trailers of interest

Doubt, John Patrick Shanley
Update: "The dragon is hungry." I take it back. I am definitely seeing this. The acting looks phenomenal, and the setting is refreshing. Plus, I don't think I'll figure out the ending of this one...


The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Terry Gilliam
This is just a pre-production trailer, but it still looks really amazing. You may remember hearing about this movie as the one where Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell will play variations of one role, the one that was originally cast as Heath Ledger. This, not Dark Knight (as is the popular belief), is really Ledger's last role. Director Terry Gilliam talks about the movie in a way that actually says nothing about the movie. It's a bunch of adjectives tacked onto fantastical words, but in all honesty, this trailer doesn't need words. Just show me the images. My favorite image clocks in at 2:19; iridescent blue-green jellyfish abducting people. Awesome.


Changeling, Clint Eastwood
Plot: Angelina Jolie's child is kidnapped and then the police return a boy to her, but it's not her son. I like Clint Eastwood well enough, but I don't think his name is synonymous with Academy Award and I thought Million Dollar Baby was extremely overhyped. But I loved Mystic River and I think Changeling will be a return to the mystery-suspense that Eastwood is so good at. I believed Tim Robbins' character was guilty, and I could very well believe that Angelina Jolie's character is just crazy. I'm indifferent to this movie -- I'll either see it or I'll wait to see it, but it'll be one of those "nothing else is playing" scenarios.


The International, Tom Tykwer
(Ignore the mini-trailer before the actual trailer. I would've put a Youtube trailer up, but this one is HD!) Plot: Clive Owen, playing Clive Owen, has to "go outside the system of justice." Naomi Watts also stars. I don't know. Stuff blows up and there are guns involved. With movies like this, I need a really intelligent plot (Italian Job and Inside Man did this well), and I just won't be able to tell until reviews come out. I don't really care if reviewers like a movie -- I just look for buzz words. If the phrase "plot holes" appear, I tend to avoid the movie. Also, if "great twist" appear, I tend to avoid it because I go into the movie knowing there's a twist so I'm subconsciously looking for clues and I figure out the end before it happens (I figured out 4/5 of the twists in The Prestige). So I'll wait on this one.


The Soloist, Joe Wright
I love Joe Wright, I do. I adored Pride and Prejudice and fell in love with Atonement, a faithful adaptation to one of my favorite novels. But this is just screaming "GIVE ME AN OSCAR" and I can't get behind that. Does it look beautiful and heartwarming? Yes. Is Robert Downey Jr. retrieving his career from oblivion? Yes. But am I also getting sick of him? Yes. It just looks like too many things are set up for "Best Oscar" for something... acting, directing, script, cinematography... where are movies like The Lives of Others, good honest movies? Sigh. I don't think I'll be seeing this...


Nothing Like the Holidays, Alfredo De Villa
Wow, it's September and here's a trailer for a holiday movie. But guess what, it actually looks funny. Plot: A Puerto Rican family spend what may be their last Christmas together; the parents are getting a divorce. The difference between this movie and others like it are that these jokes do not seem forced, and the ones that are ("Does your plumbing work?") work because of the Hispanic culture. And it really bothers me in comedies, TV or film, where other characters don't laugh when someone says something funny. People would laugh in real life! At least in Nothing Like the Holidays, the characters not only laugh, but they make fun of each other. They're an actual family, and it's not about them hating each other. (So overly cliché.) I'm definitely going to see this because I'm a closeted sap, and I'm a sucker for "Lean on Me."