I haven’t been blogging at all lately, because I am way behind on the master’s project I need to complete to graduate in June, and I needed to turn that into a full-time job for a bit. I’m still doing that now, but everybody needs to distract themselves from time to time. One of my favorite ways to do that is to watch movie trailers.
Since my friend Cris said the other day that she really enjoys how many trailers I post, I figured it was time to share some of the trailers I’ve been neglecting to post over the last week or so, to share the things that have been joyously distracting me with the rest of you, in case any of these have escaped your notice thus far. These are the highlights, there are a few more I might share the next time I need some distraction.
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Much Ado About Nothing
A new trailer for Much Ado About Nothing. Did you know that in Elizabethan times, ‘nothing’ was slang for ‘vagina’? Oh, Shakespeare, you clever rascal.
How much more sure could I be that I’m going to love this movie? None. None more sure.
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The Bling Ring
When Sofia Coppola releases a new movie, I’m watching it no matter what. Throw in Emma Watson, and the certainty just solidifies all the more.
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Mood Indigo
Finally, a trailer for the new Michel Gondry movie for those of us who aren’t cool enough to know French. I should really learn French.
This movie looks like it is going to be delightful, and heartbreaking. Welcome back Mr. Gondry.
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Pacific Rim
The new trailer for Pacific Rim begs the question… will I be able to take Charlie Day seriously after how perfectly hilarious he’s been all these years on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia?
I really want this movie to be awesome.
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Man of Steel
Everyone has probably seen this by now, it’s the newest trailer that came out about two weeks ago.
I held off on watching it for a while, to delay gratification a bit. Had I know how amazing it was going to be, I would have watched it right away. Instead, it was a treat before seeing Oblivion. It moved me from reservedly excited, to just plain excited.
Hadn’t gotten around to sharing this yet. I liked the first one more than most people seemed to. This one looks like it has potential to be even better.
Needless to say, the blog challenge seems to have gone the way of the buffalo. I just haven’t had the brain space this last week for consistent blog writing, and I just missed so many days. Still, it does seem the this jumpstarted me back into blogging again, so perhaps it will remain semi-regular. I’d like that, because even if it is a huge waste of time, I enjoy my little stream-of-consciousness ramblings here.
I guess a ‘Last Five Movies’ post is a good way to get my brain juices flowing again, rejuvenate the mind-grapes if you will.
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1. The Do-Deca-Pentathlon
This tiny little movie by the Duplass brothers certainly isn’t perfect, but by the end, I was really glad to have watched it. It had a sweetness, and enough insightful moments to carry its forgivable (in my opinion) weaknesses.
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2. Killing Them Softly
I really wanted this movie to work to a higher degree than it did. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but it could have been really special.
The performances were really fantastic, straight across the board, and director Andrew Dominik showcased those talents with some really engaging monologues throughout the film. I’d understand if people thought there were too many, but I felt that it seemed to work as part of the style of the film. The movie also had some beautiful shots and filming sequences scattered throughout.
Where the movie did fall short for me was in the way Dominik tried to tie it all together using the American economic crisis. The forced metaphor just got too heavy handed, didn’t hold up, and then you lose the glue he was trying to use to keep the whole thing together. It would have worked better as a subtext, but instead we just got repeatedly beaten over the head with it.
Again, there really are some fantastic moments, and I’d love to watch those a few more times, maybe without sitting through some of the sloppier bits again.
Sometimes, less is more.
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3. Hitchcock
This was just sort of flat and uninteresting to me. Touching on deep personality issues and psychological baggage, without actually engaging them. There is some really dark stuff half depicted, and then just glossed over as if it is no big deal. I guess either don’t depict, or actually engage it, otherwise you just look confused, no? They also did a lot of hinting at his brilliance without actually revealing some concrete places it manifested. They failed the ‘show don’t tell’ test. There was also a constant cartoonish feel that isn’t really appropriate for this sort of biopic, it was just illogical for the subject matter. It worked really well in Ed Wood, but in soooo many ways, this was NOT Ed Wood.
Among many things, the primary thing I didn’t understand was the score. You’d think the score would either be influenced by Pyscho, or by the tone they were trying to set with Hitchcock. Instead, after an opening scene that used the music from Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the rest felt like it was from a family movie about a haunted mansion or or a bad remake of Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Weird shit.
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4. Oblivion
Far from perfect, but a solidly entertaining summer sci-fi movie. The things I could nitpick aren’t really things I need perfect in a summer blockbuster. After all, there are different movies made for different reasons, and we should embrace that for what it is. If the weaknesses were fixed, it would have elevated Oblivion from pretty good to spectacular, but pretty good is enough for me in this case. It’s really beautiful to look at, it’s smart as long as you don’t pick it apart too thoroughly (fair enough if you do), and brings together lots of sci-fi tropes in ways that aren’t particularly deep, but are pretty fun.
Also, M83’s score was satisfyingly and unsurprisingly epic.
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5. Easy Money (Snabba Cash)
So, most of these movies I’ve basically said are good but not great. Well, here is the exception. No reservations, this movie is just great. A really well-told story. The acting is fantastic, which is important, since these characters are always toeing the line between sympathetic and unsympathetic. It is largely the performances that keep them human and keep us caring what happens to them. The direction and cinematography is also really beautiful, the pace is perfect, the film is quiet in the right moments and explodes at just the right times, it hits all the right notes… I really liked this one.
A really, really spectacular crime drama filled with thrilling and heartbreaking moments. I could have just watched the movie twice on repeat.
Now they just need to release the sequel in the US!
Even blogging every day, there is stuff I haven’t gotten around to sharing. Here are three things I want to share, some from recently, one from today. I’ll slip these things in here under the wire, and throw some more belated stuff up in coming days.
The National’s new music:
The new album doesn’t come out until fricking May 21st (the same day as Daft Punk), but, at least they’ve released two streaming songs to hold us over.
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Catching Fire has a teaser trailer:
Color me excited!
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The Way, Way Back Trailer:
Jim Rash (Dean Pelton) and Nat Faxon (Kip from Orange County), the guys who co-wrote The Descendants, are back again with a great cast, and a movie I wish came out tomorrow. Have I mentioned how much I love Sam Rockwell?
Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn’s films are extremely beautiful, and extremely violent. I really love the way Refn sets up every single shot, and how his musical choices at once complement and contrast with each scene. He also gets really amazing performances from his leading men. Thus what made Drive one of those films I just couldn’t get out of my head, it stays with me still. It’s a film I’m sure I’ll see many more times to come. It captures me in so many ways, none of them comforting. My response to Drive is here.
I’m really excited that Gosling and Refn have teamed up again, and the trailer appears to indicate another film that is both remarkable, and difficult to watch. Gosling looks like he’ll be as perfect in this as he was as The Driver.
Now, if only Gosling and Refn would team up yet again, while also bringing back Tom Hardy (who was amazing for Refn on Bronson).
As film franchises go, this one is pretty special. Before Midnight marks the third film in the series, and continues the trend in which a new film comes out every nine years. Each installment gives us another brief glimpse into the lives of two characters who met on a train and spent an evening in Vienna in Before Sunrise.
They are both highly praised films, but Before Sunset is the one I really love. Seeing these two people trying to come to terms with who they are as adults, even people as successful as these two characters, wondering about the gap between who they dreamed they would be and who they are actually becoming… and the pain and honesty in the two lead performances is just so wonderful. These really are two of the smartest actors in the business. The films are also beautifully filmed and directed as well. The writing is sharp, and the lead actors actually improvise a lot, too, making the dialogue really natural and genuine. I’m so excited for the third film.
If you haven’t seen the first two films and ever plan to watch them, I’d recommend skipping this trailer so it doesn’t spoil anything.
The awesome new international trailer for the sequel. Also, in the current radio performance of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, Benedict Cumberbatch plays the angel Islington. Perfect.
