Thankfully, this week's collection of trailers is generally of a far higher
quality than those last week. A wide variety of genres are previewed here,
from sci-fi thrillers, to artsy indie flicks, to mainstream comedies. There
is sure to be something for everyone, so check out this week's Trailer Hitch
for all the details.
Oh my god! It's the trailer for the new Matrix sequel! Wait. No, it's not.
Equilibrium looks like a horribly blatant rip-off of the beloved sci-fi film,
so much so that I'm surprised legal action wasn't taken. The movie's poster
features two men, one white with short dark hair, the other black with a
shaved head, each wearing black trenchcoats and holding a gun in each hand.
Sound familiar? The preview itself is no different. The story is set in the
near future, where no one is free and "the system" is in control. Beyond
that, there were lots of large gunfights, martial arts moves, and more big
gunfights. I have to think that the producers of this ad are intentionally
trying to mimic The Matrix and hope that this sells the movie, but I find it
hard to believe that anyone is going to fall for that ridiculous a ploy. The
only response this trailer got out of me was an even stronger desire for the
real Matrix sequels next year.
This film stars Ralph Fiennes as a man who has spent a good deal of his adult
life in a mental institution after suffering severe mental and emotional
trauma as a young child. The picture is directed by David Cronenberg, a man
known for making, well, weird movies, and this trailer certainly lives up to
that expectation. The promo is extremely non-linear, jumping back and forth
between Fiennes' character as a young boy and a man, and I would expect that
the full movie is similar in style. Obviously, this is not the kind of movie
that is going to gain mass appeal, and consequently it is not marketed as
such. Instead, the preview seems directed towards filmgoers who appreciate
more "artsy" fare, in terms of its unusual presentation and seemingly
purposeful confusion. This is an interesting tactic, but the bottom line is
that the film simply did not look that good, even for an "unconventional"
movie. Time will tell if other moviegoers feel similarly.
In what can only be described as a chick flick for a slightly younger crowd,
What a Girl Wants is the story of a girl who goes to England to search for her
father, who never even knew he had a daughter. Colin Firth plays the father
in question (apparently there were no more roles left for him to play in Jane
Austen film adaptations) who slowly grows to care for this daughter he never
knew he had. This movie is obviously targeted at prepubescent girls, and
judging by the huge success of The Princess Diaries, I can only believe that
this film will be similarly enticing. However, I doubt very much that the
rest of us will be too interested in this film, unless of course you just
can't get enough of those girl coming-of-age stories.
Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock team up in this typical-looking chick flick
about a ridiculously rich man and his legal advisor who have always been
friends but only decide they are actually in love once she gives him her two
week's notice. Really, of course, the premise doesn't matter at all, seeing
as this film is opening in one of the surest times of the year for romantic
comedies and stars two of the genre's biggest names. The trailer does a good
job of showing Grant and Bullock as their usual cheery selves, throwing a few
laughs in for good measure, and topping it all off with a catchy little pop
song in the background. The women to whom this movie appeals really don't
need much more to entice them to go see this film, and the producers clearly
realize that. Indeed, I'm sure you already knew long before you read this
trailer review whether or not you'd be interested in this movie.
This is a strangely compelling look at a film starring Joaquin Phoenix and
Claire Danes as two lovers and the ups and downs of their relationship with
one another. The trailer is quite cryptic, and it was quite difficult to get
any sense of a plot beyond the basic elements. Nevertheless, I was actually
rather intrigued by this short promo, and I will be interested to see a
longer, hopefully more descriptive trailer for the film sometime soon.
This new movie, starring John Malkovich, is a film adaptation of the final
story in the Tom Ripley trilogy. The trailer was fairly good, and Malkovich
looks to do a good job as always playing a dark, brooding, and somewhat creepy
anti-hero. This film will obviously garner comparisons to the 1999's Talented
Mr. Ripley starring Matt Damon, but from this spot alone, the mood here seemed
to be somewhat darker than the first Ripley flick. Part of this is no doubt
due to Malkovich's presence. Having never read any of the books, I cannot say
whether or not this darker tone is true to the novels, but overall I think the
preview did a good job of advertising the movie as an intelligent thriller.
While Damon's Mr. Ripley never really got much mass attention, I will be
interested to see if this film, with its much lower-profile cast, fares any
better in the public eye.
Adam Sandler appears to be continuing his exploration of new roles for himself
with this film, also starring Jack Nicholson as the unconventional anger
management therapist who is assigned to Sandler after an outrageous incident
on an airplane. I personally thought this promo was absolutely hilarious from
start to finish. The plane altercation strongly reminded me of the airplane
scene from Meet the Parents. Nicholson and Sandler appear to be very good
together (a combination about which I had some doubts), and the spooning line
at the very end of the trailer is sure to have audiences in hysterics. I was
quite impressed with this preview, and I have a feeling that as it starts
being shown in front of the holiday films it will get a great reaction from
many moviegoers.
