THAT’S MY BOY
First up, we have the latest from Adam Sandler: That’s My Boy. This red band trailer goes out of it’s way to show the raunchy humor that this film promises to deliver. The nudity, vomit, sperm, and pot jokes seem to be selling us one raw, fucking, comedy. BUT what is this story? A bum father (Sandler) tries to reconnect with his seemingly wealthy son (Samberg) because he needs money to stay out of jail. This is a ridiculous premise and Adam Sandler’s over the top Boston accent isn’t helping. This jumbled trailer intercuts a bunch of plot and character points with random, unsupported bits of comedy leaving me bewildered. They need to do better than this if they want to get me to the theaters.
FRANKENWEENIE
Next up is Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie remake. It’s an homage to the classic Hollywood monster movies, most notably (obviously) Frankenstein. As someone who loved Burton’s original short film, I’m giddy with anticipation for this one! This appears to have the makings of a playful little story. Forget the blatant stop animation comparisons to other Burton projects and you’ll see the incredible 50’s style framing and sets. Then again, the editing here may be a bit quick and Nickelodeon-esque for this particular film but I’ll hold out hope that this will be more than just a fun kids’ flick. Hate him or love him, this is just Burton doing what he knows best.
BERNIE
Richard Linklater’s latest comedy, Bernie, is a difficult one to tack down. Apparently, it’s a comedy about a man (Jack Black) who murders his elderly, possibly romantic, lady friend (Shirley MacLaine). The trailer begins with the all powerful text “based on a true story” to prepare us for some authentic story, but never really settles on a tone. The interspersing of faux interviews from the neighbors who knew Bernie with the action of the story feels eerily dark yet whimsical. It’s as though a Christopher Guest movie had a love child with a lost Coen brothers project. I’m not sure what’s happening here.
MEN IN BLACK 3
Will Smith and the gang are back for another installment of The Men In Black franchise. This latest trailer starts off slowly, showing us the typical disgruntled alien-run-in-with-the-MIB comedy routine that has become so familiar. Hold on, because this time it’s not just aliens, cool gadgets and mind erasing flashes. Now, they’re introducing (drum roll): time travel. Despite the very entertaining trailer that ensues – Josh Brolin looks great as “K” and the various action sequences promised here look like fun/mindless entertainment – I can’t get past this one major plot device: time travel. Really? To be clear, I’m a fair weather fan of this franchise. It’s had some inspiring moments, I’ll never forget the first time Tommy Lee Jones introduced the mind wipe. However, I never for a moment thought, “You know what would be really great in this world of Men In Black? If they somehow went back in time and had a scene with Andy Warhol because he’s a strange dude…” But let’s be honest, this is a fun trailer, I like the cast and I enjoy most Barry Sonnenfeld films. I think this preview did it’s job, (sigh) I will probably see this.
BAD ASS
http://youtu.be/U6UCHk5pFmU
This trailer tells us that Danny Trejo is going to kick some serious ass and nothing else. For those of you wanting, I don’t know, a little insight to the plot… here goes: According to its IMDb page, Bad Ass is about a decorated Vietnam war vet who returns home only to be shunned by society. It’s not until forty years later when an incident on a commuter bus, where he protects an elderly black man from a pair of skin heads, that he’s suddenly celebrated as a hero. But his good fortune suddenly turns for the worse when his best friend, Klondike, is murdered and the police aren’t doing anything about it. So, it’s sort of First Blood but without Stallone or any apparent plot structure (it’s all climax!). You may be asking yourself how the writer came upon the name, Klondike. Don’t hurt yourself. Bad Ass is plain and simple: what you see is what you get. This movie and its laughably terrible trailer is for the Snakes On A Plane crowd. I’m talking to you, party going college kids. Don’t worry about sobering up before you see this one. In fact, you might want to hold that bong hit a little longer and bring a few beers for the ride. Then again, if you don’t want to spend your drinking money on this movie you can always watch the video that inspired it:
