Trailer

Yay for Giant Hippo-Pig Trailers: Bong Joon-Ho’s “Okja”

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Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho is not subtle when it comes to the themes of his films, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Snowpiercer isn’t so much an allegory for class warfare – it is class warfare, just set on the science fiction environment of an ever-moving train.  The Host is the venerable monster-movie warning … Read more

“Alien: Covenant” Seems to Seek Cheap Alchemy

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The  marketing team over at Alien headquarters is hard at work polishing up a turd.  A teaser trailer, a Red Band trailer, a “Last Supper” prologue,  and the latest layer of varnish, a CGI-fuelled full-length trailer that apes off both Prometheus and Alien and Aliens in a vain attempt to discover the perfect way to … Read more

The Tell-All Trailer Ruins Robert Zemeckis’s Lukewarm “Allied”

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Sometime in the near future, someone is going to stumble upon Allied in a Redbox or on a premium cable channel, have no idea what it is about, and end up liking the movie just fine.  Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard turn in reasonable performances, there is a surprising amount of detail to the plotting, and the ending is reasonable (if a little slap-dash; endings are hard).  Unfortunately, this movie is absolutely ruined by its trailer.  Of course, explaining why means delving into some pretty serious spoilers myself, which will also ruin the movie, but Allied isn’t so great to begin with, so it is no real crime there.  In fact, I can think of at least two spy movies starring Brad Pitt that are better than Allied (Spy Game and Inglourious Basterds; and yes it is).

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“The Secret Life of Pets” and the “Trailer Problem”

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The Secret Life of Pets, from Illumination Entertainment, occupies a strange space in the world of animated films.  The movie is a cut above the slapstick-and-farts formula of the most childish entries (I am looking at you, Ice Age 5).  It even avoids the over-reliance on pop culture reference to get chuckles out of the tag-a-long parents who are invariably forced into the seats in the theater.  But, it is disappointing that the best part of the movie was entirely revealed in the trailer — the teaser trailer!  That’s right, those 2+ minutes that introduced us to The Secret Life of Pets function as the cold open of the film, unchanged.  And they are still probably the best part of the whole movie. 

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Review of “Deadpool” Trailer Trailer and “Deadpool” Trailer Review

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The Merc with a Mouth had something to say to us on Monday about the trailer for his new movie. Like the hipster asshole that he is, Deadpool narrates the trailer to his trailer with some bourbon and a pipe in full costume (which makes holding the pipe in his mouth fairly difficult). His voice … Read more

Visual Power Structures in the “Spectre” Trailer Promise Greatness

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The first full trailer for the next entry in Daniel Craig’s James Bond begins with Ralph Fiennes’ M chiding Bond for carrying out an unauthorized operation in Mexico City. Fiennes stands behind his desk and towers over a seated, subservient Bond asking, “Mexico City: What were you doing there?” We cut to the event in … Read more

Oh, That’s Where All the Fun Went: the “Suicide Squad” Full Trailer

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So I definitely found all the fun in the DCCU, and it looks like I was right – it is going to come from the villains. Look no further than the recently released trailer for Suicide Squad, where I finally get the sense that there is more to the DCCU than brooding, gritty darkness. Somehow, … Read more

A Glimpse of Fun in the “Batman v Superman” Trailer?

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It is no secret that the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has darker ambitions than its brightly colored and quip-filled Marvel counterpart. Since the DCEU is late to the shared universe party, they are tasked with differentiating themselves, and if Man of Steel and the teaser trailer for the follow-up Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice … Read more

First US Trailer for “Dragon Blade” is a Confusing, Quick-Cutting Nightmare

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What the Hell is this Dragon Blade trailer? When was the last time that a swords and sandal epic was actually worth anything? Well, here we get a major film produced in China starring Adrien Brody, John Cusack, and Jackie Chan.  The film was originally titled, “Tian jiang xiong shi”; literally, “Celestial General, Heroic Army” … Read more

First Trailer for “Sicario” Is Tense and Powerful

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We got the first trailer for Denis Villenueve’s Sicario earlier today, and it was a real treat to finally see some scenes from this Cannes audience favorite. I case you’ve forgotten, this is the crime thriller about a FBI agent, played by Emily Blunt, who joins a task force to investigate cartel activity in Mexico. … Read more