Volume 20: You Get a Sequel! And You Get a Sequel!
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Dir: Jon M. Chu – Planned release date: June 29
If there’s one film that the nation has been salivating for, it’s a sequel to the 2009 film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra directed by the man behind the Step Up sequels and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. Clearly, this seems like a success in the making. However, despite my sarcasm, this sequel has certainly figured one thing out: everything is better with the addition of The Rock. I’ll have to wait and see the movie to see if this holds true, but there are few people who can deliver the line “the world ain’t saving itself” without causing me to set fire to the screen. The Rock is one such person, and his brand of muscle-y charm seems right at home here. Other pros: Jonathan Pryce as the villainous President, and a nifty action scene at the end. It also helps that Bruce Willis shows up to shoot a machine gun for a few seconds, even though he seems somehow more disinterested than normal. This could well be terrible, and it probably will be, but at least a few moments in this trailer seem somewhat inspired and original. But let us never forget: The Rock makes everything better. See: Fast Five.
Wrath of the Titans
Dir: Jonathan Liebesman – Planned release date: March 30
While we’re in the “unnecessary sequels to terrible films” department, let’s take a look at this trailer for Wrath of the Titans. As you may know, 2010’s Clash of the Titans is the film that most people hold up as an example of the worst 3-D has to offer. Plus, the plot and characters ain’t so hot either. So you may understand that I’m not exactly salivating for this sequel, which seems to hit pretty much every expected beat and is still in 3-D. If there are two things I do like, it’s that the environment of Wrath seems to be a bit (I hate this word, but I’m going to use it) grittier, and that Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson are still around for a few scenes that will seem more like acting competitions than anything. Other than that, I’m not exactly holding my breath. (It doesn’t help that the use of Marilyn Manson’s version of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” just plays up the self-seriousness, which I could do without.) While this trailer doesn’t really discuss much plot, the shots we see would suggest that this is just another episodic journey through a land of large, dangerous beasts, and it’s up to Sam Worthington to kill each one. All the while, I’ll be waiting for the next Fiennes/Neeson verbal sparring match.
Jeff, Who Lives at Home
Dir: Jay & Mark Duplass – Planned release date: March 16
Mumblecore pioneers Jay and Mark Duplass continue their journey into the mainstream with Jeff, Who Lives at Home, a slacker comedy about Jason Segel’s Jeff, who lives at home. The cast here, which features the aforementioned Segel along with Susan Sarandon, Ed Helms and Judy Greet, is pretty stellar. As a result, the Duplass’ “handheld camera; zoom for emphasis!” style seems increasingly out of place and distracting. That bothered me enough before, but in this trailer alone the sudden zooms ruin a few comedic moments by adding unnecessary exclamation points. Plus, it just feels sloppy; like not enough time and effort went into shooting each scene. But no matter. I imagine when I watch the entire film, I’ll stop noticing about 15 minutes in. At least I hope so. Early reviews from the festival circuit are mostly positive, and I like just about everyone in this film, so here’s hoping. Hopefully before the next film, we introduce these guys to a tripod.
Casa de mi Padre
Dir: Matt Piedmont – Planned release date: March 16
It may sound strange to say that the release of a broad Will Ferrell comedy is a risk, but when said comedy is almost entirely in Spanish and requires subtitles you know you’re entering potentially dangerous commercial territory. No matter how comical or accessible, not many people are willing to sit down and read a movie for 90 minutes. (One of the only exceptions is Inglourious Basterds, which somehow made a ton of money despite not really being in English all that often.) Even going beyond the film’s commercial prospects, this really doesn’t seem like a premise that can sustain a feature-length film. This would seem to be more of a sketch than anything, and we’ve seen time and time again that when such ideas are stretched past an hour and a half they could prove disastrous. The good news is that Ferrell normally doesn’t make pure “extended sketch” films, and I see this more as an opportunity for him to take his talents to unique places. He’s not making five Anchorman sequels, and for this ambition alone we should be grateful. (Before you get any ideas: that is not a knock on Anchorman, which I love.)
Red Lights
Dir: Rodrigo Cortés – Planned release date: TBA
Recently the Sundance Film Festival wrapped up out in Utah, and as such word is starting to get out about all the good and bad films that will get releases throughout the rest of the year. One film that would seem to have promise is Red Lights, which comes from the filmmaker of the relative hit Buried. The problem? Reviews coming out of Sundance have been quite negative, with many critics citing a horrific third act that undoes anything the film did right before. Well, I have not seen it, and thus all I have to go off of is this pretty thrilling trailer. It’s nice to see Robert De Niro in a role that actually seems to have some meat to it, and the cast—which features Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver and Elisabeth Olsen, who gave my favorite performance of 2011—is as good as you could hope for a movie of this magnitude. If the movie is able to sustain the creepiness of this trailer for two hours, I’ll be mighty impressed. If it doesn’t (as most suggest) well, crap. At least Red Lights seems to be going for something.
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