What's on the Menu (November 13 - 15)

- Posted by Rusty

This looks like a great weekend for movies—lots of choices, from the low-brow (but explosion-filled!) 2012 to some under-the-radar, very intriguing indies. Let’s see what we have…

1. “Pirate Radio” - This is high on my must-see list. From Richard Curtis, the British rom-com wizard who gave us some of my favorite movies, including Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Love Actually, comes this tribute to the rebellious and all-too-cool spirit of rock-and-roll in the late 60’s. Based on true events, this is the story of one American DJ (played by the great Philip Seymour Hoffman) and how he thwarted Britain’s ban on rock-and-roll by broadcasting from a ship just outside Britain’s jurisdiction lines. Thus, these guys were true pirates—colorful dudes who loved music, and embraced that spirit with a what-the-hell, screw-the-authorities attitude, and plenty of style. Check out the trailer below—it just looks like a great time. Curtis rarely fails in my book, and that cast is absolutely killer—joining Hoffman are a collection of loveable Brits, including the always-awesome Bill Nighy (back in rock-god territory after Love Actually), Nick Frost (Simon Pegg’s best friend in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), Rhys Ifans (Hugh Grant’s weirdo “flatmate” in Notting Hill), Emma Thompson, and Kenneth Branagh as the government official who wants to shut these guys down. I love movies like this, where a bunch of creative renegades face off against stuffy, boring rulemakers, and just the whole “stick it to the Man” mindset is infectious. Reviews are also good (if not necessarily strong), so I have a feeling it will be really enjoyable. If anything, the soundtrack should be sweet, and the nostalgic air for a crazy, beautiful musical generation might scratch a bit of Almost Famous territory (my pick for one of the best movies of all time, which starred, ironically enough, Philip Seymour Hoffman as a rock-music guru). If anyone sees this, let me know—I’m definitely catching it later, but I’m mighty curious to see how it all turns out.

2. “2012” - I can't wait to see this one. I spotlighted the trailer earlier, and while there are probably (scratch that…definitely!) better movies coming out this weekend, director Roland Emmerich’s (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) brand of cheesy, ridiculously-over-the-top world destruction is right up my alley. I love the cast (including John Cusack, Amanda Peet, and Woody Harrelson), and the visuals are jaw-dropping. In fact, the reviews aren’t even that bad—my hero Roger Ebert actually gave it 3 ½ stars out of a possible four. And, you know what, I’m not terribly surprised—Emmerich, the German maestro of things that go boom, is not exactly a quality filmmaker, but his movies (even 10,000 BC and Godzilla, his only truly bad movies) are always entertaining, usually striking just the right big-dumb-disaster-movie sweet spot. The actors seem game, and the plot (revolving around the Mayan prophecy of the world expiring in the title year) gives Emmerich plenty of wiggle room to put on the biggest and most creative apocalypse he’s ever done (and demolish brand-new cities!). Should be fun, though I hear it gets a bit long, and that the human characters don’t register as much as they should. Then again, Emmerich is the guy who made me care about Jake Gyllenhaal’s corny quest to win Emmy Rossum (and totally overlook that the rest of the population died!)—great characters aren’t his thing, but this group should be likeable enough for us to want to see them live until the end.

3. “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” - It’s a lovely, very funny trailer, and the reviews (in total spirit of the movie), are just fantastic all-around. Based on the book by kid-lit master Roald Dahl, the crafty Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) must outwit three evil real estate developers (all the nasty, stuffy British kind—not a good week for them, is it?). The voice cast is amazing (featuring Meryl Streep, and Wes Anderson regulars Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson), and it sounds like director Wes Anderson just hit it out of the park, with warmth and cleverness to spare. I like the stop-motion animation style (which seems purposefully rougher and less polished than what Tim Burton used in Corpse Bride), and this just strikes me as a good choice for either Anderson fans or those just wanting some good family entertainment. Hopefully, it won’t be appealing to just older audiences, and it will capture, much like Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the sharp, subtle humor and delightful imagination of Roald Dahl. It's in limited release for now, but, in case it's not playing near you, it will go wide next weekend.

4. “Dare” - Check out the trailer to this below. I’m not really sure what to make of it—it could be an interesting, kind of a hip and sexy teen movie…or just be trite and borderline silly. I like Emmy Rossum—she’s adorable, and really due for a movie that gets her some attention (so, yeah, hopefully no more Dragonballs and maybe something like another Phantom of the Opera in the future). This is a bit of new, edgy territory for her—among the things the trailer gives away, there’s a love triangle between her mousy high-schooler character, her best friend, and another boy (that rebellious, scruffy, leaning-mysteriously-against-the-wall kind), with all the maybe-risqué combinations that entails. The reviews are decent, and the supporting cast includes great performers like Sandra Bernhard and Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler in X2). Could be something low-key and different—it’s in very limited release, so it might be worth hunting down if it catches your eye (I’m probably going to wait for the DVD, though).

5. “The Messenger” - I’m a huge fan of Woody Herrelson (who just scored big with Zombieland), and Ben Foster (Angel in X-Men: The Last Stand) has been doing great character work for years now (especially in 3:10 to Yuma and 30 Days of Night). The two of them together is an intriguing combo, and, really, the entire movie sounds very worthwhile. Both of these guys are army messengers, charged with driving door-to-door to families and delivering the awful news that their children died on duty. It’s heart-wrenching subject matter, but, from the very good reviews, it sounds like it’s handled with genuine emotion, and anchored by exceptional performances from the two leads. Could this be a surprise Oscar nomination for Harrelson (that’d be #2 for him), as well as the first ever for Ben Foster? I certainly hope so. And, at the very least, the fact that Harrelson appears in both this, a sensitive, low-budget indie, and the huge, blockbuster blitz of 2012 in the same weekend shows he’s doing just fine in his career.

And that’s it for this weekend. I think there are a lot of cool new additions here. I’m seeing 2012 this weekend, but I’m hoping to catch Pirate Radio later in the week.

How about you guys? Are you thinking of catching any of these in theaters?

Clips courtesy of Trailer Addict.
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The Daily Munchies: Trailer Time (October 6th)

- Posted by Rusty

Lots of interesting stuff to check out—here, we have explosions galore, Wild Things, and a badass, futuristic Denzel Washignton. Let's dig in, and check out some of the best new trailers...

"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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