Category Archives: Movie Trailers

Movie Trailers

Trailer for Jason Reitman’s Labor Day

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Paramount Pictures has just released the first trailer for Jason Reitman’s new film, Labor Day. Based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Maynard, the film follows a depressed mother Adele (Kate Winslett) and her teenage son Henry (Gattlin Griffith) who are forced to take in an escaped prisoner played by Josh Brolin. As the Labor Day weekend goes on their relationship begins to change drastically. Joining them is a solid supporting cast in Clark Gregg (Marvel’s Agents of Shield), J.K. Simmons (Spiderman, Juno), and Tobey Maguire (Spiderman). The film is being given a limited release on Christmas day, presumably to boost Oscar potential (Plausible, as Winslett and Brolin both give stellar performances) and availability will expand later in January.

I actually got a chance to catch the film at the Chicago International Film Festival and for the most part I really liked it. If you’re a fan of Jason Reitman’s previous works, (Excluding perhaps the polarizing Young Adult), you should find this among his best.  This first trailer does a good job of conveying the mood the picture’s going for, while giving away very little of the plot:

Via /film

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z51qJA1qrU0#t=58

I feel the theatrical trailer gives away too much of the story, and since it’s all about the character’s relationships and the events that unfold, I’d suggest skipping it.

Labor Day 2nd Poster

And finally, in case you can’t get enough of Labor Day, here’s a clip from the film that was released a couple of weeks ago:

Movie Trailers

X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer – Old Meets Young

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The day has finally arrived in which we get our first real look at Bryan Singer’s newest incarnation of the X-Men franchise. That’s right, the X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer is here!

I’ll admit that X-Men: First Class is easily my favorite of all the films to date so I was quite excited to see James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender back as Magneto and Professor X. Of course they aren’t quite themselves, especially Professor X, as shown by the copious amounts of dust being blown off Cerebro. Well, that and Patrick Stewart saying “I was a very different man.”

James McAvoy and Cerebro in Days of Future Past

The trailer seemed like it gave everyone a little bit of screen time, both returning mutants and those new to the game. If X-Men: Days of Future Past does nothing else, it will hopefully be remembered as the movie that featured actors named Bingbing and Booboo. Incidentally, they both look quite amazing as Blink and Warpath.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past

There was very little to quibble over with this trailer. It had direction, gave a good look at the plot of the film (for those of us who are not very familiar with the X-Men books), and was pretty in doing so. However, outside of Nixon looking nothing like Nixon, my biggest issue was the use of “Adagio in D” from Sunshine. I understand that it is a beautiful piece of music and it does fit quite well with the action of this trailer, but it is getting dangerously close to being overused. I’d much rather have heard something from John Ottman’s score.

http://youtu.be/NQXVzg2PiZw

So, are you excited for X-Men: Days of Future Past? Does this first trailer make you more excited? This is the first of many, many, many trailer and posters and photos and pretty much the deluge of material that comes along with modern film promotion, but it is nice to enjoy this moment when everything is new and fresh.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 23rd, 2014.

 

Movie Trailers

Non-Stop: New Trailer Looks Like Taken on a Plane

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The reason the 2008 film Taken is one of the best action flicks in recent years has nothing to do with its incredibly “original” plot, or the setting of the film. It has to do solely with the simple conceit of Liam Neeson being a badass. While we were given a poorly made sequel that decided to make him immobile for half the movie, it seems we might get to see him in a balls to the walls action film once more in the form of Non-Stop. In this one, Neeson plays an Air Marshall who, during an international flight, receives a menacing text that a passenger will be killed every 20 minutes. The synopsis sounds pretty neat, but the trailer takes it to insane levels, check it out:

Wow, that looks crazy. The trailer seems to go from tight psychological thriller to psychotic action with military jets shooting, Neeson snatching and shooting a gun in the air, and we also get some good hand to hand combat. This looks to be the perfect early year action film that’s nothing more than a fun time at the theater. Non-Stop‘s Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the man behind Neeson’s other decent action movie, Unknown, and the horror film Orphan, and boasts a solid supporting cast including Julianne Moore (Crazy, Stupid, Love), Hell on Wheel’s star Anson Mount, and ‘House of Card’s Corey Stoll.

Non-Stop Movie Poster

Non-Stop is due out February 28th.

Movie Trailers

Final Hunger Games Trailer Has Arrived!

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If you happened to be watching baseball tonight (Go Cards!), you might have noticed a power surge during the fifth inning. That would be because it was announced that there would be a new The Hunger Games trailer shown after the top of the inning. Not only was it new, it was the final.

That’s right, we have officially reached the home stretch. While it seems like ages ago that the first Catching Fire trailer was released, all the waiting is about to come to an end. To help make the wait a little bit more tolerable, check out the trailer below!

There has been a lot of promo material of late talking about the Quarter Quell, and Haymitch, Effie, Finnick Odair… pretty much everyone, but this trailer goes back to where it all began, Katniss Everdeen and her bow. Katniss and her sister. Katniss and the President. And perhaps most important, Katniss and Peeta.

If there was any doubt that this sequel will lack any of the intensity the first film had, just watch Peeta try to convince Katniss that “It isn’t real” and all doubt will ease away.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire arrives in theaters on November 22nd. Do you have your tickets yet?

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Movie Trailers

Jack Ryan Trailer Looks Better Than Expected

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Diving back into the franchise started by the incredible author Tom Clancy, who sadly passed away last week, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit hopes to restart his franchise on the big screen. Directing is Kenneth Branagh (Henry V, Thor) whom also stars as the main antagonist opposite Chris Pine (Star Trek), who takes the titular role in this one, stepping into shoes previously filled by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and even Batman himself, Ben Affleck.

Joining him is Kevin Costner, who interestingly has signed a two-picture deal to reprise the same role in another Tom Clancy Series that Paramount is trying to kickstart, Without Remorse. Other notable faces are Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean) and David Paymer (Mr. Saturday Night).

Initially written by newcomer Adam Cozad, David Koepp (Spiderman) was called in to do rewrites, and the film is only based on Clancy’s characters, not a specific book.

The plot for this one centers around a CIA analyst, Jack Ryan, who discovers a Russian plot to destroy the US economy. It sounds somewhat generic, but nobodies pegging this to be a complex character study, instead just deliver on its promise as an action spy flick that entertains. By the looks of the well-cut trailer, it seems to succeed:

Going in I had zero expectations for this because it seemed like another throw away action movie, kind of what the Die Hard series has become, but damn is this trailer put together nicely. Between the music, and the practical action scenes, this looks to be one hell of a good time at the theater.

As I said, this one isn’t going for Oscar’s, but likely be more in the vein of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol ,  it looks to simply be a fun movie with some cool action set-pieces. Also, the playback between Pine and Costner is a nice touch, and Branagh as the stoic russian villain could surely add to the entertainment.

The first official poster was also released:

Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit Poster

The film is due out Christmas Day against a packed line-up of new releases including Keanu Reeve’s 47 Ronin, Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the expansion to wide release of the new David O’ Russle film, American Hustle, and the De Niro vs. Stallone boxing movie, Grudge Match. 

Movie Trailers

Escape From Tomorrow Trailer Shows Us The Dark Side of Disney

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I think we can all agree that in a certain light Disney can seem like a dark universe to immerse yourself into. If it’s not Buzz Lightyear losing his arm in a botched flight, then it’s Bambi’s mum getting blown away by hunters. Disney mixes a bit of the mildly macabre into their movies for the obvious dramatic effects. So it is interesting to see this new film trailer come out that focuses on this very aspect. Escape From Tomorrow is directed by Randy Moore,  who filmed inside Disney theme parks secretly, without Disney’s knowledge or approval. It got some much deserved attention at Sundance, as well as some noted buzz for the unusual filming method, which is never a bad thing.

escape from tomorrow trailer poster

Before you watch here is a brief synopsis of the movie from Slash Film

[box_dark]In a world of fake castles and anthropomorphic rodents, an epic battle begins when an unemployed fathers sanity is challenged by a chance encounter with two underage girls on holiday.[/box_dark]

Well, that sounds freaky enough for this reviewer as it is, but here is the trailer if you have the bottle to watch it. [Ed. Note: Apparently ‘having the bottle’ is British slang for ‘having guts’, or ‘cojones’. We think. Knowledge is Power.]

http://youtu.be/1nfU_5NWBoE

Now it is really difficult from the random images that assault our senses to know what the hell is going on but what you do get is a very unnerving feeling of unease. The black and white photography gives it a stark and disturbing look and gives the place a very disconnecting feel. Also certain creepy images stand out that all combine to make quite the powerful piece of entertainment. The setting is a key factor as well, taking this recognized area where we assume children are meant to be safe and twisting it on its head. this alone puts the viewer off kilter, which continues throughout the trailer.

Escape From Tomorrow - 2013 - film poster

Much like Eraserhead (the classic David Lynch movie) it seems to be able to plunge us into this fathers mind and makes you think about whether what you are watching is real or the ramblings of a mad man. Looks like a very small cast to so it should be easier for the audience to get emotionally connected to the characters. It is always great to see surrealist concepts put onto screen and it looks like this film will be full of them.

escape from tomorrow trailer ball head man

So far Disney has not taken any legal action against the film, which does seem a bit of a shock as they are very protective of their faimly freindly name. It has been touring the festivals and has a release date in October, so it won’ be long before we see just what the heck is going on with this movie. Check out this interview with the cast and crew, which goes into more detail on their reasons for making the movie and the problems they had while making it.