Trailer Exam
Trailer Exam | The Descendants
Some time ago I wrote an article expressing my love for the work of Alexander Payne and showcasing a clip from his newest film, The Descendants. Well, it turns out the clip is actually lifted directly from the trailer that debuted today. If you weren’t already sold based on the talent involved, this trailer should really do the trick. On display is Alexander Payne’s usual wry intelligent humor and his meditation on our place in this world. The film stars George Clooney as a dad who considers himself “the understudy” parent, who is forced to raise his daughters alone after his wife is injured. He then learns a secret kept from him, that changes everything. Simply put, it looks fantastic. Check it out below.
Film Clip | The Descendants
I am a huge fan of the work of Alexander Payne, plain and simple. Over the course of four films he has created a beautiful, dark, funny, and sardonic look at America. He is a master and his voice is original, while also paying homage to masters such as Federico Fellini and Hal Ashby. Unfortunately, Payne has been missing from the theaters since his 2004 masterpiece Sideways. He directed a segment of the 2006 film, Paris, Je t’aime, as well as the pilot for the HBO series Hung (which I highly recommend), but I still longed for his next project. Lucky for me (and fellow film fans), his newest film The Descendants, starring George Clooney, hits theaters December 16th. A trailer has yet to surface, but a humorous clip from the film has popped up. The clip shows next to nothing, but does offer Payne’s signature style and a good laugh. To check it out, click here.
Synopsis via IMDB
A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident.
Trailer Exam | Meek’s Cutoff
Michelle Williams seems to be the go to actress for bleak motion pictures at the moment. With Wendy and Lucy and Blue Valentine, Williams proved that she is up for challenging material. For Meek’s Cutoff, Wendy and Lucy director Kelly Reichardt and WIlliams re-team to tell the quasi-western survival story chronicling a portion of the Oregon Trail. Based on the trailer, Meek’s Cutoff looks to be an exercise in a minimalist filmmaking. Utilizing colorful characters and a vast foreboding locations, Reichardt seems to have created a rich and authentic film. Meek’s Cutoff stars Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano, Shirley Henderson, Neal Huff, Tommy Nelson, Rod Rondeauxn and opens April 8th, 2011. Check out the official synopsis and trailer below.
The year is 1845, the earliest days of the Oregon Trail, and a wagon team of three families has hired the mountain man Stephen Meek to guide them over the Cascade Mountains. Claiming to know a short cut, Meek leads the group on an unmarked path across the high plain desert, only to become lost in the dry rock and sage. Over the coming days, the emigrants must face the scourges of hunger, thirst and their own lack of faith in each other’s instincts for survival. When a Native American wanderer crosses their path, the emigrants are torn between their trust in a guide who has proven himself unreliable and a man who has always been seen as the natural enemy.
Double Wide Trailer Exam | Perfect Sense and Beginners
One of the best (and criminally overlooked) films of 2010 was Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer. In the film Ewan McGregor plays a writer for hire, who is assigned the task of ghost writing the ex-prime minister’s memoirs. It is an excellent film in every way and instead of repeating myself I will recommend my review here, if you would like to read more. Among all the great things in the film, I was struck by Ewan McGregor’s everyman appeal. He rarely is an action star (although there are three prequels that we need not mention) and usually is playing an intellectual in over his head. In 2011, McGregor will be starring in two very different films; Perfect Sense (a story of two lovers fighting to survive in the wake of an epidemic, co-starring Eva Green) and Beginners (a quirky look at the relationship of a father, Christopher Plummer, and his son). Continue on to check out the fantastic trailers for both films. Read the rest of this entry »
Trailer Exam | Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life
To say we here at Filmdogs are fans of director Terrence Malick is a bit of an understatement. Days of Heavenis one of my top 10 favorite films of all time, and I eagerly anticipate each of his films with eager excitement. So Terrence Malick fan boy would be more appropriate. With every film, from Badlands to The Thin Red Line and The New World, Malick hones his poetic vision offering stories that connect with me on existential levels. Well now we finally get a look at his long awaited new film, The Tree of Life. Words cannot express how I feel about this trailer, so I will just recommend you watch it yourself. The Tree of Life stars Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessica Chastain.
Synopsis via Imdb:
The story centers around a family with three boys in the 1950s. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence.
Trailer Exam | See Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver”
Mel Gibson has made news this year for “various reasons” and while recent polls indicate that audiences would still see his films despite the craziness, it still remains to be seen. The controversy must have come as a serious headache to director Jodie Foster and her new movie starring Mel entitled The Beaver. The comedy focuses upon a clinically depressed man who in order to reconnect with his family begins to talk through a Beaver puppet. The film quickly went into limbo after Mel’s meltdown even though it had a well received script and an apparently Oscar worthy performance from Gibson.
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Trailer Exam | Cowboys and Aliens
When I first heard the news that Iron Man helmer Jon Favreau was directing a big summer movie entitled Cowboys and Aliens, my thoughts immediately went to the disaster that was the 1997 film Wild Wild West. Cheesy comic tones and westerns don’t mix well. Yet, Favreau’s movie did have some great casting choices going for it, including Daniel Craig, and retuning to his geeky roots Harrison Ford. Put James Bond and Indiana Jones on screen together and it’s enough to make any nerd’s head explode. Well, I can tell you that after viewing the trailer the film has just skyrocketed to the top of my must see list for this summer.
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Trailer Exam | The Green Lantern
Not the biggest fan of this pose.
In the past few years I’ve become a fairly massive fan of the DC Comics character The Green Lantern thanks to the work of writer/DC Executive officer Geoff Johns. So naturally Martin Campbell’s upcoming film adaptation of the hero is something I’ve been looking forward to for several years now. I haven’t agreed with all the casting choices mainly Ryan Reynolds in the lead role of Hal Jordon, but I’ve since warmed to this decision. Last Friday when Entertainment Tonight debuted several seconds of the film’s trailer feelings were mixed. Reynolds classic Van Wilder style of comedy was largely featured, leaving me a little annoyed. Even more worrying was what seemed to be some sketchy CGI, especially Jordan’s Lantern suit. Well, now the full trailer has debuted, and after watching it several times I’m both apprehensive and pretty excited. Watch below or check it out here in HD as well.
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Trailer Exam | Battle: Los Angeles
Apart from starring Aaron Eckhart and being touted as a Black Hawk Down style alien invasion movie, I knew next to nothing about the film Battle: Los Angeles. I heard good things from sources who caught clips at the past Comic-Con, but having seen nothing for myself I was still unsure. Well, the trailer for the film has recently hit the net and I found it to be more than a little fantastic. No dialogue or character moments are shown, but the trailer ramps up it’s visceral action scenes using Johann Johannsson’s “The Sun’s Gone Dim and the Sky’s Turned Black” and it takes hold of you. Director Jonathan Liebesman seems to be striving for a film that realistically depicts what such an a event would look like. I personally am very excited. Battle: Los Angeles stars Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Michael Peña and opens on March 11, 2011. Check out the trailer below.
Trailer Exam | Unknown
I’m usually hesitant when it comes to psychological thrillers. Most of these films rely on the same tricks that have been used countless times, and rarely elevate or transcend the genre. That’s why I’m surprised that I enjoyed the trailer for Unknown. It offers nothing new, but yet there is a hint of ridiculous fun present. Here is the synopsis:
A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is.
Originally titled Unknown White Male, Unknown looks like a cross between Roman Polanski’s Frantic and Neeson’s own Taken. Unknown stars Liam Neeson, January Jones, Diane Kruger, Frank Langella, Aidan Quinn, and Bruno Ganz. It opens January 7, 2011. Check out the trailer below.
