Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Bunches of new trailers popping up online this morning. Some I’ve seen before, some I haven’t.
The people who cut the trailer for Paramount’s THE STEPFORD WIVES did a nice job, but they probably weren’t counting on RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, and I, ROBOT all doing riffs on the same idea, the commercial-that’s-not-really-a-commercial for some product in the movie. In the case of STEPFORD, it looks like they’re not trying to preserve the original film’s twist, a good idea. Instead, it looks like they’re telling you right up front what the deal is, and they’re after something else. If Frank Oz has made this into a wicked satirical ride, it could work. Nicole Kidman certainly appears to be having fun in the trailer, and it’s got a great cast, including Matthew Broderick, Christopher Walken, and the frighteningly well-cast Faith Hill. Can’t wait to see the first full trailer for this one so we can judge the tone:
CLICK HERE for THE STEPFORD WIVES!!
SPARTAN’s an interesting one. There’s a little mini-trend in full bloom this year of films about the President’s daughter. I can only assume that it took this long for the development machine to cough up this many Chelsea Clinton-inspired stories at once by coincidence. This is, by far, the most interesting of the bunch. David Mamet’s writing and directing this one, and the cast is made up of all character actors. I’m particularly pleased to see Ed O’Neill here, and I hope this is a good Val Kilmer performance. When he cares, he’s fascinating.
CLICK HERE for SPARTAN!!
I think it’s easy for embittered film geeks to gripe and grouse about the previews so far for HIDALGO, but you’d be a fool to bet against the Disney marketing muscle. This new trailer is the best of the bunch, and it looks to me like a big, pretty family adventure that will clean up. Viggo’s beloved right now, and I’ll go see anything where he not only rides his horse but talks to it. Sounds like it was written especially for him. I’m not particularly hung up on the “true story” part of the trailer. If anything, I think it’s funny. This is true the way THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN is true... but who cares? If I had kids, this would be exactly the sort of thing I’d be looking for, and I’ll bet this trailer gets them a big first weekend when it opens.
CLICK HERE for HIDALGO!!
What can I say about SCOOBY-DOO 2? The dog... has... an Afro. At least it looks like Warner Bros. has given more room to the things that worked in part one... namely Matt Lillard as Shaggy and his relationship with Scooby. This trailer’s all about the two of them, with a few promising peeks at Velma in red plastic. Zoinks, indeed.
CLICK HERE for SCOOBY-DOO 2!!
”BANNED IN FRANCE IN 1965. SCREENED FOR THE PENTAGON IN 2003.” This trailer is riveting, and if you can’t see why Rialto is brilliant for bringing THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS back for a theatrical run right now, then I don’t know what to tell you. This could be one of the smartest revivals I’ve seen in recent memory, a matter of timing turning something into a must-see all over again. Consider me sold.
CLICK HERE for THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS!!
I'm going to have my first RUMBLINGS for the New Year online sometime today, and part of it is going to be a review/preview of Mark Hamill's first film as a director. If you're interested in taking a look at the new trailer, though, someone slipped me a link, so you can go peek right now:
CLICK HERE for COMIC BOOK: THE MOVIE!!
Finally, if you head over to CHUD, you’ll see a great trailer for Satoshi Kon’s new film TOKYO GODFATHERS, which Capone reviewed just the other day. In addition to the trailer, CHUD’s got some clips for you. This filmmaker is one of the masters of the form right now, and the idea of a new film by him in theaters in a matter of weeks makes me very, very happy.
CLICK HERE for TOKYO GODFATHERS!!
Good stuff, and tons of it. Enjoy.
"Moriarty" out.
