Trailer Reactions 03-05-14

Break out the popcorn and candy, it's time for one of my favorite activities:  watching upcoming trailers! (Sad, I know.)

I was shocked at the amount of movies coming out this year that peaked my interest. Nearly 30 at last count.  It's as if Hollywood is trying to pack as much movies as it can before The Avengers: Rise of Ultron comes out next year.

That being said, only a quarter of that amount has trailers currently available, so there will probably be a future trailer post later in the summer. Without further ado, in order of their release date, here's a sampling of movies for 2014!


300: Rise of An Empire

 

This is actually the third trailer for this movie but this one reveals more of the plot, specifically the prequel parts as we see how Xerxes becomes the "God-King".

I'm not feeling the same level of badass-ness from our new lead, Sullivan Stapleton, as I did with Gerald Butler, though.  It's the voice, in my opinion.  It doesn't have that same thunderous bellow that Butler had when he yelled. I am interested as his character, Themistocles, is an Athenian, a kingdom that King Leonidas slandered as a bunch of philosophers and "boy-lovers".  I'm curious to see if the Athenians have any different combat tactics than their Spartan counterparts.

Also, I love the addition in this particular trailer of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" playing in the background. A bit strange though as it's an anti-war song but awesome nonetheless. Plus, it looks like we're going to see Lena Headly's Queen Gorgo go on a rampage against the Persians.  We saw in the first movie she's not afraid to kill, so let's see how she does on the battlefield.  If her skill with a blade is as deadly as her sharp tongue on Game of Thrones, I honestly feel bad for the Persians.


Noah

 

Being raised in a Catholic household, the story of Noah and the Ark is one of the first stories I can recall being told as a child.  Though, if this trailer and related materials are anything to go by, this won't be your daddy's Noah.  Just look at Russell Crowe, he doesn't look anything like the white-haired, long-bearded Noah I've seen in storybooks.  Nor did I picture his family looking like Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson (not that I'm complaining).

Had this just be a standard retelling of the same old story, I'd not even give it a passing glance.  But the fact there is an actual villain (Played by Ray Winstone, no less) and there are going to be more fantastical elements, such as multi-armed giant angels, grabbed my attention.

"Angels?", you might ask as they didn't appear in the trailer but there is a French graphic novel adaptation co-written by Darren Aronofsky that's been around the web for a few years called Noe.

Fun fact:  Kevin Durand will appear as Og, an angel that helps Noah. This is not the first time he's played an angel, though. However, he's going to look a lot less like Gabriel from Legion:

And more akin to this:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

 

Ah, the first Marvel movie of the year and who better to get things started than good ol' Cap?  I was wondering how they were going to do another Captain America movie seeing as he was no longer in the 1940's.  It seems like they're going with a more political thriller approach a la the Jason Bourne movies. Being a fan of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., This looks like a S.H.I.E.L.D. movie as well although with more higher-up characters such as Nick Fury and Black Widow.

I'm excited to see not only Winter Soldier on the big screen but also Sam Wilson a.k.a the Falcon.  He looks spot on from The Ultimates comics.

Although you could probably just look it up and it's been known amongst comic fans for years now, I can't wait until people who held out on spoilers to find out the Winter Soldier's identity. There's going to be a lot of posts on IMDB reading "IT WAS HIM?!?!1!"


The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Oh man, I'm so hyped for this one.  My favorite Marvel character on the big screen again and he's brought friends.  Well, friends that want to kill him but Oh My God, Electro and Rhino are coming! And Green Goblin.  And maybe Black Cat.

That is one of the things that worries me as too many villains was a problem that plagued Spider-Man 3.  But I have noticed from the bits they show of the Rhino from this and other trailers that they're all set during the day, making me think he's only going to come out in one scene and the rest of the movie will focus on Electro and Green Goblin.  That's only my guess, though.

I'm digging the new comic-accurate Spider-Man costume though and it looks like they really revved up the action for this one.  I love the last ten seconds or so of this trailer with Spidey dodging Electro's blasts.  Also, this:

OMG THE SINISTER SIX ARE COMING

X-Men: Days of Future Past

A very somber trailer for the third Marvel movie but exciting nonetheless.  It's great to see the old X-Men crew again along with the X-Men: First Class team. Though if they're adapting the "Days of Future Past" storyline, things are going to get dark fast. Some fan-favorite characters are also making their film debut as well such as Bishop, Warpath and Blink. Also, Peter Dinklage (My favorite actor from Game of Thrones) as Bolivar Trask, the creator of the Sentinels.  That alone has me ecstatic.

There's something about funky 70's Charles Xavier that I really dig.  I want a shot of him rolling down the sidewalk with either the Shaft theme or the intro to "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" by the Temptations playing in the background.  Seriously, play either of those and stare at the picture above.

Not to mention the fact the Sentinels are going to be the villains!  There's only been concept art of what they look like so nothing's finalized as of yet. But there was this video that popped up last year:

Maleficent

I'll admit I was really skeptical when I heard they were making a live-action movie about Maleficent, the villain from Sleeping Beauty.  But, Good God, did this trailer change my mind.  The visual effects, the actors, that haunting rendition of "Once Upon a Dream" by Lana Del Ray. This trailer has everything going for it.  

I do have a fondness for this type of story where we see a familiar tale told from another perspective. I'm also a sucker for epic army battles (Thanks, Lord of the Rings).  I was a bit shocked to find out that Maleficent's horns are just that, horns, and not part of a headdress. Though it should be noted that in the original tale, she was a fairy, not a human witch or sorceress.  How they're going to make her sympathetic is anyone's guess since, as shown in Sleeping Beauty, she cursed a baby girl to die by poking her finger all because she wasn't invited to a birthday party.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Out of all the movies based on Marvel Comics, this is the comic I know next to nothing about.  When I first heard the announcement, My reaction was "..........Okay" in the most skeptical and bewildered way possible.  "Out of all the comics and characters they have at their disposal, Marvel picked Guardians of the Galaxy? They didn't even have a 90's cartoon!"

Holy poop on a stick, was I wrong! I liked the fact they introduced the members of the Guardians one by one, giving the audience (and myself) a taste of their personalities and back-stories.  The film looks...much more comedic than I envisioned.  But when two of the members are a talking raccoon and a tree-man, would you expect anything else. Not to mention John C. Reily as a member of the Nova Corps, Marvel's version of the Green Lantern Corps.  So, expect to see him fly around and shoot laser blasts from his hands.

The action looks tight too, reminiscent of both Star Wars and the recent Star Trek Films.  I can't wait to see more trailers for this one in the future.  Before I head to the final trailer, a parting shot:

OOGA CHAKA OOGA OOGA OOGA CHAKA

  

Godzilla

This movie actually comes out before Guardians of the Galaxy but I had to save it for last. Also, I know the new trailer came out recently, but I'm more partial to this teaser.

Godzilla and I go way back. I've been a fan of his movies since I was in elementary.  I watched in both amazement and horror as he reduced Tokyo to rubble in Godzilla, King of the Monsters.  I've cried when he fell into the volcano in Godzilla 1985.  I cheered when he defeated MechaGodzilla in Terror of MechaGodzilla.  I stared confused at the screen when he flew in Godzilla vs. Hedorah.

What has been seen can never be unseen...

But for all his campiness, I'm a devoted fan for life.

Who else do you know that owns a plush Godzilla?

That being said, I love how (thematically) dark they're making this movie, showing Godzilla only in glimpses and the aftermath that he leaves in his path (Those are bodies by the train at the 1:40 mark, you know).  It makes me think more of a natural disaster rather than a giant monster. The creepy music from 2001: A Space Odyssey certainly doesn't lighten the tone either.

And that final shot with Godzilla in the dust as he roars? My reaction?

So with that, I leave you with the (paraphrased) words from J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the creators of the atomic bomb, from the San Diego ComicCon Godzilla teaser:

"We knew the world would not be the same.  Few people cried... most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. 'Vishnu, takes on his multi-armed form and says:

Trailer Reactions 01-02-13

Happy New Year's to everybody and I hope everyone had a good time.  With a new year comes new beginnings, new promises and, for me, new movies.

While I was making this list, I was surprised at the amount of films coming out this year that caught my interest.  As of this writing, there are still some movies that are coming out this year that haven't dropped any trailers such as Thor: The Dark World.  I'll get to those on a later post, but for now, on with the trailers!


After Earth

What some of you may not know is that this is a M. Night Shyamalan movie.  And as you're aware, his last few movies have not been...well recieved.  (Goddammit, what did you do to Avatar: The Last Airbender?!  Sorry, had to get that off my chest.)    This, as I see it, is probably the make-or-break movie for Shyamalan.  He has in his advantage Will Smith in the lead, who by this point is just movie gold.  Even the worst film starring Will Smith brings in the millions.  Shyamalan aside, I really dig the premise of this film. Though they ruined the classic Shyamalan twist in the trailer.  The hostile alien planet is...*GASP* Earth?!

 

Anchorman: The Legend Continues

To be honest, I was surprised they were going to do a sequel to Anchorman.  I thought the first movie wrapped things up pretty cleanly.  I didn't think it needed a sequel...but damn if this didn't make me want to see it.  You might think at first glance I double posted the trailer but no, they released two different versions at the same time.  I couldn't pick between the two of them which to post because both made me laugh uproariously. Which one do you like?

Beautiful Creatures

 

I'm really not sure what to make of this trailer.  I'm not familiar with the books series it's based on, though I have seen the title before.  The trailer really seems like just "Twilight...with witches! My bad, 'Casters'!"  Plus, there are some parts in the trailer that are making me unintentionally laugh. Like when the woman says, "And look at what I am now." at 0:50 just makes me want to answer "You have spooky Darth Maul eyes".  There are the hammy moments at 1:37 with Jeremy Iron's "Get Out!" and the weird twirling table and yelling match at 1:49.  I mean, why does she scream?  That's just bad debate skills.  Plus, I love how Jeremy Irons isn't even attempting a Southern accent.

A Good Day to Die Hard

  
 

Ah, Good ol' John McCLane.  It's nice to see you back. This just seems like the ultimate guy movie, doesn't it, what with the explosions, guns, explosions, girls in bikinis, explosions, helicopters, explosions, crazy stunts, and what else?  Oh yeah!  EXPLOSIONS!!!  I showed this trailer to my nephew and he commented, "Everything's blowing up!"  I really liked how they had Beethoven's Ode to Joy, one of my favorite classical pieces, playing in the background throughout the trailer.  I commend them for using the finale of the piece to good use, a really overlooked part of Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

World War Z

 
 

When I first heard of the movie version of World War Z, I figured it just be a another standard "Oh no! Zombies are loose!" type of film.  But...Jesus.  I've seen running zombies before, but these are swarming zombies!  A literal wave of zombies coming at you!  Look at that image before you press play.  That's not a mound of inert dead bodies, that's a giant mound of zombies climbing over each other like f 'in psychopathic ants trying to get that sweet sweet flesh. Why couldn't the zombies in the Dawn of the Dead remake be that resourceful? That sold me on the movie more than Brad Pitt did.

Star Trek Into Darkness

 

Prior to the reboot, I was never the biggest Star Trek fan.  (I much preferred Star Wars, thank you.)  But the new movie was just the push I needed to get into the franchise, so I was excited that they were going to do a sequel.  I don't know what the exact story is for this film, but crap, the stakes look like they have just been raised for the Enterprise crew.  And having just watched the BBC's Sherlock series on Netflix, I was happy to see Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain.  Rumor has it he might (keyword being might) be playing the new version of Ricardo Monteblan's Khan.  Until we get more info, it's just a rumor for now.

Iron Man 3

 
 

Oh, this is a big one.  The first post-Avengers Marvel movie to come out.  You would think after the victory the Avengers had, Tony would be in a better mental state, but no, he seems really nervous and uneasy. In fact, this movie looks really dark compared to the other two films.  I'm really glad they managed to finally get the Mandarin (Ben Kinglsey) on the big screen.  For those who aren't comic geeks, the Mandarin is to Iron Man what the Joker is to Batman and it looks like he gives Iron Man one hell of an ass-whooping in this flick.

As an Iron Man treat, I gives you the greatest entrance of all time:

The Last Stand

 
 

I never realized until I saw this trailer how much I miss seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger in movies.  True, he's a lot older now but he looks like he's back in fighting shape.  The movie looks like a lot of fun as Schwarzenegger movies tend to be especially with Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame playing sidekick.  Look at him at 1:18.  He looks so giddy just feeding bullets.

The Lords of Salem

 
 

Damn, this movie looks genuinely creepy.  When I first read the plot summary on Wikipedia, I thought it would be more of a slasher film, something's Rob Zombie's done before.  Then I saw the trailer.  Wow, this looks like an intentionally scary Alejandro Jodorowsky film.  It has all the big set pieces and trippy imagery a Jodorowsky film would have. I didn't expect the film would even look remotely like this.  I tip my hat to you, Mr. Zombie. You've really outdone yourself this time.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

 
 

This is a movie that, by all accounts, should sound kind of dumb.  I remember just reading the title aloud and groaning.  But the trailer really changed my mind.  This actually looks a lot more bad-ass than what I pictured in my head.  Especially the way they dispatch witches. It seems like the next in a wave of movies reinterpreting fairy tales like Red Riding Hood and Snow White and the Hunstman.  I'm honestly looking forward to this one.

Man of Steel

 
 

This is another of the big films I'm excited for.  I really like this trailer compared to the teaser trailer.  That one looked like an art film that featured Superman.  It seems like the planets are aligning for this film: Zack Snyder's directing, Christopher Nolan's producing and finally some honest-to-god action for Henry Cavill's Superman.  There's more action in this trailer than in Superman Returns.  And yes, Dad, no Lex Luthor in sight.  (He had some issue with the over-saturation of Luthor in the other films.  He has a point though. There are plenty of other villains they could use.)

Pacific Rim

 
 

Good Lord, I'm excited for this one. Anyone that knows me knows I love me some Kaiju (Japanese for "Giant Monster"), especially Godzilla. But one of my absolute favorite directors, Guillermo Del Toro, directing a big Hollywood movie with Giant Monsters and Robots?!  I'm sold. 

Trailer Reactions 12/21/2011

I've seen a lot of trailers for films coming out next year that are definintely making me more and more excited for the coming year. Some ranging from "That looks cool" to "HOLY CRAP I MUST SEE THAT NOW". So here are some of the trailer highlights:

Ghost Rider:Spirit of Vengeance:



Now those select few that knew me (and I mean really knew me) in high school saw and read a story I wrote that featured Ghost Rider, so you could definitely say I'm a fan of the character. This trailer leads me to think that this will be a dramatic improvement over the first film, namely the "fights", if you could call them that. I mean, seriously, most of the Johnny's fights with the Fallen (a.k.a. the Earth Guy, the Air Guy and the Water Guy) lasted about 20 seconds each, his fight with Blackheart at the end maybe twice that length. Not to say I hated the movie, the effects were awesome, but the actual action could've been better. Seeing how this film will be directed by the two guys who made Crank and Gamer tells me that the action will be cranked up (pun intended). Plus, it's nice to see long-time Ghost Rider villian Blackout on the big screen (The albino guy with the long white hair) and at the 1:15 mark confirms my theory that any type of vehicle that Ghost Rider gets his hands on will turn flaming and badass.


The Expendables 2



Now any man worth his salt knows the first Expendables was one of the most manliest movies of all time, starring all the action stars we know and love and had balls-to-the-walls action. Although this was just a short teaser trailer, it definitely got me excited because of two reasons.

One: It looks like we'll see Arnold get some screenttime and not just a walk-on role like in the last film.

Two: If my co-workers could have saw me when I first laid eyes on the trailer, they know I was happy when I saw that The Expendables 2 was co-starring...

My Favorite Chuck Norris Fact: "Once a cobra bit Chuck Norris' leg. After five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died."


The Hobbit



The Lord of the Rings trilogy was one of my favorite trilogies of all time (Next to Star Wars) and I was very excited to see that Peter Jackson was back to direct this prequel along with familiar actors returning (Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, etc.) That being said though, I'm a bit concerned about how this movie will pan out considering that The Hobbit is more of a children's book than Lord of the Rings. A very lengthy children's book but a children's book nonetheless, so I'm wondering how much of the lighter, fluffier stuff Jackson will put in or take out. Case in point: Tom Bombadil, a very jolly nature spirit-type the group meets who was cut out of the Fellowship of the Ring. Me being the geek that I am, I totally got goosebumps when I heard Gollum's voice at the end. :)


Wrath of the Titans



Now, I was a bit skeptical when I heard they were making a sequel to Clash of the Titans. I didn't find it to be the greatest movie and also, I didn't think it needed a sequel...until I saw this trailer. There's a comment for this trailer on youtube that pretty much sums up my thoughts when I finished watching it: This is essentially God of War:The Movie . I'm not sure how I feel about Sam Worthington's hair (It should always be buzzed) but my Conclusion? Epic Greek Mythology Action + "Sweet Dreams" by Marilyn Manson= Awesomesauce!


The Dark Knight Rises



My reaction?



I mean, Holy. Crap. There is nothing about that trailer that did not leave me having a seizure out of pure joy and excitement. I don't know if I can last 'till next year.

On a sidenote, that chant you hear throughout the trailer? You can actually add your voice to it if you have a microphone for your computer on http://www.ujam.com/campaigns/darkknightrises/introduction. There's a good chance you won't be able to make out your specific voice out of the thousands that are apparently chanting, but you'll have the satisfaction of saying "Yeah, I'm part of Bane's army."