Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
August 20, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
An American Carol – Opens October 3rd
I don't know why, but David Zucker sure seems to think slaps, kicks and other knocks to the head are just so damn funny. Naturally, you'll find plenty of those in An American Carol, the director's latest spoof movie that at least looks better than the upcoming Disaster Movie (but then again, does that really mean anything?)
In this one, Chris Farley's brother, Kevin, plays Michael Malone (a parody of Michael Moore), whose latest scheme is to rid the nation of the Fourth of July holiday. His character is then visited by three ghosts - Jon Voight, Kelsey Grammer and Trace Adkins (yes, country boy Trace Adkins) – to convince the man that he's made an error (a la A Christmas Carol).
Now I expected people like Farley, Leslie Nielsen and David Alan Grier to appear in a parody film like this. But Voight? Grammer? Dennis Hopper?! These guys must really be starving for some different projects.
Grade: D
Also expected to be released on this date: Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, The Express, Rachel Getting Married, Religulous, What Just Happened
Max Payne – Opens October 17th
To tell the truth, I'm not a gamer. Perhaps this is a reason why I dismiss film adaptations based on video games as schlock. The other being that the game's plots lack depth and enough...pizzazz let's say to make their stories worthy enough to be shown on the big screen. Yet the 90 or so seconds I've seen of Max Payne, based on a similarly titled game from seven years ago, have me thinking something entirely different.
Though the trailer hardly gets into what the adaptation is actually about, it must be said that the sexy special effects and the movie's film noir-like qualities make Max Payne look like a real winner. Mark Wahlberg plays the title character in the adaptation, about a cop who seeks to find those responsible for brutally killing his family and partner. His investigation leads him down a hole into a dark underworld, where Max must battle supernatural forces - evident in the trailer as winged creatures of the night - and face an unexpected betrayal.
Grade: A
Also expected to be released on this date: W., Flash of Genius, The Secret Life of Bees, Filth and Wisdom, Morning Light, The 2 Sides of the Bed
RocknRolla – Opens October 31st
Typically film trailers are made to whet the appetites of their viewers, in hopes of convincing them that they should by all means shell out the going price of theater tickets these days to see the thing that's just been previewed. However, RocknRolla's trailer is a muddled mess. Had I viewed it before a movie, and not in the comfort of my home conveniently connected to the Internet (where plot details and other necessary information can be digested in seconds), I would have forgotten about this one real quick out of utter confusion.
To help ease matters, as I have a feeling you'll fall into the same boat, the excellent Tom Wilkinson plays Lenny Cole, a head mobster from the old school regime in London who starts a scam that generates a large sum of money. Various criminals then pursue their share of the mobster's fortune. But you wouldn't really know it, as solely the key terms robbery, £7 million and what it means to be a rocknrolla are spit out endlessly throughout the trailer's runtime.
Grade: F
Also expected to be released on this date: The Haunting of Molly Hartley, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Fear(s) of the Dark, Splinter
Role Models – Opens November 14th
For me, Paul Rudd went from that slightly unfunny sidekick character in absurd Will Ferrell and Judd Apatow comedies to the leading man in films that I really wouldn't mind seeing. Not that I will rush out and see this one, but the trailer for Role Models convinced me that I'm officially a fan of Rudd and the characters he plays. I especially liked his confrontation at a Starbucks over the chain's ridiculous cup sizes and his mock of classic Jerry Maguire lines while spending an afternoon with a former girlfriend.
In Role Models, Rudd stars alongside Seann William Scott, another guy I've grown to like in time, in a comedy about two men who become mentors for young boys (Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Bobb'e J. Thompson) at a community service program to skip out of a month of jail for bad behavior. It's a good thing Mintz-Plasse wasn't just a one-hit wonder from Superbad - McLovin! - as I enjoyed his presence in the preview, where he plays a boy, dawning a cape, who seemingly believes his world is one big RPG.
Grade: B-
Also expected to be released on this date: Soul Men, Australia, Nothing Like the Holidays, The Other End of the Line, House, The Road
Winged Creatures – Opens TBA 2008
Winged Creatures is a film that examines the emotional fallout experienced by the survivors of a multiple murder and suicide in a small town restaurant. Dakota Fanning's character, Anne, loses her father in the seemingly spontaneous attack; her best friend, Jimmy (Josh Hutcherson), turns into a mute; Charlie (Forest Whitaker), who was grazed by a bullet, further tests his "luck" at a casino and Carla (Kate Beckinsale) finds herself unable to take care of herself. Other characters fall under the examining microscope as well, including ones played by Guy Pearce and Jennifer Hudson.
The trailer plays a bit excessively with cross fades, fades to black and other transitions, but it doesn't take too much away from an otherwise excellent looking melodrama. In a way, the film very much looks synonymous with the aftershock following the events of 9/11, in which people struggled, and are still struggling, to regain trust in a seemingly vicious world.
Grade: A