what's tasty and new in show business. [beta]
A new trailer has hit the nets for The Losers, the big screen adaptation of the Vertigo comic series by Andy Diggle and Jock, and boy does it look like all kinds of fun.
We were pretty excited when news about the fantastic casting first started rolling out for The Losers, being big fans of the comic, but the involvement of heretofore unproven director Sylvain White (whose most notable movies are Stomp the Yard and the direct-to-video sequel I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer) kept us from getting our hopes too high. Well, judging by the footage from this first trailer, it looks like we may have had nothing to worry about all along. The trailer is snarky, fun, and action-packed, exactly the sort of genre cocktail that we hoped would carry over from the comics.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Idris Elba play pretty wonderfully off each other, and is there any actress whose geek heat-meter is rising faster than Zoe Saldana’s? After a year that included roles in Star Trek and Avatar, it looks like the talented actress is in for another hell of a year. And for the borderline campiness that is Jensen, Chris Evans pulls off some of his more ridiculous lines with a solid amount of aplomb. He continues to be one of my favorite young actors working today.
MSN has the trailer, which you can check out after the jump: Read»
A red-band trailer has surfaced for Repo Men, the sci fi action thriller starring Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, and Alice Braga. Formerly titled the much more interesting The Repossession Mambo, I caught the script several years ago and it was one of the best that I had seen in a while. The film’s been sitting on Universal’s shelf for some time now, but hopefully that isn’t a reflection of the final product’s quality. I’m excited for this one; if it can retain the energy and promise of the screenplay, then Repo Men (as unfortunately retitled as it may be) could surprise some folks next year.
The story follows Law and Whitaker as best friends Remy and Jake, two repo men who work for The Union, a company that provides expensive artificial organs that are forcibly repossessed when clients can’t make their payments. They’re the best in the business, but trouble arises when a routine repossession goes awry and leaves Remy needing a transplant himself to survive. Suddenly seeing things from the other side, things get more complicated when Remy runs into Beth, an old flame who’s on the run after being unable to make her organ payments. When he joins her, Remy suddenly finds himself being hunted by none other than his former partner, Jake. The film also stars Liev Schreiber, Liza Lapira, and RZA.
Check out the poster and age-restricted trailer after the jump, which comes courtesy of MySpace. Read»
Knight and Day, which was once titled Wichita (and really, neither are very good titles), has a new trailer up on E! The film re-teams Vanilla Sky co-stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz as a super-agent and his hapless hostage/cohort, respectively. I haven’t really loved any of James Mangold’s films, though I tend to like ‘em all well enough, so I wasn’t expecting much from the film. But after watching the trailer I have to admit, it actually looks like it could be some fun. The film’s also got a pretty stellar supporting cast, including Maggie Grace, Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Dano, Marc Blucas, and Viola Davis.
It seems pretty savvy to me that Cruise, who a lot of people haven’t been able to take seriously in a long time, has eschewed some of the more traditionally dramatic roles he would’ve played for the fun, off-kilter, kind-of-crazy roles that his public persona makes him perfect for nowadays. I’ve always loved him as an actor, and I’m glad to see him embracing this turn in his career. Humor can earn a lot of forgiveness, and Cruise definitely seems like he’s on the right path for a comeback. Well, I’m pullin’ for the guy, anyway.
Check out the trailer, as well as the teaser poster, after the jump. Read»
A new international trailer for Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood has hit over at Yahoo’s UK site, and it’s a great deal more revealing/intriguing/well put-together than the first domestic teaser we caught a week ago. I guess not everything is better with a generic metal soundtrack. Anyway, in the new trailer we get lots more archery and a better look at the role Maid Marian will play. What is it about Cate Blanchett that, despite being 120 pounds soaking wet, makes me believe she could swing a sword with the rest of the boys? Maybe it’s her Australian-ness. I think this deserves further study.
Check out the trailer, and the newly released synopsis for the film, after the jump. Read»
A new trailer for The Sorceror’s Apprentice has landed online, and boy is it action-packed. Nicolas Cage stars as the titular sorcerer, and Jay Baruchel plays the titular apprentice.
The story has only loose roots in the original Disney classic, though the buckets and mops of old do make an appearance in the trailer (around the 2:13 mark). This film version follows a rather traditional good vs. evil plot, with Cage’s character Balthazar Blake recruiting Baruchel’s Dave Stutler as his protege. Apparently, the seemingly average Dave is destined to be a powerful sorcerer that will decide the balance of power in the age-old struggle, with Balthazar’s arch-nemesis Maxim Horvath, played by Alfred Molina, leading the charge for the bad guys.
For something billed as a “comedy adventure,” there doesn’t seem to be a lot of comedy at all. In fact, as fun as all the action/adventuring looks, the biggest problem I have with the trailer is that it takes itself too seriously. The only hint of humor really is at the end, and it definitely has me wishing they would’ve showcased an evener balance, which I do believe is in the movie, just not revealed here. Though I guess it is pretty funny that, in a movie about sorcery and magic (and fireballs?), the biggest hurdle for my suspension of disbelief remains, as ever, Nicolas Cage’s hairpiece. Go figure.
Apple’s got the trailer in HD, which you can catch (along with some stills) after the jump. Read»
A new red-band trailer for Youth in Revolt has debuted on FunnyorDie, and it’s the best of the many we’ve seen so far. Based on the book by C.D. Payne
, Youth in Revolt stars Michael Cera as Nick Twisp, a cynical, sex-starved, 16-year-old virgin who falls for intellectual Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) while vacationing in a trailer park. When he fails to woo her, he invents an alternate persona named Francois that is everything he is not: a deep-voiced, attitude-totin’ player/bad-ass. However, when Francois’ surprisingly successful antics for winning Sheeni over turn Nick into a wanted man, he must figure out how to get out of trouble and get the girl all by himself.
Check out the trailer after the jump. Read»
A trailer and poster has been released for writer-director Scott Cooper’s Crazy Heart, a film that has been drawing a lot of comparisons to last year’s The Wrestler lately and has been building some serious Oscar buzz for Jeff Bridges early in this awards season.
Bridges is really one of the most talented actors we have. This isn’t quite the same story as the 2008 Oscar race, where Mickey Rourke revived his once-promising career with the performance of a lifetime; Bridges has been consistently good throughout his career and was Oscar-nominated four times for his efforts, so it’s more him being on his A-game than a resurrection. Still, a statue would be a fitting reward for over two decades of memorable performances, and Bridges looks to have turned in a mighty powerful one here. He pulls double duty by also supplying some vocals for the soundtrack, which country crooner T Bone Burnett contributed some original music to and co-produced.
Catch the trailer after the jump, as well as some more info and the first theatrical poster. Read»
For yet another movie-in-a-trailer, check out this new one released for Amy Adams’ upcoming romantic comedy Leap Year. The movie follows a woman (Adams) who decides to take matters into her own hands after the four year anniversary with her steady boyfriend (Adam Scott) comes and goes without the marriage proposal she was expecting. Taking advantage of her boyfriend’s upcoming trip to Dublin, she decides to follow him there and make use of an Irish tradition where women are allowed to propose to men on February 29th. Trouble arises, however, when a thunderstorm diverts her plane to Wales and she must rely on a roguish native (Matthew Goode) to help get her across the country in time.
If you want to find out what happens next, and then after that, and even after that, just watch the trailer embedded after the jump. Read»
MTV’s got a new trailer up for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, and it’s got quips a-plenty, action in every frame, and style to boot.
Come to think of it, the Sherlock Holmes trailers that we’ve seen have been a bit of a mess plot-wise; that is, I still don’t have a very clear idea of just what the plot is. Mark Strong’s some sort of nefarious, perhaps supernatural villain, and Holmes and Watson are on the case? Anyway, they’re definitely selling chemistry and style more than anything else, especially between Robert Downey, Jr.’s Holmes and Jude Law’s Watson. And you know what? It’s enough. It totally works, and I’m ready to get to the theater just to see the two play off of each other.
The trailer finally gives Rachel McAdams something to do, though I still feel like her presence in the movie is being undersold here. Her dry delivery towards the end is one of the best moments in the trailer, and I think she’ll be just as integral a piece to Sherlock Holmes‘ entertainment and success as all the bare-knuckle brawls and one-liners.
Check out the trailer after the jump. Read»
To be honest, I’ve been a little ambivalent up til now about seeing Dreamworks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon. My one prevailing interest in the project has been the involvement of Chris Sanders and Dean DuBois, the creative team behind Lilo & Stitch and American Dog, an animation project that was eventually scrapped for parts and recycled into Bolt. I just wasn’t sold on the premise alone, but after seeing this trailer, consider me a little intrigued.
The story, as you may already know, concerns a young Viking named Hiccup who lives on the island of Berk. Fighting dragons is a way of life here, and despite his smaller size, he is desperate to prove his worthiness during Initiation to both his fellow tribesman and his father. When he finally gets his big shot however, he finds himself instead befriending an injured dragon, an act that turns his world upside down. What works best in the trailer is the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless, the young dragon he spares (some footage here is probably rough, as Toothless goes from being toothed to gummy between shots). You can already sense the hijinks these two will get into, and the somewhat strangely-matched voice acting by Jay Baruchel soon wins you over with his dry, deadpan humor.
Yahoo’s got the trailer, which you can check out after the jump. Read»
There were a lot of underwhelmed murmurs circulating in the blogosphere when the first Avatar teaser hit. There had been so much hype regarding the money spent and technology invented to make the movie that expectations had sky-rocketed to an unreasonable level. It seemed people had forgotten that, at the end of the day, Avatar is a movie meant to entertain and excite audiences, and not a piece of art-miracle that would make angels sing and blind men see.
James Cameron may have promised as much, but while I think Avatar may certainly change the way we MAKE movies, it won’t be the catalyst in a monumental shift in how we WATCH movies. The notoriously ambitious director may have misspoke in that regard, because it’s practically impossible for one movie to do all that; if anything, these kinds of shifts happen over several years and through contributions from several filmmakers. Maybe ten years down the line we will be able to pinpoint Avatar as the “game-changer” it was heralded to be, but presently I doubt anyone, even a director of Cameron’s ability, could single-handedly spark such a dramatic paradigm shift within the art form with ONE movie, much less for two minutes of footage – which was only meant to tease, anyway – to live up to those aspirations.
Well, Cameron and the marketing folks over at Fox have come around this time with a full-length trailer (clocking in at just over 3 and a half minutes) that seeks to do nothing but reinforce what we should’ve been anticipating all this time: an immersive, action-packed, thrill-ride of a movie. Not something that may necessarily change the cinematic landscape, but something that looks like a DAMN good time at the theaters. The trailer is much more thorough in setting up the world and characters, and we get looks at some breathtaking set and action pieces that I’m sure will blow minds and burn retinas at theaters in December. I’m actually excited to see the movie this time around, and not just holding my breath waiting for some vague enlightenment that never comes.
Check it out after the jump (Yahoo has it in HD here): Read»
Today we get trailers for not one Matt Damon movie, but two! And you know what, this trailer looks just as good as the other one.
Invictus is Clint Eastwood’s latest film sitting in the director’s chair, and this time he’s cast Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, newly in office as the President of South Africa, and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, the captain of South Africa’s woeful rugby team. Amidst the powerful racial divide plaguing an anxious population in the wake of Apartheid, Mandela tasks Pienaar with leading the national team to the Rugby World Cup. He believes the universal language of sport is capable of reaching beyond the racial and political upheaval, and that it can speak directly to the human condition as the underdog team rallies an otherwise divided nation together.
We caught the poster a few days ago, which you can find here. Check out the trailer after the jump, or find it on Apple in HD. Read»
Splinterheads tells the story of a twenty-something slacker named Justin whose “thing” is that he doesn’t have a “thing” at all. However, when a small-time carnival comes to town, Justin meets Galaxy, a beautiful and spunky barker who cons unsuspecting carnival-goers into parting with their money (a “splinterhead,” in the parlance of the carnies). Galaxy has more “things” going for her than anyone Justin has ever met, and he soon finds himself joining her on a geocache-ing adventure where he learns to embrace life, falls in love, and may just figure out what his “thing” may be after all.
Splinterheads feels like it could be a bit of a coming-out party for a group of young, talented filmmakers. You’ve got two charming actors in Thomas Middleditch, playing the lead in a feature for the very first time, and Rachael Taylor, the 25-year old Aussie import who’s parlayed supporting roles in films like See No Evil and Transformers into meaty roles in well-received indies. And you’ve got writer-director Brant Sersen, who already made a splash when Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story, his feature debut, won the audience award at SXSW 2004. Judging by the positive buzz coming out of festivals, Splinterheads may be just the beginning in the very promising careers of this bunch.
Check out the trailer after the jump to see for yourselves. Read»
A new trailer for Universal’s The Wolfman has hit, and I feel like it actually sells the movie better than the initial one we saw back in August.
And just how does it accomplish that, you ask? Well, by showing less, actually. The first trailer had a very straightforward approach, introducing us first to the characters, then the plot, and basically walking us through to the middle of the second act. By all accounts, the trailer seemed to be selling a very traditional, albeit gorgeous-looking, gothic monster tale. Here’s where the second trailer gets it right. It’s technically more of a teaser, and it hooks us by doing just that – it teases us. It doesn’t try to tell us too much, merely giving us glimpses of a shadow and fog-ballasted world, populated by a cadre of brooding, menacing characters. It sells a mood, and it sells it well.
We’re given lots of new footage, and once again, the transformation scenes look amazing. The action is also turned up a bit, hinting at more rabid destruction than the original trailer. Anthony Hopkins is straight-up terrifying, concealing an insidious threat with every line he utters. Mix it all together with a more modern, tempo-driven soundtrack, and you’ve got a pretty piece of marketing that I think will get a lot more people excited for this movie.
Check out the trailer after the jump. Read»
Nicholas Sparks has a pretty streaky record. For every sappy, saccharine movie based on one of his novels that falls flat, there’s a sappy, saccharine one that is somehow charming enough to get away with it. 2004’s younger-skewing The Notebook is the obvious example there, and it looks like they’ll be trying to strike lightning again with a similar formula in Dear John.
Part of the reason why The Notebook worked was because director Nick Cassavetes had the advantage of two talented performers in Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, plus not a modest share of on-screen (and off-screen) chemistry. It looks like Dear John may have at least some elements of that. Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried aren’t quite as acclaimed a pair of actors as Gosling or McAdams, but those two were relatively unproven when they made their Notebook turn as well.
Tatum is fast becoming a bona fide leading man, and has shown enough chops between his popcorn flicks to warrant the mantle. Plus he’s just so damn likable. And somewhere between Mean Girls and Mamma Mia!, Seyfried showed a penchant for outshining her supporting player designation, revealing herself to be an utterly charming and eclectic actress capable of headlining a movie. So maybe it’s the tear-jerky sucker in me or the Snow Patrol soundtrack, but the Dear John trailer has me strangely excited to see how their pairing turns out. There’s a requisite amount of cheesiness, of course, but it doesn’t hurt to have a solid supporting cast that includes Richard Jenkins and Scott Porter, and Lasse Hallström ain’t no slouch as director, either. I’m hopeful for this one.
Check out the trailer after the jump.
Read»
