I am now ashamed of not having seen this at the cinema. It just goes to show, though, that a bad trailer can break a good movie. Flags of Our Fathers had a trailer aimed at the Ur-American who wanted to celebrate the glories of war. The film itself is actually an examination of the necessities and cruelties of war, and of the war machine itself.
It fails to pass judgement for the most part (with the exception of a brief reference to Vietnam), and to that end is a good movie. However … and I personally don’t see this … Paul Haggis’ script may be too leftist for some. Why, if he had run World War II, we’d all be communists by now!
My friend Annie was the only girl in the cinema. That sounds about right. The Dying Gaul is an adaptation of a stage play, and at times it certainly feels like it. For all of its strengths, its power, and the excellence of Patricia Clarkson, it has a certain pretentiousness in its staging and an abrupt ending of the kind generally reserved for the stage.
In a festival that includes Poltergay (which sounds stupid but looks hilarious), Another Gay Movie (homosexual American Pie) and Dead Boyz Don’t Scream, another addition to the presumably until recently unexplored genre of the homosexual slasher movie, The Dying Gaul is one of the more serious entries; perhaps a little too serious. Still, Patricia Clarkson is always worthwhile.
“This may sound like complete gibberish to you, but I think I’m in a tragedy.”
2007 has a lot of work to do if it wants to equal the brilliance set by Stranger than Fiction. This early in the year you’re mainly dealing with refugees from 2006, and this would have been an awesome way to cap off that year. Instead, I’m left with something that kicks off the second month of 2007 with style, flair and meaning.
Stranger than Fiction is a different movie, particularly to those used to attending Will Ferrell’s standard fare. I have held firm to the belief that Ferrell can be good in a good film, and this is proof: he is great in a great film, and utterly believable. When he cried, I damn near cried along with him.
I did cry later though, for real.
Tonight I saw Little Children. Horrible but great. It was the calibre of film that attracts a good calibre of trailer. In addition to the now customary Notes on a Scandal trailer, there were two other good things.
They both look interesting enough to both be featured here.
Letters from Iwo Jima
This actually looks incredibly good. Unlike the Flags of Our Fathers trailer, which was always going to be a soft-sell to the “America, America, rah rah rah!” troupe, Letters from Iwo Jima‘s trailer concentrates on the human side of the story. It looks like a movie I could get emotionally involved in, and I’m now used to the colour scheme. I would feel kind of bad deciding this was the best picture Oscar winner a mere two days before the ceremony, but if it is, so be it.
The Good German
I was going to say something along the lines of George Clooney not liking colour anymore, but then I remembered Syriana. Dang, I hate that movie.
Anyway, George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh teaming up means that the movie will either be good or a preachy snoozefest. I think that’s at their discretion, but I’ll look forward to this. One criticism of the trailer, or maybe I simply wasn’t paying attention: I don’t really have any idea of what this movie is about.
What am I going to do when I run out of Greek alphabet?
Because I prevaricated so much, some of these trailers have already been covered in the February preview and the Auspicious Beginnings of 2007 round up. But! This is not just about the movies, but also about their trailers! Seeing as I see trailers all the time, they are a sort of art. Unfortunately when I take notes on these things, I don’t always recall which trailers went with which movie.
Notes on a Scandal
Great as this movie looks, don’t see the trailer if you can avoid it. It gives entirely too much away about a story that should probably have revealed itself by turns. Still, that won’t stop me from going to see it.
The Good Shepherd
Matt Damon looks foolish in a suit, and this trailer doesn’t really indicate the movie’s time frame, but it looks sufficiently actor packed and De Niro directed and zeitgeist-like to be able to get away with that small shortcoming. Either that or it will be really boring. Still, Michael Gambon!
Epic Movie
Why the heckfire was this trailer shown at Apocalypto? Also why the heckfire was it made? Jayma Mays is pretty, yes, but two of the six writers of Scary Movie now have created enough physical evidence against themselves
Rocky Balboa
What I love about this movie is that Rocky was past his prime in the original, and here he’s sixty. It’s a flagrantly stupid idea! Still, should highly entertaining.
Ocean’s 13
I didn’t see Ocean’s 12, but I love Don Cheadle … particularly when he gets dressed up as an American flag. Sold!
Music and Lyrics
I think I’m over my Drew Barrymore hatred phase, but this isn’t my style. It’s the sort of movie that comes on TV and you watch it without thinking, but the fact that Drew Barrymore can’t sing and that this is a film in which Drew Barrymore sings stretches its credibility to the order of somewhat. The trailer wins points for gratuitous shots of Aasif Mandvi.
300
“We will block out the sun with our arrows!”
"Then we shall fight in the shade.”
Typical Frank Miller machismo given the screen treatment. I was only paying half attention to this trailer due to other concerns at the time, but it looks worthy.
History Boys
I wanted to see this when it was on at a theatre here, so to see it for a seventh of the price is a worthy investment indeed. When he’s not being (Uncle) Vernon Dursley, Richard Griffiths is an accomplished actor. Because this is the pick of the trailer run, you get to see it here:
The use of Blur’s "The Universal” here is really effective. It’s just another movie about teaching disadvantaged children to like learning, but those are frequently the most inspirational. I could buy it. It’s also worth noting that this trailer is significantly better than the Fox Searchlight effort.
Freedom Writers
So it’s exactly the same movie as History Boys, but with Hilary Swank instead of Richard Griffiths, and playing up the idea that America is run by gangs. Damned gangs. It may well be too preachy to consume: it’s essentially Take the Lead but with more gangs and with writing instead of dancing. Okay, fine: I’ve just realised that every movie is just a variation of every other movie. I still hold that if they’re done well it doesn’t matter.
Nothing’s seemed particularly outstanding or out of place. I’m just glad that the Stranger than Fiction trailers have left our screens. Even though it was a perfect trailer for a movie that turned out just about perfect, I saw it about ten times (and the movie itself twice). It will not be missed.
Yarr, it’s time for some freestyling. True, two of the weeks of February have already passed, but let’s go with a forecast of the release schedule from last Thursday on (not counting those covered in the last month round up):
Little Children
February 8
There’s nothing that I like more than a good movie about suburban affairs and child abuse. There are actually quite a few things that I like more, but Kate Winslet is always good value. I actually don’t know why I go to movies about domestic Hell, but … all ya gotta do is feel.
Smokin’ Aces
February 8
This movie is mostly of note due to director Joe Carnahan’s quote:
It’s as though sliced white bread, the internal combustion engine and the neo-noir pulp thriller were all invented in 1992 by [Tarantino].
I’m probably not much of a fan of stylised violence for the same reason that I’m drawn to movies about horrible domestic nightmares. I only like seeing people killing each other in imaginative ways if the ways are really, really imaginative. Otherwise, not so much.
I might go see this if I have a big group or whatever or people who will be all “Yeah! Stupidity!”, but it’s not precisely my cup of tea. Still, it’s a maybe. That’s how it made this list.
Ghost Rider
February 15
Nicolas Cage has done some good stuff, like The Weatherman, but that probably isn’t enough to persuade me to see his big, dumb movies. His head turns into a flaming skull! That’s totally awesome! I’m getting sick of analysing key demographics as I realise I’m drifting further and further away from any of them. I might choose to watch Hustle & Flow on DVD at home rather than going to see this.
The Good Shepherd
February 15
I can acknowledge that Matt Damon is a good actor, but there’s something about his look that means that he can’t carry off wearing a suit. So his acting has to rise above his suitworthiness, and I think that, as in The Departed (which shares many common actors), Damon can pull it off. I’m getting a bit sick of the trailer and I’m finding that I can’t stand Angelina Jolie in my old age, but this is probably something to watch for. Damned February, shaping up to be big.
“You can’t do that … Never let someone tell you that you can’t do something. Not even me.”
If people think that The Pursuit of Happyness is depressing simply because Will Smith suffers several hardships that you would not wish to visit upon anyone on his way to the top … they probably don’t understand depression.
This film, with its infuriatingly misspelled title (infuriating, that is, until its spelling is justified), is not one that you should do any research into. Any digging will reveal that it’s a pack of lies, and a twee, predictable pack of lies at that. There’s a charm to it, and to Will Smith’s performance, but it doesn’t quite ring true.
I would love to be the most trusted advisor of a mad dictator. I can imagine the trajectory that this would take, in stream of consciousness:
What a nice man! Check out these sheets! Ooh! A fast car, for me? How kind! Dear lord! Who is shooting at me?! Dear lord, why are we shooting at them?! OH GOD MY NIPPLES NOOOOOOO
… Nope. Still don’t want to go to Africa. The British are killing your tourism industry, Africa!
The Last King of Scotland is the first feature film from renowned director of such documentaries as One Day in September (about the Berlin hostage situation that inspired Munich), Roger Macdonald. For a first time director making a film in one of those countries without a film industry, having to train much of his crew on the job, he’s done pretty well for himself.
“We’re your Dreamgirls, and have we got news for you!”
Stories about stratospherically popular musical acts that rose from nothing have a tendency to be the same. Of course, sameness is not a crime when it’s done well. Dreamgirls has many of the popular elements of the superstar genre and, the story essentially being “borrowed” from the Supremes and Motown, so it’s not all original.
What it is is all singing, some dancing, high kicking character action! Ten years of epicness in an industry that can make you or break you! Dreamgirls: the musical that forgets that it’s a musical, rather than a movie with songs, then suddenly remembers … and consequently takes over your world for the remainder.
From Bill Condon, the man who brought you Chicago, Dreamgirls is a musical that won’t make you feel dirty afterwards. While I don’t care about the “legitimacy” of song in musicals, this movie makes each song seem at least vaguely realistic as a story telling device, if not always good.
To say that Pan’s Labyrinth was “unrelentingly horrible” would not be entirely true. To say that its ending was sad would be entirely subjective. To say that it was “wicked awesome” would be somewhat immature yet also entirely accurate. Pan’s Labyrinth is a movie with violence of the variety that sends entire theatres into repulsion; a movie where the right person getting stabbed can elicit cheers from the audience; a movie where the bad isn’t always bad and the good not always good.
Through Pan’s Labyrinth we are forced to remember that childhood can be a dark and terrible place, and that unless dangers are made real then nothing can be learned.
