Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
August 5, 2009
Welcome to Trailer Hitch, BOP's look at the latest movie trailers to hit the Internet. This week: The Coen boys are back, Wes Anderson outsmarts some farmers and Sandra Bullock goes blonde.
I Sell the Dead – Opens Friday
I've yet to see a period horror comedy about grave robbing. (Or any movie about grave robbing for that matter). Now that I've seen the trailer to I Sell the Dead, I expect I'll be sticking consistent to my stats. The project is dreadfully lame.
I Sell the Dead stars Dominic Monaghan as Arthur Blake, a body snatcher who's telling his life's story of crime to Father Francis Duffy (Ron Perlman). As Arthur fills up with alcohol, he spills how he got into the business, and shares stories of discovering vampires, zombies and other supernatural beings.
And that's it. Also taking its low budget into account, I'm shocked I Sell the Dead isn't merely a one-off special on NBC.
Grade: D
A Serious Man – Opens October 2nd
The trailer to the Coen brothers' latest dark comedy, A Serious Man, not only makes the film look dazzling, but is, in and of itself, awesome. Just awesome. Honestly, the maker of A Serious Man's trailer deserves a serious pay raise. (A shamelessly bad pun, I know). For those who haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and click the link above on your lunch break.
I love how a rhythm is created here through the lead's head smashing into a barrier, the same dude getting into a car wreck and a woman clearing her throat, among other annoyances. The noises smash into each other and fall apart at the same time that Larry, the protag, learns some unsettling news from a finicky rabbi. It's brief and to the point. And in an industry dick measuring contest, the Coen boys' past successes – like Raising Arizona, Fargo and No Country for Old Men – crawl slowly up the screen.
Grade: A
Fantastic Mr. Fox – Opens November 13th
With all the advances we have going on in film these days, it's awfully refreshing to view a trailer for a project shot principally with stop-motion photography – no matter how jarring to the eyes the style may seem. Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, of course, is no exception. In fact, the imagery in the writer-director's project is far less smooth than anything Tim Burton created. (I'd even go as far as to say it's as poor as those early Simpsons episodes, or even South Park from a decade ago). And yet, after a minute or so your eyes adjust, you're enjoying what's going on in front of you and, well, you're laughing.
I'm sure I read the book as a kid, though the story escapes me. For those in a similar position, Fantastic Mr. Fox is about a cunning fox who steals chickens, ducks and turkeys from three wealthy farmers. That is until one day when they catch hint of what the fox is doing and hatch a plan to bring him down.
The voice cast includes the usual Wes Anderson suspects (Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Anjelica Huston), as well as a pair of newbies (George Clooney and Meryl Streep).
Grade: B
The Blind Side – Opens November 20th
Not sure how I feel about Sandra Bullock as a blonde. What I do know is that her next feature, though formulaic, looks like the feel good movie of the winter season. Called The Blind Side, the flick is based on a true story, which was documented in a 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.
Here, Bullock stars as the adoptive mother (and Tim McGraw the father) of Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), who went on to become an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens. As a child, Oher had an impoverished upbringing, and only grows into his own through Bullock's considerate care. Football is at the frame of the story, but audiences who don't appreciate the sport will find other themes to latch on to.
Grade: B-
The Lovely Bones – Opens December 11th
The last time Peter Jackson adapted a book for the screen, the New Zealander won 17 Oscars. Granted, we're talking about three movies here, and a book franchise that enabled its makers nearly limitless possibilities in creativity, fantasy and story.
The Lovely Bones is no Lord of the Rings (in scope, in genre, in its all around epic-ness), yet the project very much plants the seed that it's one yearning to be seen. The movie's composition, for one, is an imaginative work of art. And I'm basing that off of a few minutes of the finished product.
More importantly, it appears like it'll make boffo box office dollars for its studio – Paramount – at a time of the year that LOTR ruled over three consecutive Christmases.
For those who haven't read the 2002 Alice Sebold novel on which Jackson's movie is based, the story is about a young girl (Atonement's Saoirse Ronan, who, at 15, may pick up a second Oscar nod) who is raped and murdered by a serial killer (Stanley Tucci). From Heaven, Susie watches her killer, who is planning to murder again. While Susie has a desire for vengeance on Harry, she also wants her family to fully recover from the loss of their daughter.
Grade: B+
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