On the REEL Addict:
Not only were we thrilled that moviegoers didn’t bother to MEET DAVE, we wrote an open letter to DC and Warner Bros, and went a little trailer crazy by posting trailers for TWILIGHT, CHOKE and TERMINATOR: SALVATION.
With many of you having probably attended midnight screenings of THE DARK KNIGHT or planning on catching the movie today, please feel free to post below and let the rest of us know. I’m not seeing the film till noon on Saturday, so out of fear of spoilers I won’t check till after (and will have a review by Sunday), but don’t let that stop you.
What did you think? Is the film really as amazing as everyone says it is, or were you a little down? Is it the best superhero movie of all time, or is it just plain one of the best movies of all time? Did you see it on an IMAX or regular screen? Were you hardcore and saw it on both? If so, which was better? What were the crowds like?
Before you go anything further, if you look up NSFW in the encyclopedia, you would find this trailer. Okay, so encyclopedias don’t have video files yet, but give them time. Point is, this is really not safe for the work space, especially if it happens to be located in the sexually repressed America.
Anyway, CHOKE – based on FIGHT CLUB author Chuck Palahniuk’s novel – seems to feature a role that Sam Rockwell was born to play. That may not be a compliment to the guy, given the sex-addicted jerk he plays in this film, but there’s no denying he may have found the role of a life time (outside of CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND). As for the movie itself, there’s something to be said about seeing something this gleeful rude, crude, sex-filled and reveling in its anti-hero’s shenanigans. Even if it involves a lost ass-bead or two.
TWILIGHT’s marketing has me all sorts of confused lately in what they are trying to accomplish. This new, lengthier trailer is no exception. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t part of the massive appeal and the major thrust of the novels the Romeo & Juliet like melodramatic, teenage-angsty romance between Edward and Bella? Because that’s the impression I got. Not from this trailer though, which focuses almost entirely on the major threat of James’ hunting of Bella. Barely a hint of the Bella and Edward affair. Now, before I get too harsh with the marketing people, it may just be a case of them knowing devotees of the novels are going to see the film no matter what. So why not make a trailer that seems more vampire/thriller/fantasy/action-heavy to draw in people who don’t know the books and … guys. That’s fair. It just seems that none of the promotions around the film have really either been geared towards fans of the book (like ads for superhero movies often are) or been popular with them.
What do y’all think? Those of you who are fans of the book, are you happy with this new trailer or does it emphasize the wrong story elements from the novel? For those of you who have never even touched the books, how does the trailer come off to you?
With only a few days left before THE DARK KNIGHT hits the screens I thought it would be as good a time as any to go back and revisit BATMAN BEGIN, see how it holds up, and simultaneously stoke the fire of my enthusiasm for the upcoming sequel.
Here are some of the impressions I got along the way:
This movie is perfectly suited for a drinking game. You could drink anytime one character uses another character’s earlier words against them (“It’s all a bit technical,” “Didn’t you get the memo,” “You never did learn to mind your surroundings” “Why do we fall down” “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me”). You could drink anytime Ra’s Al Ghul’s name gets pronounced differently, or bungled.
Heck, if you drink anytime anyone says the words fear, justice, or revenge and their variations, you’d be passed out on the floor within the first fifteen minutes, probably having drunken nightmares involving bats or Katie Holmes while your roommate calls the hospital to report your alcohol poisoning.
I didn’t sweat the small stuff. Maybe it’s because it’s been long enough since the film came out that the veil of geeky judgment and anticipation had been lifted, but this time around I found myself much more forgiving of some of the film’s flaws. In fact, those flaws seemed much more inconsequential and silly to me, merely minor blips in the greater picture. Whenever Katie Holmes popped up (which seemed much less frequent than I remembered), I politely indulged the tangent, absorbed whatever dramatic intent it had (in most cases I could at least appreciate that they were important for Bruce’s character development), and patiently waited for the scene to pass. Whenever the film threw in one of those common superhero movie wink-wink jokes (“Nice ride” “What’s it look like? Never mind.”), before I could even react either way it was over. The repetitive exposition of the water main guy insisting three times that if the train makes it to Wayne Tower the whole city will blow, was endearing rather than excessively expositiony.
If you’re going to create a teaser trailer for the upcoming conceptual reboot of TERMINATOR that nobody really asked for, and few seem excited about, wouldn’t it be wise amidst the grainy, staticty, jolty images that amount to little (and make even less of an impression), to – you know – actually show a Terminator? This trailer (and projects) elicits a big resounding “Meh.” They’re going to have to do a lot better than this to get me excited for this.
What about your thoughts? Am I being too harsh, and you’re actually stoked to have your Terminator desiring heart flamed with these teasing, tantalizing images? Or is it all frustratingly elusive and dull?
Today theREELaddict is proud to bring you a clip from my highly anticipated Brad Anderson film, TRANSSIBERIAN which opens on a limited basis this Friday. If you haven’t heard about this movie or Brad Anderson yet, or need a reason to check it out, catch up by clicking on the “Posted In” keywords below. It looks to be a great little Hitchcockian thriller, which is extremely apparent in this particular clip that evokes rather effectively the tension the master himself created in THE LADY VANISHES.
Since the moment online film critics saw early press screenings of THE DARK KNIGHT, film sites all around have been inundated with remarkable praise for the film from their respective authors. In the last few weeks we’ve gotten everything from articles solely dedicated to talking about how awesome the film is, to blindingly glowing early reviews, to loads of passing remarks about how good it is while reporting on other THE DARK KNIGHT related stuff. If you haven’t heard by now the movie is supposed to be the greatest thing since buttered toast, you’ve probably been living under a rock (or don’t have internet).
As a result, some are predictably wondering whether the film is being astronomically over-hyped as a result. In an amusing case, this past weekend First Showing’s Alex Billington pondered that very question, and then preceded to just sensationally hype it more (this after already controversially declaring it a cinematic revolution a while back). The over-hype isn’t my issue though. Partially because it’s inevitable for a film like this (especially and unfortunately after Ledger’s passing), and also because I have a strong feeling THE DARK KNIGHT will meet expectations – both my own, and those instilled by enthusiastic bloggers.
My issue is that any and every blogger praising the film for weeks now has compounded to the point where it seems to have converged into one sentiment: “I’ve seen THE DARK KNIGHT all ready, na na na na boo boo.”
Having just finished reading Stephenie Meyer’s second novel in her TWILIGHT series (“New Moon”) and having had a glance at Entertainment Weekly’s most recent cover, I have to say I’m a little confused. Repeatedly in the novels Bella goes on and on about how ethereally beautiful Edward is supposed to be. If that’s the case, then why in any of the promotional shots for the film does his film incarnation (Robert Pattison) look like a drugged out zombie version of Hayden Christensen via Quentin Tarantino with a Zach Braff from SCRUBS hairdo? The thing is in the film footage that can be found on the net he looks fine. So what the heck are the marketing people of TWILIGHT thinking? Then again, like there’s anything that’s going to keep the legion of fans of the book series away from the movie – whether to suck it up greedily like a vampire, or tear it to shreds like a werewolf.
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