Friday, February 21, 2014

Watchin' Trailerz with Doug (Feb. 21)

This will be my last column for a little bit. Don't worry -- I'm not going away (fun fact: no one is worried). I'll be back [with a vengeance] in about a month. It's just ... I really need a break from all you INSANELY POSITIVE PEOPLE. Jay-kay. Truth is, I'm moving! To Los Angeles. With my wife. And kid. Like a boss. And I've got Snoop Lion (née Dogg) on my mind. Yeah roll up the dank, and pour the drank. And watch your step (why?) 'cause Dougie's on the gank. #CaliforniaDreaming

Guardians of the Galaxy
Release date: Aug. 1, 2014



Where to begin? OK, so ... I knew NOTHING about this movie going in, and (truth be told) I was expecting some very self-serious stuff (for no apparent reason, other than the title). Like, end-of-Avengers-level nerdgasm (I still don't know who "Thanos" is, nor do I care!), which, to the comic book layman (i.e., ME), is borderline insufferable. Instead I got something reminiscent of ... The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? I can't say that I'm SUPER excited to see it -- I mean, that is a really weird trailer, right? -- but I will admit that my curiosity is piqued. And that's what they want right? PIQUED-NESS? Director James Gunn is great (big ups to a Troma alum [although I wasn't the biggest fan of Super]), and Chris Pratt plays the perfect bumbling everyman who you just KNOW is awesome and smart and heroic. The CGI still looks like shit, and I can't quite reconcile "Hooked on a Feeling," but whatever. This will either make a BILLION dollars, or bomb. Either/or.

The Double
Release date: May 9, 2014



This looks great. Based on a novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, it's about a man who goes mad after finding out his life has been usurped by a doppelgänger. A doppelgänger, people! And the right kind of project for Jesse Eisenberg. I mean, I totally buy him as a weird, petty little man. Don't get me wrong -- he might be the best thing about Untitled Superman-Batman Project (and expectations aren't exactly sky-high), but Lex Luthor? That's about as believable as him playing a MASTER magician. Granted, this UK trailer is very odd and intriguing; perhaps the American preview would have left me a little more cold (I dunno). Finally, hello Chris O'Dowd! Hi! Over here!

Jodorowsky's Dune
Release date: TBA



JESUS I WANT TO SEE THE MOVIE THESE PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT.

Locke
Release date: April 25, 2014



Welp, we're four for four so far with AWESOME-LOOKING TRAILERS. I think Hollywood got my memo about giving away the whole story. YOU'RE WELCOME. Because what we're left with are absorbing, exciting character studies with riveting music, excellent editing and AMBIGUITY (which, in this case, is a good thing). And all that praise at the end isn't from a bunch of fringe blogs -- everyone (erudite and fanboy alike) is losing their heads over this chamber thriller. Including Gay Times.

Brick Mansions
Release date: April 25, 2014



Objectively? This movie looks goofy and dumb but also kind of awesome and fun. Subjectively? I'm totally bummed. Paul Walker was really finding his rhythm, and now he's gone. No need to memorialize him here, when Patrick wrote this really great piece a few months ago. I'm just finding it hard to divorce the fantasy of this over-the-top film from the sad reality of his untimely passing. No amount of parkour can bring him back.

Drive Hard
Release date: TBA



Anyone else waiting for a cell phone to go off halfway through this trailer? "Please, don't spoil the movie by adding your own soundtrack." #dodougsjobforhim

14 comments:

  1. I'm really looking forward to seeing Guardians of the Galaxy because 1) I dig James Gunn 2) Amy Pond 3) I don't know much about the GotG comics, so I'm excited to see a comic book movie where the source material is unfamiliar to me. This trailer got me even more excited to see it. I love the tone.

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    1. Yes to everything you said. This might be the movie I'm most excited about this year. I kind of want to binge read a bunch of the comics before I see it, but maybe I'm better going in cold.

      And you forgot to mention Green Neytiri.

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    2. Me too - big time! I don't think a movie has ever made this quick a transition from "Who gives a F?!" to "Get in my theatre, now!" for me. Pumped.

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    3. There's something kind of old school about the trailer - it gives you just enough to get really excited without spoiling anything.

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    4. I, like most here it seems, don't know much about GotG, so I don't know if this trailer echos the tone of the actual comic, but I think the humor and apparent sense of fun are absolutely the best way to sell an obscure property like this. Hopefully it will be just as fun as it looks, and that will spread through word of mouth, causing it to be a hit. Judging from this trailer, which I love, I am geared up to be there on day one. In Marvel, James Gunn, and Chris Pratt I trust.

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  2. Bon Voyage Doug! (that means "bone voyage" for you monolingual Americans)

    I think I'm on board for ALL of these (even Drive Hard actually - I like Average Joe Thomas Jane) but especially that Jodorowsky's Dune - wow. I am a big fan of the original Frank Herbert sextology (snicker) and though Lynch's movie is kind of a cool, fucked up thing in its own right, I don't think it was a particularly good adaptation. Jodorowsky's version looks like it could have been both even more fucked up and more faithful to the novels.

    With anxious anticipation of your next column,

    Your humble servant,

    Sol

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  3. Good luck with the move Doug. Can't wait for your eventual triumphant return.

    Of all these I think I am looking forward to Locke the most. Still waiting on Tom Hardy to become the A-lister I new he would be after Star Trek Nemesis (kidding?). Shouldn't be long now until that Mad Max Trailer eh? #Babadooksbebabadookin

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  4. Thanks Sol and Matt!

    Locke is supposedly just Tom Hardy in a car for 90 minutes. If you're into that sort of thing.

    #babadooksdon'tshakehands #babadooksgottahug

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  5. Don't hesitate to look me up when you make it to L.A. Movie folks gotta stick together.

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  6. Doug, Good Luck with the move and with life in LA...
    Guardians of the Galaxy: when I first heard that they were making this, I wasn't too excited. I was never a huge fan of the out there cosmic stuff Marvel put out. I was kind of excited when I heard James Gunn was directing, because I thought he would bring the exact sensibility that a movie like this would need.Now after seeing the trailer... this is probably the movie I'm most looking forward to, this look great. I think that they put the right spin on the marketing of this and I think most people would agree, it could go either way, huge success or epic failure, but I'm totally on board.

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    1. I'm the exact same way. I don't love the cosmic stuff, but I love that this seems experimental and interesting and will be a huge blockbuster directed by the guy who wrote Tromeo & Juliet.

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  7. I love this column Doug! Wanted to let you know I check in every week to read it. We're going to miss you whilst you are away, but best of luck with the move and hope you have a lot of happiness in California. Lots of love and luck! :) x

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  8. I think I'll hardly notice he's gone to be honest

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    1. Oh darn, typo. not "hardly notice", I mean "feel every minute as though it were a year as my heart tears a Doug sized hole and I am pained with the sound of weeping angels while"

      yeah, thats better. silly old Butterfingers Brad.

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