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Friday, January 08, 2010

Remember the Titans?

There's a renaissance afoot.

I haven't been this excited about a crop of upcoming movies since I don't know when.

And that's due not in small part to some particularly compelling trailers. (I'm hopeful that the films will live up to the hype. I stubbornly cling to faith in the art of filmmaking -- perhaps the only example of eternal optimism on my part.)

After a year in which we saw a dozen films, maybe, the anticipation is all the more welcome.

So take a look, and be enthralled. Set aside the skepticism. Downplay the disbelief. Get your hopes up, people! Maybe, if enough of us believe, we can will the movie world back to excellence.

Here's the rundown on what I can't wait to see:

Clash of the Titans

I have quite a nostalgic fondness for the 1981 original, stemming from middle school studies of Greek mythology for Super Bowl -- the academic battle of wits, not the one with all the Roman numerals. (Laurence Olivier as Zeus! Harry Hamlin as Perseus! An epic battle for our hearts!) So I was rather skeptical when I first heard rumors of a remake. But having watched this trailer. I'm sold, and I'm psyched.



The Wolfman

We've been waiting for this one a long time. It's been years since the news that Benicio Del Toro was to play the iconic Universal monster -- a great choice, I thought then, and still do.

Then, the movie got pushed back. And back.

But now, it looks like our wait might finally pay off.

The buzz has attributed delays to the need for time to work on fx. With Rick Baker, of An American Werewolf in London fame, on set, surely it will be worth it.



The A-Team

I know what you're thinking. Another remake?!? I thought I was sick of them too. But here I am, talking up a third one. And the source material for this one is classically '80s, too. But ever since the release of the first official picture of the main characters, I've been wildly hoping for the best.

The trailer showcases all the kitschy cache of the old TV show. (And, for you District 9 fans, note that Murdock is played by Wikus himself, Sharlto Copley.)

It promises to be a fun summer romp.



Shutter Island

Another long-anticipated film, the release of which was pushed back. Scorsese does terror. I reeeeally hope it works. And I really hope patient 67 isn't who I think it is.



Inception

Another Leo DiCaprio film, another thriller. Add Christopher Nolan (director of Memento, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight), and I don't need any convincing. This trailer messes with your head, leaves you with questions begging for answers ...



Hot Tub Time Machine

Continuing with the '80s theme ... This looks like it might be fun. And John Cusack comedy? Yes, please. The premise is simple: Four funny guys time travel by way of a hot tub. Hilarity no doubt ensues. (The trailer is red band for language. If you're offended, you can't say I didn't warn you ... )



Other notables

The Green Hornet -- I have to be honest and say that I don't know much about the source material. The Green Hornet's no Batman, after all. But director Michel Gondry is one of my favorite filmmakers -- such an artist! -- that I'm completely intrigued nonetheless.

Eclipse -- No trailer yet, but I have been looking forward all along to seeing what David Slade -- director of the great and terrorising vampire flick 30 Days of Night -- would do with the story. My prediction: Steve will hate it, I will enjoy it. The series (books and films) has its faults, but I'm tuned in till the end.

Machete -- So, seems as if the what-ifs might've gotten out of control on this one. It seemed like such a simple little story back when it was a mock trailer in the Grindhouse package. But now that it's materialized, in addition to the great Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin, it has Robert DeNiro, Steven Seagal, Jessica Alba and ... Lindsay Lohan?!? I love Robert Rodriguez, but I dunno ...

The Expendables -- Seems it's the year of the macho renegades. This one's no exception. Sylvester Stallone (directing and starring), Jet Li, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin, Randy Couture, Danny Trejo, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Zayas (Angel Batista from Dexter) and more. It's definitely got potential.

The Lightning Thief Greek mythology redux. Modern kids are the progeny of the gods. Director Chris Columbus has quite a pedigree (Adventures in Babysitting. Gremlins. Goonies.) Might be fun ...

The Last Airbender --M. Night Shyamalan. Dev Patel (of Slumdog Millionaire fame). Looks interesting. But compelling? Jury's out.

Morning Glory -- JJ Abrams. A newsman with scruples(?). Rachel McAdams. It's got good things going for it. Will I see it in the theater? I don't know. Maybe the trailer will get me more excited ...

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Thursday, March 29, 2007

A Fist Full of Yen!

The other day on the Mondo Movie podcast a listener wrote in and described the films of Takashi Miike as the cinematic equivalent of a child shewing their food and then opening their mouth to gross you out with the contents. I'd say that's a pretty accurate description, but Miike's new movie looks to be a departure from the usual shock for the sake of shock fare we are used to from the man behind Ichi the Killer and Visitor Q. Check out this wee, little trailer for his new "Eastern Western," Sukiyaki Western Django. Weird stuff.

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Friday, February 16, 2007

A Load of Grindhouse Goodness!

A couple of months ago I posted a link to the teaser trailer for Grindhouse. They just released the official trailer, and, even though it doesn't seem possible, it's ten times cooler.

Plus, don't miss this interview/EPK thingie called, What is Grindhouse?

Finally, a few months ago Robert Rodriguez announced a contest where fans could create thier own, wholly original trailers in the style of 70s exploitation (much like those that will appear between the two features in Grindhouse) and the winners would be screened at the SXSW festival. The folks at Aint It Cool have rounded up a couple of collections of these fan trailers and they can be found here and here. Some are good and some are pretty bad, but my favorite (possibly for no other reason than the fact that it has the greatest name EVER) is Load Bearing Stud.

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Friday, February 09, 2007

Face Your Fears!

Remaking the classic (and not so classic) horror films from the seventies is en vogue right now, but when I heard they were gonna do a "remake" of Faces of Death, I was baffled to say the least. Yeah, I know that the majority of the scenes were faked, but still... a remake of what is essentially a parade of disjointed clip is pretty redundant. Plus, I've seen things ten times worse than the original FOD films on the internet... on accident!

But then I heard that there was a screenplay out there that basically took the premise of the original films (bizarro Dr. Francis B. Gross' ongoing quest to document grisly death scenes) and structured a plot around it (possibly characters investigating a series of mysterious deaths). I have to admit, I love that idea. Very meta. Very modern. It is such a cool idea, in fact, that I quickly shrugged it off as a fan-fueled rumor that would most likely never materialize. Then, today they had a link to what might actually be a trailer for a FOD remake on Aint It Cool.

Now, I don't wanna get my hopes up too much, but the idea's pretty solid and I'm dying for some retro-horror not produced by Michael Bay. Here's hoping that this one is for real.

Check out the trailer, here.

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Thursday, February 01, 2007

Number TWO in the Hood, G!


Yesterday after I got off work I hit the Y. Luckily I got there early enough to change the tv away from BET (which it is perpetually set to). I always listen to the ole Ipod while I'm on the treadmill, so I usually opt for one of the news channels that have enough scrolling and otherwise graphic info that listening is not imperative.


Yesterday, I stopped on MSNBC and there appeared to be some sort of "BREAKING NEWS!" going on. Of course, previous experience has taught me that what a news channel considers "BREAKING NEWS!" is seldom worthy of yanking out the earbuds. So, I just kept on going, glancing up only occasionally to check out what was going on. Really, it was only random words that registered in my head. Boston, bomb, terrorist plot... It was only later yesterday evening that I learned it was all complete overreaction to guerilla marketing for the upcoming Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie.


Yeah, it's pretty lame. You'd think that someone... anyone at the Boston police department would have had the wherewithall to say, "Hey, guys. Maybe we should at least give this thing a little look-see before we call out the bomb squad, S.W.A.T. team, k-9 units, and the remote controlled bomb-detonating robot." If they had actually looked at these things (and I'm not talking about poking around at them, either... I'm just talking about opening your eyes!), they would have most likely come to the conclusion that Christmas lights and Duracells generally aren't considered components in a WMD.


I mean, I understand that Boston is probably harboring a lot of guilt. You know... two of the three 9/11 jets took off from Logan. Plus, they've recently begun dropping massive concrete slabs on top of their own citizens, but there is such a thing as being cautious to the point of absurdity. And that is exactly what happened yesterday on national television. Check out the local coverage of it, here.


Anyway, I'm a pretty big fan of ATHF. The first two seasons, anyway, but I'm a little leery of a film version. Early word from folks who have seen it is that it pretty much sucks. I mean, they're stretching an eleven minute show out to an hour and a half. What could possibly go... right? I must admit though, the trailer almost has me excited for it. Almost. You can see it, here.

UPDATE!!!

UPDATIER!!!

UPDATIEST!!!

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Friday, December 22, 2006

April Can't Get Here Fast Enough!

Check out the brand spankin' new trailer for Grindhouse. Seriously, this is gonna be the movie to see of 2007.

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