Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
November 4, 2009
Welcome to Trailer Hitch, BOP's look at the latest movie trailers to hit the Internet. This week: Some peeps take Rock, Paper, Scissors a bit too seriously, Benicio del Toro channels his inner Teen Wolf and Jason Bourne has a name change.
The Flying Scissors – Opens November 12th
The Flying Scissors gets props for originality at least. Taking a page from Christopher Guest's mockumentary playbook, the flick takes a super close look into the world of competitive Rock, Paper, Scissors. A world, in fact, that exists. (And we're talking at the global level, too). Even so, I wonder whether the humor in this one actually lasts. I mean really, how many jokes can you make at the expense of competitive RSP (as Rock, Paper, Scissors enthusiasts have shorthanded it)?
You've got the girlfriend who can't wrap her head around her boyfriend's passion for RSP, another dude who sustains an RSP injury and may have to switch to his left hand, and other like scenarios. The comedy here seems to be spread pretty thin, and I can't imagine the comedy stretches any further than the silliness we're hit with in the trailer.
Grade: D
Cracks – Opens December 4th (U.K.)/ TBA (U.S.)
Female teen jealousy. Doesn't get any more angsty than that! If you're a fan, Cracks is your movie. (No U.S. release date has been set, though I have a feeling this one will make its way across the pond after bowing in its English homeland). Its story concerns a clique of students within an elite boarding school in the 1930s who do nothing short of bowing down to the feet of their swimming instructor, Miss G (Eva Green). Their dynamic takes a turn when a new, beautiful Spanish girl, Fiamma (Maria Valverde), is inserted into the mix, which draws Miss G's attention away from the girls. (This would be where the looming jealousy aspect comes into play).
Cinematically, the movie looks beautiful. Its cinematographer, John Mathieson, previously worked on films like August Rush, Hannibal and Gladiator. His involvement in this picture in general should come at no surprise, since he's been in bed with the Scott family (Ridley, Tony and the others) for a number of years. And Ridley's daughter, Jordan, directed Cracks.
I liked the frequent aerial shots of divers plunging into water, and wonder how they play into possible themes of the movie. Their motions are so fluid and practiced, which clash neatly with the girls' unrehearsed dramatics and emotionally charged bickering.
Grade: B+
The Wolfman – Opens February 10th, 2010
Playing more like an extended teaser, the new "trailer" for Universal's The Wolfman disappoints in the way that heavily CGI'd movies tend to disappoint. Obviously, it's difficult to get a half-man, half-wolf to look "real" without the aid of a computer. But, I would have hoped for the producers behind this one to follow in the footsteps of a franchise like the new Batman in creating characters with a bit more authenticity. (I'm not talking about something along the lines of Teen Wolf. I think it safe to assume we've progressed from that era).
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