Trailers for Upcoming Films

[mfunk9786]

I can't wait for the reviews to criticize the cutesy approach to the subject matter, even though the dude who wrote it had the disease

[flyonthewall2983]

Did he pass on?

[knives]

I'm just really happy to see Phillip Baker Hall in a movie again. He is the most underutilized living actor that I can think of.

[mfunk9786]

I believe he's in remission.

And I agree wholeheartedly re: Phillip Baker Hall. Despite its narrative issues, he completely makes Hard Eight the enthralling experience that it ultimately is.

[knives]

Both of those PTA movies would not work nearly as well as they do without him, than again the same could be said for all of his films. Can't forget Secret Honor either though. Tour de force was coined just for things like that.

[mfunk9786]

That scene with Melinda Dillon when he professes to not remember what occurred with his daughter in Magnolia always sends chills down my spine. You can see his cold sweat, and are left to wonder whether he is lying or is legitimately wrestling with his own memory or lack thereof. I say this all the time about Patrick Fischler's brief performance in Mulholland Drive but it comes up from time to time - the best moments in acting for me are moments of true fear, grief, etc. Not just tears or screams - when you truly feel like the actor feels pins and needles and may pass out at any second. I am always in awe of the true greats' ability to embody such primal emotion.

[knives]

I was thinking of that very scene when I added in Magnolia. His discomfort and brow causes me to go into a cold sweat it's just such a powerful moment. Ditto Muholland Drive, that's the film's most memorable scene for me (well maybe the shrinking grannies too).

[colinr0380]

Following on from Richard Ayoade's Submarine, here's another film (albeit in a sci-fi horror rather than arty teen relationship genre) directed by a British comedian, Joe Cornish of Adam & Joe fame - Attack The Block.

Adam & Joe are quite an interesting pair - they made their name in the early 90s on Channel 4 coming to prominence as hosts of a 'send your films to us and we'll show them on the television, no matter how crappy or insane' series called Takeover TV, they got their own show in the late 90s (with a particularly good strand involving amusing stuffed toy parodies of current television shows or films, such as those relating to Friends, Titanic, The English Patient, Kids or Snatch), then after leaving Channel 4 appeared to reinvent themselves as a radio duo first on independent stations such as XFM and then for the BBC where, after visiting Tokyo they now have a weekly show (sometimes co-hosted by director Garth Jennings in the occasional absence of one or the other of them) that are often full of film references - from the jokes about particularly terrible commentaries (Guy Ritchie's one for Revolver and the John Milius-Arnie track for Conan The Barbarian were particularly memorably roasted!) through to trying to compose a title tune for the Bond film Quantum of Solace when the unwieldy and unpromising title was first revealed. Joe Cornish also made cameos in the early Edgar Wright films (a zombie outside the pub in the final scene of Shaun of the Dead and early on in Hot Fuzz I think donning the crime scene investigation outfit along with Cate Blanchett to play her new boyfriend), which presumably explains the reciprocal presence of Nick Frost in Attack The Block!

Attack The Block is apparently Joe Cornish's more even-handed response to the recent wave of 'hoodie horror', by which I am guessing he means films such as Eden Lake, Them, F and so on which portray youths as violent, amoral, evil, murdering psychopaths (I'd also throw in the way that it sounds as if it could be bracketed with that unfortunate mid-90s attempt to mix Mike Leigh or Ken Loach gritty drama with Die Hard-style action - Downtime). According to a recent interview on the BBC's Film Programme it is apparently also in the vein of 80s action comedies such as Gremlins or Crtters (it sounds particularly like Critters 3 to me in its use of characters trapped in a block of flats!)

[kaujot]

Everyone I know that's seen Attack the Block has loved it immensely.

[Cosmic Bus]

I was at one of the advance US showings for Attack the Block earlier this week. While it's easy to initially get caught up in the swift pacing and snappy humor, the script is lazy, clichéd and stereotypical. Without much substance to hold your interest, it all becomes a bit tedious (I was surprised to find at the end that the movie barely runs for 80 minutes when it felt like much longer than that). I'll give Cornish credit for making the most of what seemed to be a relatively limited budget, but this doesn't come anywhere near the Edgar Wright flicks.

[flyonthewall2983]

General Orders No. 9. Whoa.

[Finch]

Errol Morris' new pic has a trailer, Tabloid. Pretty good, I thought.

[Tom Hagen]

Just the trailer, or have you seen the film already? I'm pretty anxious for this one.

[Finch]

Sorry, should have been clearer. I meant the trailer.

[criterionsnob]

I can't seem to find it online, but the trailer for Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method was shown before Tree of Life in Vancouver on Sunday. Looks great.

[Tom Hagen]

Moneyball

[mfunk9786]

Moneyball

Took a break from wondering where the fuck Bennett Miller has been since the excellent Capote to watch this trailer. To me, this looks like one of the more impressive adaptations of a seemingly un-adaptable book I've seen, at least in trailer form. I was more than a little concerned about Steven Zaillian writing the initial draft, he of several unimpressive scripts (still worried about his script for Fincher's upcoming film) but it looks like Aaron Sorkin most likely ironed out all the wrinkles. We'll see how it goes, I guess, but this one's definitely going to be on my to-do list.

[Anhedionisiac]

Actually, Steven Zaillian was aparently rehired and rewrote the script after Aaron Sorkin rewrote Zaillian's initial draft. And I'd place both at about the same level. Zaillian may have written his share of clunkers but so has Sorkin and yet they 're both responsible for at least a couple great scripts each. And I've read Zaillian's initial draft and as far as I'm concerned it was pretty effin' good. If anything, it was perhaps too cold and clinical but I liked it for that.

[Cosmic Bus]

I can't seem to find it online, but the trailer for Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method was shown before Tree of Life in Vancouver on Sunday. Looks great.

Trailer is up on the official site.

[bdsweeney]

I can't seem to find it online, but the trailer for Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method was shown before Tree of Life in Vancouver on Sunday. Looks great.

Trailer is up on the official site.

The trailer seems very Miramaxish.

[matrixschmatrix]

It certainly looks closer to Dangerous Liaisons than anything I've seen of Cronenberg's work, though that doesn't necessarily mean it won't be interesting.

[rohmerin]

There is a BAD Italian biopic Prendimi l’anima (The Soul Keeper), directed by Roberto Faenza, with Emilia Fox as Spielrein and Iain Glen as Carl Gustav Jung. I expect that Cronenberg's will be as good as Huston's Freud.

[bdsweeney]

Teaser trailer for Tomas Alfredson's adaptation of John le Carré's well known novel. Looks okay ... but this tempered by the fact that it's written by the deeply unimpressive Peter Morgan—especially since it's such a convoluted novel.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy trailer at Guardian website

[Jeff]

Teaser trailer for Tomas Alfredson's adaptation of John le Carré's well known novel. Looks okay ... but this tempered by the fact that it's written by the deeply unimpressive Peter Morgan—especially since it's such a convoluted novel.

Morgan initiated the project, but his draft was scrapped. The film was written by Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor. I agree that it's going to be tough to adapt into a feature-length film. The miniseries is 5 hours. I'm terribly impressed with Alfredson and this cast though, and the trailer looks great.

[Grand Illusion]

Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, 2012) VS Shakespeare

Can only be sublimely ridiculous.