The Dark Knight Rises 2012 Teaser Trailer Reaction

When last we saw Christian Bale as the character of Batman he was speeding off on his bat cycle in The Dark Knight. Since then fans have been waiting on edge to see the next chapter in the groundbreaking movie series. Instead of jumping right into a sequel, Christopher Nolan chose to film his passion project the enjoyable action film Inception.

The delay only increased anticipation.

As filming began on The Dark Knight Rises Christopher Nolan repeatedly stated that the film is the FINAL chapter in his Batman story. Marking a definitive end.

The wait is now unbearable.

The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. It is directed by Christopher Nolan. The Dark Knight Rises is scheduled for release July 20, 2012.

Battleship Movie Trailer

You've sunk my battleship.


That's not the last time the reader is going to hear that iconic marketing phrase...so I suggest one gets used to it. 


Quick. 


I'm not sure who came up with the um... "brilliant" idea of translating a simple board game to a big budget summer action film... but it's coming. Judging from this trailer Battleship involves the United States Navy facing off against alien spaceships. A premise that in itself is actually interesting, so it's slightly disappointing that they had to tie-in the classic board game to help sell the film.


Battleship stars Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard, Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker and R&B star Rihianna, who I predict...and I'm going out on a limb here, will contribute to the soundtrack. Battleship is directed by the genuinely talented Peter Berg. So all kidding aside, in the end... this could potentially be a fun summer action film. It is scheduled for release May 18, 2012.

Haywire Movie Trailer

Looks like Steven Soderbergh is back on his game. 


After indulging his arthouse indie side with uneven character pieces like The Girlfriend Experience and The Informant, it seems like Soderbergh is now indulging his mainstream side with this year's terrifying ensemble piece Contagion and the upcoming action thriller Haywire, which is slated for 2012.


Always a casting maverick, Soderbergh has decided to cast first time actress and Mixed Martial Arts star Gina Carrano in the lead role. The move is similar to his casting of Sasha Grey in The Girlfriend Experience, opting for real-life experience over acting experience for a character. It's hard to argue that point from watching the action pieces in this trailer. Gina Carrano kicks some serious ass here and she does it with a conviction and honesty that likely couldn't be achieved from another actress...no matter how much training they've had. We'll have to wait to see how she does on the acting side of things, but with an Academy Award winning director by her side and an excellent ensemble to work off of it's hard to imagine her not pulling it off.


Haywire stars Gina Carrano, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas and Michael Douglas. It is directed by Steven Soderbergh. It is scheduled for release January 20th, 2012.

The Amazing Spider-Man Teaser Trailer

We are a spoiled bunch. 

To illustrate that point I submit the case of The Amazing Spider-Man. It seemed like yesterday when the world was celebrating the big screen, big budget, live action debut of Spider-Man on the big screen. That was soon followed by criticism. Fans were unhappy with the choice of Sam Raimi as director.There was a costume controversy, the whole organic web-shooter controversy. All of which soon passed. When the film became a hit it sparked one great sequel...followed by one terrible one.

Which brought about a reboot. Which brings us to The Amazing Spider-Man. The latest sentiment for the film is not good. Most of the controversy surrounds the casting of Andrew Garfield. Critics are disappointed that Sony cast an older British actor to play a teen Peter Parker. There is also no Mary Jane Watson in this reboot, the female love interest is the less liked Gwen Stacy.

Some die hard geeks are now calling for a boycott of the film. The thinking being that if the film bombs at the box-office, Sony Pictures will give up the property and the rights will revert back to Marvel Studios. Not a bad proposition, considering that would allow Spider-Man to interact with the rest of the Marvel Studios characters. But as we have seen with The X-Men movies, studios are not stupid. They know a good property when they see it. Upcoming reboots of The Fantastic Four and Daredevil prove that point. The question is... will they EVER get it right?

Where do I stand? Well... as much as I like the idea of seeing Spider-man trying to stop a raging Hulk or seeing Spidey team-up with Iron Man on a mission... I'll reserve judgement. Ultimately, I just want to see a good movie. 

The Amazing Spider-Man stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans and Martin Sheen. It is directed by Marc Webb.  It is scheduled for release July 3rd 2012.

The Dark Knight Rises Teaser Trailer

There is perhaps no other more anticipated film than The Dark Knight Rises. I admit that a small part of me was hoping they wouldn't make a part 3. Crazy... I know. It's not that I don't like the Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. I actually LOVE both of them. But it's almost impossible to follow up those two great movies without some drop off. Right? RIGHT?! I mean it can't possibly get any better... can it? CAN IT??!

Oh man I can't WAIT for this movie.

The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. It is directed by Christopher Nolan. It is scheduled for release July 20, 2012.

The Thing 2011 Movie Trailer

There are not many things cooler than the original The Thing movie. Not only is it a great story, even after all these years, the special effects are CREEPY as hell. This was before CGI and all the fancy special effects that we have today. They actually had to use practical effects, which actors had to work off of. Which just added to the realism and horror.


So when I first heard of the NEW The Thing project I just rolled my eyes and shook my head in resignation. But what makes this project intriguing is that this isn't a remake... it's a prequel. Also super cool is that the movie stars the awesome Mary Elizabeth Winstead, from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and  Death Proof.


Soooo...I'm in.


The Thing (2011) stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Eric Christian Olsen.  It is directed by Matthijs Van Heijningen Jr. It is scheduled for release October 14, 2011.

Contagion movie trailer

Is this how the world ends?


There's alot of creepy stuff about this trailer. But the most disturbing aspect is the seemingly realistic nature of it all. Obviously, the first thing that stands out is the immense star power on display here. This is one amazing ensemble. The fact that it is being directed by an expert of star-studded ensemble movies, Steven Soderberg (Traffic, Ocean's 11), makes the project even more intriguing.


End of the world scenarios for a film aren't exactly original. But it's fascinating that an Academy award winning director like Steven Soderberg is intrigued with the concept and was able to recruit some of Hollywood's biggest movie stars. Yeah... I know the subject matter is ripe for drama. But what appeals to me here is the lack of over the top special effects. The focus seems to be on reality and human interactions. So in a sense it's almost like a zombie film...without the zombies... or even blood. 


Just the terror. 


The terror of the end of the world. I really dig the movie's theme of man's inhumanity to man in the face of extreme adversity. Cause we all know that this is how it will all really go down. Not with dignity... but in an inhumane, ugly, disturbing, tragic epic mess.


Contagion stars Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, and Laurence Fishburne. It is directed by Steven Soderberg. It is scheduled for release September 9, 2011

Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows Trailer

I really liked the first Sherlock Holmes movie. I thought it did an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the Sherlock Holmes novels without actually being based on one of them. I also feel it was Guy Ritchie's best work. The chemistry between Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. was excellent. So I'm really looking forward to this next chapter. This next chapter introduces the characters of Mycroft Holmes and also the ultimate villain Professor Moriarty. 


Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace, Stephen Fry and  Jared Harris. The Film is directed by Guy Ritchie. It is scheduled for release December 16, 2011.

The Adventures of Tintin movie Trailer

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is a bit of a head scratcher for me. First off, let me admit I know very little about the original source material. If I'm correct, it was a comic book about a young Belgian reporter. He has a little white dog.


Exciting stuff right? 


So yeah...apparently the reporter gets into a bunch of exciting mischief. The dog too. Umm...oh yeah...this movie will also be in 3D. 


Yeah.


Actually, I guess the film will appeal to the nostalgic crowd much like The Phantom and The Rocketeer did. (Or should I say didn't appeal.) I'm sure it will also, theoretically, appeal to the overseas market. What IS undeniable is the impressive creative talent surrounding the project including Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Edgar Wright. This star power, combined with the impressive animation and 3D should be enough to get a healthy first week opening. Which is the key in today's movie market.


In any event the trailer looks interesting. Although, I'm not a huge fan of this type of motion capture animation. 


The Adventures of Tintin : The Secret of the Unicorn is directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson. It stars Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis and Daniel Craig. The film is scheduled for release December 23, 2011.

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Official Teaser:

The Change-Up Movie Trailer

I guess one can call The Change-up ...  Face/Off , the comedic version. Who hasn't thought of switching lives with their best friend? Right? Right?


Yeah...me neither.


Sure this general idea has been done before... but so have dozens of movie plots this summer. I just think it's  always refreshing to have a humorous film that isn't a total romantic comedy or aimed specifically at a female audience. This general idea is also always done with a man and woman changing identities. So there's the twist! Inventive right? Sigh.


Anyways... I think the movie looks pretty funny. And I dig Jason Bateman. Ryan Reynolds is pretty witty too. Olivia Wilde is also hot, seriously hot. So that's another excuse.

The Change-Up stars Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman and Olivia Wilde. The film is scheduled for release August 5th, 2011. It is directed by David Dobkin.

Jack & Jill Movie Trailer

There are a couple of shocking things in this trailer for the upcoming movie titled Jack & Jill . There is the presence of Katie Holmes. Who's not necessarily renown for her slapstick comedy skills. Then there's the sight of seeing Adam Sandler in drag... playing a woman. Specifically the title character of Jill, the twin sister of Jack...also played by Adam Sandler. But what is the most SHOCKING aspect of the film, is the presence of Al Pacino.


That's not a typo and I don't mean the fictional character Alpa Chino from Tropic Thunder. I'm talking about Academy Award winner Al Pacino. The guy from The Godfather and Dog Day Afternoon.


THAT guy.


Apparently...and I HOPE I'm interpreting this wrong. Pacino plays the love interest of Jill.


Um...yeah. 


I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Adam Sandler is known for his eccentric casting choices such as when he cast Jack Nicholson  in Anger Management. 


Anyways. I'm not a total movie snob. I dig silly comedies from Adam Sandler. So I'm sure it'll be pretty amusing stuff. 


Jack & Jill  stars Adam Sandler...and Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes and Academy Award winner Al Pacino. It is directed by Dennis Dugan . It is scheduled for release November 11, 2011.

Straw Dogs 2011 Trailer

On top of my must see list for this year is the remake of the Sam Peckinpah film Straw Dogs. Throughout the years, the original film has benefited from it's so-called classic film status. Mostly due to the participation of Dustin Hoffman and of course the brilliant Sam Peckinpah. But many so-called fans have yet to actually SEE the film or at least don't recall much about it.


I argue that the original film is over-rated. 


I'm probably in the minority for this opinion. (Actually Roger Ebert and Vincent Canby gave the original film a negative review.) But if one watches the original movie again, they'll notice a lot of plot weaknesses and general, unnecessary, unfocused, strangeness in the film.


The remake of Straw Dogs is written and directed by Rod Lurie. Who wrote and directed two of my favorite films in the last decade. The Contender starring Joan Allen and Nothing But the Truth starring Kate Beckinsale. I have FULL confidence that Rod Lurie will do a masterful job of bringing out the TRUE themes in the story without the misogynistic overtones and bizarre, unnecessary artistic choices that a distracted Sam Peckinpah made with his original piece.


 Straw Dogs (2011) stars Kate Bosworth, James Marsden, and Alexander Skarsgard. It is scheduled for release September 16, 2011.

John Carter movie teaser trailer

I admit I don't know anything about the character of John Carter. Based on the wikipedia page the character appears in a series of novels and was originally created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The plot of the film has to do with a civil war soldier thrown into the middle of an intergalactic war on a different planet.


Which is good enough for me.


This trailer hints at something potentially epic in scale. I really like the tone. The music works well too. Admittedly, I don't know too much about Taylor Kitsch. Not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing. I thought he was was serviceable as Gambit in X-Men Orgins: Wolverine. Honestly, he probably wasn't given too much to work with. I'm slightly worried that the project is being produced by Disney. Although they provide a great budget for their films, projects developed by Disney understandably tend to lean towards a younger demographic. But hopefully the tone will be more akin to Pirates of the Carribean then something like say Tuck Everlasting.


John Carter stars Taylor Kitsch, Mark Strong, Lynn Collins, and Ciaran Hinds. It is directed by Andrew Stanton. It is scheduled for release March 9, 2012.

The Three Musketeers Trailer 2011

The Three Musketeers has been remade countless of times. But not like this. This time the classic novel gets the Paul W.S. Anderson treatment. The same Paul W.S. Anderson from the Resident Evil franchise.


Yeah.


I'm not sure it's a great idea either. But then again I'm DEFINITELY not the target audience here. This movie is obviously aimed at 14 year old video gamers. However, I AM getting a little steampunk vibe in these trailers though. Not sure if it's intentional... or just Paul W.S. Anderson doing his thing.


If it IS intentional, that could be pretty interesting. But honestly, I'm a purist when it comes to this story and I love the old school The Three Musketeers & the sequel The Four Muskeeters with Michael York. But that's me.


The Three Musketeers (2011) stars Logan Lerman, Luke Evans, Mila Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Ray Stevenson, and academy award winner Christopher Waltz. The film is scheduled for release October 21, 2011.



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