Trailer Hitch
By BOP Staff
December 4, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Josh Spiegel: Ryan Gosling is an intriguing enough actor, and Andrew Jarecki has done superlative documentary work, so All Good Things could be a compelling drama. The people who made the trailer, though, are trying too hard to make it seem very generic, what with the heard-them-before taglines and overly melodramatic intensity of the final half of the trailer. Gosling continues to be an actor worth watching, so I'm interested, but the trailer did all it could to turn me off.
Brett Beach: This trailer confused me, and not in a good way. What starts off as a poor little rich boy romance seems to morph into a thriller-ish tale of the sort that might pop up on Dateline or 20/20 as a two hour "dramatic re-enactment of shocking true events." Attempts to raise questions as to what is going on instead imply the marketing team wasn't sure how to push this. I watched the trailer for Blue Valentine immediately before and there was no comparison in my mind: that is the Ryan Gosling romance I want to check out.
Kim Hollis: Yeah, that trailer is all over the place. It's a romance. It's a drama. It's a thriller. I am all about Ryan Gosling and Frank Langella, but this trailer does nothing to make me want to watch the film other than show me they're in it. The movie has a distinct "movie of the week" vibe to it.
Max Braden: After Wall St. 2 - and maybe it's Langella's casting here - this looks like the kind of role Shia LaBeouf might have taken. Usually we don't like when trailers spoil plots, but this trailer wants the audience to show up with little else than "There's drama! and mystery!" Oh and possibly some skin. But that's not going to be compelling enough to get me in the theater. And I don't doubt Kristen Wiig's acting ability, but her presence in a super serious movie is a little alien.
David Mumpower: I am going to disagree with you all about the focus of the trailer. I am of the opinion that it does exactly what it should, which is to show the two phases of this couple’s relationship. Kirsten Dunst is the outsider who marries the man of her dreams, as is pointed out by a line of dialogue in the trailer. Almost exactly half of this 2:40 clip is the build-up of the perfect romance. After the marriage – and this may be a not so subtle metaphor about the institution itself – that changes as she comes to understand that her husband is not who she thinks he is due to familial ties. Now, if the conversation is that this is boring or paint by numbers, I’m totally with all of you. This is a rote, almost soulless commercial, something I find shocking given the presences of Dunst, Ryan Gosling and one of the finest living actors, Frank Langella. I’m hoping that the movie itself proves to be much better fare as I recorded it off of HDNet over the weekend. Based on this clip, however, I’m glad I didn’t pay to see the film.
The Tempest
Josh Spiegel: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I made the mistake - partly because I was reviewing it for the local paper, and partly due to genuine interest - of watching Across the Universe in theaters, and hoo boy. It's such a divisive film that I may well make enemies of my colleagues by saying so, but I hate, hate, hate that movie. Cannot stand it. And the trailer for The Tempest, from Julie Taymor, looks like a warning sign to all interested parties. Helen Mirren in a Shakespeare adaptation by the visionary who came up with the Broadway version of The Lion King should be a match made in heaven. But...yikes. I will skip this one and feel better for it.
David Mumpower: Across the Universe is one of those movies that I believe is playing on an endless loop in Hell. It redefines pretentious. That means I am feeling quite divided about The Tempest. I love Shakespeare although I prefer the comedies to the dramas/romances. And I adore several cast members of this film, in particularly Helen Mirren, Djimon Hounsou, Alfred Molina and David Strathairn. I guess that made me open-minded but guarded when I watched the trailer. Alas, this seems far too Julie Taymor-ish and not anywhere British enough, always a negative to me for the Bard’s movie adaptations. I give this clip a significant thumbs down and will have a hard time watching the movie with an unbiased eye.
Brett Beach: Having seen (and loved) both Titus and Across the Universe, I admit to being in tune with Taymor's stylistic excesses and willingness to go full board and risk overwhelming her potential audience. Knowing that - and with the Mirren factor - I am looking forward to this more than I might otherwise. The trailer indicates time has not tamed Taymor's instincts. As flashy as it seems, I somehow doubt it will top Peter Greenaway's multi-media overload on the play, "Prospero's Books" (i.e. no naked peeing cherubs in Taymor's version).
Kim Hollis: Oh, Prospero's Books. My goodness. There's a film I'd forgotten (somehow). I did not love Across the Universe, but there were many things I admired about it. The Tempest is a spectacular play, one that I love a lot (it's not my favorite of Shakespeare's, but then I do like the historical plays best). I do think Taymor's style lends itself well to this particular adaptation. I'm still not sure if it will be any good, but I'm surely intrigued.
Max Braden: I'm all for historical films, and Shakespeare has its place in live theater, but bringing his original dialogue to the screen always sounds like poncy gibberish trash talk to me. It will certainly keep away most audiences while baiting Oscar voters, but other than recognition for cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh, I don't the movie to be successful overall there either.
Yogi Bear
Josh Spiegel: Remember when Tom Cavanagh was the charming and effortless lead of Ed? Remember when Dan Aykroyd was one of the genius comic minds behind Saturday Night Live and Ghostbusters? Remember when Anna Faris was funny in Scary Movie? Remember when Justin Timberlake was sneaky and charismatic in The Social Network? I'd like to spend 90 minutes remembering that instead of watching any more of Yogi Bear. Whoof.
David Mumpower: I am so conflicted by the presence of Tom Cavanagh in this movie. I loved him on Eli Stone, he stole scenes on Scrubs, and the entire run of Ed is my television happy place. On the one hand, I'm thrilled that he's getting work as a lead in a major studio feature. On the other hand, THIS is the movie. That's like being handed a million dollars that been laced with poison. You better spend it fast.
The other issue I'm facing here is that Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law has ruined Yogi Bear for me. Anyone who has seen the episode in question knows that Boo Boo is one twisted grizzly. Anyway, we all know this movies isn't for us. It's for five-year-olds who find animated bears funny and who also like the word Squeakquel. Let's just resign ourselves to that and hope that ten years from now, this movie becomes Cavanagh's "Garfield, maybe."
Kim Hollis: This trailer is every bit as painful as all of the Chipmunks abominations. Those films made me sad for Jason Lee; these have the similar effect, just with Tom Cavanaugh instead. I really liked Yogi Bear when I was a kid and watched the cartoons pretty much daily. With that said, even if I had children, I would never, ever take them to see this. Pretty sure I'm going to be in the minority on that, though.
Gulliver's Travels
Josh Spiegel: This movie looks like a parody of bad movies starring comedians. It's like the fake movies that Adam Sandler "starred" in during Funny People. Jack Black, Billy Connolly, Jason Segel are all funny and talented, but this just looks so lame and cheap and stupid. No thanks.
Brett Beach: Wow. This looks jaw-droppingly terrible. If you are going to update a classic work of literature, it's important to have a point of view and a reason why. The Night at the Museum reference indicates the level of thinking that went into this project: find comedian, insert into family-friendly story with literary associations, let jokes write themselves. I can understand this thematically as a followup for Rob Letterman to Monsters vs. Aliens, but co-writer Nicholas Stoller has either lost the funny or they purposefully didn't use any funny jokes in this preview. This is one of my favorite books and if this trailer is any indication, the Ted Danson NBC miniseries from the '90s will remain definitive (if you have never seen it, get thee to a video store or Netflix).
Kim Hollis: Everything Brett says is right. I'm blown away at how awful this looks - and I'm generally okay with saying I like Jack Black. I was amused when the winners of Survivor's reward challenge this past week got to see this movie as their prize, and one of the contestants hemmed and hawed about how Gulliver faces adversity just like he is facing adversity there in Nicaragua - but never said that he liked the movie itself. This might surprise me (I thought Night at the Museum looked bad, too), but Gulliver's Travels looks like an unfunny, not-entertaining abomination.
David Mumpower: I was amused to see the notation that this is from the producers of Night at the Museum because it seems like they took an idea from one segment of that film and made an entire feature out of it. Other than that, Gulliver’s Travels seems like a heapin’ helpin’ of Jack Black shtick, which means that it could be very good or very Year One. I laughed at a few spots in the trailer, something I didn’t do for Year One. So, I’m holding out hope for the project but I understand everyone else’s reticence to do so. Year One was an unforgivable film, undoing any of the goodwill Black had earned with Kung Fu Panda.
Blue Valentine
David Mumpower: First of all, Blue Valentines sound like the next design for Lucky Charms. I bet they go great with green clovers. With regards to the trailer, let’s just say that this isn’t a good Trailer Hitch for Ryan Gosling. I know that the movie is supposed to be quite good. This clip makes me think “Punch-Drunk Love without the funny, only the sadness”. The impromptu ukulele tap dance outside the dress shop is supposed to feel slice-of-life-ish. I spend the body of it wondering why no one in the immediate area enforces loitering laws. Suffice it to say that I think the piano store scene in Once is being imitated and not well.
Josh Spiegel: I can already tell from this trailer and from the reviews that have come out that I need to see this movie, but that it's going to be a real tough sit. The trailer was really well done, but it's clear that Gosling and Williams, who look excellent, are going to have a rough go of things. This one might surprise at the Oscars, so don't be surprised if they got nominations in a few months. Definitely worth watching.
Brett Beach: Great trailer. It avoids laying out the whole film by playing up a particular scene to give us an idea of the characters, the tone, and then hints at what will follow from this moment. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling are two actors both adept at playing up empathy and intensity, cut with a chaser of quirkiness. I have a feeling they have been perfectly matched to complement each other.
Kim Hollis: Well, Michelle Williams does a triple time step and the buffalo at the start, so I'm sort of sold. It's a trailer that reveals nothing except the adversity they will face, and I think that's all right, though it's pretty clear this isn't going to be a movie for everyone. These are two really fine young actors with a lot going for them and I think the promise of their chemistry is enough to make me interested...along with the tap dancing.