Images captured from the trailers
I now have no doubt that District 9 will be the best science fiction film of the year.
The second-best trailer of the week is a low blow at Roland Emmerich. No point explaining why Emmerich deserves it, the trailer speaks for itself.
Image from JoBlo
Image from Twitch.
The best I've seen in the last two weeks. Finally a trailer for John Hillcoat's adaptation of The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Originally scheduled to come out six months ago, it's nice to see something. Too bad the trailer tries to sell this as an action flick, but I trust Hillcoat to stay true to the book.
Also Neill Blomkamp's District 9. I haven't seen anything of Blomkamp's before, there isn't much to see yet really, but Peter Jackson seems to trust him. I don't always bite at the fictional documentary style but I have high hopes for this one. There's something about an alien ship unobscured that makes it much more intriguing and terrifying. No shroud of dark clouds or blinding lights to convince us that we should be afraid (see Independance Day and The Day The Earth Stood Still). Instead just a massive vessel exposed, seeming both omnipotent and fragile at once.
Images captured from the trailers below
The only thing I know about Julius Ševčík’s Normal is what Todd posted at Twitch the other day:
“Based on a true story, this psychological thriller is set in Germany during the recession in the 1930s. Young, ambitious lawyer Justus Wehner gets his first big case – the defense of brutal serial killer Peter Kurten. Wehner is certain that Kurten suffers from a severe mental disorder and to prove it delves deep into the killer’s past, motivation and psyche. Then, Kurten’s wife Marie arrives, and together with Kurten, starts to manipulate Wehner into assisting them with one last crime. Now, Wehner has to fight not only to win the complicated case but also to save his soul.”
I could care less what the plot description translates to, the trailer alone had me rapt. Let's just hope the style comes with substance.
Thanks to Todd at Twitch.
Image from Twitch
Anh Hung Tran's I Come with the Rain has been at the top of my must-see list for well over a year now. Unconfirmed rumblings seem to indicate that it will show at Cannes this year, one can only hope.
If you haven't seen the trailer yet, watch it first. Hasford's disturbing, anthropomorphic pieces of art caught my attention from day one. I haven't researched this point, but my unsubstantiated speculation is that Hasford's probably an artist who went off the deep end, and ends up murdering people and using their body parts to construct his sculptures.
Today, I came across the works of Francis Bacon (the 20th century painter, not the Elizabethan philosopher). One piece in particular caught my eye, because it looks exactly like one of Hasford's grotesque sculptures. Compare and contrast for yourself; maybe Hasford's niche is recreating prior artists' works, or maybe the Bacon piece was just an inspiration for the filmmakers. Either way, the influence is obvious.
I Come with the Rain (screenshot)
Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (right panel, Francis Bacon 1944)
Images from the trailer and Tate Online
Images taken from the trailer below.
Rudo y Cursi looks like fun if nothing else. Gael Garcia Bernal has gradually become one of my favorite actors, despite my initial loathing for Y tu Mama Tambien. While this doesn't look like one of his most demanding films to date, it does seem to exhibit his quirky side.
Thanks to Sean at Film Junk.
Images captured from the trailer.
Park Chan-wook is back, and he brought blood.
A big thanks to whoever threw together the subtitles.
Images captured from the trailers (1, 2)
Last Ride - Todd at Twitch is dead-on with his comparison to John Hillcoat's 'The Proposition,' as Last Ride seems to capture the same desolate tension and brooding, poetic atmosphere. I've never thought of Hugo Weaving as anything other than Agent Smith, because none of his subsequent performances left much of a human impression on me. That said, he looks remarkable here. It's nice to see him digress from the baroque, supernatural roles of recent past, settling in to something more personal and fallible.
Terminator Salvation - A new trailer came out today and it's marvelous. Maybe I'm just captivated by twisted metal and Nine Inch Nails, but for whatever reason I found myself rapt and grinning the entire two and a half minutes. McG still worries me, I've yet to see him provide any substance with his style. Hopefully Jonathan Nolan proves to be the necessary counterpart. His brief but stellar resume is encouraging.
Image taken from Gaiman's official site.
The best trailer I saw all week wasn't a trailer. Instead, it was Neil Gaiman carrying on about buttons, which I am now afraid of.
His book Coraline has been adapted into a feature animated film.
I don't like animated films, but with
Gaiman in the mix I know that I'm in for something creepy and insightful, more
in the vein of the Brothers Quay than Pixar....
Ah what the heck, I feel like I'm
cheating if I don't include a real trailer.
The man
The myth
...Dolph Lundgren
Thanks to Borders Backlot and Twitch for hosting the videos.
