Category Archives: Movie Trailers

Parkland: New Trailer & New Take on JFK Assassination

We all know the chaotic day of November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was shot in his motorcade. The new film Parkland looks to add, instead of retread, the knowledge most already have on the events, and by the looks of the trailer, it does just that. The film recounts the memorable day from multiple perspectives, including the hospital that the President was rushed to, for which the title is taken from.

The film is the directorial debut of Peter Landesman and stars an ensemble cast of familiar faces including Zac Efron (High School Musical), Paul Giamatti (Sideways), Billy Bob Thornton (Armageddon), Tom Welling (Smallville), and Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook). The films look to be a unique take on an infamous day that could bring about a new perspective. Check out the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgPjt_BRLvY

Parkland weaves multiple stories into its narrative in a Crash-esque way, but centered around the assassination of JFK. The plot includes the hospital the president was rushed to, the man behind the Zapruder film , the FBI agents responsible for tracking down Lee Harvey Oswald, the brother of Oswald, and the Presidents security detail trying to piece their stories together. All in all, the trailer didn’t quite sell me because of the somewhat overly dramatic tone it carries as it leads up to the moment we know is coming, but as it puts it, “The story you know/the people you don’t”, The cast is pretty solid, so hopefully they don’t go to waste, and the film is capable of bypassing the common flaw in these ensemble pics, which is to balance the pacing of each story. Oh yeah, and it can’t hurt that Tom Hanks is a producer.

parkland

The film is due out September 20th, two days before the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination.

A.C.O.D. Trailer Has Jane Lynch As Adam Scott’s Not-a-Therapist

I’m a fangirl and while this is not news, I just felt like I should lead with that because the A.C.O.D. trailer is what this fangirl’s dreams are made of. Adam Scott, Amy Poehler, Catherine O’Hara, Jane Lynch, Adam Pally, Richard Jenkins, Clark Duke, and even Ken Howard… when your cast makes someone think, “oh, yea Jessica Alba as well“, then you know things are in a good place.

Go ahead and enjoy the A.C.O.D. trailer below.

http://youtu.be/axFqZUkO5tw

Please, please, please, don’t let this be a case of good trailer ending up being a crappy movie. That would be most unfortunate.

This is director Stu Zicherman’s first film behind the camera, but he was an executive producer on one of my favorite “canceled too soon” shows, Lights Out. Zicherman was also the writer of Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, but let’s try to not hold that against him.

A.C.O.D. trailer

One does have to wonder if going with an acronym for a title was a great idea. Acronyms haven’t done well historically, and even more recently the incredibly poor performing R.I.P.D.. Here’s hoping that A.C.O.D. doesn’t fall victim to its own horrible title.

A.C.O.D. opens in theaters on October 4th.

Blue Caprice: New Film About The Beltway Sniper Attacks

Most know the story of the infamous Beltway Sniper Attacks, but here’s a refresher; During three weeks in October 2002, two men drove a blue Chevrolet Caprice through Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, stopping in public areas where they would then randomly shoot people from a sniper rifle positioned in the trunk of the car. Their toll was 10 killed and 3 injured. The perpetrators were an older gentleman, John Allen Muhammad, and a minor, Lee Boyd Malvo. That is the set up for the film, Blue Caprice, directed by Alexandre Moors, marking his debut feature film. Starring Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy) as Muhammad, and another TV alum in his first starring feature film role, Tequan Richmond (Everybody Hates Chris) as Malvo. Rounding out the cast is Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy), and Leo Fitzpatrick (Kids). The trailer is great, showing that the film is more about the psyche of the men leading up to the events, than a sensationalizing of the shootings. It look spot on tonally for something of this nature. Check it out:

Premiering at Sundance, the buzz for this film was unanimously positive, most praising the lead performances. The thing that excites me the most has to be the point of view the film is told from. Instead of being investigators trying to stop these shootings, or something of that effect, we’re given the anti-hero story in the POV of the perpetrators, and their father/son relationship. This allows for a unique look into their minds that could give us a different perspective on the horrific events. The cinematography is also worth mentioning as the muted colors and grainy shots remind me a lot of the recent, based on a true story pic, Fruitvale Station, which had a very similar tone to what the trailers selling.

blue-caprice-poster

The film is due out September 13th in theaters, and September 17th on VOD.

In A World… Lake Bell is Joined by All Star Cast in Directorial Debut

In a world filled with summer disappointments and tent-pole flops, Lake Bell’s In a World… looks like it could be really good. Recipient of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, and nominated for Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Festival, In a World… has received praise critically and its thus far limited release has proved successful. Starring, written, and directed by the lovely Lake Bell (A Good Old Fashioned Orgy), the film is about a voice coach trying to break into movie trailer voice over work like her father.

Take a look at the In a World… trailer here…

Continue reading In A World… Lake Bell is Joined by All Star Cast in Directorial Debut

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints: Trailer Features Outlaws in Love

After getting rave reviews at Sundance, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints is finally getting released to theaters and we have the trailer. Written and Directed by David Lowery, who’s prior works consists of two low-budget features, St. Nick and Deadroom, and recently the editing of the tantalizing Upstream Color. This seems to be his first film with a well-known cast in Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and Ben Foster (The Mechanic, and the upcoming Lone Survivor). The story for his newest flick is as follows; Affleck plays an outlaw who is sentenced to prison for 25 years for an act his wife, Mara, committed, but escapes in hope of reuniting with his her and their now born child. Sounds interesting enough, and if that doesn’t entice you enough, check out the trailer for the gorgeous cinematography and score. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiWJMsBEYl8

The reviews for this have been mostly positive, and one conclusion I can draw is this looks film looks great visually. Winning the Special Jury Prize for Cinematography at Sundance, the shots in the trailer feel reminiscent of the type of shots in Mallick’s The Tree of Life, very surreal and up close to the actors. Some of the complaints at Sundance were the film being overly long, which makes it good news that the cut being released to theaters is about 15 minutes shorter. Also, I can’t forget the score in the trailer that I hope is a precursor to what the film is like, cause it works tremendously in the trailer with its soft, mellow, yet dramatic violins.

For more on the film, below’s an excellent quick interview with David Lowery where he talks about the story and how it differs from other films in the genre, check it out:

The film was released on August 16th in NYC and LA, and is coming to VOD August 23rd.

Lone Survivor Trailer: True Story with an All-Star Cast

Peter Berg didn’t have much luck with his massive box office flop, Battleship, but that could change with his newest army flick. Lone Survivor is based on a the true story of a SEAL Team 10’s failed mission to capture an infamous Taliban leader during the War in Afghanistan. The story sounds somewhat basic, but the cast is killer, including Mark Whalberg (Pain & Gain), Ben Foster (Contraband), Eric Bana (Munich), Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild), and Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights). The cast is great mix of young, and older action stars which could make for a kick-ass flick. Check out the trailer below.

Based on the book, Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell, the man played by Whalberg in the film, the story goes as follows: In 2005, while hiding out in Afghanistan, SEAL Team 10 encountered a group of young boys, voting whether to let them live or not, they decided to let them go. Hours later, the group of four was surround by 100’s of Taliban fighters. The outcome of the story is out there if you really want, but I’ll obviously forgo posting that here. The story on paper sounds pretty good, but when I heard it was a true story, my excitement shot up because the outcome isn’t going to be some insane action movie trope, it’s going to be something realistic. My only fear is Peter Berg, who championed the deep thought he put into his former flick Battleship, but ended up giving us a watered down, dumb big budget action flick. Hopefully that doesn’t happen here.

lonesurvivortrailer

The film is due out January 10, 2014.