“The Men Who Stare at Goats”
I’m digging this trailer a lot—this movie tracks a top-secret division of the U.S. government, devoted to paranormal missions…and, yes, these guys are so good, they can stare down any goat! I like the offbeat sense of humor, that crazy cast (always great to see Jeff Bridges!), and the fact that it’s all supposedly based on true events. Clooney’s a lot of fun when he’s slightly unhinged (best seen with his Coen Brothers’ work, like “O, Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Burn After Reading”), and it’s the directing debut of his longtime creative partner, Grant Heslov (you might remember him as the young agent under Schwarzenegger’s wing in “True Lies”)—this could be a quirky sleeper hit to go alongside Clooney’s more serious, likely Oscar-nominated turn in “Up in the Air,” out later this year too. Genius poster too, by the way—about time a goat gets its Hollywood due… Catch these crazy dudes on November 2nd. (and thanks for the heads up on the poster, Kristal!)
“Up in the Air”
I should just call this column the Clooney edition, huh? This movie comes from director Jason Reitman (son of director Ivan Reitman…who gave us “Ghostbusters”!). With just two films under his belt—the biting “Thank You for Smoking” and the quite lovely (if a bit overrated) “Juno”—he’s proving himself to be a major talent. This is a really creative trailer too—I can’t quite tell you what this is about, but I like the way it slowly draws us in. We know Clooney’s character is some kind of corporate speaker—one of those guys who travels so often that it becomes a way of life. And that’s it, really—the trailer is a quick series of scenes, all set to Clooney’s monologue about life on the move, what it takes to succeed. His speech is all cutthroat, business-people stereotype—these people are “sharks,” never stopping, never settling down. And yet look at the images—the empty apartments, the bare-bones connections, the people breaking apart, the quiet desperation. This is subject matter that could be jammed down our throats in the wrong hands, but I like the subtle, melancholy tone of the trailer—I think we’re looking at one of this year’s potential best films. Also, while Clooney’s one of our biggest stars, I think we tend to forget how good of an actor he can be—this could be a solid reminder of that. The reviews coming from the Toronto International Film Festival are nothing short of glowing, so I think this will be well worth checking out. This hits theaters November 25th.
“A Christmas Carol”
Director Robert Zemeckis gave us “Back to the Future,” one of my favorite movies of all time (I’m psyched every time someone gets a “Hey, McFly” or “Great Scott!” reference). He also gave us “The Polar Express” and “Beowulf,” both using his beloved motion-capture technology—simply put, it’s the technology that helped bring “Lord of the Rings”’ Gollum to life—capturing every detail of a live-action performance, and then transforming that into anything imaginable. I get why Zemeckis is attracted to it—the possibilities really are endless—any world can be constructed from the ground up, and actors are free to play whoever (and whatever) they want, minus all real-world restrictions—it’s a gift to actors who are game to experiment. It’s a fantastic concept…but I’m not crazy about the results so far.
All that blabbing aside, Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” is probably the best showcase yet for Zemeckis’ new style—if he really wants us to love this motion-capture filmmaking, this is probably the movie to do it with. Charles Dickens’ story has been adapted seemingly every single year...and why not? It’s timeless and charming—an adventurous, perfectly-constructed morality tale for the ages, all delivered with a tiny hint of Gothic-y horror goodness, and a huge, infections helping of Christmas spirit. Victorian London is a gorgeous setting, and, here, Zemeckis could really show off what motion-capture could do—you can even see it in this trailer. Big Ben Tower, which is just being constructed, Ebenezer Scrooge flying through the sky, the slightly exaggerated features of the characters—it honestly looks great, and I’m curious to see more now. (The animation is still a bit jarring, though, but hopefully the story will overpower that). I also like the designs of the Three Ghosts (of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come)—the individual looks are imaginative, and they seem more organic in this world than they would in a live-action setting. All in all, the clip has a fun spirit, and I hope that will translate to the final movie.
Plus, Zemeckis has Jim Carrey playing roughly 8 different roles—we all know Carrey’s a gifted physical comedian, but he’s a hell of an actor too (as “The Truman Show” and “Eternal Sunshine” showed us)—this is the ideal platform for him to go crazy, and show us just how much of a ridiculous range he has. There's also quite the cast playing along, including Gary Oldman (playing Tiny Tim!), Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn, and Bob Hoskins (reuniting with his “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” director). Disney’s releasing this November 6th both in regular theaters and in IMAX 3D—I’ll try to catch it in 3D for sure. I want to like Zemeckis’ new approach (his next film will be filmed the same way—a remake of the Beatles classic, “Yellow Submarine”)—he’s too gifted a filmmaker, so I hope this is the movie that finally makes me a convert.
Now, if he could just get that rumored “Roger Rabbit” sequel off the ground…that I would see in a heartbeat!
What do you guys think? Do any of these movies look interesting or worth checking out? If I had to pick one, I think I'd go for "Up in the Air"--it looks like the kind of smart, powerful film Hollywood likes to give us around Oscar time (ie, "Brokeback Mountain," "Almost Famous," etc).
I'll be back with some more cool trailers (and one crappy one, but it's worth talking about) next week, along with my much-belated review of "State of Play", one of my favorite new films.
Clips courtesy of Trailer Addict.
Thanks for the shout out! I hadn't seen that "Up in the Air" trailer before, but had heard all those rave reviews and was intrigued. It looks good, but I wish I knew just a little bit more about it. You really don't get much substance from the trailer.
ReplyDelete