Thursday, March 24, 2011

Hit or Shit? 24th March 2011

The say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. We didn't listen. Let us once again dissect the latest marketing from the world of cinema.

Captain America (The First Avenger, as the marketing push for next years Avengers informs us)


I must admit this isn't the worst trailer I've seen. The visual design looks excellent, and the retro setting seems like a refreshing change of pace from the usual superhero fare (I'm reminded of The Rocketeer). It also doesn't seem quite as CGIed as might be expected - still plenty of it, but looks a little bit more traditional. But then I found out it was directed by Joe Johnston, one of Hollywood's blandest directors, responsible for the ho-hum likes of Jurassic Park 3 and Van Helsing. Trailer suggests a HIT, but I fear potential SHIT. It has Toby Jones, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving and Stanley Tucci though. That must count for something.

Sucker Punch



I obviously missed the memo where everyone decided Zack Snyder was a good - or as the Watchmen trailers incorrectly informs us, 'Visionary' - director. Despite the success of Dawn of the Dead, I have been thoroughly unimpressed by 300 and Watchmen because of Snyder's infuriatingly overwrought stylisation. Sucker Punch looks like the inevitable, OTT culmination of his work to date. Expect slo-mo punching, over-exaggerated action sequences and a lot of silly CGI. There's a market for this sort of thing, but it looks like more of the brainless crap he's peddled so far. Also, the trailer pretty much gives the entire film away. Going by the evidence, it looks like SHIT to me, although if you like Snyder's work thus far I'm fairly sure you'll dig this.

Your Highness


There are two or three actresses whose presence will often entice me to the cinema no matter what the quality of the film in question is based on adorability alone. Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel are two such actresses, and the dastardly David Gordon Green (a usually thoughtful independent director here somewhat slumming it again after Pineapple Express) has cast both of them here. Barring their presence, this trailer fills me with little confidence. Like a strange mix of Pineapple Express, Stardust and the Princess Bride, it seems tonally all over the place even in this brief trailer. It also isn't very funny - lowbrow 'stoner' comedy territory - which raises concerns. It looks like SHIT to me, but I'm going to end up seeing it anyway for the two reasons stated above. Maybe it will surprise me, but fuck it it has Portman and Deschanel. Quality doesn't really matter because they've got my money already.

Cheaters.

Super


As seemingly the only person unimpressed by the inconsistent Kick Ass (it's OK, but hardly the masterpiece some *coughEmpirecough* hailed it to be) I feel there's a gap in the market for a good superhero comedy. Well, another one after Mystery Men. This one is promising. Directed by James Gunn - responsible for the deliriously fun Slither - I have a feeling this will probe the darker depths Kick Ass thought it explored but didn't really. The cast is good, the director is good, and the trailer has plenty of nice touches like the Batman esque "POW!" bubbles. I also admire any trailer that calls the director a "lunatic" as opposed to "visionary".

But most importantly, it has Nathan Fillion. Automatic HIT.

The Roommate







TRAILER FROM HELL ALERT! I'm well aware this is already out in the States to the vocal ire of critics, but I had the pleasure of seeing this before a film the other day and had to call it out for crimes against cinema. I turned to my friend and we both predicted something was going to go wrong within the first five jaunty seconds of this trailer. It's just a matter of waiting for one of them to turn out to be evil or disturbed or Satan or whatever. In its defence, The Roommate trailer holds out a full fifty seconds before the inevitable reveal that the roommate in question is indeed not all there. It almost got to the point when I thought it was just a crappy college drama. But no, it's a crappy college horror instead, as predicted in what must be the most by the numbers trailer I've seen in some time. The scent of SHIT off this one is suffocating.

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