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?
After a brief hiatus, I am back to wield the keyboard and discuss my thoughts and predictions about the movies opening this week. Last weekend, Thor continued to hold the #1 position in the box office, but took an almost 50% cut in returns ($34.5 million) and was tailed by the newest chick-centric comedy Bridesmaids ($24.5 million). Priest, the other new wide release last weekend underwhelmed, even with the inflated returns for 3D, debuting at #4 with $14.5 million, which was right behind Fast Five in its third week of release. However, their looms a Hollywood cash cow on the horizon, which will most likely sink all competition this week:
Starring: Johnny Depp, Ian McShane, Geoffrey Rush, Penelope Cruz
Director: Rob Marshall
Synopsis from IMDB: Jack Sparrow and Barbossa embark on a quest to find the elusive fountain of youth, only to discover that Blackbeard and his daughter are after it too.
Trailer:
Chris’ Take: I remember watching the first film in this series and thinking it was a swashbuckling trip through pirate lore, but once Hollywood realized that they had the start of a successful franchise, it seemed like they ripped the heart out of the movie.
I imagine the ceremony looked like this.
The last two installments were CGI fueled over-cooked versions that only maintained a small bit of the life and promise that was exuded at the start. This latest trailer seems like Jack Sparrow will continue to be overused and run into the ground. I am already kind of sick of watching him during the trailer. I like Geoffrey Rush’s character better at this point and am interested to see what Ian McShane does as Blackbeard. Also, Penelope Cruz’s accent is irresistible. The early reviews are mixed (currently 42% on RT). Most, even the good reviews, seem to echo my predictions for it, that Disney put too much emphasis on Captain Jack and CGI. Regardless, people will show up in droves for this one and make Disney a pretty penny.
Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen
Director: Woody Allen
Synopsis from IMDB: A romantic comedy about a family traveling to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.
Trailer:
Chris’ Take: With Woody Allen, you are never quite sure what you’re going to get, but this trailer brought a very similar feel to 2007’s Vicky Christina Barcelona, which is a good thing. I like the way Allen studies the ins and outs and misconceptions in relationships, and it looks like he will continue to do that with this film. It is receiving very positive reviews as well (81% on RT), and it looks like this will be the best film to come out this weekend.
Starring: Kris Kristofferson, Val Kilmer, Hilary Duff, Reece Thompson
Director: Shane Dax Taylor
Synopsis from IMDB: E.F. Bloodworth has returned to his home – a forgotten corner of Tennessee – after forty years of roaming. The wife he walked out on has withered and faded, his three sons are grown and angry. Warren is a womanizing alcoholic, Boyd is driven by jealousy to hunt down his wife and her lover, and Brady puts hexes on his enemies from his mamma’s porch. Only Fleming, the old man’s grandson, treats him with the respect his age commands, and sees past all the hatred to realize the way it can poison a man’s soul. It is ultimately the love of Raven Lee, a sloe-eyed beauty from another town, that gives Fleming the courage to reject this family curse.
Trailer:
Chris’ Take: The marketing campaign behind this is clear….”Remember Crazy Heart? Yeah? Well, it’s like that, in case you missed it…or want to watch it again.” Even the poster is almost exactly the same, the songs are written by the same guy. I just don’t know how I feel about another Crazy Heart. With only one “Rotten” review to go off of, it is hard to determine where this will land, but I am guessing its critical success will be more like Country Strong (22% on RT), rather than Crazy Heart.
Starring: Nova Venerable, Alicia Davis, Rocco Bulmer
Director: Greg Jacobs, Jon Siskel
Synopsis from IMDB: By turns hopeful and heartbreaking, Louder Than a Bomb follows the fortunes of four Chicago-area high school poetry teams as they prepare for and compete in the world’s largest youth slam.
Trailer:
Chris’ Take: This documentary has stormed just about every film festival with great success and currently has 100% on RT. While this isn’t something you would rush to the theater for, it certainly looks well worth tracking down on Netflix. Based on the reviews and all the acclaim it received so far, I am guessing we’ll be hearing about this one come awards season next year.
Late last year we kicked off a flurry of The Dark Knight Rises rumors with speculation on who the villain would be for Nolan’s third installment. We now know for sure that both Bane (Tom Hardy) and Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) will both be involved in the plot, but at the time the popular rumor was that Hugo Strange might make an appearance. These rumors have since fallen off with the announcement of Bane and Catwoman, as well as additional rumors of Talia Al Ghul, The League of Shadows, and Alberto Falcone. However, the Hugo Strange rumors ramped back up this past week thanks to My Entertainment World.
An unconfirmed plot synopsis for the next Batman film hit the internet including a plot line for Hugo Strange. In this synopsis, Dr. Hugo Strange, a villainous psychiatrist, concocts a a plan to destroy Batman and ultimately replace him. Though Strange will appear as a villain with similar motivations in the upcoming video game Batman: Arkham City, this plot line seems to fit nicely into Nolan’s universe and gives the film a more intellectually formidable villain opposite Batman. It could also explain Bane’s presence in Gotham as he was created by Hugo in the comics.
This, however, can never be explained
I’m still not convinced that Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard’s characters are as advertised and I think it’s possible Nolan and Co. could be intentionally leading us astray with some of these announcements and/or rumors. I’d personally like to see Gordon-Levitt play a villain like Strange as opposed to an “ambitious cop”, as Strange appears to be a character with much more depth and importance. However, we’ve seen villain over-kill in superhero films before so the inclusion of a third opposition to The Dark Knight must be handled with care.
What do you think, is everything “as advertised” with The Dark Knight Rises or are we purposefully being fed false rumors and announcements? Would you like to see Hugo Strange in this next Batman film given what we already know about Bane and Catwoman? The Dark Knight Rises is slated for release July 20, 2012.
The Dark Knight Rises
Contagion
Brian Pac Sostak
Chris Petersen
Sarah Higgins
stjerome03
Chris and Pac Take on Hollywood 