to them I say "I want a big tub of popcorn and a 2 litre soda, how can I gorge myself and read subtitles at the same time, Korean hipster cinephiles??"

I'm super pumped for this movie.  Like I mentioned, the original is know for its violence, and in the trailer alone we see Josh Brolin putting the business end of an axe into somebodies skull, and then we see him hovering over Samuel L Jackson with a box cutter.  If you've seen Breaking Bad, you know box cutter's can do some serious damage.  This paragraph is 50% an excuse to show this video clip .

Gus Fring, man.  As Samuel Jackson would say "he's one badass muthafucka".

Anyway, Oldboy, right.  This trailer's really well done.  It opens strong, hooking the viewer into what's a really great premise, and manages to cover 20 years of Josh Brolin in a room by himself without ruining any of the plot or intrigue.  Plus, we get to see Samuel Jackson sporting some seriously weird hair.

Sweet blonde Mohawk, Sam.  If you've followed Jacksons career, you're probably aware of his history of weird 'dos.  Here's a nice little Nerve article counting down his top 18 styles.  My personal favourite?

Never change, Sam.  Never change.

Trailer: 4.5 Stars

See It!

A Double Shot of the Always Entertaining, Sometimes AIDS Riddled Matthew McConaughey, with Bonus Creepy Michael Cera! Trailer Reviews for the week of Sept 20

On this week's edition of Three Minutes or Less, we take a look at the often-shirtless Matthew McConaughey, who's clearly been busy with a couple of new films coming out.

Dallas Buyers Club (November 1)

I started watching this trailer not expecting too much.  Matthew McConaughey, who I think can be a terrific actor (I really enjoyed his work in Frailty, and Two for the Money), has also been known to make some pretty shitty chick flicks.  Such is the life of a talented, good looking man, I guess.  So as soon as I saw the cowboy hat wearing, gamblin, texas accent using McConaughey, my eyes started to glaze over.  Until I heard he was HIV positive.

AIDS is some pretty heavy material obviously, and has been well portrayed dramatically in movies in the past.  This movie puts a twist on that narrative, crossing the AIDS movie with a heist + Mexico drug smuggling + cowboy flair.  The cast is great, with Jennifer Garner in the female lead, and Jared Leto suiting up in drag.

The trailer itself is very well executed.  As I mentioned in the opening, there's a little bit of a bait and switch at the beginning, and the high pitched ringing that plays when Woodroof find out he's HIV positive gives a nice feel of what that would be like.

I would have liked the trailer to have been a little shorter, maybe not to have shown its hand all at once. The concept and the star power of the movie are enough to get people to shell out their money to see it, so I think the downward arc of the trailer, starting at about the 2:00 mark was unnecessary.  That being said, the use of The Alabama Shakes' excellent song You Ain't Alone definitely earned it some points with me.

This movie, on a limited release starting November 1st and having a wider release later in the winter, is pure Oscar bait, and I mean that in the best possible way.  This is McConaughey's best shot at a Leading Male golden statue so far in his career, and I'll be shocked if he isn't at least nominated for the harrowing change his body went through during the film.  I'm checking it out.

Trailer: 4 stars

See It!

The Wolf of Wall Street (November 14)

I always talk about the importance of music in movies, and movie trailers.  Martin Scorsese knows this better than anyone else.  The pounding drums from Kanye West's BLKKK SKKKN HEAD provide a great backdrop for the gross excess we see during the whole trailer, and really add an element of intensity to it.

I'll go see Leo in pretty much anything, I even went and saw him in a terrible adaptation of my favourite F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.  He's the only logical choice for this film, and putting him beside an all grown up Jonah Hill should make for a lot of fun.  (Sidebar, after Superbad, if you would've told me that Hill would be making serious flicks beside Brad Pitt and Leo I would've called you crazy.  Good for him.) 

And then BAM!  McConaughey comes in steals the show at the end with that awesome scene with Leo.  I didn't know it was possible to have that stick out in my head more than the midget throwing, but the dude can seriously act.

This movie promises to be terribly misogynistic, but we'll see whether or not Scorsese is condemning that mindset or merely having a blast with money, women, and yachts.  Either way, it should be a boat load of fun.

Hat tip to fellow CreCommer Cella Rousseau for the tip on the trailer!

Trailer: 5 Stars

See It!

Magic Magic (January 22)

"Oh hey, a new Michael Cera movie.  This could be cute and fun to review.  Wait.  Why are you so creepy Michael.  WHAT ARE YOU DOING MICHAEL. WHY ARE YOU TELLING THAT SWEET GIRL TO PUT HER FACE IN THE FIRE.  STOP IT!!!! YOU'RE RUINING MY CHILDHOOD!"

Trailer: Nightmares

Nope.  Not seeing it.  No way.

Remakes, Acid Trips and Moonwalks - Trailer Reviews for the Week of Sept 13

Quick disclaimer before we begin.  The trailer for "The Neighbours" features a little bit of colourful language and a mild sex scene.  It's marked as a Red Band trailer.

Some pretty cool trailers to look at this week, so get your ADD riddled attention spans ready!  I've embedded the trailers, but the videos tend to be pretty small, so I've also linked to them on Youtube.  If you're reading this on an iOS device that should help as well.

RoboCop (Feb 7 2014)

As soon as I heard that a RoboCop remake was coming out I was worried.  The 1987 version is a classic, and still holds up today.   Not only was it a great action film, but it worked as an allegory for the   technological advances that were starting to come up in the 1980's.  Plus, the dad from That 70's Show played the bad guy, which is always fun.

I was worried the 2014 version would be a straight forward action move in the vein of the new GI Joe franchise, 90 minutes of blowing shit up for the sake of blowing shit up.  But this trailer, featuring the sleazy cop from AMC's The Killing in his first starring role in a major movie, Jay Baruchel (with a beard!) and Samuel L Jackson (of course) gave me some hope for the movie.  Much of the trailer seems to focus on the battle for free will that goes on between Robo and Cop.  It'll be interesting to see if the moralistic view of the original has a counterpart in the remake.  Either way, things will go boom, and it will be sure to look great in IMAX.

Trailer: 3.5 Stars.

See It.   Tentative.  Future trailers very well may change this.

Under the Skin (No Release Date)

This is a great example of what's known as a teaser, as opposed to a full blown trailer.  It comes in at only 53 seconds, and gives little to no idea of what the film is actually about.  Bonus points for the creepy music in the background, and you'll always win me over with a shot of a scantily clad Scar Jo.  The trailer watches like an acid trip fever dream with Johansson as your tour guide, so if that's your kinda thing, then sweet.  I was annoyed at how it just abruptly ended in the middle of a shot, but I guess that's why they call it a 'Teaser'.

Trailer: 3 Stars

Too early to make a call on 'See it, Skip it', unless you're a huge Scarlett Johannson fan, in which case this headline already has you convinced.

Neighbors (May 9 2014)

The trailer opens up with a great concept (fraternity moves in beside young couple), shows some great footage (Seth Rogen getting blown up by an airbag chair) features a great cast (Rogen, McLovin, and Zac Efron -- who is turning into a talent since his Disney days.)  But still, warning bells are going off in my brain as I watch this.  While the movie features lots of branches from the Judd Apatow tree of comedy, Apatow himself isn't involved, which leaves me a little worried.  Despite the fact that the trailer was well put together, I only found myself laughing hard once -- in the aforementioned airbag scene.  I'm really rooting for this movie, I love Seth Rogen and will go see pretty much anything he's involved in, but the trailer left me wanting more.  Music selection could've done much better than Lil Jon as well.

Trailer: 3.5 Stars

See It   But temper expectations...

Gravity (October 4)

Gravity has been my most anticipated film of the year ever since I saw the first three trailers about a month ago.  The idea of floating aimlessly in space absolutely terrifies me, while also somehow seeming incredibly appealing.  This newest (and final trailer) touches on that feeling of existential dread, of the nothingness that's in space with the screen captions at the beginning.  It's wonderfully crafted, starting in silence, then throwing you into two minutes of chaos, before once again ending in silence.

The movie is full of stars (ha, see what I did there?) with Sandra Bullock as the lead, George Clooney helping her over the mic (really, who else would you rather have walk you through a crisis than Clooney?) and Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) behind the camera making his signature long breathtaking shots.  I'm sold.

Trailer: 4.5 Stars

See It (In IMAX)