Tuesday, July 1, 2014

It's a Trailer Bonanza!


It's trailer time!  I haven't been keeping up as much as I've wanted to, so I decided to compile them all in one big post.  Sit back, relax, and judge for yourself if you would see any of these. 


Into the storm, without delay!  Oh wait.  That's Into the Woods, not the handheld-ish looking tornado thriller Into the Storm.  

Some people have been calling this a Twister rip-off, and I can see why.  The teaser trailer just showed us CGI tornadoes sprouting up and storm chasers wishing they were as cool as Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt.  


Remember when you did those tornado drills in elementary school?  You would go out into the hallway, and you were excited because you got to get away from your desk.  Then you thought, "All I do to try to prevent death from a tornado is to crouch in a ball up against a wall?!"  Yeah, that's totally on display here in Into the Storm


A helicopter is not a cow make, my friends.  

...cow...


There is storm chasing.  There is destruction.  But I just want to know why.  Perhaps the reason tornadoes aren't the subject of more action movies is because it's just a bunch of people from rural towns running away while things fly into the air.  Or it just might be because some tragedies in the Midwest have prevented from attempts out of respect.  Twister was the shit when it came out.  Who knew people would defend something from 1996?


"The dying's not done, the killing's not done," is one of the first lines uttered by a weary Brad Pitt in the trailer for Fury, a World War II epic directed by End of Watch's David Ayer.  

Pitt plays a sergeant who goes by the name of Wardaddy, and he leads a five men band of brothers behind enemy lines to try and strike the very core of Nazi-infested Germany.  His crew is incredibly outnumbered, and Wardaddy accepts a young soldier to drive the tank even though he has no experience.  



 

Along with Pitt, Fury stars Logan Lerman as the new tank operator as well as Shia LaBeouf, Michael Pena, and Jason Bernthal.  It looks bleak and drained of colors except for grey and Army green.  Pitt's constant weariness is very troublesome, and it feels like the vastness of war will be eclipsed by the intimacy of the group.  


I'm not the first to race out to see a war film, but this looks great.  


In Love is Strange, Alfred Molina and John Lithgow play George and Ben, a couple who get married after 39 years together.  George is fired from his Catholic school teaching job as soon as the archdiocese hears about their nuptials, and, as a result, the newlyweds must get rid of their New York apartment.  They live separately with family and friends until they sell their place and are able to find a cheaper apartment.



Ben goes to live with his nephew and his wife, played by Marisa Tomei.  George bunks with two younger, gay cops (Manny Perez and Cheyenne Jackson) who love to party.  Love is Strange screened at both the Berlin Film Festival and this past year's Sundance Film Festival, where it screened out of competition. 

At a time where many states are changing their laws on same-sex marriage, it's very interesting to see a film talking about after the wedding is over.  Many films and television projects have delivered the "gays are just like us" perspective when it comes to the actual wedding, but now, as time moves on, it will hopefully usher in a new wave of characters.  The fight for same-sex marriage is not over, but it feels like a lot of things are changing.  


Molina and Lithgow look to give very loving, comfortable performances.  Of course, it's always great to see Tomei on screen.  Love is Strange looks so sweet and gentle, so I am very excited to see it.  


Last year was a landmark year for African American cinema.  With Fruitvale Station, Lee Daniels' The Butler, and last year's Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave, we were given strong portraits of black actors directed by black directors.  Dear White People, directed by Justin Simien, is a more in your face satire.  


There is only a teaser out right now, but I am DYING to see this.  The conversation from last year will definitely be extended when this is released.  All I know about the plot is that a group of white students throw an African American themed party at an ivy league university and a riot ensues.  Yeah.  That sounds insane.  Simien was awarded a special jury award for Breakthrough Talent at Sundance.  


Have you ever watched The Blind Side and wondered what it would be like it Reese Witherspoon starred in it instead of Sandra Bullock?  No?  Ok, well, no one thought that, but The Good Lie definitely has a Blind Side-y vibe to it.

Witherspoon stars as Carrie, a woman assigned to help three Sudanese refugees find jobs in the United States.  She's reluctant to do more than that, but the more she learns about them, the closer she gets.  Carrie even pushes for one of the young men's sisters to come to the U.S. as well.  Because she's a good person who has learned so much about other cultures!  


Does this seem super cheesy to anyone else?  Maybe I'm just being too cynical, or maybe I just think it looks too much like The Blind Side (there it is again).  The bits in the trailer that show how these Sudanese guys have nothing feel like they are going for laughs, and it's cringe-worthy.  "Do you have your luggage," Reese asks.  They each hold up 2 plastic bags each.  Get it?!  They come from nothing!  But let's teach Reese Witherspoon something!  "Do you have any dangerous animals here?" one asks Corey Stoll, a question that makes him laugh.  We don't have lions here in the U.S!  You're such a silly Sudanese guy!  


Usually when more than one Saturday Night Live alumni pops up in a movie, it's excuse to groan or roll your eyes.  SNL actors usually venture off for themselves to star in a big screen movie, and, usually, they find success for a while.  I was really nervous to watch the trailer for The Skeleton Twins starring Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader, but I am dying to see this small tale of reconnecting with your sibling.  That's also very surprising since I don't necessarily like any of mine.  

Wiig and Hader play Maggie and Milo, estranged twins who happen to cheat death on the same day.  This coincidence prompts them to reunite and evaluate their relationship.  Maggie is trying to have a baby with her boyfriend (played by Luke Wilson), and it seems that Milo's acting career hasn't turned out as he hoped.  Ty Burrell plays a former lover of Milo's, and Joanna Gleeson plays Maggie and Milo's mother (and it took me forever to realize that it wasn't Catherine Keener).  



It's always nice to see Wiig dial it down a bit while remaining funny.  Now that he's left SNL, will Hader be doing more movies?  I'm down.  I'm down with all of this.  


I only bring The Wedding Ringer to your attention as a warning.  I do not condone this whatsoever.  

Josh Gad plays a nerd who is looking for a best man for his wedding.  Perhaps he doesn't have any friends, or they are all friends with him for the wrong reasons.  Who knows.  He enlists the services of TBM, Inc., a company that provides groomsmen with best men that is headed by Kevin Hart. 


I just have a couple of questions:

1.  Did no one see Hitch?  

2.  Do you think Adam Sandler  cares that this might get confused with The Wedding Singer?

3.  Is Kevin James pissed that he didn't take that call from his agent when he was on the can?

I leave you with that.  


I didn't realize how much I missed the trio of actors from this until I watched the trailer.  

In 1959, Errol Flynn's final film performance was released.  Cuban Rebel Girls was a dramatic, B-movie, but the story of how Flynn fell for a young co-star is the subject of The Last of Robin Hood.  Kevin Kline steps into the shoes of Flynn, and Dakota Fanning plays Beverly Aadland.  Susan Sarandon plays Beverly's mother, Florence.  

 


Flynn claims he's head over heels for Beverly, but Florence has her doubts.  Beverly's aspirations for fame and to be on the silver screen don't seem to be being met.  One would assume that the girlfriend of Robin Hood would permit Beverly to become a superstar.  Or perhaps she's not that talented?

I love all of these actors.  Kline doesn't do enough movies anymore.  I was immediately reminded of his larger than life portrayal of Cole Porter in De-Lovely.  I would follow Fanning to the moon and back again.  She's a lot less smiley and more subdued in this.  Maybe she will come back for more lead roles?  And Susan Sarandon.  I mean, come on.  Can Meryl Streep please turn down something so she doesn't have to play grandmothers and small bit parts?  Tammy comes out tomorrow, but I'm so nervous about that...


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