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Coincidence? I Think Not.

A teeny film called New Moon opens tomorrow and stars a homely, unpopular, random dude named Robert Pattinson.  Why Summit Entertainment, the same studio behind the Twilight adaptations, would choose today to release the trailer for Pattinson's 2010 romantic drama Remember Me is just beyond comprehension.  Certainly there are no women out there who experience Pavlovian drool responses to his voice, his image or that crazy hair.  Why would anyone think this trailer would get any attention right now?

</End sarcasm.>

Hmm, I'm not feelin' it. First off, I can't even really tell what this is about. So then I read its plot description (which I'll put below in Invisotext because some might consider it spoilery) and subsequently felt like the trailer was trying to make the film out to be something it's not. However, there are lots of clips of RPattz looking pretty (even when he's all banged up, he's pretty... it's amazing!), so I guess that's all that matters in the end. And while I like Lost's Emilie de Ravin and LOVE Chris Cooper, what's scaring me off from this one is the fact that it was written by Jenny Lumet, who also penned one of my most-hated films of 2008, Rachel Getting Married.

Since I'm not a crazy Pattinson stalker (you know who you are), as of right now I'm putting Remember Me on the I Hope A Better Trailer Comes Out Or I'm Definitely Not Seeing This in the Theater list.  Does anyone out there feel differently? 

Oh, and if you want the possibly spoilery plot summary, click and roll to reveal the Invisotext: "Tyler (Pattinson) and Ally (de Ravin), find their relationship tested after Ally witnesses her mother's murder and Tyler reels from the suicide of his brother, which leads to his parents' (Pierce Brosnan, Lena Olin) divorce." From the trailer, I thought this would be a "boy from the wrong side of the tracks falls in love with a girl whose dad thinks he's garbage" type of story. I guess that might still be applicable, but I was really surprised to read about the murder and suicide subplots -- weren't you?

A Familiar Formula

If you've ever seen a Pedro Almodóvar film, you're aware that the acclaimed Spanish filmmaker knows a little something about complex narratives, gorgeous colors, bizarre family dramas and... Penélope Cruz.  In his latest film, Broken Embraces (his fourth with Cruz) he doesn't appear to be straying too far from what's earned him an international fan base. 

Can I figure out what in the hell is going on in this trailer?  No.  But that doesn't mean I didn't dig it! 

If, like me, you've fallen in love with Almodóvar's unique style through films like Volver or Talk to Her, then you'll probably want to catch this one as well.  Unfortunately it's opening in very limited release this weekend (NYC only), but then will be expanding into select cities over the course of December and January.  (The full release schedule can be found here.)  By that time, Cruz will be on the big screen again in the musical Nine, which I have pretty high hopes for.  But will we ever learn whether she and Javier Bardem are engaged?  Probably not until they've already been secretly married for four years.  She's very adept at keeping secrets.  Must've taken notes from some of her characters...

Outta Nowhere Comes Jeff Bridges, Hungry for That Oscar

I saw the poster for Crazy Heart a few days ago and thought, "What in the heck is this?" The title reminded me of Untamed Heart -- you know, the one where Christian Slater claims to have baboon parts? -- and so my initial reaction was one of skepticism. The cheesy tagline, "The harder the life, the sweeter the song," didn't help matters, either.

However, I can't ignore all of the Oscar buzz that's been building this week for both Jeff Bridges and the film overall, which many critics are deeming "a country-music version of The Wrestler."  I've also learned that the less than stellar title is due to the fact that this film is based on a novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb, and Fox Searchlight apparently felt that they should just stick with it. 

Crazy Heart tells the story of Bad Blake, a down-and-out Willie Nelson-like character who is trying to get his life back on track.  And even though you know that I have absolutely zero issues with attempting to judge a movie's potential based on its trailer, I don't feel quite as comfortable with making Oscar predictions based on two minutes of clips.  So while I'll refrain from weighing in on Bridges' odds (he is a four-time nominee, though, so he might have the "Aww, just give it to him, already!" factor going for him), I still have to give my two cents on the preview.  You better watch it first, though:

Yep, it does look extremely Wrestler-ish.  Even the song playing throughout -- "The Weary Kind" by T-Bone Burnett -- seems like a twin of the track The Boss wrote for Mickey Rourke's comeback vehicle last year.  And while I admit that Crazy Heart certainly has all the makings of a critical darling, can I just say that I'm so, so, so sick of seeing older, screwed-up men somehow managing to woo young, pretty little things (Maggie Gyllenhaal, in this case -- who's 27 years younger than Bridges, in case you were wondering) on the big screen? (I know it's based on a fictional book, but still.)   How can this chick fall for him when it's nearly impossible to understand what he's saying? And when is the last time he's showered?

On a completely separate note, did you catch Colin Farrell in there?  He was shown twice, but each time was just a split-second... and he wasn't listed at the end, either. Strange. Anyway, regardless of some of my nitpicks, I know I'll try to see this one when it opens in limited release on December 11 (in order to be considered by the Academy).  Will The Dude get another shot at the gold?  That, my friends, will remain a mystery until February 2, when the list of nominees is announced. 

A Not-Twilight Option for This Weekend

I'm pretty sure that even shamans living deep in the Amazon are well aware that New Moon hits theaters on Friday.  It simply wasn't possible to avoid all of the marketing and hype surrounding the Twilight sequel, especially with coverage kicking into high gear last night because of its red-carpet premiere in L.A.

What everyone might not know, however, is that there are actually two other films opening this weekend as well.  One is The "based on a true story, sure to make you shed a tear" Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock, which Locke will be reviewing for us.  As for the other... well, it should come as no surprise that if there's one group who thinks they can take on both vampires and werewolves, it the aliens.  Enter Planet 51, which I think looks fairly cute.  Not as cute as RPattz, mind you, but you get what I'm saying.

Ah, so we are the aliens.  Hardee-har-har!  And what'd you think about the not-so-subtle use of The Killers' "Spaceman"?  Oooh, they're just so clever!

But seriously, I do think this one seems like it should be a great option for families, though I am kind of creeped out by the look of the aliens -- their shade of green and those antennae seem to be blatant rip-offs of Shrek, and their no-nose faces are a little unnerving.  Hopefully those are things that are easy to get used to after a few minutes.  Also, didn't you think that the robot who "peed" at the end seemed to be very Wall-E-ish?  And I would've never guessed that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was the voice of the deserted astronaut.  It might have helped if they made the character look like him a little more -- but then again, you know how I feel about celebrity voicework overall, so it really doesn't matter if the voice fit the animated face.

While Planet 51 is clearly not going to win this weekend's box-office race, I do believe it will enjoy a steady and successful run until Disney's The Princess and the Frog hits on December 11. I also think it has the potential to drain even more of your cash reserves once you've left the theater -- you know the kiddies are going to want all of the action figures available at Burger King, the video game, and Lord knows what other stuff the merchandising elves have dreamed up.  Good thing the holidays are right around the corner, huh?  (Surely that's not why they chose to release this film right before Thanksgiving...)

Mad World

Behold the power of social networking: The Mad Hatter is on Facebook... and set up a Twitter account to boot. That's right, he joined Facebook at the end of July and already has over 67,000 "fans."  He's also been busy doling out little teases for Alice in Wonderland.  So far, he's given his followers -- or rather, his "disloyal subjects" -- a sneak peek at the invite-only traveling exhibit for the film, and three new posters to admire:

Stunning, as expected.  See how they work together over the jump...

Can Anybody Find the Funny in this Trailer?

Back in February, I predicted that the comedy Adam Sandler was writing for himself, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, Kevin James and David Spade (which has since been titled Grown Ups) was going to be -- hmm, what's the word for it?  Oh, yeah: DUMB.

After seeing its teaser trailer this morning, my opinion has not changed one bit. In fact, I now am positive that it will actually be Dumber Than Dumb (that sounds like it could be the title of another Dumb and Dumber movie, doesn't it? I need to trademark it right quick, because you know one day someone WILL make a third Dumb and Dumber movie). Grown Ups seems like it will be just one tick less horrid than Old Dogs.  Note to Sandler: when your films are being compared to Disney comedies starring John Travolta, you need to take a step back and reevaluate the turn your career has taken.

As I said in my other post, I've been a fan of Chris Rock's for a long time and used to really love Adam Sandler, but I could do without everyone else in this movie.  While Sandler did remind us of how good he can be his half-comedic, half-dramatic turn in this summer's Funny People (which I loved), he's unfortunately settled comfortably back into his old routine with a bunch of played-out tricks in Grown Ups.  Specifically, lame physical comedy (Kevin James crashes into a tree!), body-parts jokes (a four-year-old breastfeeds!) and dudes hangin' out and insulting each other (Spade calls Sandler fat? Um, has he looked in a mirror lately?). 

And while I was very intrigued by Locke's cold-med-fueled piece about why Rob Schneider might have an ac-TOR hiding deep inside that scrawny bod of his, after watching a few seconds of his make-out with his mom -- er, wife in this film, I've returned to my senses.  He's never going to rise above Deuce Bigalow-level humor.

Watch the teaser and then let me know if you see any reason to be excited about Grown Ups.

Did anyone laugh at anything in these clips? 

Bueller? Bueller?

Yeah, I didn't think so. 

Move along, folks, there is nothing to see here.

Love the Trailer, Hate the Tagline.

If I may be so bold as to quote The Pointer Sisters: "I'm so excited... and I just can't hide it!"

That's right, dear redblog readers, something's got me riled up today, and believe it or not, it has to do with a remake, of all things. Specifically, it's the teaser for the new Clash of the Titans that I'm jazzed about. I'll let you check it out for yourselves before I spill my thoughts:

Yeah, the heavy-metal riffs were a bit much (though they didn't actually come from a heavy metal band... the music is from alt-rockers The Used, specifically their song "The Bird and the Worm").  And yeah, the quickfire cuts got a tad disorienting (director Louis Leterrier of the Transporter movies and the 2008 Incredible Hulk with Ed Norton is at the helm, so what else could you expect?).  But overall, those sixty seconds of Clash of the Titan clips excited me waaaay more than two-and-a-half minutes of Prince of Persia did. (The two films do have one thing in common (besides big budgets), though: actress Gemma Arterton -- who's Jake Gyllenhaal's love interest in PoP and the priestess Io in Clash.)

Granted, I never saw the 1981 original starring Laurence Olivier and Harry Hamlin, so I'm not all bitter about Hollywood destroying fond childhood memories of mine like I usually am when it comes to remakes.  Further, as I stated in my post about the Percy Jackson & the Olympians trailer, I have a thing for Greek mythology and I don't think there are enough movies about the Greek gods in general.  (I suddenly just figured out why I've always liked Xanadu -- it's the Greek myth connection, duh!)  In Clash of the Titans, we're getting Sam Worthington (who's suddenly everywhere -- Terminator Salvation, the upcoming Avatar, and now this huge undertaking) as Perseus, Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes as Hades... on top of the Kraken and Medusa in all of their CGI'd glory.  I'm probably getting my hopes up too much -- I'm having visions of "the next Lord of the Rings" and watch -- Clash of the Titans will totally suck.  But before March 26, 2010, a girl can dream, right?

Follow me over the jump for the poster and trailer from the original film, and more...

A Kick-Ass Bait and Switch?

Kick-Ass, an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr., is set to hit theaters in April 2010. Now, those of you who are familiar with the comic, just bear with me for a moment while I ask those who've never heard of Kick-Ass to watch its trailer and check out its posters below, and then see if they agree with my impressions of what this film looks to be...





(Clicking on any poster will open a bigger version in a new window)

See what they did there with the KICK-ASS going across the background of the posters?  Some marketing genius got a raise for that, I'm sure of it. 

What I can't figure out is why the actors' names -- instead of their respective characters' names -- aren't featured on the spots or in the trailer. For example, Damon Macready, whose alter-ego is the Batman-ish "Big Daddy," is played by Nicolas Cage. And Chris D'Amico, aka "Red Mist"? That's the always popular Christopher Mintz-Plasse from Superbad and Role Models.  You'd think the studio would want to call attention to the fact that they've wrangled together some big stars.  Maybe they will in future posters/previews, but right now, there's not a cast member's name to be found.

That's not the strangest thing about this marketing campaign, however. Follow me over the jump to learn what has many fans of the source material scratching their heads.

Harrelson and Foster? Sign Me Up. Or Maybe Not.

Since I was hating on the combo of Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow in The Danish Girl earlier, let me now balance things out by spreading the love for Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster, both of whom I am always impressed with because of their demonstrated range and overall coolness.  Woody owns every role he's in -- from the naive bartender on Cheers, to a murderous psycho in Natural Born Killers, to the founder of Hustler in The People vs. Larry Flynt, to a no-nonsense cowboy with a hankering for Twinkies in last month's Zombieland.  Now he's back with not only a small role in this weekend's 2012, but also an intense, dramatic turn in The Messenger, which opens on Friday as well (in limited release... but then will expand throughout the rest of November).  And you already know that I think Defendor, in which he'll star next year, looks like it could be great. 

As for Ben Foster, while he's not nearly as high-profile as Harrelson, I've been blown away by his work in everything I've seen of his -- even films I didn't like overall, such as Birds of America and X-Men: The Last Stand.  (Though he's definitely best known for playing baddie Charlie Prince in 3:10 to Yuma.)

Now Foster and Harrelson are brought together in The Messenger as Casualty Notification officers for the Army, tasked with delivering awful news to next-of-kin and wives of fallen soldiers. One of them gets a little too involved with a grieving widow, and, needless to say, things get complicated.

I think this film looks absolutely wonderful and gut-wrenching, but I just don't know if I can bring myself to see it -- at least not in a theater. Maybe in the comfort of my own home with a big ol' box of Kleenex nearby. Regardless, I think it's clear that both actors have added another winner to their resumes.

If you're interested in checking out The Messenger, you can see its release schedule here (click "Theaters"). Be sure to report back and tell us what you thought...

More Salt, Please

Locke spoke of his Heterosexual Man Crush on George Clooney in his Men Who Stare at Goats review, so I'm copping to my Heterosexual Girl Crush on Angelina Jolie today as we look at the teaser trailer for Wanted 2, er... Mrs. Smith Goes Rogue... uh... Tomb Raider Rides the Subway... oh, OK, it's just called Salt.

Long before the Great Aniston-Jolie Feud of 2005 (which has never really ended), I've always been on Team Angelina. I can't figure out why she ever hooked up with Brad Pitt (I truly don't understand his appeal -- never have, never will), but I'm able to look past that because of her overall level of badassness.  I absolutely always prefer her in action-packed thrillers like Wanted and Mrs. & Mrs. Smith over dramas like The Good Shepherd, Changeling or A Mighty Heart, with Girl, Interrupted being the one exception. (Though, like so many others, I could've done without her bro-kiss at the Oscars that year.)

Thankfully, she's returned to her sweet spot with Salt, in which she plays a CIA agent falsely (?) accused of being a Russian spy.  You might remember that the role was originally intended for Tom Cruise and the character's name was Edwin A. Salt, but when he dropped out and Jolie took a seat at the negotiating table, Columbia had the script tweaked in order to accommodate a female lead.  Hence, Evelyn Salt was born. 

Yes, I'm biased, but I really do think it looks pretty good.  Count on me to be in line for this one come July 23rd.