Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
January 21, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Outlander – Opens January 23rd
I have a feeling the filmmakers working on Outlander purposefully set this one in the 700s solely so the movie's cast could adorn the ridiculous metal armor of the time. (You know, giving it that nice Braveheart/300 look). I have this hunch because Outlander's main villains – super machine beasts from outer space – don't seem to fit in - at all - with the time period this movie's supposedly set in. But the special effects look sweet, so I'll keep my trap shut.
Starring James Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Ron Perlman and John Hurt, the movie takes off when a mysterious spacecraft crash lands in ancient Norway, unleashing its contents – a soldier from another world and said machine beast – onto the land. While the beast attacks the Vikings, the soldier, Kainan, forms an unlikely alliance with the humans, helping them attempt to kill the ravenous monster.
Grade: C-
Also expected to be released on this date: The Dark Knight (re-release), Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans, Inkheart, Possession, Killshot
Horsemen – Opens March 13th
Dennis Quaid's new thriller, Horsemen, has a familiar feel to it. Maybe it's because I've already seen it - 14 years ago - when it was called Se7en...and Kevin Spacey was the bad guy instead of a number of nameless Asian women. (There's also a touch of Saw in there too, especially in its promo poster and imagery at the end of the trailer). But I don't mean to knock the movie too much. It actually looks like a wild ride that could be kinda fun.
Here, Quaid plays a bitter detective, Aidan Breslin, who uncovers a possible link between himself and the suspects of a case involving a series of murders connected by intense violence. The murders appear to have ties with the Biblical prophecy relating to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: war, famine, pestilence and death.
Hey, all's I'm saying is if spoiler alert** Gwyneth Paltrow at any time cameos as a dead person in a cardboard box, **end spoiler alert** this one's officially got no originality.
Grade: B+
Also expected to be released on this date: Race to Witch Mountain, A Perfect Giveaway, 12 Rounds, Sunshine Cleaning
The Informers – Opens May 1st
Good cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Winona Ryder, Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke, Chris Isaak, Amber Heard and (the late) Brad Renfro. But bad, bad movie. This one left me bored. Even the boobie shot (...or two) wasn't all that titillating. I think the cheesy trailer narration just did it for me.
The film, based on a 1994 collection of short stories adapted by its author, Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho), examines the unhappy lives of its lead characters through interwoven storylines in 1980s Los Angeles. Allegedly, supernatural elements from the book – like vampires! – have been removed from the project's final cut. Considering America's current bloodsucker craze, this was probably a bad move.
Grade: D
Also expected to be released on this date: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Imagine That – Opens June 12th
What? No Meet Dave 2? Eddie Murphy finally makes a good career choice by starring in a new family comedy that holds its own...at least in trailer form. It's called Imagine That, a fantasy film featuring Murphy as a financial executive who finds himself in the middle of a career crisis at work. That's until his daughter leads him into her imaginary world, where she somehow derives the solutions to his work woes.
Imagine That isn't my cup of tea, but it's certainly a step in the right direction for the SNL alum. Besides his turn as everyone's favorite talking donkey for the Shrek franchise, the guy hasn't done anything noteworthy since Dreamgirls. And before that? Uh...The Nutty Professor? Maybe? Thomas Haden Church also appears in this one as a colleague of Murphy's character.
Grade: C+
Also expected to be released on this date: The A-Team, Nowhereland, The Proposal, Hangover
Planet 51 – Opens November 20th
How clever. Putting a spin on the idea of aliens invading our fine home here on Earth, the animated comedy Planet 51 explores what it would be like for humans to be the invaders this time around when a lone NASA astronaut lands on a planet believed to be undiscovered...when in reality, a significantly-sized society of aliens already inhabit the land. At first glance, the $60 million project looks to be the product of a studio like DreamWorks. But no, it actually falls under Sony's TriStar Pictures wing, with New Line handling domestic distribution.
The movie looks like fun. The stereotypically green aliens are cute enough, and their shocked expressions on seeing an astronaut for the first time are worthy of a laugh or two. Planet 51 features a voice cast including the likes of Dwayne "Don't call me the Rock no mo' " Johnson, Jessica Biel, Justin Long and Seann William Scott. It's the brainchild of scribe Joe Stillman, who is best known for his work on Shrek and its first sequel.
Grade: A
Also expected to be released on this date: New Moon