Monday, July 28, 2008
Preview Reviews
Scott at Good News Film Reviews has been reviewing film trailers, and I've enjoyed that. I've enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I'm just going to shamelessly rip it off and review the trailers for some of the movies that I'm interested in.
Choke is one of my favorite Chuck Palahniuk novels, simply because the book made me laugh out loud, frequently, and so hard that my sides literally hurt. Having said that, Choke isn't for everyone. The novel is extremely obscene, totally profane, blasphemous, and insensitive to the differently abled. I can not believe that someone made a movie out of this novel. But judging by the preview, it looks like they stuck to the book very well. I'll be catching this in the theater this October. If it even provides a glimpse of the warped world that Palahniuk conjured up in his novel, it oughta be a hoot.
For a long time I was totally opposed to the idea of adapting Watchmen for the screen. Watchmen is probably the finest example of everything that's great about the comic-book medium. Besides, Watchmen is ultimately a 12-issue comic book title about comics themselves. You just can't translate that to the screen. Having said all that, the preview looks pretty good. I'm glad that Zack Snyder directed this thing. 300 made Snyder the go-to guy for movies based on "unfilmable" graphic novels. If this movie conveys even a little bit of what's so damn awesome about the source material, Snyder will probably become a demigod to fanboys (like me) everywhere.
OK, here's the thing: I bet you that Man On Wire is a really good movie. I love documentaries, and this looks like one of the most compelling, remarkable, interesting ones of the decade. But while I sat here watching this preview I was HOLDING MY BREATH AND GRIPPING THE ARMS OF MY CHAIR IN ABSOLUTE TERROR. So, yes, I think that Man On Wire will be a good movie. I don't plan to get anywhere near this film. I just couldn't watch it if I had to.
The Rocker is from director Peter Cattaneo, who's 1997 film The Full Monty was funny, warm and totally enjoyable. The Rocker stars Rainn Wilson, and I think he's a total riot as Dwight on The Office. But, judging from the preview, this looks like a huge, pointless turd of a movie and I don't plan to sit through another second of it.
Burn After Reading
(Red Band trailer, language warning)
Last October I posted the trailer for No Country For Old Men and said that I hoped it represented a return to form for the Coens. Well, No Country... was the best movie I saw in 2007, and it might be the best movie that Joel and Ethan have ever done. A year after that masterpiece the Coens have readied Burn After Reading. Judging from the previews, the new film looks to be a farce in the Big Lebowski, Oh Brother... tradition. I enjoyed Oh Brother and Lebowski is my third funniest film of all time*. So my hopes are high for Burn After Reading.
*That "fifteen funniest films of all time" list was put together for film geeks before Borat, a movie that easily goes in my top five somewhere.
Labels: Movies, Watchmen, You Tube
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