Aliens, werewolves, and Michael Moore - oh my! It's a big day for movie fans. Three very anticipated trailers have been unleashed online, some with better results than others. Michael Moore's latest documentary will premiere its trailer tonight at midnight, but as for what's available right now....
"Avatar" - December 18, 2009
James
Cameron has had his "Avatar" scripts sitting in a top drawer for a
decade, waiting for technology to catch up to his grand vision. It's
the 22nd century on a planet called Pandora. The land is populated with
Na'Vi, an alien race with blue, shimmery skin and Sloth-like bending
earlobes.
To interact with the Na'Vi, humans have created avatars, or Na'Vi bodies that can be controlled with a mental link. Like "The Matrix" or "Total Recall," but real. Sam Worthington plays a paralyzed marine (I guess they can create mind-controlled, alien body-pods but still can't fix paralysis) who hops on board one of these avatars, and falls in love with an actual alien. Cue "Part of your World" anytime you like.
Here's the teaser trailer released today...
I realize this is just a teaser trailer. I have not read the script and have not subjected my ears to one line of dialogue. But if this is the "game changer" that has been hyped all over the media lately, I'm VERY underwhelmed.
The animation reminds me of something you would see in a video game between levels. You know, that sequence you jam on the start button to skip through? I'm thinking about "District 9" - a movie that cost just over $30 million to make, yet the CG looked so incredibly real. How does a movie like "Avatar," with its well-over $200 million budget, look so fake? I saw this stuff when it was called "Star Wars Episode I." But now it's blue, hopefully not nearly as bad.
I'm trying my best to wait for December 18th to reserve judgment, especially because the 3D is the big "game changing" element people seem to be raving about, but this trailer did nothing to blow me away or even get me excited for "Avatar" day. It looks like one of those films that's too grown-up for kids, yet way too "cartoony" for adults. Hopefully Christmas comes early and knocks my stockings off. Sigh.
As for "The Wolfman".....
"Avatar" - December 18, 2009
James
Cameron has had his "Avatar" scripts sitting in a top drawer for a
decade, waiting for technology to catch up to his grand vision. It's
the 22nd century on a planet called Pandora. The land is populated with
Na'Vi, an alien race with blue, shimmery skin and Sloth-like bending
earlobes. To interact with the Na'Vi, humans have created avatars, or Na'Vi bodies that can be controlled with a mental link. Like "The Matrix" or "Total Recall," but real. Sam Worthington plays a paralyzed marine (I guess they can create mind-controlled, alien body-pods but still can't fix paralysis) who hops on board one of these avatars, and falls in love with an actual alien. Cue "Part of your World" anytime you like.
Here's the teaser trailer released today...
I realize this is just a teaser trailer. I have not read the script and have not subjected my ears to one line of dialogue. But if this is the "game changer" that has been hyped all over the media lately, I'm VERY underwhelmed.
The animation reminds me of something you would see in a video game between levels. You know, that sequence you jam on the start button to skip through? I'm thinking about "District 9" - a movie that cost just over $30 million to make, yet the CG looked so incredibly real. How does a movie like "Avatar," with its well-over $200 million budget, look so fake? I saw this stuff when it was called "Star Wars Episode I." But now it's blue, hopefully not nearly as bad.
I'm trying my best to wait for December 18th to reserve judgment, especially because the 3D is the big "game changing" element people seem to be raving about, but this trailer did nothing to blow me away or even get me excited for "Avatar" day. It looks like one of those films that's too grown-up for kids, yet way too "cartoony" for adults. Hopefully Christmas comes early and knocks my stockings off. Sigh.
As for "The Wolfman".....
"The Wolfman" - February 10, 2010
It's
hard not to be psyched for "The Wolfman," a remake of the 1941 Lon
Chaney classic. It stars Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins, but
there was another big draw for me - Rick Baker. Rick is a legend when
it comes to horror movie makeup and special effects, and he's also the
man behind the best werewolf transformation ever in "An American
Werewolf in London." Watch that incredible sequence here for a refresher. "I didn't mean to call you a meatloaf, Jack." Priceless.
You can note Rick's work in the poster on the left. He stays true to the Lon Chaney original, while adding his own sense of menace and a Kyle Orton neckbeard.
But enough about the makeup. Let's watch the trailer...
First thoughts - it certainly has a "Sleepy Hollow" art direction going for it. Of course director Joe Johnston and the production team are not going to show us too much werewolf, but I do like the resemblance to the 1941, upright-standing beast. But again, there is just something too "computer generated" about the transformation sequence. The "American Werewolf" scene was painful to watch. We saw David's ankles stretch in ways they were not supposed to - and it looked like an actual ankle! Sorry to keep harping on this, but after watching "District 9," I get the sense that computer animation is right on the tipping point of becoming undetectable, but from these brief glimpses in "The Wolfman," I'm not sold quite yet.
Let's hope the script is full of surprises with another great performance from Benecio Del Toro.
"Capitalism: A Love Story" - October 2, 2009
Michael
Moore's latest documentary takes on the U.S. financial system, its
corporations, and Wall Street movers and shakers. The trailer will
debut on CNN, most likely during Campbell Brown's show at 7 p.m. CST,
with an online premiere at 2 a.m. tonight.
If you can do me one favor, set your alarm for 1:59 CST tonight, watch the trailer, then log back onto the blog and leave me a full report in the comments. I'll enjoy reading that when I wake up at noon. Thanks.
It's
hard not to be psyched for "The Wolfman," a remake of the 1941 Lon
Chaney classic. It stars Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins, but
there was another big draw for me - Rick Baker. Rick is a legend when
it comes to horror movie makeup and special effects, and he's also the
man behind the best werewolf transformation ever in "An American
Werewolf in London." Watch that incredible sequence here for a refresher. "I didn't mean to call you a meatloaf, Jack." Priceless.You can note Rick's work in the poster on the left. He stays true to the Lon Chaney original, while adding his own sense of menace and a Kyle Orton neckbeard.
But enough about the makeup. Let's watch the trailer...
First thoughts - it certainly has a "Sleepy Hollow" art direction going for it. Of course director Joe Johnston and the production team are not going to show us too much werewolf, but I do like the resemblance to the 1941, upright-standing beast. But again, there is just something too "computer generated" about the transformation sequence. The "American Werewolf" scene was painful to watch. We saw David's ankles stretch in ways they were not supposed to - and it looked like an actual ankle! Sorry to keep harping on this, but after watching "District 9," I get the sense that computer animation is right on the tipping point of becoming undetectable, but from these brief glimpses in "The Wolfman," I'm not sold quite yet.
Let's hope the script is full of surprises with another great performance from Benecio Del Toro.
"Capitalism: A Love Story" - October 2, 2009
Michael
Moore's latest documentary takes on the U.S. financial system, its
corporations, and Wall Street movers and shakers. The trailer will
debut on CNN, most likely during Campbell Brown's show at 7 p.m. CST,
with an online premiere at 2 a.m. tonight.If you can do me one favor, set your alarm for 1:59 CST tonight, watch the trailer, then log back onto the blog and leave me a full report in the comments. I'll enjoy reading that when I wake up at noon. Thanks.
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