Volume 1: Of Muppets and Dragon Tattoos
Dir: David Fincher - Planned release date: December 21
Last weekend, the trailer that shook the film blogosphere was the red-band trailer for David Fincher’s adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. At this point, you’ve likely seen the book—written by the late Stieg Larsson—everywhere. In fact, you've probably read it. You even might have seen the original Swedish film adaptations (I haven’t yet). At this point, an American remake might seem redundant in the vein of Matthew Vaughn’s Let Me In; no matter how well-made, it will still be overshadowed by its own needlessness.
Yet film fans have grown interested in the forthcoming American version for one particular reason: David Fincher. Faithful readers will know that I believe Fincher is one of the best directors going. (I realize this isn’t the most controversial of opinions, but go with it.) The Social Network was my favorite movie of last year (again, not that controversial) and I may be the biggest fan of Zodiac on the face of this Earth. Heck, of the eight films he’s made, I’d contend that four of them are truly great. For him to take on a tale like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo seems like a natural fit.
When a bootleg of the red-band trailer leaked last weekend, it indeed seemed to promise a film for those who find today’s Fincher far too light-hearted. If you prefer the brooding, violent Fincher of Se7en preferable to the talky, exacting Fincher of Zodiac and The Social Network, this trailer probably had you giddy with excitement. It certainly had an effect on me, as the whole affair was capped off by a surprisingly awesome cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” by Academy Award winner (!) Trent Reznor and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It doesn’t tell us a whole lot, and the tagline (The Feel Bad Movie of Christmas!) is a little—for lack of a better term—bleh, but it accomplished exactly what a teaser trailer intends to accomplish: it caught my attention.
Unfortunately, the widely-circulated red band trailer has been removed from YouTube for the time being. To compensate, we were given the green-band trailer above, and despite the fact it looks the same it feels like a significant step downward. Let’s face it: it’s an incredibly simple trailer. It merely consists of loud music and brief shots of not a lot going on. It was the glimpses of violence, blood and Rooney Mara nudity that grabbed our attention. The green-band trailer removes all the risqué material to create something which merely shows a bunch of characters sitting around and staring at each other, with Daniel Craig occasionally looking frantic about something. This doesn’t have much of a negative impact on my anticipation for the movie, but as a trailer the green band comes off as silly while the red band pummels you into submission. Luckily, I’ve found another bootleg red band trailer elsewhere for you to enjoy. Click here to watch it; just keep in mind that you shouldn’t gather the whole office around your computer first. And you shouldn't watch it if you're under 17, either. I'm going with the honor system on that last one.
The Muppets
Dir: James Bobin - Planned release date: November 23
The Muppets are awesome. If you disagree, you’re wrong. This isn’t a matter of opinion. This is fact. That is why you should be excited for The Muppets, the latest film to feature everyone’s favorite fuzzy puppet friends. And this isn’t some project thrown together by money-grabbing hacks, thank you very much. The script was written by (lead actor) Jason Segel and Nicolas Stoller, who previously worked together on Forgetting Sarah Marshall. One can only hope this film has slightly less full-frontal Segel nudity.
Thus far, the marketers are taking a rather clever approach to the early teasers for The Muppets. Both teasers start by advertising other far less interesting movies (one outright apes an early teaser for The Hangover: Part II), only to reveal the actual subject matter at the end. Sure, we never really get a good look at the movie itself, but The Muppets looks to be just as clever as the Muppets often are at their best. I can’t wait, and neither can you. Again, this isn’t a debate.
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
Dir: Robert Rodriguez - Planned release date: November 19
There doesn’t seem to be much of a middle ground for Robert Rodriguez. Either he makes a no-holds-barred ultra-violent exploitation film like Machete, or he makes a children’s film with enough bright colors to drive you insane. With Spy Kids 4: I Want Money—wait, oops—All the Time in the World, Rodriguez returns to the series that seemed to work so well for him the first time.
I was very much a fan of the first two Spy Kids films. However, in every children's film he’s made since Rodriguez seems to have gone completely off the fantastical deep end. I get that his intentions are good, but oy. Someone needs to inform him that every little moment doesn't merit a cartoonish sound effect. Also, I’m very much looking forward to seeing Joel McHale play some sort of paternal figure. I love the man to death—Community is the best comedy on television—but he’s much better at playing the guy who doesn’t give two craps about anything. Needless to say, this should be interesting.
In other news, Daryl Sabara and Alexa Vega are back! That’s exciting, right?
Bad Teacher
Dir: Jake Kasdan - Planned release date: June 24
This summer is proving to be the year that the Freaks and Geeks team gets their well-earned revenge. After Paul Feig—the creator of that series—started the summer off with the hilarious hit comedy Bridesmaids, it’s time for Jake Kasdan—who directed five episodes and got a producer credit—to shine. He’s had a chance before with Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, but that film unceremoniously flopped upon release. Never mind the fact that it’s one of the funniest comedies in recent memory. (Not best. Funniest.) Now he’s getting his chance with R-rated fare of the more mainstream variety, and it comes in the form of Bad Teacher.
As far is the trailer is concerned, it’s perfectly fine. Cameron Diaz has some nice moments in a refreshingly mean-spirited role, but the especially schlubby Jason Segel steals the whole thing with the LeBron rant at the end. I don’t think this has been advertised as anything special, but the amount of awesome people involved—and my allegiance to anyone involved with Freaks and Geeks—will get me in to the theater without protest. Most importantly: you owe it to yourself to watch Walk Hard. And make sure it’s the director’s cut if possible.
(FYI: The aforementioned Paul Feig makes a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in this trailer during the car wash sequence.)
Horrible Bosses
Dir: Seth Gordon - Planned release date: July 8
The Freaks and Geeks theme continues in slightly more unorthodox fashion with Horrible Bosses. However, this time it is not the director or the stars that cause the F&G connection, but rather co-screenwriter John Francis Daley, who we fans know as the geeky Sam Weir. All of this aside, this film has one of my favorite comedic casts of the year. The combination of Charlie Day with Jasons Bateman and Sudeikis is so far up my alley that I can’t help but get excited. Even if Day is playing the same character he has his entire career, he’s one of the most naturally funny screen presences I’ve ever seen. That may sound grandiose, but I stand by it.
Even more insane than the main trio is the supporting cast; all of whom seem to be playing against type. Best of all: Jennifer Aniston—a genuinely funny person when she gets the chance—has finally chosen a film that isn’t a horrid romantic comedy. In fact, she’s one of Horrible Bosses’ three main villains alongside Kevin Spacey and a thoroughly gross Colin Farrell. Even Jamie Foxx stops by to play a “murder consultant” named Motherf---er Jones. As dark as the subject matter appears to be, Horrible Bosses is one comedy I’m very much looking forward to.
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