"2012"
Now this I just couldn’t resist. From Roland Emmerich, the disaster maestro behind The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day, and (yep) the American Godzilla, comes 2012, which looks to be his magnum opus…where he’ll get to destroy the entire world this time! Everything falls apart here—LA collapses in earthquakes, the Sistine Chapel breaks down (but cracks apart ever so perfectly on Michelangelo’s famous ceiling), the White House gets smashed by a tanker, and people do big heroic things, like drive off of helicopters in massive storms (and say beautifully cheesy lines, like: “I thought they had the right to fight for their lives!”). Honestly, I love Emmerich’s films, and, with The Day After Tomorrow, I think he embraced the all-out stupidity of the concept to just give us a fun overall ride—it was dumb, but with a knowing wink—a non-pretentious, Big Summer Movie. Here, it looks like he’s tackling similar ground. The plot revolves around the legendary Mayan prediction, with the world finally collapsing in 2012. It’s a good set-up, and this will give Emmerich the chance to put on the biggest spectacle of his career. Also, he’s managed to get quite the cast to play along—John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover (as the president!), Oliver Platt, and Woody Harrelson are the humans we care about as everyone else dies, and, really, the special effects are amazing (as expected). Emmerich is not a bad storyteller (Stargate is good proof of that)—he’s supposed to tackle Isaac Asmiov’s Foundation novels next, and I think it will prove him to be more than a just flashy entertainer. In the meanwhile, 2012, opening November 13th (a Friday, of course), looks to be exactly what this trailer promises—lots and lots of ridiculous fun.
"Book of Eli"
This just looks better and better. Book of Eli takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting, where the landscapes are bleak, scavengers and criminals run amok, and villains (like the always-brilliant chameleon, Gary Oldman…who plays the absolute best villains possible!) reign supreme. But then we have Denzel Washington’s Eli, a mysterious, martial arts-skilled drifter carrying some sort of book…a book that Gary Oldman’s character is desperate to get from him. That’s the stage of the conflict, and the trailer only hints at everything else—Mila Kunis’ character somehow fits into the picture, lots of fighting ensues, and, from brief flashes, it looks like the title book might be a bible…or is it? I like the mystery, and I love this haunting, desolate world. This could be a good genre film—some well-cast, smart entertainment to start off 2010. Washington looks solid as the hero, and it’s a thrill to see Oldman back in scene-stealing bad-guy mode (see: True Romance, The Professional, The Fifth Element, and many more—the guy’s a genius in any role, but he plays evil like only few can); I can’t wait to see those two acting giants square off. The January release date is a bit fishy (most of the time, studios release only their worst films then), but I have some faith in this cast and crew—I’m hoping that was done just so the film will have little competition. This comes from the Hughes Brothers, who gave us the stylish Johnny Depp murder-mystery, From Hell, and I think this could be something interesting—hopefully in the vein of Children of Men, another bleak, end-of-humanity film. I know, a high standard, but if it hits half of the strong notes that brilliant film did, it’ll easily be worth the ticket price. Look for this in theaters on January 15, 2010.
"Where the Wild Things Are"
This is my favorite trailer of the year. There’s actually a longer one out right now, but this teaser is one of the best bits of advertising I’ve ever seen, so I had to include it. Check it out above—look how little dialogue there is, how it’s mainly just a rush of beautiful images, all set to the perfect, melancholy song, Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up”. Allow me to gush for a few seconds here…but, man, it’s all so gorgeous, so sad, so full of life and real childlike wonder. I have no idea what the final film will be (and I just read the tiny, tiny book it’s based on, so I’m even more curious now), but the footage is making a strong case for it. Maurice Sendak's beloved book follows the story of Max—a boy who misbehaves, and, in a fit of anger over his punishment, imagines himself going to the Land of the Wild Things (that’d be those giant, frightening, terrible creatures in a far, far away land) where he could be free to roam wild and do mischief to his heart’s desire.
More so than anything, I love that director Spike Jonze, the offbeat mind behind Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, seems to have built upon the book, expanding its themes of the strangeness (and, sometimes, pain) of growing up. Max is at the heart of all this, and I like newcomer Max Records—he’s got an edge to him that you don’t often see in child actors, and he honestly comes across as a real kid, warts and all. There are a lot of interesting things going on in this trailer—we see some glimpses of Max’s mother (played by the lovely Catherine Keener) and what looks like a new boyfriend (added plot material that could work very well), scenes of Max feeling out of place in school, and, of course, that epic, imaginative world where the Wild Things live. All of the Wild Things are also made into fully believable characters—a wondrous mix of CGI, real-life costumes, and some great voice-acting from the likes of James Gandolfini and Forest Whitaker. From what I read, this was a bit of a troubled production…and I’m not too surprised—this doesn’t look like your average, “safe” kids’ movie—there’s something unsettling about it, something that creeps under your skin a bit. By all means, it’s not a bad thing at all, but I’m guessing it was probably a hard sell to the bigwigs at the studio. Still, the end result looks amazing—if it could sustain the momentum of this fleshed-out story (while keeping the book’s few original plot beats), and make the entire ride as emotional and thoughtful as this preview, we could be in for a real treat. I can’t wait to check this out—Where the Wild Things Are hits theaters next Friday, October 16th.
So, what do you guys think? Any of these films look worth checking out?
I think the biggest question mark here is Where the Wild Things Are. The buzz over the last couple of weeks has been very positive (one of our best critics, Michael Philips, called it his favorite movie this year) and I'm fascinated to see how they'll transform that classic book into a two-hour movie.
Clips courtesy of Trailer Addict.
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