Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
September 17, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Nights in Rodanthe – Opens September 26th
Perhaps it's the lead characters (played by Richard Gere and Diane Lane, both of whom I like). Perhaps it's author Nicholas Sparks, who laid the groundwork for this adaptation with his 2002 novel of the same name. Perhaps it's something else. Either way, Nights in Rodanthe is a romance that I actually wouldn't mind seeing (of course this is saying a lot, coming from a critic who enjoys all sorts of movies, just typically not ones revolving closely around lovely relationships).
Having co-starred together in 1984's The Cotton Club and 2002's Unfaithful, Richard and Diane have played this leading role game before. Here they play Dr. Paul Flanner and Adrienne Willis, respectively. Two characters who seek to prove that there's always a second chance to find true love. Adrienne struggles from her husband's betrayal, while Paul recognizes that he long ago sacrificed family for his work. The latter quarter of the trailer drags some, with all of its slow motion hugs and what have you, but the earlier parts are quite touching.
Grade: B+
Also expected to be released on this date: Miracle at St. Anna, The Lucky Ones, Forever Strong, Trainwreck, My Life as an Idiot, Choke, Fireproof, Humboldt County, Smother, Hank and Mike, Johnny Got His Gun, Whaledreamers
Changeling – Opens October 24th
Ooo. A naked Angelina Jolie getting squirted by a fire hose in the shower? No, this really isn't THAT kind of movie by any means (though said imagery does appear in Changeling's trailer). However, only after Angelina's character, Christine Collins, enters a psych ward). Directed by Clint Eastwood, Changeling is a 1920s period piece set in Los Angeles about a woman (Jolie) who suspects that the boy returned to her by detectives following a kidnapping is not her son. It is based on the real-life Wineville Chicken Murders, which exposed corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department and gained national attention.
Rave reviews at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival prompted early speculation of a possible Palme d'Or. (The prize later went to Laurent Cantet's The Class). And understandably so since this one looks mighty fine. John Malkovich and Amy Ryan also star.
Grade: A-
Also expected to be released on this date: High School Musical 3: Senior Year; Saw V; Pride and Glory; Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D; Happy-Go-Lucky; Passengers; Roadside Romeo; Synecdoche, New York; I've Loved You So Long; Family Life
The Soloist – Opens November 21st
By the time the latter half of The Soloist's trailer finally set in, I was struck by something (and no, it wasn't Robert Downey Jr., whom I wholeheartedly enjoy). It was the film's score, which features a nice blend of instruments from a number of different families. The man behind the music? Dario Marianelli, who is responsible for Atonement's Academy Award-winning score, one of the best I've come across in recent memory.
And what better way to put him to use than in a movie about a musical prodigy? In The Soloist, based on a true story and directed by Joe Wright (also of Atonement fame), Jamie Foxx plays the lead role of Nathaniel Ayers - rapper Flo Rida would be proud of that name - a musician who develops schizophrenia while studying at Juilliard School. Consequently, Ayers becomes homeless in the streets of Los Angeles. Then one day, Ayers catches the eye of Steve Lopez (Downey Jr.), a columnist at the L.A. Times who quickly forms a unlikely bond with the man. Catherine Keener also stars in this one as Steve's editor.
Grade: B
Also expected to be released on this date: Bolt, Twilight
Four Christmases – Opens November 26th
There's a really good joke included in Four Christmases' trailer. It's when Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn find themselves trapped in the airport, with nowhere to go because their airline cancelled all of its flights. Reese asks if there's a sister airline. The attendant says no. Vince asks if there's a cousin airline. The attendant again says no. So Vince wises up and questions one last time: "How about like an airline that your airline's felt up before?"
There's a couple of these kind of jokes - another involves Reese eating her feelings in high school - smattered throughout the sneak peek of the movie, about a young couple who are forced to visit four parental households over Christmas Day (since both Reese and Vince's characters come from divorced families). However, with this good comes a side of bad, chiefly the tired physical comedy that the movie appears to rely heavily on - the UFC fighters bit, Reese playing with children, Vince setting up satellite TV. There came a point where a baby popped on screen, and I knew without a doubt it was going to spit up on something. Sure enough, Reese soon became the sorry target.
Even so, this one looks cute, and is easily the best holiday movie that I've had the chance of critiquing so far this year.
Grade: B
Also expected to be released on this date: Australia, Transporter 3, Fanboys, Milk
Doubt – Opens December 12th
Philip Seymour Hoffman has quite a fall on his hands. In theaters on October 24th, he plays the lead in Charlie Kaufman's buzzed-about new feature, Synecdoche, New York (whose trailer I'm still manically waiting for!) And nearly two months later, the man is set to play Father Brendan Flynn in Doubt, a movie based on the 2004 Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a priest (Hoffman) who is suspected of abusing a black student by a nun (Meryl Streep). Amy Adams portrays Sister James and Viola Davis rounds out the main cast as Mrs. Muller.
Doubt's trailer is simply quality, highlighted by strong performances from its leads (no surprise there) and a catchy violin-heavy score. Fans of the play will be delighted to know this one's adapted and directed by original playwright John Patrick Shanley.
Grade: A
Also expected to be released on this date: The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Reader, Delgo, Defiance, The Class, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, The Kings of Appletown