Volume 3: Underdogs Both Human and Mechanical
Real Steel
Dir: Shawn Levy – Planned release date: October 7
When I first heard the premise of Real Steel, I—unlike many—thought there was a great deal of potential there. If put in the hands of the right filmmakers, a story about robot fights could turn into some clever sci-fi, and perhaps there’s a statement to be made about our increasing dependence on technology. So long as the film acknowledged the inherent silliness of the fighting robot enterprise, I could have certainly been intrigued. Unfortunately, the early previews for Real Steel seem to advertise something far less intelligent and way more cartoonish. This trailer—which seems to reveal the film’s entire narrative—advertises a movie that is so incredibly stupid, yet it doesn’t even realize it.
For Real Steel, the filmmakers seems to have eschewed any attempts at intelligence in exchange for a generic underdog boxing story… with cartoonish, shiny robots. It has all the elements found in the traditional formula: the washed-up veteran (Hugh Jackman), the feisty up-and-comer (Dakota Goyo, playing his son), and the slow rise to the top. I don’t entirely mind formula—The Fighter was one of my favorite films of 2010—but Real Steel’s trailer seems to imply that the film will never stray from the predetermined path. The addition of robots alone doesn’t make your film clever.
Real Steel was directed by Shawn Levy, who many movie fans seem to enjoy crapping on. Yet I have no real hatred of the man, as I’ve found some of his work in family/comedy films rather entertaining. (I genuinely like Big Fat Liar and the first Night at the Museum, and Date Night is perfectly alright.) However, I will not argue with anyone who sees him as a wholly uninteresting filmmaker. This latest film doesn’t look like it’s going to be winning him any converts.
For me, the strangest part of Real Steel is its October release date. This movie seems to be made for a summer audience, yet the move to awards-bait season seems to hint at a far more unceremonious release. I don’t see this one breaking any box office records.
Moneyball
Dir: Bennett Miller – Planned release date: September 23
If you’ll indulge the sports fan in me for a second, allow me to state that the lack of salary cap (or any fair system) in Major League Baseball is a bunch of hooey. It’s created a system which gives teams with a lot of money—like the New York Yankees—an unfair advantage while the little guys—like the Oakland Athletics—are forced to play catch-up. Yet every once in a while a no-money team is able to put together something special, and the new film Moneyball explores how the aforementioned Athletics were able to use unconventional statistics to create an unusually strong team. Much like Real Steel, it would seem to be just another underdog sports movie. Unlike Real Steel, it looks somewhat interesting.
Besides the obvious asset that is Brad Pitt, who appears to be 12 years old here, the secret weapon of Moneyball will likely be the screenwriting credit given to Aaron Sorkin, who just won his first Academy Award for his work on The Social Network. That’s not to say he’s alone here; veteran Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, Clear and Present Danger) also took a crack at the script, and director Bennett Miller is best-remembered for bringing the world Capote. Moneyball also looks to be the one of the funnier movies starring Brad Pitt, and that will certainly keep the movie from getting too straight-faced on us. As far as the supporting cast is concerned, I’m most pumped to see how Chris Pratt (loveable doofus Andy from Parks and Recreation) translates to a movie like this, though Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman will likely turn in strong performances as well. Moneyball is already well-known for the troubles it went through in pre-production, but the (early, likely irrelevant) word on the street—and this trailer—seem to suggest that a quality film has come out the other end. Color me intrigued.
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop
Dir: Rodman Flender – Planned release date: Depends
In hindsight, getting ousted from The Tonight Show was the best thing that could have happened to Conan O’Brien. Had Jay Leno simply decided to fade away like a decent human being, O’Brien likely would have simply paddled along on a not-very-successful late night show. Sure, The Tonight Show is THE TONIGHT SHOW, but the Conan era likely would have been a quiet one, no matter how funny it may have been. In the several months after O’Brien and NBC parted ways, he went from mere silly talk show host to national icon, and the nation seemed to flock behind him in a way not even he could have anticipated. Sure, at the time O’Brien likely felt like the world was falling apart. Yet the subsequent tour—which I saw when he came to Columbus, Ohio—was key in what made him one of the most universally beloved comedians in the country.
Early press for Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop—the documentary which chronicles his life in the wake of his Tonight Show departure—sells itself as a rare peek at the man himself; not just the screen persona. Instead of the suit-wearing jokester we see on a nightly basis, the film will show us O’Brien as we’ve never seen him before: curled up in a fetal position wearing a ratty t-shirt. Early reviews (generously quoted in the trailer) are saying that the film succeeds, and that should reassure anyone who feared the film would be little more than a Team Coco rah-rah piece. It appears that the movie will be coming to my area a few weeks from now (I can’t speak for national distribution) so I anticipate I will check it out when I can. As funny as Conan is on his show, it’s always refreshing to see him with his guard down.
Our Idiot Brother
Dir: Jesse Peretz – Planned release date: August 26
Our Idiot Brother looks to be an unconventional Paul Rudd vehicle simply because it allows him to be more than the down-on-his-luck straight man, even though he is often quite good at it. This film—which premiered to a warm reception at this year’s Sundance Film Festival—features Rudd as a modern day hippy-type who serves up his special brand of stupidity with an ear-to-ear smile. All the while he wrecks the lives of his family and friends, who are portrayed by a rather impressive supporting cast.
There are few actors as naturally amiable in Hollywood as Rudd, and that certainly seems to be the case even when he’s playing one of the dumbest men in existence. There will likely be many scenarios in this film where a lesser actor would make you want to bang your head against a table, yet Rudd pulls it off with so little effort that you can’t help but root for the guy no matter who he’s playing. My one complaint: must we put those gigantic glasses on Rashida Jones? I mean, really?
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Dir: Rupert Wyatt – Planned release date: August 5
If you’ll recall, the first trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes (which is the Bob Loblaw Law Blog of movie titles) had all the excitement of a well-ironed pair of khakis. The acting appeared stiff and the action unconvincing, even if the apes themselves looked pretty neat. This new trailer certainly fixes a several problems found in the first, but I would hardly consider myself convinced. The good news: instead of a simple “apes go crazy” plotline, this new trailer hints at something with a bit more humanity. Franco no longer seems to be a lifeless drone, and the build to the ultimate ape revolt seems to be slower, more methodical, and not without reasoning. Instead of a dumb movie, Rise of the Planet of the Apes now looks like a regular old movie.
The downside is this trailer does what far too many trailers seem to be guilty of: it tells us the entire story of the film. It gives us the cause of the ape revolt, and even shows us the scene that sets the entire plot in motion. As Super 8 proved, there is something to be said for secrecy in advertising. It’s not all that engaging to watch a film when you’ve already seen what’s coming. The simple solution to avoiding such spoilers is obvious: don’t watch trailers. However, I have no interest in this path. In my opinion, trailers have become too huge a part of the film-going experience to ignore. I write this feature every week because I personally find it interesting to see how studios are advertising their films. More often than not, a good/bad trailer leads to a similarly good/bad movie. Sometimes we’re fooled. Rise of the Planet of the Apes hasn’t exactly nailed their advertising campaign thus far.
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