In a bit of self-referential mocking, New Line has decided to begin its
advertising campaign for the prequel to Dumb and Dumber by first inventing the
word "dumberer" and then using it to describe its decision to make this film in
the first place. While this is apparently supposed to be funny and get you to
want to see the movie, it fails miserably. What they avoid mentioning, of
course, is that the idea is even "dumberer" when none of the original cast, or
the director, or the writers are back here. My intelligence was further
offended by the tagline "They're young, they're fun, they're full of dumb", as
well as the voiceover giggling. Without seeing a single scene from the film, I
get the feeling that while the original film was goofy and fun, this film is
going to be completely devoid of anything resembling humor. Somehow, I don't
think this is the message this ad was supposed to get across.
Sometimes, you just have to wonder how any studio executive could see a promo
like this one and think, "Hmm, this looks like a movie that will sell." I
suppose that one could say that this film is a typical low-budget horror movie
that is sure to attract at least a few people, but I can't even see how anyone
would think it looks that good. The attractive teens getting attacked by
zombies on a secluded island plotline seems standard enough - but what is with
the 19th century interlude halfway through? I couldn't for the life of me
figure out why this "historical background" needed to be included here. It
isn't like the type of people who are interested in this movie are going to be
thinking to themselves, "This sounds great, but how exactly did these zombies
end up on the island anyway?" If the preview's complete lack of cohesiveness
was not enough amusement, I also found the requisite bouncing cleavage at the
end quite humorous. If trailers like this one serve one purpose, it is nothing
more than to give us all a good chuckle.
This creepy-looking film is the story of a young woman who, after years of
suffering as a social reject, turns into a psychopath and decides to create a
companion for herself from the body parts of others. This is certainly the
type of movie that is looking to capitalize on its shock value, which is indeed
very high. Anna Faris, one of the film's stars, somehow manages to look
exactly like Christina Ricci, but even creepier. Though similarly gruesome
films are often released as mainstream horror flicks, this movie looks to be a
little too out there for its own good, and I find it hard to believe that this
movie will gain much notice beyond its scheduled limited release in January.
If it does find any kind of mainstream success, it will definitely not be on
account of this promo.
The role of a badass cop who is out for revenge is the kind of role Vin Diesel
was born to play. Why is it, then, that I was so disappointed in this
trailer? Part of it has to do with the fact that somehow Diesel manages to
look out of place here. The premise is certainly a good one - while not
original, it has proven many times to make for a good movie. However, the film
seems caught between two generations. At times the movie seems to be aimed at
an audience similar to that of Fast and the Furious (the background pop rock
music, the cornrowed partner), but then at other points it seems to be aimed at
a much older crowd. Diesel himself plays a role that would typically be
associated with a man much older than himself. For this reason, along with the
film's lack of originality, I got the feeling that there really wasn't anything
new to see here. Diesel's meteoric rise to Hollywood stardom has been based so
far on his appeal to a younger crowd, and from the looks of this preview, A Man
Apart is not going to be the film that gives him a good introduction to an
older audience.
This short teaser focuses almost entirely on Heath Ledger, who plays the title
character. I did, however, also glimpse quick shots of Naomi Watts and
Geoffrey Rush. I was surprised not to see Orlando Bloom as well; he should be
given a lot more screen time in the film's full trailer, considering the huge
boom in popularity he is sure to receive now that The Two Towers is out. Ned
Kelly looks to have all the makings of a good historical action-adventure
movie, particularly considering that Ledger, Bloom, and Watts are all actors who are on their way up in Hollywood, while Rush has been a fairly big name ever since his role in
Shine.
DMX earns his first starring role in this film (whose title seems more suited
to a rap song than a movie), as a diamond thief who gets more than he bargains
for when it turns out that the diamonds are much more than they first appear.
Jet Li costars as a Taiwanese intelligence agent who tries to help DMX escape
with the diamonds. Although I was somewhat skeptical at first of this movie's
chances at any kind of decency, I was pleasantly surprised by the trailer.
While certainly not an original idea, the film looks no worse than other recent
Jet Li movies. The stunt where Li jumps down the side of a skyscraper floor by
floor was particularly impressive. DMX didn't seem to be doing an Oscar-worthy
acting job, but it seemed serviceable (and besides, who goes to a movie like
this for the good acting?). This promo makes me think that this could be a
fairly good addition to the recent glut of martial arts-in-L.A. movies, and it
certainly doesn't look nearly as bad as I was expecting.
This film tells the story of a troubled teenage boy who, for his sixteenth
birthday, decides that he wants to change his family's life around for the
better. The trailer featured many different scenes, all of which gave the
viewer a sense of the boy's personality, more than a straightforward plot
summary. This approach works well for films like this one that are driven by
individual characters and the transformations they undergo. The audience is
given a good sense of where the character starts, and only a hint of where he
might go in the course of the film. In my opinion, any trailer's primary goal
should be give the viewer some sense of what kind of story they'll be seeing,
but only enough to get them interested in seeing the rest of the story. Sweet
Sixteen's preview does a great job of sufficiently informing and intriguing its
audience.
Bruce Willis stars in this interestingly-titled film about a Navy SEAL mission
to rescue an American doctor in the jungles of Africa that does not go as
planned when the doctor refuses to leave without a group of refugees for whom
she has been caring. For a man who made his fortune starring in action movies,
Willis has not made a big one for almost five years now. This film does not
look like it is going to break that trend, as it appears to be more along the
lines of a smaller action film than a huge blockbuster. Nevertheless, the film
does look like it has some potential (certainly more than Hart's War), and it
will also give audiences a look at Monica Bellucci, whose popularity is sure to
skyrocket later in the year after the release of the Matrix sequels. The
trailer pleasantly surprised me, and I got the impression that Tears of the Sun
could be quite a decent little war movie.
Dreamcatcher is the latest film adaptation of a Stephen King novel, and is the
story of four men, friends since childhood and blessed with the ability to
communicate telepathically with one another, who become trapped in the Maine
woods after a huge snowstorm. As with almost any story by King, one can expect
a large dose of spookiness in the film, and the trailer does a great job of
hinting at this without giving too much away. The preview really doesn't show
much of anything that is actually frightening, and instead shows us the results
of whatever mysterious forces are at work and people's reactions to this
horrifying being. Personally, I found this far scarier (not to mention
intriguing) than a promo that goes right ahead and shows you what you should be
scared of. The trailer got me very interested in the movie, despite the fact
that I am not usually a huge fan of horror movies. I was quite intrigued by
Dreamcatcher's premise as advertised here, and I have a feeling audiences will
be too.
Tobey Maguire stars in this feel-good story set in the Great Depression about a
long-shot horse who captures the attention of the entire nation and ends up
becoming the 1938 Horse of the Year. I liked the way the trailer set the mood
for the film by starting off with real sound clips from the 1930s. Obviously,
most moviegoers nowadays weren't around during the Great Depression, and one
can't always assume that they've all learned as much history as they should
have. The transition from the historical clips to the scenes from the film was
done well, and it further emphasizes the fact that the movie is based on a true
story. This is a big selling point for this film, since the only thing better
than a feel-good story is a real-life feel-good story. The teaser really
doesn't show much of the actors in the film, instead focusing mainly on setting
the story up rather than going into detail about the plotline. This promo was
done very well, and I believe that it will be quite appealing to moviegoers as
it starts being shown in front of the films of early 2003.
Featuring some of the most intense music I can ever recall hearing in a movie
preview, City of God's trailer forgoes any plot synopsis and instead decides to
try and sell itself merely on the large amount of praise being heaped upon it.
There are absolutely no scenes from the movie in this ad. Instead, it has
numerous quotes attesting to the film's greatness on the backdrop of still
photographs of what I assume are the characters in the film. This is certainly
a somewhat unique marketing technique - while many film trailers feature quotes
from reviewers, very few do it without showing scenes form the movie as well.
While I don't think this approach would work for every film, I do think it
works here, as it certainly intrigued me.
This trailer, for yet another one of the many big-name sequels of 2003, does a
great job of reviving the spirit of the first movie and showcasing the great
chemistry between the film's two stars, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
Although I failed to see the humor in the Ku Klux Klan scene (some things just
aren't funny, no matter what the situation is), I very much enjoyed the rest of
the ad. The Smith-Lawrence duo is one that is often imitated, but never
duplicated, and it is good to see them back together in fine form. The action
scenes looked good, but certainly not spectacular; however I think that a buddy
action flick like this one relies much more on its humor than it does on
stunning car chases or explosions. In any case, this trailer should be very
attractive to fans of the original Bad Boys, as well as teenagers who were
perhaps too young to have seen the first film.
Next summer's big Disney flick already gets its second trailer here, this one
again giving a quick synopsis of the movie's story and then showcasing a few of
the fishes' many adventures. Although this preview is quite cute, I actually
must admit that I liked the first trailer more. I didn't really find the dopey
turtles that funny, although perhaps this humor will be appreciated more by
little kids than the rest of us. One of the most endearing aspects of any
Pixar film is its appeal to adults as well as children, and this is one of the
main things I think audiences will be looking for in this trailer. While I
still think that this promo will be quite appealing, it seems more aimed at
younger moviegoers than the first one. Nevertheless, this looks
spectacular, and seems to share the same spirit as Pixar's other beloved
films. I personally cannot wait to see this film next summer
The Pianist receives a new U.S. trailer that, while similar to the first one,
attempts to appeal to a more mainstream audience. Whereas before much of the
background music was wonderful solo piano music, here it is done by a full
orchestra. This added drama is also seen in the focus of the trailer, which
has shifted from the terrible tragedies inflicted by the Nazis to the
incredible will the Jews of Poland displayed. While I personally do not feel
these types of changes were necessary to sell the film, I understand that in
general it is felt that audiences want to see an inspiring story, especially if
the subject matter is as dark as the Holocaust. Consequently, the shifts in
focus here do make sense from a marketing perspective. Even with the changes,
this film looks like it will be one of the very best of the many excellent
movies being released in the last few weeks of 2002.
