New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Welcome to Trailer Hitch, BOP's look at the latest movie trailers to hit the Internet. This week: A new thriller solidifies itself as a train wreck, Dane Cook finally makes me laugh and an adorable dog challenges Jennifer Aniston to a Baywatch-off.

Transsiberian – Opens August 1st

There's something about this one that just doesn't seem right. Perhaps it's Brit Ben Kingsley, who fails at passing for a Russian. Or good girl Emily Mortimer, who slaps someone with a frighteningly large blunt object after clinging for dear life to a runaway train. Of course, there's the classic "who are the bad guys?" line, to which Kingsley replies, "people who look innocent, but are really not." (All that's missing here is the iconic "dum dum duuum" at the end of his quotation). In a very formulaic-looking movie, Mortimer and Woody Harrelson star as an American couple who take the famed Trans-siberian train from Beijing to Moscow before heading home. On it, they befriend other travelers, Carlos and Abby (Eduardo Noriega and Kate Mara), who turn out not to be who they seem. Transsiberian is pegged as a thriller, but apparently forget the all-important thrills and chills.

Grade: D

Also expected to be released on this date: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Swing Vote, Midnight Meat Train, Frozen River

The Longshots – Opens August 22nd

Little Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) from 2006's Akeelah and the Bee is back in another feel good family comedy. Only this time, she's involved in a totally different kind of competition. In The Longshots, Keke stars alongside Ice Cube in a film based on the true story of the first (and so far) only girl quarterback in Pop Warner football history. Ice Cube, who apparently is taking a leave from movies whose titles end in question marks, plays Keke's uncle, Curtis Plummer, a former football star who recruits his niece to help turn around the local Minden, Illinois football team. Themes the film aims to explore, like clashes between the sexes and issues with unmotivated parents, are a bit tired and cliche, so hopefully they won't weigh down the film as much as they did the trailer.

Grade: C+

Also expected to be released on this date: Death Race 3000, I Served the King of England, The House Bunny, Crossing Over, Hamlet 2, Momma's Man

I Served the King of England – Opens August 22nd

Jiri Menzel is setting out to prove he's still got it, even after he's been keeping it quiet – at least in the States – for just over 40 years. The Academy Award-winning director for Best Foreign Language Film is back with I Served the King of England, a Czech film that premiered two years ago in its home country, and is finally seeing the light of day in America. Featuring far too many comedic slaps to the head – I counted five – I Served the King of England stars Ivan Barney as a promising young waiter who hopes to one day make millions. He steadily works his way up his specific career path – from a small pub to a luxury brothel to a fine restaurant – all while set against the backdrop of European life in the late 1930s and Hitler's subsequent rise to power.

Grade: C

Also expected to be released on this date: Death Race 3000, The Long Shots, The House Bunny, Crossing Over, Hamlet 2, Momma's Man

Continued:       1       2