Volume 24: Time Travelers and Teddy Bears
Looper
Dir: Rian Johnson – Planned release date: September 28
There are a kajillion movies coming out this year that I am super excited for, and Rian Johnson’s third film Looper is right near the top of the list. Johnson’s first two films were the rightfully acclaimed Brick and the divisive The Brothers Bloom, and he’s been able to build quite a bit of buzz around his new Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Bruce Willis time travel film. At long last we have a trailer, and it looks very promising. Looper appears to have all the visual flair and stylistic quirks we’ve come to expect from a Rian Johnson film, only now we get to see how he handles action on a larger scale than his previous efforts. Despite the small sample size, Johnson has established himself as an incredibly skilled filmmaker who has a distinct, unique vision. Even if the results so far have been inconsistent, that is increasingly rare among filmmakers. It’s entirely possible that Looper won’t quite work, but at least it won’t be bland.
To Rome with Love
Dir: Woody Allen – Planned release date: June 22
After the incredible success of last year’s Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen has decided to stay in Europe and head southeast for his new film To Rome with Love. This trailer promises exactly the film you’d probably expect from such a title, as it is an ensemble comedy about several characters and their quirky adventures in The Eternal City. Allen even decides to step in front of the camera for the first time in several years, and he seems entirely comfortable. The trailer doesn’t give us a whole lot of detail as to what everybody is up to, but here’s what I can gather from the clips shown here: Woody Allen and Judy Davis walk around the city and humorously complain at each other in between meetings with their daughter Alison Pill, Jesse Eisenberg hangs out with Alec Baldwin then cheats on Greta Gerwig with Ellen Page, and Penelope Cruz flaunts her body while dropping numerous sexual innuendos. To Rome with Love certainly doesn’t look like it will change the world, but it seems like a fun enough Allen romp. I might even wind up liking this more than Midnight in Paris, which was fine enough but never quite clicked with me.
Savages
Dir: Oliver Stone – Planned release date: July 6
Oliver stone has spent the last decade directing wannabe prestige films like World Trade Center and W., and just about all of them have been bad. The trailer for his new film Savages seems to find Stone in “Screw it, I’m just going to become Tony Scott” mode, and he may be better for it. It’s been a long time since Stone has made an all-out thriller, and even longer since he’s made one that’s rated R for “strong brutal and grisly violence, some graphic sexuality, nudity, drug use and language throughout.” So, yeah, he’s not exactly holding back. Yet that’s what makes this movie so intriguing to me, and it may be Stone’s last chance to find his way back into my heart. He’s also got a good cast for a good old-fashioned bloodbath, chief among them Benicio del Toro playing a sleazier version of his character from Licence to Kill. It certainly seems like overblown pulp, but maybe these are the kinds of movies Stone needs to be making.
Total Recall
Dir: Len Wiseman – Planned release date: August 3
Today in “remakes of movies nobody was asking for,” I give you the trailer for Len Wiseman’s snore-inducing remake of Total Recall. My problem with this movie isn’t necessarily that it’s a remake; I’m far more disinterested by the fact that it’s just another generic sci-fi action movie. There’s the lame, weightless, CGI dystopian future that Colin Farrell rides around in. There’s the tired plot of the physically fit hero who doesn’t know who he is yet he can kick the crap out of the baddies that surround him. Oh, and that computer-assisted single shot fight scene in the middle of the trailer? Not really all that impressive or cool, despite how cool the shot thinks it is. I fully acknowledge that I may already be turning into an old man, but this trailer bored me to tears. Not even the brief appearance of Bryan Cranston can save it.
Ted
Dir: Seth MacFarlane – Planned release date: July 13
The premise of Seth MacFarlane’s feature debut Ted is… thin. At best. Basically, MacFarlane is attempting to build a feature-length film around a grown man and his misadventures with a sentient teddy bear. Also, as this is an R-rated comedy made in 2012, they are both foulmouthed stoners. What may help the film is the potentially inspired casting of Mark Wahlberg in the lead, which isn’t an obvious choice but could be just what this movie ordered. Those of us who loved The Other Guys know what Wahlberg is capable of as a comedic actor, and the interactions between the man and his bear in this trailer are often quite amusing. (This is doubly true in the red band trailer, which is quite profane.) Actually, I must admit that I enjoyed both of these trailers quite a bit, and possibly much more than I should have. The comedy is often quite broad and MacFarlane seems to direct with all the style of a napkin, but the silliness of the whole thing is rather endearing. MacFarlane is a sharp, funny guy, and I expect that to carry through to his film career. It also helps that the design of the eponymous character is quite good, and the CGI work is almost seamless. I’d imagine that’s where most of the $65 million budget went.
No comments:
Post a Comment