Trailer Tuesday (11-16-10)

There’s a lot to sit through here this week.  We doubled-up for a load of trailers that is bound to tickle something in you in just the right way. Rom-Coms, sci-fi, Disney, Dreamworks, fantasy, period pieces and comedies! It’s all here….

No Strings Attached

I have to say that after watching the trailer for Ivan Reitman’s upcoming rom-com, I just got the feeling like Natalie Portman is slummin’ it here. Did she really need a standard rom-com in her filmography? Did she wanna just try it on for size? She stars with Ashton Kutcher (yikes! red flag right there) as two friends who decide to begin a “no strings attached” (hence the title!) sexual relationship. Not quite a modern-day “When Harry Met Sally” but you get the idea. Just like most rom-com trailers, you can pretty much tell how this story will end up. I guess anyone who’s tuned in for Kutcher’s past rom-coms will show up for this. The movie also stars Cary Elwes, Greta Gerwig, Ludacris, Kevin Kline, and Olivia Thirlby and will open on January 21, 2011.

Just Go With It

Did you like Adam Sandler‘s last flick, “Grown Ups“? Well, here’s the movie for you. Directed by Dennis Dugan is working with Sandler again, this time he plays a plastic surgeon who must enlist the help of his assistant (Jennifer Anniston) to pose as his soon to be ex-wife in order to cover up a lie he told while romancing a young schoolteacher (Brooklyn Decker). Sigh. I must say Aniston actually seems funny here and seeing 11 year-old Bailee Madison (so good in “Brothers” and recently in “Conviction”), well, that may make up for being subjected to another Sandler flick. His movies are a dime a dozen for every “Punch-Drunk Love“.  This movie, also starring Nicole Kidman (!?!?), Nick Swardson, Kevin Nealon, and Dave Matthews, will certainly bring in the big bucks come February 11, 2011.

Hall Pass

From the Farrelly brothers (“There’s Something About Mary” & “Me, Myself and Irene”) comes a new comedy that feels like another juvenile man-child retread. Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis star as two best friends whose wives “take a bold approach to revitalizing their individual marriages: granting them a ‘hall pass,’ one week of freedom to do whatever they want…no questions asked.”  Christina Applegate and Jenna Fischer star as their wives. While I like some of these actors (Stephen Merchant, J.B. Smoove and Richard Jenkins), I wonder if they’d be enough to redeem another comedy of: people getting high, creepy pickup lines, and Applebees. Ugh. Maybe the movie has something better to offer than this trailer. You can find out on February 25, 2011.

Tron: Legacy

How about another look at a sequel that is looking better and better with each shot? With the exception of Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, and Cindy Morgan reprising their roles, I could care less about the acting here. Sure, I hope it’s good but let’s face it, it’s all about the visuals here. I’m usually not crazy about de-aging actors with visual effects but I wanna believe that it will all make sense here. This anticipated Disney film hits theaters in 3D on December 17th.

Last Night

No idea when this one is coming out in the U.S. since it was one of the last film’s to be acquired by the now-defunct Miramax. It was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival with hardly any word-of-mouth this past September. Anyway, here’s a look at director Massy Tadjedin’s (writer of “The Jacket”) film starring Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, and Eva Mendes. The story revolves around a married couple, apart for a night while the husband takes a business trip with a colleague to whom he’s attracted. While he’s resisting temptation, his wife encounters her past love.

 The Eagle

Here’s a film that has been kicked around by Focus Features for some time. It looks similar in more ways than one, to Neil Marshall’s ” Centurion”, and this film was originally  titled “The Eagle of the Ninth“, referring to The Ninth Legion, also covered in “Centurion”. With its PG-13 rating, I doubt we’ll see the same type of bloody mayhem that riddled Marshall’s great film. Still, I’ve liked Macdonald’s recent work (“State of Play” &  “The Last King of Scotland”) and while Jamie Bell is always interesting, the hate machine has gained momentum for Mr. Tatum (an actor I actually do think has chops).  Maybe this sword and sandal wanna-be epic can impress fans of the genre. The film, which also stars Tahar Rahim (“The Prophet”), Mark Strong (who is everywhere!), and Donald Sutherland (I was wondering when we would see him next), is set to hit theaters on February 25, 2011.

Little Fockers

 And now for something completely insipid. Whenever a sequel adds babies as a device to inject something new, that’s an immediate red flag. Whenever I see a Ben Stiller movie, let alone a sequel to a Stiller movie, that too waves crimson frantically. Does it really matter what this movie is about? Joining Stiller is the ensemble cast from the previous two films: Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, Owen Wilson, with new additions Jessica Alba, and Harvey Keitel. Directed by Paul Weitz (“American Pie”), from a script by John Hamburg and Larry Stuckey, who tell the story of Jack Byrnes (De Niro) prepping Greg Focker (Stiller) for the role of Byrnes family patriarch. Really? The first film had its laughs but was nothing groundbreaking and the last one wasn’t anything special. Who knows how this will do? I’m predicting big since audiences seem to flock to The Fockers. Well, they’ll get their fix come December 22nd.

Winnie the Pooh

Disney is going back to the 100 acre Woods for the first big-screen Winnie-the-Pooh adventure in more than 35 years (that’s right, I’m forgetting about 2005’s “Pooh’s Heffalump Movie”) and it looks like all the charm, wit and whimsy that the original featurettes had are intact. Pooh is back with all the pals,  Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, and bringing up the rear is Eeyore, who has lost his tail. the story revolves around Owl sending the whole gang on a wild quest to save Christopher Robin from an imaginary culprit. For a bear who just wants to find some hunny, it’s gonna be one busy day.The animation also looks gorgeous and it looks like they’re aiming for humor that will make kids laugh without making their parents cringe. Inspired by five stories from A.A. Milne’s books in Disney’s classic, hand-drawn art style, “Winnie the Pooh” hits theaters July 15, 2011.

Battle: Los Angeles

Eat your brains out, “Skyline”, cuz this is how aliens invade L.A. Now this is a great teaser, complete Will Lyman narration (the narrator of “Little Children”) that gives it both historical context and a documentary feel. The difference between “Skyline” and Jonathan Liebesman’s (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” and the upcoming “Wrath of the Titans”) movie is that his movie has actors in it. I know that’s a hard slam but I’m speaking from experience. Although, I’ve only seen “Skyline”, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say this cast will elevate the overall quality. Check it out, Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Peña, Joey King, and Bridget Moynahan star. Expect the Battle to begin on March 11, 2011. 

This is what Captain America could’ve looked like!

Oh what the heck! Here’s another cool trailer

for  “Battle” Los Angeles”…..