Trailer Review: THE LAST STAND

He said he'd be back.


After being Governor of California for eight years, Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as a local sheriff looking to stop a drug lord from crossing the US Mexico border. There's not much to say about this trailer other than it looks like a true return to form for the former Governor. The plays on his age and the opening line about not being recognized in regular clothes, made me chuckle quite a bit. With Expendables 2 coming out this weekend and now looking forward to this I think fellow cinephiles are on a high of seeing older war horses get back in the saddle of these 80's type action films. Nothing complicated, complex, just simple and executed well. Which is what I'm hoping for this movie. 

However... I cannot overlook the director; Mr. Kim Jee-Woon. Who you might ask?

Kim Jee-Woon is a South Korean writer/director who is making his American feature film debut. His last two films The Good, The Bad, The Weird and I Saw the Devil are very very good films. The Good The Bad, The Weird is an entertaining journey into the Clint Eastwood style spaghetti westerns where three individuals are after a map to a secret treasure that is on a train, however "The Weird" comes into posession of the map and from there its a chase to find the map and get the treasure. The ending of the film ending in true western fashion.

I Saw the Devil, is a fantastic, brutal, bloody and emotional revenge film. A mass murderer stalks and kills a young girl who ends up being the wife a police detective. The police detective is numb, numb to a point where he takes two weeks off to hunt the mass murderer down. However he does not kill him, he cuts him open and plants a tracking device inside of the murder and tracks him so that at his leisure can brutally beat and brake the murderer down. From then on its a game of cat and mouse. While being very bloody and graphic I Saw the Devil is a beautiful take on the morality of men pushed to their limits no matter what social position they hold.

Despite looking like your garden variety action film, I'm holding out big for this one. Its a return of one of the greatest action stars ever! and also the American debut of a director who execution on character of action and story I highly regard. I encourage you all to seek out those films.

The movie co-stars, Luis Guzman, Genesis Rodriguez, Johnny Knoxville, Jamie Alexander, Peter Stormare, and Eduargo Noriega

Join Arnold on his The Last Stand on January 18th, 2012

-StuntmanBob

Teaser Trailer Review: MAN OF STEEL

Hello fellow movie-goers, long time no post! This weekend THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, but another character from the DC universe makes his presence known: Superman. If you went to see TDKR this weekend in theaters then you were lucky enough to catch the teaser trailer to Man of Steel; the newest Superman movie to come out next year 2013.

This movie is Directed by Zach Synder whose filmography includes the graphic novel adaptions of 300 and Watchmen.  However, his third film Sucker Punch, while visually striking and filled with very attractive females who lived an insane asylum and fantasied their escape through highly stylized actions sequences, really didn't have enough weight or story to warrant a liking.

Christopher Nolan is producing this re imagining of Superman and has chosen director Zach Synder to helm it and while it was odd choice, I have full faith in Nolan's decision. I mean his track record in choosing talent, i.e. Heath Ledger as Joker and Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, hasn't failed him yet, why should it now.

Synder is a great director, his eye for action, the choreography of a scene and his pacing most notably in 300, is beautiful and poetic. Much like Nolan's Batman's films. So after all this let's breakdown this amazing looking and exciting 1:34.

This is a very moody teaser. The color tone is what really hits me first, very gray, dark, hopeless, and grounded. We see a bearded Clark Kent on a fishing dock, then on a boat, then finally hitchhiking. Images of a small child playing with a red cape on his back with Jonathan Kent's foreshadowing voice over; "You have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, who ever that man is, good character or bad, is gonna change the world.", truly show us the weight this man will carry. Being the son of a destroyed world and being the adopted son of another. Never really fitting in, but eventually having the character and soul of a man who we all strive to be here on Earth.

Clark's father Jonathan Kent is played the great Kevin Costner, awesome right?!! I think his voice over is fantastic and will be tested when the villain General Zod appears and perhaps tries to get at the heart of what is right and wrong with the power they both possess. Being that Zod is from Kypton, Superman's home planet and while on Earth Zod posses the same powers that Superman does. What's great about analyzing this simplistic trailer is that there is so much subtext. Also the similarities between Bruce Wayne and Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins, played by Christian Bale and Liam Neeson could potentially mirror Superman and Zod. Both men are essentially the same however have taken different paths. It will be interesting to see how Zod is used more as a potential doppleganger in Man of Steel as opposed to a straight on villain from Superman's home world.

Who knew so much could be said about a minute and a half right? Well I hope I haven't talked your ear off or maybe this will inspire you to read some more Superman comics and get a feel for the true character out there.

I will leave with Batman Begins teaser trailer so that you can see how closely similar both are in the way they are edited and their voice overs. While director Zach Synder is at the helm of this movie, you can feel the hand of Christopher Nolan.

I cannot wait for a full trailer. Superman flies into theaters June 14, 2013 and bodes an all star cast that includes; Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Shannon.

Deuces,
StuntmanBob

p.s. Feels good to be back.


Batman Begins Teaser Trailer.

Trailer Review: AMERICAN REUNION

Its been 9 years since American Wedding, the supposed last movie in the American Pie series. But now the boys are back for their high school reunion and boy does it look fun.

Watching this trailer again, I was reminded of a Kevin Smith series Clerks. I wasn't old enough to watch the first Clerks when it came out but by the time the second was released I was a cinephile in my own right and Smith was a favorite. Watching interviews with him he touted that he would not have done the movie if he didn't have something to say about turning 30, which is where his characters are in the movie.

This is exactly where I think this series is going.

Generally speaking I'm a fan of the American Pie series of movies, NOT those fake ass "National Lampoon Style" movies that went straight to dvd. I'm talking about the ones with all the original actors in them. In their dirty minded way each movie has got something to say about growing up, going to college, getting married and just life in general. Now there are plenty movies like this out there, but some just stick to one part of life, its nice to have had a journey with a certain group of characters and see their progression in life. Its kinda like watching Boy Meets World. Anybody remember that show? What an awesome show. When Corey and Topanga (sp) got married in Disney, I think.

Ok sorry way off topic the show has been on MTV lately and I've been watching a lot of it. Back to our review.

We all have a Jim, we all have a Stifler in our group of friends and I think that's why anytime these movies come out, its not met with disappointment or with the title of a money grab; they've got something to say.

This outing of a class reunion plays great into the series, the characters are older now, some have families, are married and have real jobs. The fun of it will be seeing what they still think is still fun and what old antics still play in their small Michigan town. I'm sure none of you are surprised that I'm a fan of the series, "oh cause Bobby likes everything", but let me ask you this you still get excited to see a Die Hard movie right?

Cause you know exactly what your going to get.

The invitations for American Reunion go out April 6th, 2012


Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Trailer Review: WRATH OF THE TITANS

Let's brake this down like a fraction.

The remake of Clash of the Titans showed great promise. Capitalizing on the success of the original classic as well as its stop motion monster animation that is about as famous as the movie, it should not have been hard to screw up right? The remake trailer had a kick ass alternative song to it, striking CGI and just the feeling that you were going to feel every punch in this movie. However the movie we got was a very hollow shell of a remake that could have been a pretty neat epic. The effects were top notch, but the characters and the story just felt like an ESPN highlight reel.

So do I really want to see another one?

The Wrath trailer continues its predecessor's style with the addition of more extensive CGI for the use of 3D. Believe it or not its the 3D that has me wanting to see this movie. Some movies throw the 3D tag on the marquee solely for the purposes of robbing you of a few extra bucks. But Wrath looks as though its going to use the 3D to its fullest which I actually appreciate more. If your going to do 3D, make it worth it; either do the whole James Cameron thing where it adds a depth of field to the surroundings in movie or just put me in the action in a fun, creative, big popcorn movie way!

I'm really happy to see Liam Neeson back as Zeus and Ralph Finnes as Hades, those to actors add of level of majesty to their God alter egos that makes watching them on screen more fun. Director Jonathan Liebesman's last film Battle: Los Angeles was not really loved that much by most people, I'll admit the soldier banter felt very forced and unnatural but the staging of the action sequences were great. It had the feeling of a documentary/POV movie, but didn't get all Cloverfield on you. This is what the trailer for Wrath of the Titans does for me; it looks like the action will be over the place but I'm hoping its contained to the point where despite the panic we know what's going on and who is where and doing what in said action sequence.


I predict one of two things will happen with Wrath.

A. The 3D will be so good that it will allow you to get more into the action and thus making you care more about what's happening to the characters and its better fleshed out story line.

or

B. The amount of stuff being thrown at you is a tool being used so that you don't notice that there is absolutely no story and character development going on at all.

I'm inclined to go with the latter, but as of right now, this movie looks so ridiculous that for me I'm ready to get on that winged horse and fly through skies prepared for battle! If you liked the first movie, obviously your going to see it, but if your not sure, I say save your money and do a matinee. If you are curious enough to pay full price I say go all the way and do it big in IMAX 3D.

Wrath of the Titans attempts to shove a lighting bolt up your ass on March 30th, 2012


Dueces!
StuntmanBob