Volume 12: Have You Got the Hunger… Games?
The Hunger Games
Dir: Gary Ross – Planned release date: March 23, 2012
When adapting a young adult sensation like The Hunger Games for the big screen, there are two angles you can take with the advertising. First, you can try and sell your film as its own thing while also appealing to the die-hard fans. Or, you can just throw together a short teaser that says little more than “oh, this exists.” While I understand the desire to release a trailer like this as early as possible, I would have preferred something just a bit more substantive. If you’re not already interested in the soon-to-be franchise, then there’s nothing here that will make you sit up in your seat. My opinion of this teaser is similar to my feelings toward the preview we got this past summer for The Dark Knight Rises; it only really works if you are familiar with what is being advertised. And even then, there’s not a whole lot to sink your teeth into.
In the end, what I feel about a minimalist teaser like this will have no impact on my expectations for the film. Heck, it’s still in production. I’m just of the belief that if you are going to release an early teaser, it should be more like the much-discussed (preferably red band) preview for David Fincher’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. That trailer provides a taste of what the viewing experience might be like with a series of intriguing images, but doesn’t reveal any salient plot details. The Dragon Tattoo teaser works if you don’t know anything about Steig Larsson’s trilogy. This new preview for The Hunger Games? Not so much, but there’s still quite some time before this baby is released.
The Artist
Dir: Michel Hazanavicius – Planned release date: October 12
If the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is known for one thing, it’s being hip. So, naturally, the one film getting a lot of the early Oscar buzz this year is a throwback to the silent films of the ’20s. That’s right; they’re not even pretending to care about these newfangled movies anymore. The film in question is The Artist by Michel Hazanavicius, who seems to have perfectly replicated the films of the era right down to the correct aspect ratio. That is an admirable achievement, and apparently the character work is also quite good, but does this alone merit all this awards attention? I fully admit that I may just be a snot-nosed child, but when other filmmakers are innovating and doing brand new things with the medium, should we really be throwing all our support behind The Artist just because it looks and feels like something that was made 85 years ago? I’m skeptical, but I hope to be proven wrong.
The Rum Diary
Dir: Bruce Robinson – Planned release date: October 28
Having previously ridden the work of Hunter S. Thompson to cult success in Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Johnny Depp’s choice to return to that territory would seem promising. And sure enough, it doesn’t take long before the trailer offers us a glimpse of Depp’s crazy face as wakes up from what was apparently a crazy Hunter S. Thompson kind of night. Then a lot of things happen; most of them involving drugs, alcohol and Amber Heard. This trailer isn’t much for plot description, but it specializes more in the wacky, hallucinatory moments that most people associate with the Thompson brand. Plus, it has Aaron Eckhart as the film’s (apparent) villain. I’m not entirely sure how good this will be, but Depp plays characters like this so effortlessly that I’ll surely be drawn in on some level. Other than that, I can’t say I have much of an opinion on this. I’m sorry I wasted your time. Moving on…
The Double
Dir: Michael Brandt – Planned release date: September 23
This seems to be the kind of bland political thriller that I normally wouldn’t care much about, but I’ve decided to post on this trailer for one reason: the twist it gives away is the most ridiculous I’ve ever seen. Many bloggers such as myself have spent much time bemoaning how recent movie trailers seem intent on revealing a film’s entire narrative, but this preview for The Double is the worst I’ve ever seen. Even if a trailer reveals a plot twist, it’s normally one that falls in the middle of the film. I don’t see how that can be the case here, unless The Double goes into some truly ridiculous territory down the stretch. The objective of a trailer is to sell the movie, not condense it. The argument for this method of advertising is that audiences will choose to go to the movie because they know exactly what they’re in for. That’s an incredibly wrongheaded perspective; everyone—and I mean everyone—who goes to the movies does it to be entertained and surprised. To further drive my point home: this video has an approval rating of only 20 percent on YouTube. These commenters are not the smartest of people, but they know when a movie is spoiled for them.
Above all, this just makes me sad for all those who put their time and effort into The Double. Even if the movie isn’t good, this is a product that a great many people spent many months creating. And to have the entire thing spoiled in a two-minute piece of advertising? That’s just depressing. I’ll admit it’s a rather obvious twist, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a twist. The Double probably wasn’t making a great deal of money regardless—Topher Grace and Richard Gere aren’t what you’d call box office draws—but the trailer is likely to bury it even more.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
Dir: Eli Craig – Planned release date: September 30
Here is a film that has been called this year’s Shaun of the Dead, and this trailer certainly backs that up. Eli Craig’s Tucker & Dale vs. Evil has been sold as a parody of the “evil hicks in the woods” horror movie, where the two rednecks aren’t bloodthirsty killers so much as they’re just nice guys. It’s the attractive young “protagonists” that actually end up killing themselves in a series of gruesome accidents. As is the case with many other indie films these days, it is already available to you via iTunes, Amazon, and other on demand services before it’s theatrical release in a few weeks. I am telling you this because in the next week or so I plan on checking it out and reviewing it, and by posting this trailer I hope that you will watch along with me. This is the kind of horror/comedy hybrid that seems to be right up my alley. Plus, Alan Tudyk as a redneck? Yes. A million times yes.
Trailer Trash will be taking another week off next Friday, and there’s a very good chance it may simply become a biweekly feature. So stay tuned.
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