Christopher Nolan has been using the internet to his advantage to spread the mystery about the next and final installment in his Batman trilogy. He’s posted small, yet confusing clips and cryptic pictures of his characters. There are multiple stories about what the plot will be and the teaser trailer before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 did nothing to clear the water. I will let you come to your own conclusions after the trailer, but my opinion is that this film just continues to build anticipation and that if this is anything less than amazing people will be disappointed. I have a lot of faith that Nolan will not let his audience down.
Contagion
The next trailer on our list today is Stephen Soderbergh’s next film, Contagion, starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard and Laurence Fishburne. The film revolves around a strain of virus that spreads and kills the infected within days. The story seems to focus more on the panic and crumbling of structure than the actual fighting of the virus, kind of like a zombie film without the undead roaming around for brains. I think this one looks pretty strong as well and will probably put this on my list of most anticipated films this Fall.
What are your thoughts and comments about these trailers? Good/bad?
Synopsis from IMDB: Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.
Trailer:
Pac’s Take: I thoroughly enjoyed the first Chronicles of Narnia film, mostly because it was a book I was forced to read during childhood and was interested to see C.S. Lewis’s masterpiece on-screen. However, my distaste for reading prevented me from completing the other two novels and therefore my interest in the films has deteriorated. If you were a fan of the first two films you’ll probably want to complete the trilogy, though this film was less critically praised than the other two. For those of you new to the franchise, check out the first two then make your decision from there.
On a related note, Liam Neeson is the most bad*ss man alive
Add Voyage of the Dawn Treader to your Netflix Queue.
Synopsis from IMDB: A drama centered on a rising country-music songwriter (Hedlund) who sparks with a fallen star (Paltrow). Together, they mount his ascent and her comeback, which leads to romantic complications involving her husband/manager (McGraw) and a beauty queen-turned-singer (Meester).
Trailer:
Pac’s Take: What a terrible segue from Liam Neeson and all his glory. Despite there only being two major releases this week, Country Strong still manages to be the lesser of the two. It is a wonder why Little Fockers didn’t get pushed back to compete with this instead of the laundry list of last week’s releases. The novelty of Gwyneth Paltrow singing country has worn off since the film’s theatrical release and her appearance(s) on Glee. Throw in Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester and I’ll be skipping this one for sure.
There is quite the mixed bag of films this week with the arrival of Christmas. The expectation for Christmastime films is almost exactly the same as the expectation for Christmas presents you had as a little kid. You knew there would a be a fair amount of socks and shirts that you will never wear, but you always knew there would be one gift that would leave you glowing for at least an hour, until its newness wore off. This week there are a couple of socks and shirts (Little Fockers, Gulliver’s Travels), but you know there will at least be some films of real value (i.e. True Grit, The Illusionist).
Synopsis from IMDB: Family-patriarch Jack Byrnes wants to appoint a successor. Does his son-in-law, the “male nurse”, Greg Focker have what it takes?
Trailer:
Chris’ Take: Like all decent (not great) comedies, it is necessary to run them into the ground until their is no ounce of humor, originality or inspiration. Such is the tale of Little Fockers. I don’t think I laughed once during the trailer and it now looks like they are relying most heavily on the word Focker’s relations to a four letter word, and that is all they got. The sad part is that they will run away with a good $75 – $100 M before anyone notices.
True Grit
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin
Director: The Coen Brothers
Synopsis from IMDB: A tough U.S. Marshal helps a stubborn young woman track down her father’s murderer.
Trailer:
Chris’ Take: When I first heard about this remake, I was disgusted. It seemed like a shameless attempt to capitalize on a great western and spit on The Duke’s iconic role. The more I read about it, saw the cast, and finally that the Coen Brothers were directing, my anticipation started to grow and now it is the film that I most look forward to this Christmas season. I think it will end up being a respectful tribute to the original and a compelling film as a whole.
Synopsis from IMDB: Travel writer Lemuel Gulliver takes an assignment in Bermuda, but ends up on the island of Liliput, where he towers over its tiny citizens.
Trailer:
Chris’ Take: I miss the days when Jack Black was still a supporting actor. His comedic style is only good in small doses and it is difficult to watch a feature length film with him as the lead. The trailer, like the idea to remake this to begin with, seems bereft of comedy, with the exception of the throw away Kiss gag at the end. I like Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, and hopefully their involvement will bring some spark to the film.
Somewhere
Starring: Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Chris Pontius, Benicio Del Toro
Director: Sofia Coppola
Synopsis from IMDB: A hard-living Hollywood actor re-examines his life after his 11-year-old daughter surprises him with a visit.
Trailer:
Chris’ Take: Sofia Coppola returns to the director chair, examining the life of another successful actor in a foreign country. This film already won the Golden Lion Award for Best Picture at the Venice International Film Festival, which bodes well for its critical reception in the States. It looks like it will be an intriguing character study, and a very slow-moving film, that will be worth seeing if you have the patience.
Country Strong
Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester
Director: Shana Feste
Synopsis from IMDB: A drama centered on a rising country-music songwriter (Hedlund) who sparks with a fallen star (Paltrow). Together, they mount his ascent and her comeback, which leads to romantic complications involving her husband/manager (McGraw) and a beauty queen-turned-singer (Meester).
Trailer:
Chris’ Take: The Academy Awards love their films about fallen music stars and this film seems like it is trying to bank on the success of another washed up country music star film, Crazy Heart. These films, especially when they involve country music, aren’t usually my cup of tea, but chances are it will at least garner some recognition for performances, and music, come Oscar time.
Synopsis from IMDB: A French illusionist finds himself out of work and travels to Scotland, where he meets a young woman. Their ensuing adventure changes both their lives forever.
Trailer:
Chris’ Take: This looks like a beautiful animated film, and from the amount of critical acclaim, is going to give the audience favorite, Toy Story 3, a run for its money in the Best Animated Feature category.
Several sources have recently reported that M. Night Shyamalan will be teaming up with Will Smith’s Overbrook production company to produce a super-secret sci-fi adventure starring…..Jaden Smith (what a surprise)! This new Shyamalan journey will be entitled One Thousand A.E. and is being penned by Gary Whitta, who wrote The Book of Eli.
Overbrook, whose management consists of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith and a few others, has had some success producing what seems like almost exclusively Smith family vehicles (which makes sense). However, they are branching out with 31 more projects in development.
That being said, I am a little bit skeptical about this film. Shyamalan’s success recently has been underwhelming, both in the box office and critically. Although, Devil, the first part of his Night Chronicles was much better than critics and bias movie-goers gave it credit. Even though I had my doubts about Shyamalan’s involvement, I went into it with an open mind and I thought Devil was very entertaining and a pretty good film overall. Anyway, Shyamalan had a new project that he was working on that boasted attachment from such star names as Bruce Willis, Bradley Cooper, and Gwyneth Paltrow that couldn’t find a buyer and was quietly shelved. Which begs the question about what was wrong with it? Was it just a bad script? Bad timing? Lack of funds? Or was it that due to the severe backlash in the media against Shyamalan’s work that he has been black balled? Yes, I might be taking it a bit too far, but I think there is some legitimacy to that thought.
Stick with me while I state my opinion about why I think this is a bad idea. Moving on to Jaden Smith, who recently had a lot of success in The Karate Kid, but I don’t think his acting skills are quite up to par where he can carry something like an entire sci-fi film. Will Smith is great, I like pretty much all of his films, and enjoy watching reruns of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and I mean no disrespect to him, but I really don’t think his son can act and it seems like he is being forced on the industry because of his dad.
Jaden Smith looked even more robotic than Keanu Reeves in The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Possibly, Overbrook found a desperate director whose name could still carry some clout at the box office, although it has been significantly diminished, who has worked with terrible acting before, and got him to agree to the project. I am sure there is a better explanation for what happened, but that is just what it seems like right now. It looks like Smith wanted someone who was available to direct and get this project going as soon as possible.
Do you think Will Smith is trying to put his son out there too much? Do you think Shyamalan can recover some credibility with this project?
The Dark Knight Rises
Contagion
Brian Pac Sostak
Chris Petersen
Sarah Higgins
stjerome03
Chris and Pac Take on Hollywood 