P.T. Anderson’s ‘The Master” Trailer: Phoenix Rising

Posted on May 25, 2012 by geelw

It’s hard to believe that the self-taught director Anderson has, including this upcoming film, a mere five movies under his belt and all of them are amazing to spend time with when they pop up on cable. His latest work, set for an October release, is a story about a a man (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) who starts up his own cult-like “religion” in the 1950’s with ex-Navy sailor (played by Joaquim Phoenix) ending up as his personal assistant, most likely after the events this creepy trailer hints at. Interestingly enough, Hoffman isn’t in the trailer at all – it’s all Phoenix here, and while the clip is cryptic, it also hints at a bit of madness and violence in the character he’s playing. I predict another film in the vein of There Will Be Blood, Anderson’s epic-length character study that netted Daniel Day-Lewis an Academy Award (and everyone else the right to make “I drink your milkshake!” jokes, even if they never saw the film). This is really turning into a pretty cool year for movie lovers, that’s for sure…

Skyfall Trailer: Could This Be The Best Bond Film Yet?

Posted on May 21, 2012 by geelw

Well, the best MODERN Bond film, so as not to rile the Sean Connery die-hards out there. Hey, I’m old enough to be a fan from that far back, but I’ve always thought Daniel Craig’s version of Bond owes a lot to George Lazenby’s underrated performance in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (which you should check out if you’ve never see it before). Anyway, director Sam Mendes is certainly on the right track from what I’ve glimpsed in this teaser, which hints at an even darker Bond than in the last few Craig films. I guess we’ll see what’s what soon enough…

Prometheus “Quiet Eye” Viral: Getting Closer To The Truth (And Creeped Out, Too)…

Posted on May 17, 2012 by geelw

Yikes, it’s almost June, which means Prometheus will be getting into the brains of fans who will be talking about this one for quite some time. No doubt Alien fans from the first film will be debating new viewers who don’t “get” some of the stuff here, and I think both camps will be off by a mile if they try to base their arguments on the xenomorph aspect. At the end of the day, if the film is solid, it’ll be a go-to classic for years to come. Of course, that might also mean a new box set of Alien films at some point, with Prometheus being the “first” film in the series. And YES, the icky (and mean-spirited) Alien Versus Predator will STILL be left out of the canon.

The Amazing Spider-Man “Super Preview” Trailer. Big, Loud And What Else Ya Got?

Posted on May 15, 2012 by geelw

I dunno…. maybe I’m just too jaded (and yes, Spider-Man 3 pretty much annoyed the hell out of me), but out of all the summer movies in theaters on the way, this one isn’t making my “gotta see it!” meter dance around at all. Sure, it looks great and expensive and New Yorky as all hell (I’m allowed to say this because I live here), but I think Spidey needs a rest for a bit. Between the awful Broadway musical and all the controversy it caused (sure, it was a “hit” for the tourists, but no Noo Yawkuh I know has seen it) to the new Spidey having too much hair for my tastes, I’m sitting this one out until it hits cable. Also (and this bugged the crap out of me in The Avengers), what’s the deal with all the secret identity exposure in these flicks. Is it in the contract that we NEED to see the actor’s face when it SHOULD be covered up because someone will say “hey, that’s so and so” if that hero guy or gal was on the street not doing the hero thing?

Eh, whatever. ot’ll make a mint, so my opinions are moot at the end of the day. That said, I have the feeling that the game Beenox is working on for Activision might actually be a lot more fun than the film and I’m VERY excited for that (if that’s any consolation to you Spidey fans out there)…

“Prometheus Has Landed” Clip: Hey, You’re Too Early! Get Back Up There, Now!

Posted on May 14, 2012 by geelw

Ha ha and ha. I saw the title in my inbox and thought I somehow fell into a time warp. Well, given that my PC thinks it’s a new PC and I’m still changing or recovering old passwords, I guess it IS a time warp of sorts. Anyway, I’ll be back later. This is going to be a long day….

Gangster Squad Trailer #1: You’ve Just Witnessed a Crime (Or Three)

Posted on May 11, 2012 by geelw

While this film does look great and seems to be in the spirit of L.A. Confidential, Public Enemies, The Untouchables and a few other modern crime sagas, as a film fan for decades, I do have some beef with a few things:

Why the hell does a period piece such as this get stuck with a blasted rap song in the trailer? And yes, I’d say the same damn thing if it were a rock, country or other song that didn’t make sense for the time this is supposed to e set in. Hell, there are PLENTY of songs from the era that would have fit, even if they chose something that was recorded a few years after these “based on a true story” events took place.

And really? Which true story was this based on? I know we live in an age where short attention spans RULE, but a little text blurb before the shootings and sexy glances placing the dates and context would have been nice. All I got from the trailer was lots of old cars, clothes angry cops, a token black guy as a G-man and Emma Stone’s big eyes.

Er, ahem. Anyway, if that slo-mo scene with the four guys walking away from the exploding car is IN the movie, I want my money back. Or someone else’s money who pays to see this and also hates that crap, That shot is the most played out one EVER in a trailer that I never hope to see in the films I see trailers that have it included. Wait, what?

Finally, the title stinks. Even if it were the actual name of the shady take no prisoners kill the gangsters with no mercy agency portrayed in the film, it stinks. It sounds like some low-budget TV show from the 50’s or worse, a movie from the 1930’s you’d catch on TCM in the middle of the night…

Oh, wait… Er, never mind…

Another Day, Another Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Trailer…

Posted on May 1, 2012 by geelw

Well, OK… they don’t drop that often (well, yet, given Warner’s penchant to release dozens of trailer variations for their upcoming films), but it’s always nice to see how well Chris Nolan’s final chapter in his Batman trilogy is coming along. I have zero idea who Warner Bros. plans to take over the franchise should there be the need for a new set of films. But, I kind of feel sorry for anyone following Nolan’s work, as they’ll definitely be benchmarks for any future Batman films. Of course, that also means we won’t be seeing the series go back to those awful post-Tim Burton Batman flicks that are hard to watch because all they show off is a bunch of overpaid stars making a mint mugging for the camera while driving the franchise into the ground.

Prometheus Extended Featurette: How Many More Days, Now?

Posted on May 1, 2012 by geelw

OK, I really need to stop watching these teasers. No, I’m not worried about spoiling the film’s story at all. They just make me want to go camp out at the nearest theater, which by the way, I don’t need to do because I’m too old for that AND have too much stuff to do here. Anyway, I’m sure all involved are happy they’ll be pulling me out into the sunlight briefly so I can see their hard work up there on screen, and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed by what I see…

The Avengers Hits Big Overseas, Making for Some New-ish Movie Math…

Posted on April 30, 2012 by geelw

Personally, I really miss the days when a film made here was released here first, THEN in overseas markets. Nevertheless, it seems the strategy here is Marvel wanting to juggernaut the hype machine with a boffo box office take everywhere else so it’s a total no-brainer that the film kills at the ticket counter when if officially launches here on Friday. Of course, by that time, the bootleggers who shot and shipped DVD’s from some of those foreign markets will take away some of that gross, but not enough to put a dent in the wallets of Marvel, who’s going to be smiling for a while, it seems…

Prometheus “The Adventure Begins” Featurette: Yes, Indeed It Does (Now Where’s My Ticket?)

Posted on April 26, 2012 by geelw

You know the year is moving too fast when that film you’re eagerly awaiting is dropping sooner that you think and you’re holding your breath because you hope it’s as good or even better than the commercials and trailers you’ve been seeing. I think Prometheus will indeed be one of those films because, frankly, too many movie commercials and trailers just stink or worse, you can tell the entire plot of the film by the end of the ad. With This movie, you can only guess what’s going on, it leaves many questions unanswered AND it looks completely spectacular. Fortunately, I live in an area with a cheap (but decent and recently renovated) local theater, so even if the film is somehow not so hot, I won’t be forking an arm and leg out to be disappointed. Not that I plan to be, mind you…