Mon, August 1, 2005

Thumbsucker

Seems like a cute indie coming-of-age sort of thing with Keanu Reeves as a zen orthodontist and Vince Vaughn being funny-serious as a teacher. Also, includes first-kiss scenes which are always great because they feature adorable indie girls who are beautiful because of their innocence and purity of spirit instead of their stick-figure bodies. You can always put me down for some of that.

Broken Flowers

I don't remember much about this trailer except it has shots of Bill Murray looking morose, which is trailer shorthand for "Bill Murray in a serious role." I'm all for that, especially since this time Jarmusch is using color. But, lest we forget, the last time we saw Bill Murray in a serious role – one that truly didn't have any comic underpinnings – was The Razor's Edge, and that wasn't much of a hit. (And even that had its laugh: Murray's poolside sea lion impression which I believe you can also find in the Lost in Translation DVD extras.)

Red Eye

You're not going to catch me not mentioning how adorable Rachel McAdams is anytime soon. The teaser for this film was one of my favorite trailers in months, living up to nearly all of my (admittedly high) standards for good trailers. (Sadly, so few trailers these days come close – even the good ones.) Strengthening my point, the new trailer gives away too much of the story and lets out scenes and ideas that really should've remained surprises. It's a shame: I guess all trailers should be teasers from now on. I'm still interested to see this movie, but I would've had more fun watching it if I'd only seen the teaser.

Junebug

Amy Adams is the star of this movie about a metropolitan socialite (Embeth Davitz of Schindler's List) who falls in love with a guy from North Carolina and then has to meet his quirky family, right out of The Simple Life. Which isn't meant as a negative association; that's just the culture clash at the core of the idea. I fell in love with Amy Adams during her brief yet memorable turn in Catch Me If You Can and she made me watch 100% more episodes of dr. vegas than I otherwise would have (Total: 2). She's absolutely perfect as the chatty, pregnant sister who latches on to Davitz in order to learn everything she can about the world she's never seen outside the tiny town she's never left. Looks like a fun study of some fascinating and funny characters; the movie Napoleon Dynamite thought it was, but got too lost looking at itself to ever be. I can't wait.

The 40-Year Old Virgin

Easily the best trailer running right now, this proves that Steve Carell is destined to be a comedy hit. Written by Carell and Judd Apatow (TV's Freaks and Geeks, etc., etc.), the movie follows Carell's character as his pals attempt to help him lose his virginity. Carell provides plenty of excellent laughs, as does Paul Rudd – whom I can't believe I ever resisted when he was charming the pants off America in Clueless. But the breakout moments of this trailer belong to Elizabeth Banks as one of the women Carell tries to date. Her unbridled, vibrant enthusiasm gets huge laughs from every audience I see this trailer with, and she's cute as a button to boot. It seems like the film makes the dicey choice of casting Catherine Keener as the "one" for Carell, which should be interesting because while she's a fine actress, she is by any measure an "uggo." So, either I'm mistaken about the symbolism of that tandem bike ride, or the movie is trying a new direction and not just bedding its titular virgin down with some hottie. Anyway, you can bet I'll be there to find out on opening night.

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio

Julianne Moore stars as – oh, for crying out loud, let me finish! I thought I was going to hate this trailer based on that alone, too, but it turns out there's much more. (And not just that stupid title or its stupid tagline cousin: "Sometimes happiness is a state of defiance.") Moore is a housewife and mother of ten, and she has a knack for writing advertising jingles which makes it lucky she's living in the '50s when advertising jingles accounted for 70% of this country's GDP. It seems like they're crafting a new one every week, and for some reason if you send in a jingle from home, a company will kick its ascot-wearing Mad Ave admen out the 32nd story window and just go with your ideas instead – plus, send you a new Maytag for your trouble. So, while husband Woody Harrelson toils at the mill, she's supporting the family by winning bicycles and hair curlers. Cue the inevitable strife between the jealous, emasculated husband and the wife who's just trying to do right by her family. Cue the awkward line, "I don't need you to make me happy; I just need you to leave me alone when I am." Cue me vomiting on my shoes.

The Baxter

"Entertainment Weekly" recently did a sidebar which pointed out how the cast of MTV's The State have achieved the miracle of being able to continue to work together in one combination or another for their whole careers. They brought us Viva Variety, Wet Hot American Summer, Reno 911, and Stella. And now, The Baxter, written and directed by Michael Showalter, who plays Michael Showalter on Stella – TV's ultimate acquired-taste comedy. The film's comedy-all-star ensemble includes most of The State plus recent acquisition Paul Rudd and teensy hitmaker Peter Dinklage. Also, as Baxter's fiancée, Elizabeth Banks, who is taking the comedy trailer world by storm right now. Described as "a romantic comedy for anyone who's ever been dumped," it's the story of Baxter's fight to save his upcoming marriage when his fiancée's old flame returns to win her back. Despite having Michelle Williams in it, it looks like a lot of fun.

V for Vendetta

I actually watched this one online a few days before I saw it in the theatre. (Savvy viewers may have spotted a still from it in the Related Photos post.) I adore Natalie Portman, as I think it's safe to say we all do, and I'm a convert to the church of Alan Moore's genius. Of course, he's distanced himself from the film project, the way he always does. But with such good ideas, it seems like most Moore adaptations would have to be pretty interesting, even if they don't live up to the original in every way. You can't possibly get LXG every time out, can you? As far as I can tell, the trailer sets the stage for an entertaining and intriguing film. It has the line, "Behind this mask there's more than flesh. There is an idea; and ideas are bulletproof." Which is cool, and reminds me of Batman. Besides, Star Wars notwithstanding, Natalie Portman has a pretty good eye for picking scripts. I admit, the Harlequin mask kind of turns me off, but you have to accept some quirky iconography when you're going to tap comics and graphic novels for source material.

2 for the Money

In this trailer, Matthew McConaughey and Al Pacino duel for the title of Actor You Recognize By His Voice Alone Well Before His Face Appears On Screen. The movie itself is about sports betting and selling picks to gamblers who then bet based on your recommendations. What was the movie (or maybe a book) that had that scam in it? Where you write the name of a random NFL team on 100 cards and mail them to 100 random people. The next week, you pick the people who received the winning team and send them another random team. You do this for three or four weeks until you have a small group of people who have – by chance – received 100% correct predictions for three or four weeks in a row, and then you send them a letter that says for $10,000 you'll send them the rest of the picks for the year. Something like that. Cute idea. Anyway, this trailer has nothing to do with that except the sports betting. Also, at one point, McConaughey gets a haircut.

***

Poster Watch: We don't usually do Poster Watch, but I happened to discover (via poster) that Jason Schwartzman has replaced Jimmy Fallon in Shopgirl, which removes the risk that Fallon's talentless, self-indulgent performance might have besmirched the film's otherwise flawless visage. I'm thrilled.

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