philosoraptor42

The final four trailers. I have had two entries before this.
Part 1 here.
Part 2 here.




9. The Signal

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No UK release date yet.
Germany release date: 10 July 2014
This looks very much to me like a kind of live action version of Akira, only exploring the concepts in its own unique way rather than trying to recreate Akira's rather distinctive visuals. I'd say that "Chronicle" did something like that already, but this has the aspect of the government taking in the troubled boy and trying (unsuccessfully from the looks of things) to treat him.

The director has mainly done cinematography work prior to this, but the presence of Lawrence Fishburne in a morally ambiguous mentor role does a great deal to give this trailer a strong appeal.

10. Dracula Untold

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UK release date: 3 October 2014
Yeah, okay this looks utterly ridiculous, but somehow the trailer really got me intrigued. Somehow Dracula is being put forward as the good guy, which seems strange. But the idea of getting to see Dracula be this guy who gains incredible supernatural powers and then uses them in battle. I mean, wow, that's pretty cool.

It's a visually spectacular action trailer and the director isn't Michael Bay. That's certainly a good start. ;)

11. V/H/S Viral (V/H/S 3)

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No UK release date yet.
US release date 21 November 2014
After VHS ended up being a moderate curiosity, the sequel turned out to be a distinct step-up from the first instalment. With the film series gaining greater levels of respect, it seems like there's every possibility that this third entry may have a better budget and even greater levels of creativity.... Or it could be a massive disappointment. Who knows? But the trailer still looks pretty cool, even though the first half is just showing scenes from the first two instalments.

12. The Green Inferno

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Essentially Eli Roth's tribute to "Cannibal Holocaust". A group of naive protesters who want to save the rainforest end up crashing, only to be discovered by tribe of cannibals. I like the theme idea here. You may care about nature, but don't expect nature to care about you.

I know Eli Roth produces mixed reactions, but it's odd really seeing as he seems to have only directed four full length films - including this one. I've not seen "Cabin Fever" yet and I've only seen the first of the two Eli Roth-directed "Hostel" films. Nevertheless, I enjoyed "Hostel" a lot and was very happily surprised by it. It looks like "The Green Inferno" will have the same theme of naive flawed characters who find themselves led like lambs to the slaughter.

I'm not sure why it's a selling point that the tribe in the movie have never been filmed before, though I suppose it rather cooler than just picking a bunch of random ethnic minority actors and getting them to act like cannibals. Promoting the as-yet-unfilmed tribe in the promotional material makes very clear that the tribe are acting and that the tribal community presumably didn't feel at all demeaned by their roles. I know the themes of this film may be racially problematic, but in the end it all depends on whether there is a decent exploration of a theme by the end of the film. For what it's worth I thought the theme in "Hostel" turned out to be surprisingly clever in the final act, almost certainly inspiring Tarantino's rewrite of history in the third act of "Inglourious Basterds". But as when judging any movie's promotional material, we always have only a limited impression of the final product and we'll just have to wait and see.

I've got 12 trailers to share with you all. So let's get started....



1. The Book Of Life

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UK release date: 24 October 2014

I was convinced that this was a Pixar film, but apparently not. It's being produced by Guillermo Del Toro and it's an animated love story based on the Mexican 'Day of the Dead'. It looks like a lot of fun. :)

2. What We Do In The Shadows

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No UK release date yet
Germany release date: 30 October 2014

Taika Waititi who directed the awesome "Eagle vs Shark" and several early episodes of "Flight of the Conchords", reunites with the hilarious Jermaine Clement for this comedy mockumentary about a group of vampires living together. It looks brilliant. The bits where they are trying to get 'invited in' to clubs is pretty awesome.

3. Life After Beth

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UK release date: 3 October 2014

Aubrey Plaza didn't impress me much with "Safety Not Guaranteed", but heck it wasn't her performance that was wrong there. Here she plays Beth, a girl trying to keep up her relationship with a boy even though she's now a zombie. (Hopefully I'll enjoy this more than "Warm Bodies". The zombie romance idea is cool, but I think it still has untapped potential.) I'm very happy to see that unlike in "Safety Not Guaranteed" where Aubrey Plaza's character is entranced by her love interest's awful guitar music, here we clearly see her shouting "You wrote this for me? This song sucks!" :)

Oh, and Dane DeHaan is playing the boyfriend. YAY!

4. Witching And Bitching

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No UK release date yet (or possibly ever)
Spain release date: 27 September 2013

Alex de la Iglesia has made two films which do not ever appear to have been released in the UK: "The Day of the Beast" (1995) and "The Last Circus" (2010). Both of these look like intriguing and utterly crazy films. Now we have this utterly off-the-hook trailer for "Witching and Bitching". It could either be brilliant or awful and I feel like I desperately need to find out witch! ;)

Starring Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Mark Strong, Samuel L. Jackson. Looks like this will do for spy thrillers what Kick-Ass did for superhero films.


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And just a quick reminder of what this director has brought us before:

Just discovered this bizarre trailer for the movie "Wolf Cop". It's from the director of a recent horror film called "13 Eerie". One actor who seemed more familiar, Jonathan Cherry, turns out to have been one of the stars of "Final Destination 2". He played a drug addict and acted as comic relief in the film.

I'm always up for a good horror comedy and this has potential.




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Okay so initially I saw the godawful trailer for "Frozen" and all the interest in another movie from the creators of Tangled (my review of "Tangled" here) just felt entirely smothered and smooshed out by the clear suggestion that no one older than 5 would have any interest in this. The problem was the bizarre cuts straight after lines from the snowman character as if those were intended as fantastic one-liners.

Anyway since then gothrockrulz posted the following awesome scene. I've also heard wonderful stuff about the whole premise behind the snowman character on the Kermode and Mayo podcast which makes me a lot more interested in that character now. Frankly, they'd have been better off just using this scene as their advert for the movie:


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So here's the interesting bit. An ex-LJ blogger from my f-list beckielric has apparently moved to tumblr and it was there that I found this awesome re-interpretation of the above video. Check it out:

Director Showcase: Lucky McKee

May (2002) - This was a really strong showcase of Angela Bettis' ability, playing a fragile socially-awkward young girl who cannot handle friends. She has a doll who her parents gave her as a child, almost as a consolation for her inability to make real friends. It's easy to get the impression early in the movie that the doll has some kind of supernatural power, but it becomes clear eventually that a lot of the movie is taking place within the protagonist's head. (B+)
(My review here)

Sick Girl (2006) - A "Masters of Horror" episode rather than a movie. This horror-comedy short feels rather like a Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode. It's a sweet story about two young women who are attracted to one another. Angela Bettis being the more mature of the two as well as being a bug expert who really loves her work. The film is more funny than scary, but it's absolutely great fun. (A+)
(My review here)

The Woods (2006) - Perhaps I'm only negative on this one because of my general dislike of ghost stories, but I had real trouble getting on board with this one. A girl in a mysterious boarding school finds she has trouble settling in and also finds that something more malicious may be at play in the background. There's weird urban legends and a slowly unfolding story which, while featuring some cliched elements, comes together to form something rather different from what you may have seen before. The appearance of Bruce Campbell is highly appreciated, but in the end the film mostly felt rather naff to me. (B-)
(My review here)

The Woman (2011) - Co-written by Lucky McKee and Jack Ketchum, this is actually a third entry in a whole series of Jack Ketchum stories about a group of cannibals who live in the forest. The eponymous 'woman' being the last remaining cannibal from Jack Ketchum's story "The Offspring". The introduction to this particular movie appears to suggest that the woman was raised by wolves, but her origins aren't vital here. The point is that she is some kind of wild savage woman who randomly lives in the forest away from 'civilised society'.

Angela Bettis appears in a smaller role here, but is no less awesome. But the central character is her lawyer husband who decides to kidnap the woman, keep her chained up, and to attempt to 'civilise' her. It's a deeply worrying premise, but Lucky McKee has a keen interest in focussing on feminist themes as well as including a sense of fun alongside his disturbing horror. I haven't read Jack Ketchum's novels, but Lucky McKee's style seems well-suited to adapting it here, and I would argue that this is Lucky McKee's best film so far.
(my review here)

All Cheerleaders Die (2013) - The next film Lucky McKee is working on is actually a remake of an early low budget film he made over a decade ago "All Cheerleaders Die". Apparently it finally reached the UK on the 12th October... at a film festival *groan!* Looking forward to a proper release as soon as possible. Recently saw this awesome trailer for it:


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Red (2008)
There's just one more Lucky McKee film that I never reviewed before. Oddly it was taken away from Lucky McKee part way through and taken over by Trygve Allister Diesen, a director mostly known for directing Norweigian television. Still, there are some scenes that are notably Lucky McKee's work. As I understand it, rather sadly for Robert Englund, Englund signed up particularly because he was keen to work with McKee and ended up not working with him at all.



( Click here to read the rest of my review of "Red"... (not the Bruce Willis movie!) )

When I went to see Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing", one trailer stood out. It's a trailer for the "Alan Partridge" movie. Now I don't know how well this is going to do. Alan Partridge isn't a character who has been on tv for a while and I'm pretty sure he's not well known in America.

Alan Patridge is perhaps the most well-loved character to be created by the legendary comedian Steve Coogan. I don't know what films of his people would be most likely to have seen. "24 Hour Party People"? (I've never seen that one.) "A Cock And Bull Story"? (That one's pretty obscure.) "The Parole Officer." (Even if you have seen that one, it's really not Coogan at his best.) Perhaps the best examples to point out are "In The Loop" where he is the guy who owns the collapsing wall. I felt he was in danger of stealing the show there, even with just a tiny role. Another high profile example is "Tropic Thunder" where he is the director (named "Damien Cockburn") who, um, disappears early on in the movie. (Personally not really a big "Tropic Thunder" fan to be honest.)



I remembered seeing adverts on tv promoting "Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Patridge" back in 1994 and unfortunately I didn't realise it was a comedy at the time. It's misleading that it initially appears to be a typical chat show and it takes a short while to recognise that the whole thing is a complete send-up. The host is self-centred and consistently massaging his own ego and in spite of seemingly promoting a politically correct show, constantly reveals casual bigotry, misogyny and general ignorance. His guests either hate him, discover that they hate him during the show or like him for the wrong reasons.



I've since caught up on this initial appearance of the character "Alan Partridge" including the excellent 'Christmas Special' (entitled "Knowing Me Knowing Yule with Alan Patridge"). The final conclusion of the Christmas special is shown as a flashback at the beginning of the first series of "I'm Alan Patridge" with a BBC executive (played by the awesome David Schneider) insisting "you shall never work in television again!" So how can there be any more shows? Because Alan moves to radio! Working on Radio Norwich (for non-UKers, that's a pretty mundane area btw) we spend very little time seeing how ridiculous he is as a radio broadcaster, spending a lot more time watching Alan Partridge have meetings and try to salvage his fledgling career. It's been a long time, but I remember absolutely loving the first series of "I'm Alan Patridge" in 1997, though I'm not certain whether I saw the second series which apparently aired in 2002.



Now the Alan Patridge movie seems to show him still working in radio. Unsurprisingly he decides to backstab one of his co-workers to get him made redundant, but he then becomes a hostage in an armed siege. Alan Partridge is a delightful combination of horrible, egotistical and stupid. As an audience we love to watch him make a fool of himself and suffer for it. This looks like it'll be hilarious...


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TV Shows Update:

I don't talk much about tv shows because I generally wait until they reach DVD before I watch them. So here are my comments on all the shows I've enjoyed in the past few years:


Game Of Thrones
I've finished the first two seasons and I kinda love it. A bit weirded out by the sex bits, but I don't think you need to focus on that so much. Clearly Peter Dinklage, Charles Dance and whatshername, the girl character, *googles* Arya Stark, are the most awesome parts of it. I tried reading the first book before watching the first series and couldn't get into it at all. I am better with faces than names and after the initial part of the book where every character I've been introduced to promptly dies, the author then gives me a bunch of names to remember without describing what any of those characters are like. I then struggled to work out who was who and got wholly frustrated. Yeah, I didn't really give it much of a chance, but even my mum whose a big reader seemed thankful to have been introduced to some of the main characters in the initial tv episodes before she dove into the book series. I loved Neil Marshall's episode "Blackwater"


Party Down
My main reason for checking this out was because I heard it had a reference to "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" before the book was written. And it's true. In the version they describe in the relevant episode Edgar Allen Poe and Abraham Lincoln both hunt vampires together. Essentially the series is about washed-up actors and writers who work in catering to make some money. I gained additional enjoyment when watching "Wreck-It Ralph" as a result of gaining familiarity with her in "Party Down". She's great.


Girls
So far I've only seen season 1, but it's pretty cool. Interestingly Lena Dunham has a short cameo in Ti West's horror-comedy "The Innkeepers". It might as well be Hannah from "Girls" though she's essentially just known as "that annoying girl who works at the coffee shop" in the movie. (Actually she's also credited as "911 voice operator" in Ti West's other movie "The House Of The Devil".) Lena Dunham both wrote and stars in the series "Girls" and while she's pretty, she has a refreshingly normal figure for a protagonist that young on American television. Pretty much every character in Girls has massive flaws, including the central protagonist and that's part of why the series is so enjoyable. Nearly episode seems to feature Hannah having awful sex with her weird boyfriend - which is um, unique. This is equal parts drama and comedy, but the comedy is funny enough to make those moments worth the wait - and in a good episode, you really won't be waiting long.


Miranda
Okay, enough of the American stuff. While we are on the subject of less conventional body types in female protagonists, it seems like perfect time to talk about Miranda Hart. I first saw her in the tv series "Hyperdrive", a sci-fi comedy series which slightly recaptured the magic that "Red Dwarf" now appears to have thoroughly lost. (For me, "Red Dwarf" only has six series worth mentioning. Ending ironically with the words "To Be Continued...") In "Hyperdrive" Miranda's character was a stickler for the rules and in one episode tries to spark up an old romance with a childhood friend from the Camp for Young Agnostics she used to go to.

Alongside Sarah Hadland who used to regularly feature in "Mitchell and Webb" sketches, Miranda (in the tv series) runs a joke shop which she paid for with her life savings. Miranda is a character who gets flustered by social expectations and just wants to enjoy herself without the pressures of life getting in the way. She is an extremely tall and quite large woman and so many of the jokes are connected with her insecurity about her appearance and the way she is regularly put down because she doesn't conform to classic beauty standards. Some people hate this series, but it's just so sweet and endearing that I don't understand how they can feel that way. Each to their own I guess.

I've onlys seen series one of "Miranda" so far, but I actually first found out about it through the Christmas specials.

( About Another Sixteen TV Series Listed Under The Cut... )

Trigger warning: The trailer for "Only God Forgives" features extreme violence. Oh yeah!

Only God Forgives



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After Drive completely blew me away it's cool to see this awesome trailer for Nicholas Winding Refn's next movie. I award this awesome points for:
- Somewhat aping the synthy music of "Drive".
- Pretty awesome lighting effects in strong primary colours.
- Not only does Ryan Gosling return, but this film features none other than Kristin Scott Thomas being decidedly badass.
- Absolutely brutal violence. Oh my god yes!

( Three more trailers under the cut (Thor, Emma Watson and a brand new crazy-looking slasher flick...) )

If anyone doesn't know why I label all my trailer posts "too good to be true", I first explain it here.

January:

Django Unchained (2012)
UK release date: 18/01/13


With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner. (165 mins.)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
 

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
UK release date: 25/01/13


A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May, 2011. (157 mins.)
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Stars: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong

Other releases in January:

American Mary (2012)
UK release: 11/01/13
The story follows medical student, Mary Mason, as she becomes increasingly broke and disenchanted with the surgical world she once admired... (103 mins.)
Director: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska
Stars: Katharine Isabelle, Antonio Cupo, Tristan Risk, David Lovgren

( Many more films to look forward to under the cut... )

Recently discovered this cool poster (below). It's from 2010 when John Carpenter had only just released "The Ward", so it may well not be happening now, but the poster certainly looks cool: