December Movie Trailer Reviews
I’ve not been feeling well today, so I did one of my favorite “comfort” activities: I watched all the latest previews on the Apple movie trailers page.
Does the world really need so many new horror movies? A lot of Hollywood’s current offerings seem to emphasize themes of extraterrestrial terror or supernatural powers. Not my cup of tea.
To me the best movies are those which (a) have no un-natural plot devices — e.g., space aliens, other-worldly escapades, or murderers blessed with psychic powers — and (b) reveal the positive possibilities of human nature.
Here are my picks. Since I seldom watch movies in the theater, I’ve added them to my Netflix queue, where applicable, to watch in a few months.
PS I Love You - When a man dies, he leaves behind, for the woman he loves, a series of letters and “plans” for how to move on with life. Starring Hilary Swank (of Million Dollar Baby fame) and Gerard Butler (who rocked us all in 300 and Phantom of the Opera). In theaters December 21st.
Starting Out in the Evening - An aging novelist is shaken up, and re-opened to life, when a young female graduate student approaches him because she wants to help stimulate public appreciation for his work.
I like the gravity of Frank Langella’s character, who says, “Freedom isn’t the choice the world encourages. You have to wear a suit of armor, to defend it.” Opened in theaters on November 23rd.
The Counterfeiters - Intriguing plot. The true story of Salomon Sorowitsch, a master counterfeiter and bon vivant who was thrown into a Nazi concentration camp — and then drafted to lead the Nazis’ efforts to fund the war (and undermine their opponents) by manufacturing counterfeit banknotes in the currencies of their major war enemies.
Will these prisoners of war find a way to save their conscience as well as their skins? Looks that way. Despite inevitable comparisons to Schindler’s List, and the overblown standard that implies, it looks like a good movie on its own merits. Comes to theaters February 22nd.
Love in the Time of Cholera - Looks like a lushly-filmed twist on one of my favorite movies of all time, Dangerous Beauty — including its theme of overcoming the “forbidden” in forbidden love. Opened in theaters on November 16th.
Valkyrie - This one has only begun production, so the link is to a feature rather than a trailer. The movie is based on the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, leader of the German resistance and their plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
Writer-producer Christopher McQuarrie says, “The first half of the film explains to you who these people were and what they would actually have to go through, to successfully assassinate Adolf Hitler. The second half of the movie, we wanted to be the day of the event itself.” Directed by Bryan Singer, who directed X-Men.
Interestingly, actor Kenneth Branach (who plays Henning von Tresckow) says in the feature, “Stauffenberg was a hero to the German people.”
I assume he means Stauffenberg was a hero to some of the German people — since it is a matter of historical record that a clear majority of Germans voted for Hitler and continued to support his activities even after he made himself dictator and despite the transparency of the Nazi agenda.
In any case, this one looks like a blockbuster. Currently scheduled for release on June 27th, 2008.
Darfur Now - Looks like just about what you’d expect from a movie with this title. I hope it’s good and helps bring more attention to the atrocities being committed in Darfur. I also hope they didn’t dilute the movie’s message with anti-Americanism. Opened on November 2nd.
Sharkwater - An investigation of sharks, their role in the oceanic food chain, how important they are to the world, and why they are being killed at an alarming rate. Could be iffy as a feature film, but the subject matter intrigues me, if only because defending sharks is more of a “man bites dog” story. Opened in theaters on November 2nd.
Black Irish - A son struggles to rise above the giant vacuum created by his father’s alcoholism and his brother’s life of drugs and crime. Opened on October 27th.
Music Within - A man loses his hearing and goes on to champion the rights of other handicapped folks.
It actually looks like a sub-par movie, lacking in subtlety. However, to me — as someone whose brother and best friend from childhood each have had severe physical disabilities — there’s just no passing up a movie where the waitress tells a cerebral palsy patient that he’s making other customers uncomfortable and insists “You guys can leave or I can call the police,” and the CP patient responds by tossing a dime onto the table so she can make the call.
Sometimes you don’t fully understand the human spirit until you’ve seen it in a person whose body has betrayed him. The movie opened in theaters on October 26th. I just hope they didn’t kill it with ham-handed grandstanding about the importance of finding political solutions to social problems.
Shine a Light - Martin Scorsese films the Rolling Stones as they prepare for, and play, a gig at the Beacon Theater in New York. I’m not really a Stones fan, but this just looks fun. Release date is April 4th, 2008.
Fred Claus - Vince Vaughn plays Santa Claus’s brother Fred. Bound to have its ups and downs, but there are certainly a few howlers in the preview.
I’m Not There - Six different actors each play different facets of the musical legend that is Bob Dylan. Creative premise. They all look good, but my money’s on Christian Bale.
Arrived in theaters on November 21st. I’m no more a fan of Dylan than of the Stones, incidentally. Maybe in another 20 years they’ll be making movies about the bands I really like. Meantime, perhaps someone could get on with making a good movie about Led Zeppelin?
Gone Baby Gone - Ben Affleck’s directorial debut, with his younger brother Casey (remember him from Good Will Hunting?) starring as a private investigator hired to look into the mysterious disappearance of a little girl. One of my favorite actors, Morgan Freeman, plays the local police captain.
Rails and Ties - A woman commits suicide by parking her car on a railroad track. Her young son tracks down the man (played by Kevin Bacon) who was engineer of the train in question, and finds a new family for himself in the process. The preview appears to over-sell the idea that “life is unpredictable, love while you can,” but hopefully the movie will spend more time showing than telling.
King Corn - A documentary that investigates corn, its sometimes-dubious role in the American food supply, and how the U.S. government makes matters worse by over-subsidizing its production.
Sure to be a hit with Lefties who loved anti-modernity movies like Supersize Me and An Inconvenient Truth. Might have to hold my nose through the inevitable anti-factory-farming diatribes, but I’ll admit I’m curious.
I understand that high-fructose corn syrup, which is in almost everything these days, can be pretty caustic to the human metabolism, and I’m sure the movie will tell me more than I want to know on this subject.
No Country for Old Men - By all appearances, a twisted but well-made movie with a deficit of moral fortitude, more or less in the vein of Pulp Fiction. Which is to say, it will probably win multiple Academy Awards from Hollywood liberals.
Looks like it would be worth seeing once — preferably via Netflix where I don’t really have to pay — but I doubt I’d ever want to own it. Or defend its philosophical merits.
UPDATE: Fixed a typo and corrected my mix-up between multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy (thanks to Tim Rice in the comments). And thanks to InstaPundit for his link and the subsequent readers. I’m feeling better already.
SECOND UPDATE: (12/7) At the prodding of a commenter, tonight I went to see No Country for Old Men. He had said I “couldn’t be more wrong” that it lacked moral fortitude. My impression of the movie, however, matches my impression from the trailer exactly: Technically well-done postmodern delusions of depth and profundity.
Dude, you forgot two of the most heavily anticipated films of the year. At least, anticipated by yours truly. The Golden Compass and I Am Legend. I read the novel the latter is based on, and depending on how closely it sticks to the novel, it should be good. And if the Golden Compass does insult religion, I’m very much going to be there.
Oh, and I almost forgot. I Am Legend, I suppose, could be done like a horror movie, but it’s really not so much like that in the novel. What impressed me about the novel is that yes, there are these “vampire”-type creatures, but Robert Neville, the hero, refuses to concede any quarter to supernatural explanations for what they are. Again and again, he conducts experiments and investigations, and maintains a courageous dedication to rationality, even while his world falls apart. It’s not always easy for him, naturally, but he doesn’t waver, even as others have succumbed to religious or supernatural fears. And the explanations he uncovers for why vampires have the properties they do, while maybe not cutting edge science these days, are at least plausible accounts. All in all, the novel is concerned what a rational man, in a world of savagery and horror, does to survive and fight for his values. So, take the struggle with vampires and other horror elements to simply be means to that end, rather than gratuitous horror for its own sake.
Again, I don’t know if this version will be any good. The trailers, at least, suggest it will be. The other two versions, with Vincent Price and Charlton Heston respectively, were very much mixed bags at best, so we’ll just have to see. Even if it’s bad, I’d at least recommend the novel.
Kraorh,
Thanks for your comments. The trailers for Golden Compass and I Am Legend each revolve around other-worldly plots. And as I explained, I just don’t care as much for movies with un-natural plot devices.
Joshua
So, you’ve never liked any fantasy or sci-fi movie?
I can’t remember if it was in the book or the old Charton Heston “Omega Man” movie version, but didn’t the hero test to see whether things other than garlic repel the “vampires”, such as shallots?
I think you have the wrong impression of “No Country For Old Men.” The movie is based on a book by Cormac McCarthy and is far removed from “Pulp Fiction” in its lack of “moral fortitude.” Tommy Lee Jone’s character is actually the basis for the title: he sees the old ways dying, and new ways that he is powerless to stop (greed, drug running, etc.) coming over his home country like a dark cloud. Or at least thats the way I read it. Most of Cormac McCarthy’s books are explicit in their depictions of violence and moral degredation, but I always got a sense that he was trying to explicate evil but never promote it.
“Does the world really need so many new horror movies? A lot of Hollywood’s current offerings seem to emphasize themes of extraterrestrial terror or supernatural powers. Not my cup of tea.
To me the best movies are those which (a) have no un-natural plot devices — e.g., space aliens, other-worldly escapades, or murderers blessed with psychic powers — and (b) reveal the positive possibilities of human nature.”
So I take it you won’t be seeing “Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem” on Christmas day.
Just a small correction on “Music Within” - the man in the restaurant scene doesn’t have MS, but CP (Cerebral Palsy). Otherwise, great post.
Your prediction for “No Country for Old Men” was right on the mark. In today’s Drudge, a link to the Hollwyood Reporter:
“NEW YORK — Joel and Ethan Coen’s “No Country for Old Men” came out on top of the National Board of Review Awards on Wednesday as the Miramax Films/Paramount Vantage co-production picked up best picture, best ensemble cast and best adapted screenplay honors.”
They also liked “Sweeny Todd” (now there’s a great Christmastime movie if ever there was one).
“Gone Baby Gone” got a nod for Affleck and Ryan.
The obligatory award of its type went to The Iraq War expose “Body of War” (best documentary).
TECHIE: No, never been much of one for science fiction ... with the exception of Firefly and Serenity, which I like a lot (the former more than the latter) and re-watch regularly. I wonder what it is about those that made it past my other-worldly filter. Maybe the cowboy music fools me into feeling at home?
ANONYMOUS COWARD: Move to the head of the class, please. I understand there are human beings who enjoy watching such movies, I’ve just never understood why!
TIM RICE: Thanks for the heads-up about cerebral palsy vs. multiple sclerosis. Fixed. Those are two things that are still easy for me to mix up, despite my varied background in disabilities, probably because I’ve never known anyone well who had either.
My best friend from childhood developed adrenoleukodystrophy (the disease portrayed in Lorenzo’s Oil) and died about ten years ago, and my brother suffered brain damage in a car accident as a teenager.
Oddly, their particular physical symptoms are the spitting image of one another — probably because their most pronounced symptoms resulted from strokes, which tend to affect one side of the body and can lead to a characteristic way of walking.
I understand that high-fructose corn syrup, which is in almost everything these days, can be pretty caustic to the human metabolism,...
Not to ruin the movie for you but the name fructose derives from “fruit-sugar” oranges, apples, etc are “high-fructose” as well. It’s no more disruptive to human metabolism in corn syrup than in oranges.
Manufactures use corn syrup because (1) it’s a liquid and (2) it doesn’t crystalize into grit and it prevents other sugars from crystalizing as well.
Consistency is the bane of American food. People expect the same brand of cookie or a hot dog to taste and feel the same in New York as L.A. and the same in June as in December. Fructose syrup helps them control for natural variations in both taste and texture of caused by variations in other ingredients and manufacturing conditions.
Corn syrup is one of the banes of life because I can’t consume much sugar in general and virtually every processed or canned food has some in it. I also hate the socialized agricultural system that subsidizes its use.
Even so, I seriously doubt a Lefty movie will come even close to examining the technical and political factors that drive its widespread use.
Shannon,
Interesting, about corn syrup being so useful for helping maintain consistency.
I’m aware that fructose appears in fruits, but I am doubtful about your claim that high-fructose corn syrup — which I understand is refined to make it far more concentrated — is no more disruptive than what you find in an orange, which is the original un-concentrated form.
Like you, I have an intolerance to refined sugars. Recently, I’ve noticed that even good old cane sugar actually seems to affect me less than high fructose corn syrup.
I am not certain why, but I’d assume it has to do with the concentration of the fructose.
Hmm... Wikipedia says high fructose corn syrup has “undergone enzymatic processing in order to increase their fructose content and are then mixed with pure corn syrup (100% glucose) to reach their final form.”
Whatever it is, I understand it’s particularly bad for causing weight gain, diabetes, and other health problems, because it has such a high glycemic index, raising (and then lowering) the sugars in our bloodstream so quickly.
Wikipedia has an entire section on the health effects of HFCS. It appears most of the health problems come, as you point out, not from the corn per se but from the concentration process.
Joshua
There are too many people already that are convinced that Christianity is the most dangerous religion in the entire world, and too many already that are convinced that their fellow human beings are all actually vampires and/or zombies deserving only a stake to the heart / bullet to the brain. I’m tired of preaching masquerading as entertainment, myself, so I think I’ll skip “Golden Compass” and “I am Legend” despite all the assurances that they were designed for agnostics like me.
In fact, the rabid atheist fervor around “Golden Compass” is really frightening. Atheist fanaticism is far more dangerous than religious fanaticism, as it’s unhindered by any moral imperatives, yet just as prone to violence when confronted with dissent.
I was on that website last night and the trailer that jumped out at me was Persopolis- an animated movie based on a memoir of a girl coming of age in revolutionary Iran. Its animation look was retro but uniquely appealing, and the story seemed very interesting.
I’m with David here regarding No Country For Old Men. The book is about older sheriff in Texas who has spent his whole life trying to live down an act of cowardice he committed in world war II. No one knows about this act. in fact, he was awarded a medal for that episode, and has been a pillar of the community since his return to civilian life. In reaction to his feelings of guilt, he has tried to take responsibility for the safety of everyone living in his county for 35 years or so. People look at him as embodying the virtues of the older society. “A man of an older time”. Ultimately, he decides that he is not up to taking on the “villain” in this story, however, concluding that he is, in fact, the same man he was in 1944 (”that’s a hard thing to face after 38 years”). “I’m not a man of an older time. I’m a man of this time. I always have been”. He turns in his badge, and, once again, character is destiny.
Its not an amoral story. It just doesn’t have the ending we would like. Life is often like that, however.
I read a number of reviews that described the movie as being faithful to the book. I disagree. I think much is lost in the adaptation, and recommend the book.
I must admit, I get more drawn into No Country every time I watch the trailer. That is one deft trailer. The characters are compelling in that Jerry Springer sort of way, where you just can’t take your eyes off them.
I’d also chime in recommending No Country. Best movie of the year, by far, and I never agree with the holly-libs.
Your suspicion that “No Country for Old Men” has “a deficit of moral fortitude” couldn’t possibly be more wrong.
Dan,
Glad to hear it. Care to elaborate? I’m sure others would be interested.
Joshua
I haven’t read “No Country for Old Men,” but plan to when I finish some studies about a year from now. The movie, however, was, I thought, a real masterpiece. The Coen Brothers, who adapted, directed, and produced it, are no strangers to movies featuring a characters with a deficit of moral fortitude, as you put it, but this movie, like Fargo before it, shift the center from a character who got themselves in a rut of crime to a character who’s there to make sure the audience appreciates the depth and breadth of sadness that resulted from the events of the plot.
I know what you mean about CP being easy to mix up with other symptomologies. I remember the first time I met a person with CP. I was on a cross-country bicycle ride to benefit people with disabilities and this guy who was slobbering all over himself was pointing at our team photographer and tapping on his touch board.
We all felt a bit uncomfortable and couldn’t figure out what he was trying to tell us until our team photographer suddenly realized he was talking about “f-stops” and exposure times. Turns out he was he was a photography hobbyist and wanted to compare notes with a fellow enthusiast.
It was then that I realized how very different the outward appearance of CP is from what is going on on the inside.
Why the new film bias?? Realism + uplifting = Sidney Poitier. I say put Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Lilies of the Field, and A Patch of Blue on your queue.