Another week, another set of four trailers to read. Yes, only four as you people are going to step in and offer some advice to some up-and-coming auteurs of cinema. There was some good response to the request for filmmakers who needed some exposure to their projects. When you watch these you can easily feel the work that went into making them and I am happy, at the very least, to offer a soap box to stand on and be judged on their trailers. Obviously, the trailers are but a sliver of the entire completed project but this is what sells a film and everyone needs your help in giving feedback about what works, what doesn’t and what could be better.

I am reminded of Martha and her catchphrase she uttered with resounding conviction, before her conviction, when I see the early reviews coming in for DAWN OF THE DEAD. On top of that, getting an extended ten-minute preview on USA this week was all that was needed to seal the deal. I applaud Universal for not only taking the ballsy move to secure the time to show the first ten minutes of the film, but that they believe enough in the picture to even give a thought to doing something like this. Obviously, there are some drawbacks to showing an insight into the pacing, cadence, camera work and acting of those in the picture. One of the drawbacks is that some people could see that you made a crappy-ass movie and you could possibly lose what little support you could have garnered by simply sitting on that jive turkey until a nameless Wednesday comes across so you can drop that bomb like Billy Zane in a Memphis Belle.

The second part of Peter’s look at Frank Miller’s Dark Knight, plus a little Toy Fair…

It’s nice to see the studios start rolling out and unfurling the trailers for their tentpoles. While I have yet to see the ones for I, ROBOT or the new SPIDER-MAN 2 be released, I know it’s just a matter of time as the latest for HELLBOY, MAN ON FIRE and even a new ALIENS VS. PREDATOR debuted this week. It’s nice to be coming out of winter and looking ahead to the cool confines of the movie house and unplug. Some have their feelings about summer movies and about their place in modern cinema, but if you take a look at my trailer-o-the-week, DAY AFTER TOMORROW, you will see why it may be a good thing to be paying attention at this year’s crop of summer flicks.

Are we done now with the Oscar pimping, primping and publicizing? Yes, we know Billy Crystal had as much relevance as an Apple IIe, that Joan Rivers and her suckling fawn, Melissa, have as much command of simple facts and decorum as a brain-dead ten-year-old with OCD in a Precious Moments boutique, and that Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Will Ferrell were the funniest parts of the night. Aside from that, and what your feelings are of Bill Murray getting completely robbed of his Oscar, which really…