Cool News
TrailerMan looks at previews for LIBERTY HEIGHTS, DOGMA and MAN ON THE MOON
Hey folks, the ever so cool TrailerMan is once again previewing previews of coming attractions coming soon to a theater screen near you. Personally I'm dying to see all three of these, and I've heard that the Liberty Heights trailer is already out and showing... Though I have yet to see it. Boy... that film is really coming out of nowhere for me. We have heard next to nothing about it... And it's now a major film on my "TO SEE" list. Enough of my tip-typing and onto the show. Maestro... Music.... Curtains! Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go!
There are some great movies ahead........and the previews to match.
Most should be up by the weekend, or even this Wednesday since two
movies opening, but I thought that to be the case for one or two this
past weekend. Not much luck here in Manhattan, or at least in Chelsea
but maybe I was steered into the wrong auditorium(s).....again.
Nevertheless, great and well worth checking out.
LIBERTY HEIGHTS (Warner Brothers)
Barry Levinson once again returns to familiar territory in what I
presume is the fourth of a series of his semiautobiographical films set
in and around Baltimore (Diner, Tin Men, but for me the best, Avalon).
This definitely has all the qualities one would expect from the director
with a solid cast each making an imprssion headed by Adrien Brody, Joe
Mantegna and Bebe Neuwirth. As with the previous films, a superior sense
of place and time is established (clearly the mid 1950's) in what
unspools as a compelling coming of age story since it involves an
interracial romance. Even with the confines of two minutes the romance
comes off as sincere and winning considering it a time of little
tolerance. Humor punctuates throughout as does a sense of family and
very touching insights. A class act, but will need the rapture of the
critics and public alike to carry into the awards season and
consideration, obvious its mid November release positions as such.
DOGMA (Lions Gate)
The trailer I viewed I am sure is green band and considering the outcry
of blasphemy over content, theme and the like isn't evident here. What
is on screen looks fantastic. No secret the movie stars Ben Affleck and
Matt Damon who play angels on a mission....yeah thats not real clear
and thankfully neither is Linda Fiorentino and the abortion clinic. But
Alan Rickman is feartured throughout as a boozy fey angel of importance
and Chris Rock, splat! literally falling from the sky on asphalt is a
delicious snip of film that sets up an irreverance that is cheeky but
not at all offensive. AND THAT is what makes this trailer a standout.
Add to that the coolness of Jay and Silent Bob at the end and very
subtle hints of a squishy demon about, and you have for the college,
Kevin Smith fans, AICN fans, alternative film/specialized with apparent
cross-over appeal crowd, a movie that they've probably heard about, but
this trailer will get them there.
MAN ON THE MOON (Universal)
Sometimes films get made about individuals or events the public as a
whole may not in their lifetime have grasped as "significant". Is this
the case about Andy Kaufman? To be sure, yes, go ask anyone over 45 or
under 25 and the answers blur. This trailer addresses that right from
the get go with his name and date of birth/death followed with triple
screens of standup, TAXI, wrestling and more with voice overs of "comic
genius, scammer, nutso, unpopular, beloved, original"......In 45 seconds
or less one is intrigued by the dichotomies of this unique performer and
then floored by Jim Carrey in his appearance and total immersion into
one's memory of who was Andy Kaufman. Cue up the requisite REM song and
listen how the words if one did hap-hazardly pay attention too when
first a hit, are all of a sudden visually realized as "Andy Kaufman in
the wrestling match yeah yeah yeah yeah" or " Andy are you goofin on
Elvis" etc. As obvious a ploy as that may seem, it drives most
convincingly the interest and desire to unlock the key into this talent
all the while conveying a sense of melancholy but certainly an interest
in the man, his life and his relationships. Danny de Vito is identified
as his manager, George Shapiro which is a terrific bit of inspired
casting considering TAXI, and Courtney Love has a few intimate scenes as
Lynn his girlfriend. With all of that, and a reminder that the Milos
Foreman directed ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS NEST and AMADEUS, the trailer
still may not convince some to go out of sheer indifference. But it
does the best possible selling of this biography with a dignity Andy
Kaufman finally deserves. Kudos.
-
+ Expand All
-
Sep 03, 1999 1:36:36 AM CDT
AND.... I have something to say about Liberty Heights as well, a
by gaveltogavel
Yup, not only am I first (see previous post), but I ALSO HAVE SOMETHING RELEVANT TO SAY! WOOHOO! You see, I saw the Liberty Heights trailer this evening preceding The Muse (more on The Muse later), and, I've got to say.... I don't agree with the trailer man. Liberty Heights looks far too feel goodyish ... er... or... something. He's got it right as far as Levinson nailed the look of the era on the head... but.... um..... you know in the Outside Providence previews how the movie looks good up until they introduce the fact that there are romance elements? Then the movie looks cheesy? They you run and scream and hide? Well, that's the Liberty Heights preview. For god's sake Hollywood, forget demographics and tell us stories. Forget this "oh, we need to have a love interest for the male lead" crap. Tell the freakin fawking story and leave it at that. Which is not to say that gawky fawkin freaky geeky love isn't the front and center in the plot of fawkin freaky geeky Liberty Heights. It probably is. I'm just sick and tired of movies like this. Give us the period and give us the story set in the period. Well, anyhow, I saw The Muse tonight and I've got to say.... that it ate serious curly monkey tail. Holy shizzit, what a disapointment. I love Brooks, but sheesh..... ugh. Moriarty, you were right and I should've listened. The first 15 minutes showed a lot of promise and then...... I found myself cringing for the remainder of the running time. And the ending? Maybe Albert Brooks, like his character in The Muse, has "lost his edge."
-
The trailer for Dogma...ehhh...it's so HOLLYWOOD. I'm not saying Kevin Smith has sold out, I'm just commenting on how much I was reminded of the Batman & Robin trailer. Ehhh...
I earnestly hope that the Kaufman biopic is not schmaltzy and sentimental. It would be very easy for Forman to get maudlin about the last few months of Andy Kaufman's life. I want an honest look into Kaufman, not a "we were so bad, we underappreciated a GENIUS." That wouldn't be honoring what Andy stood for, at least to this otaku. -
Kevin Smith has gone Hollywood you say? Gee, so you never saw his super 8 indie 'Mallrats' huh?
-
Since you review exclusively trailers, I am confused as to whether you are rating the Avalon trailer above the trailers for Diner and Tin Men, or the film above the films (or is it the trailer over the films, or the film over the trailers?)
What gives? -
When Kevin Smith makes a low-budget film like Chasing Amy or even Clerks, people say "Gee, I wish it had a bigger budget". When he makes bigger movies like Mallrats and Dogma, they say "Oh my God, he's sold out". Who are you to decide the purity of his intentions anyway? He's a movie maker who is making movies. It'd be something else if Jay and Silent Bob were suddenly in Gap commercials singing awful songs en mass with a bunch of tonedeaf coke-heads, or pimping the excellent service at your local Pep Boys, that would be "selling out". Jumping on his integrity just because he got a friggin' budget this time around is just childish. Why don't you make a movie and let us judge it on merit or lack of.
-
i always thought you were full of shit from your postings before but you hit this nail on the head.
i feel the same way........ -
...shitheads, that's what people who have a CAREER in the film industry ASPIRE to: they want to get to Hollywood. He wants to be there, or he wouldn't have made Mallrats and Dogma. Quit buggin' about it and see the fucking movie.
-
Smith a Sellout? Got news for ya: except for Chasing Amy, his movies were always about exploitation of people's fondness for Star Wars and comic books. Maybe selling out will make him better. Oh, by the way, any movie that involves a heroine working at an abortion clinic or Chris Rock as the 13th Apostle is hardly in danger of selling out. Having read the script, I do not object to the pointed religious satire. That is the best thing it has going for it. Smith has frequently been able to create great characters that are totally believable, as well as situations that are lifelike and sometimes tragic. My only problem with his work is his need to fill his flicks with pop culture references that aren't even that smart (except the rant against Star Wars by the black guy in Amy, now that was just plain funny). The script of Dogma had some real wit and some wonderful writing, but then Jay and Silent Bob show up and it sorta undermines the rest of it. Maybe I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground (and I'm sure I'm gonna hear about it) but perhaps I have a point.
By the way, I'll be first in line for Man on The Moon. Forman? Genius. Kauffman? Alternately hilarious and freakish. Carrey? Developing into a national treasure with each film. The guys who wrote it? Ed Wood was a brilliant film, and so was People Vs. Larry Flynt to a lesser extent. In short, I can't wait! -
While this happy clown has been trying to avoid most details of Dogma as I can (I don't wanna spoil it, ya know), I couldn't help but here about a demon in the movie that's made out of poop. Well, let me tell you, I think that's a brilliant idea! When you're a guy like me, you yearn for more feces in big budget Hollywood movies. Sadly, you almost never see them. Thanks, Kevin Smith! You've made this clown's dreams come true! Of course, I doubt that any rectal-borne hellspawn could withstand the righteous glory of my Golden Shower.
-
One can only hope. Pandering to
the lowest
common denominator would be an
improvement over his practice of pandering to
the juvenile comic book geek
subculture. -
Kevin Smith makes shitty movies.
Budget, no budget, sell-out, no sell-out... None of it changes the fact that Kevin Smith makes shitty movies. -
Barry Levinson's an actor's fave and a writer but as for being a DIRECTOR my friend who was on the Liberty Heights crew had nothing much good to say about him. Levinson kinda waltzes in, gives the actors a few minimal directions, and sits in his chair. He knows nothing about lenses or cinematography; he leaves all the directing decisions on angles and such up to his DP. Then he yells at them when things take too long. Levinson's got a certain bitterness towards DPs ever since The Natural when that film's DP tore his a*****e out in front of the crew. This is striaght from my friend on the LH crew, who has heard a hundred and one other true Hollywood tales from the DPs and crews he's worked with over the years. Levinson has an ear for dialogue and an easy relationship with actors but this explains to me why you can't say there is any such thing as a Barry Levinson movie or a Levinson look to a film, like you can with many other directors. It's because these various other people are actually making the films so there isn't much of a signature style to be found in his canon.
-
To say that I have high expecattions for "Man on the Moon" is like saying that something important happend to America in 1963. Foreman is one of the most enduring directors of our times, Kaufman one of the most intriguing "subjects for the microscope", and Carrey (to my mind) one of the most unrealised acting talents of the 1990's. Alongside "The Cradle Will Rock", "Man On The Moon" will be on everybodies award nominations list next year - not that that matters cos' most good films go unrealised - but it will be good. There's nothing up it's sleeve - nothing, it's cool.
-
Slipped in an opinion on the movie AVALON, did not mean to confuse you Musgrave, but actually i just cued up the original AVALON trailer and well,. treacle sums it up; felt like an eons old Regan campaign spot...frustrating since the film a totally satisfying and emotionally resonant experience rich with detail and flavor of the time with one of the best performances this decade by a child star, Elija Wood. As for Harry's treat preview for "Princess Mononoke" coupled with "Dinosaurs" a few weeks past....his hard work, energy and enthusiasm are generating rewards we all get to share in and for just that Harry, a Texas sized thanks back to ya.
-
Big T here. Sold out! Kevin Smith! come on people. First off i know for fact that the budget for this film wasnt that high (at least not sell out to hollywood high harry back me up) and number two the whole reason Kevin Smith keeps on getting good actors is because his scripts are good. Good Example of this is Very Bad Things and Being John Malkovich (look at it John Malkovich and Cameron Diaz) So lay off Kevin Smith he is a very good filmaker and doesnt deserve this bullshit. Big T out.
-
You know, I'm sure I could just swear a bit at people who don't like Kevin Smith, but I don't know what the point would be. I mean, when someone goes "Kevin Smith rules you fucking retard" you tend not to bother reading it or listening to their opinion. Why can't people take the time to make points for why the like or dislike things?
Me, personally? I love Smith's flicks. I think they're great. Clerks is what got me interested in making movies again after a long period where I figured it was impossible without money, until I saw what is to this day my favorite movie, made for 27 thousand dollars. Mallrats gets continually beat up when it's a thousand times funnier than any other teen comedies nowadays (American Pie for example), and Chasing Amy was funny as hell and also intelligent and touching. But, these are only my opinions. And as my opinions, I don't give a fuck if other people share them. Don't like Clerks? That's fine. Everyone has different tastes. But because you don't like it doesn't mean you have to come on the Talkback board and post some message with tons of spelling errors saying something to the extent of, 'JSamson, you are a fucking retard.' If you don't like Smith's movies, good for you. Watch movies you do like. But why take the time to bitch about the fact you didn't? The same goes for the people who can't accept the fact somebody might, heaven forbid, share a different view than them.
As for the 'sellout' argument...well, DWD phrased it better than I ever can at the top. The entire reason Smith made Clerks was because he wanted to make movies. Just because he gets more money to work with to make the movie look better...I don't see how that makes him a sellout.
(Me, personally, if I made a little indie flick and some studio exec offered to pay me a shitload of money to make, say, Monkey Trouble 2, I'd ask 'em where I sign. But that's just me and my greed. I could always go back and make quality movies afterwards. Nothing wrong with being able to afford rent and stuff.) I don't think you could make a movie like Dogma for 27K. But hey, that's just me.
Now, I'll be first in line to see Dogma, I'll tape the trailer when it's on ET and watch it a bunch, I basically am just psyched to see this movie. But if you're not, than great. Nobody's taping your eyes open and forcing you to watch them.
So just shut the fuck up and stop posting your dumb messages to talkback.
-=-JSamson
(master of completely undermining his entire point with one closing line.) -
I always enjoy TrailerMan's articles (or whatever you call them on internet sites), but today's were twice as rewarding since MAN ON THE MOON and DOGMA are in my top five on my to see list. (The others being MAGNOLIA, FIGHT CLUB, and AMERICAN BEAUTY.) Good job, TM.
Personally, I love Kevin Smith's films. And there is no way he has sold out. He did with MALLRATS. I admit that. But the fact that he made a controversial religious movie--known in the business as box office poison--proves that he isn't working for The Man.
By the way, a long time ago there was some info on AICN about promotional phone numbers for MAGNOLIA. Anybody hear anything? -
In case you hadn't noticed, this
is (ostensibly) an open forum.
If honest criticism of Kevin Smith
offends you, you are free not to
read any, just as devout Catholics
are free not to see Dogma if it
offends them. But for the record,
Kevin Smith has two things going
for him: A good sense of humor,
and a genuine (albeit overrated)
gift for writing dialogue. But
his stories are either weak
(Chasing Amy) or nonexistent
(Clerks). His direction is
consistently flat and uninteresting. If it hurts you to read that, maybe you shouldn't invest so much emotionally in the man and his films. -
Contrary to what you people insist, Mallrats was not a sellout. It was, if anything, an homage and parody of teen flicks. Although many of Smith's fans didn't like it, it was still original. So what if he missed this one? He did not create the "slacker/work world" genre with Clerks, he perfected it. Just because he tried to make an utterly insincere movie, people insist it was quite the opposite. It wasn't my favourite movie, just sophomore jinx, and if KS keeps up the good work, he can be remembered in the future as one of the greatest directors of all time. So all of you just lay off him and his movies.
AND THATS IT!
-Neezbotch -
I'd have to disagree with those of you that say he can't write a good story. First of all, he is a master of dialogue, seeing as that's basically all Clerks and Mallrats were (I agree, there were no real stories there). Second, his best writings haven't been made into movies (I haven't read Dogma's script yet, so I don't know.) If anyone's a comic book fan you've probably read his 8 issue Daredevil story. As far as I'm concerned it's one of the best comic stories I've ever read. It has the dialogue (and he never once mentions Star Wars or the anatomical parts of superheroes) and some great character-building. Anyone read his script for Superman Lives? The only thing that movie would need is Christopher Reeves in his prime and some awesome actors for the supporting cast. The script rocked. I for one hope he'll wrap up his New Jersey story after Dogma and get onto some more 'serious' projects, because I know he can write some incredible stuff.
-
I would have to agree with Daredevil, KS can write very well. His run on DD has proven it. The comic is very character driven. I'd say he writes comics better than he writes film. I think - for the first time ever - I will actually read a DC book other than Batman, Superman, and Nightwing when his run on Green Arrow begins next year. He does have a way with characters. Is he going to win Eisner awards for it? I wouldn't expect it. But he *CAN* write. His films however, now those he needs to work on a little. Still good, but they could be better.
-
After reading all the posts I thought I'd quote Kevin Smith himself (on Chasing Amy) "I know [Miramax's] Harvey [Weinstein] liked CLERKS, but he really connected with this movie for some reason. There's also a new level of respect for us, because not only did we make a movie that he feels is great, but we made it for nothing. That it's a strong film makes him happy, and it makes us happy because we know we can keep working. We know the next one will be a $4 million flick; it's much larger, special effects are there. But the one after that is $500,000. I just like the idea of keeping it balanced."
-
Well, let's settle something...I didn't say I had anything against people who don't like Kevin Smith movies. If it came of as that, I didn't mean it, sorry. And I have no problem with people who state INTELLIGENTLY, like you did Marsyas, as to why they don't like his films. I am also aware everyone's free to an opinion, but I was merely suggesting that people who merely write things to the extent of 'Smith sucks you suck for liking him' and wonderful thought-out pieces like that, should shut up and not waste our time.
Did I have a problem with your post? Not at all. My best friend hates Kevin Smith movies too. Your opinion's just as valid as mine.
And that's about all I'll say on this.
-=-JSamson
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Delayed Nine Months...Thanks To A Force More Sinister Than Cobra!! -- 214 total posts 213 posts
- THE DARK KNIGHT RISES TV Spot Has New Footage And Dialogue! UPDATED To Add Second Spot! -- 160 total posts 160 posts
- Who Is The Voice Of Batman In WB's Animated Two Part THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS? -- 154 total posts 154 posts
- Cats Beware!! An ALF Movie May Soon Come Our Way... -- 148 total posts 147 posts
- UPDATED!!! A Six-Pack Of New Character Posters For THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Forecast A Lot Of Gotham Rain And Snow!! -- 269 total posts 80 posts
- Gary Oldman Joins The ROBOCOP Remake! -- 76 total posts 76 posts
- AICN COMICS REVIEWS: INCREDIBLE HULK! DANGER CLUB! CLiNT 2.1! JAMES BOND! BATMAN INC.! AND MORE!!! -- 67 total posts 67 posts
- Baz's THE GREAT GATSBY explodes with one helluva dazzling trailer! -- 187 total posts 63 posts
- The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day… the horror… the horror… -- 49 total posts 49 posts
- Zach Galifianakis Is Ignatius J. Reilly? -- 84 total posts 49 posts