By Christopher Stipp
May 21, 2004
ADVANTAGE, PIXAR
I don’t know what kind of sticky cheeba was being smoked in or around the Disney negotiating table when it was time to talk business with the Pixar people but I’m feeling that somehow, someone might have actually thought, “Oh yeah. We can do this alone.â€
Without being privy to the actual negotiations I cannot say for sure what the reason was for Disney to not only give up the brand but of the zombie-like following of people who will queue up now for every picture Pixar produces simply based on the kind of hitting percentage it has in the marketplace. It sucks for them as Pixar looks like it has another winner on its hands with THE INCREDIBLES. There is something for the kids, some humor for the adults, and, as always, some great looking animation to make everything easier to swallow. Truth be told, if I had a choice between a traditionally animated feature by Disney (let’s say Brother Bear) or any other animated film by Pixar I would always always always put my money down for the Pixar bunch first and then, should I find the time again to take my ankle biter to the talkies I might give Disney a second look. That is, unless, the kids cry out begging to see the Pixar film again and that’s the killer that will crush the competition. Kids love seeing crap over and over. The monstrous grosses for a film like NEMO can only happen when kids and parents see it a second, third time and when your film is slighted in lieu of another for the first go around that could mean the difference between profit and loss. The fact that SHARK TALE is releasing a month early, in the hopes of getting in before the pond goes dry is a very wise move on Dreamworks’ part.
Director: Francis Lawrence
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Djimon Hounsou
Release: February 11th, 2005
Synopsis: Based on the DC/Vertigo comic book Hellblazer and written by Kevin Brodbin, Mark Bomback and Frank Capello, Constantine tells the story of irreverent supernatural detective John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), who has literally been to hell and back. When Constantine teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister (also played by Weisz), their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles. Caught in a catastrophic series of otherworldy events, the two become inextricably involved and seek to find their own peace at whatever cost.
View Trailer:
* Various (Windows Media, QuickTime, Real Player)
Prognosis: Positive.
If there was any doubt about how slick CONSTANTINE was going to look this, hopefully, is a good start about establishing the kind of visuals that can be expected throughout the film.
I’ll admit it; I have never picked up a HELLBLAZER comic. I barely know that it’s a part of DC’s Vertigo line. While I was busy feasting on heroes, throwing in a LONE WOLF AND CUB, getting involved in indie trysts with LIBERTY MEADOWS and SCUD, here was a book based on some fairly crazy crap I know I would have been interested in had I felt like venturing out a little further out of my cubby hole. So, without really knowing anything about this film or comic book I am glad I am able to see everything with a fresh perspective. This perspective carries over into the opening moments of the trailer that has some chick grabbing the ceiling and looking back at the camera in a way that I can only assume is either demonic, or erotic, in nature.
Things get better as Rachel Weisz has some face time, looking pastier than ever, God love her, and we get a nice extended look at some freaky deeky artifacts of “the occult†that Constantine is supposed to be involved with. Just as you’re getting your bearings as to what the hell is going on in this picture, out comes a Zippo as it ignites a crucifix in a slo-mo dispay of bad-assedness. I still have no real clue what’s happening to this point, not knowing if that whole cross burning thing was motivated by some kind of evil or some fundamentalist Christian BBQ but I am really enjoying the ride. The trailer whips around the corners without lifting any tires up as we get little peeks of some demons (if you push pause on the Quick Time player while it plays, and slowly drag your cursor across the screen there are some great things to pick out and deconstruct as it would otherwise go unnoticed), a very Neo looking Reeves, and a wet Rachel Weisz, which, if I’m really being honest, would get a pass from me any day of the year even if the trailer turned out to be pure crap. However, this trailer stands as one of the best teasers for a movie not even playing this year.
Even though the release date for this movie is February 11th of next year (I know, WTF?) this film has some very nice looking direction, cinematography and even the locations for some of the scenes look quite dramatic. The trailer has some very good, very mood specific music, uses an array of clips but slowly metes them out in nice, controlled bursts, and it has a wet Rachel Weisz. The last point notwithstanding there is an interesting moment in the trailer with Weisz as she is standing in an office. Seemingly, out of nowhere, she is yanked backwards though some a wall, actually a whole of lot wall, and there is a sustained shot of Keanu standing on the lip of a busted out window dozens of floors above the street as we see that they were all in a high rise. The building looks torn right out of the MATRIX RELOADED but hopefully I’ll be able to understand what’s going on in this one with a little better ease.
Director: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
Cast: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, Jason Newsted, Dave Mustaine, Cliff Burton, Bob Rock, Phil Towne
Release: July 9, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: Three years in the making, this new film from acclaimed documentary filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (BROTHER’S KEEPER and PARADISE LOST) provides a fascinating, in-depth portrait of the most successful heavy metal band of all time, as they faced monumental personal and professional challenges while recording their first studio album of original songs in five years. In the tradition of such seminal music documentaries as DON’T LOOK BACK and GIMME SHELTER, METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER seeks to transcend the conventions of the “rock ‘n ’ roll movie” genre, trading rock-star posing for truthful introspection and revealing an intimate portrait of the individuals behind a legendary band and their unique creative journey.
View Trailer:
* Small (Quick Time)
Prognosis: Positive.
I’ve been avoiding this one.
I have not, nor ever will, own a METALLICA album. I know while I was in high school in the early nineties the boys in METALLICA had a delightful time touring on the power of their eponymous release which contained, and spawned many air guitards who thought they could follow along, the super single “Enter Sandman.†I didn’t much like them and still don’t care for them all that much. However, Lars, James, Kirk found a niche, exploited the crap out it, and are now the new KISS without the makeup or action figures. Whups. Sorry ‘bout that. They do have action figures.
This trailer, at its core, has good music. Obviously it’s ballasted by METALLICA noise but it’s a great fit. Also, the trailer, if examined sonically, builds up just like a WINGER power ballad as the action unfolds on the screen. We get some slo-mo walking (a staple in most concert footage. Usually, you get it when they’re taking a bow towards the crowd or hurling their sweat towels to undulating fans.), some flash bulbs are popping, and a really, really simple looking scroll that starts to have a dialogue with me as a viewer.
“This is not a concert film,†it reads. We then get some more unrelated shots of swirling fans being unintentionally ironic with their hands in the air, making the devil hand sign. “This is not “Behind the Music,†it says. There are more kids and their screaming enthusiasm. “This is something else.†Ok. If you say so, I guess. I sit back in my chair and wait for the trailer to tell me, then, what the hell this is supposed to be. Of course it’s a documentary but there is no need to be so dramatic about the nature of this film. Where’s Ronnie James Dio when you need him?
From there, the music picks up, there is a shot of a web browser loading Napster (is that Netscape I see? I can see why Lars is such an angry man.), a snippet of some jamoke avoiding security who are looking to toss him like a rainbow by doing a stage dive (always a fun occurrence at a rock show), and then we get James’ voice over with the scroll following right behind his words just so you can understand what he’s saying.
“Metallica is…you might look at it as a friend…to me it’s been a beast.â€
A beast that’s made him millions. I know I’ve said I hate it, but this phrase put the sound of a record being scratched off the turntable in my mind when I heard this. When people talk about how rough their lives are, in spite of the enormous gifts that have been bestowed upon them like treasures of a plundered civilization, and want to create the illusion of despondency, real or not, it makes me wonder what it is they’re really complaining about. It’s not nice to take someone out of the viewing experience and it was just not a smart editorial move. Regardless of Hetfield’s comments, amusing as they are, we get some personal looks at Ulrich and Hetfield with their kids. Neat. The trailer starts to show some heart and soul here. We then get some cat fighting between Lars and James, which is good for a few giggles, and the tension gets ratcheted a notch or two and increases my buy-in into this movie.
Critics, and their journalistic sound bites, are put onto the screen obviously to provide some legitimacy to this project, to make it clear to fans that they can only see this thing in the theaters and not yet available at the METALLICA e-shop. You can, though, go to Metallica.com where you can pick up a set of band bobbleheads for $75 to tide you over.
The trailer has some moments of groan inducing, roll your eyes backward, awkwardness as the hackneyed us vs. them subplot unfolds but speaking from the point as someone who saw Wilco’s I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART, easily one of the best documentaries about the making of an album ever put down on DVD and should be mandatory viewing for anyone wanting some more exposure to the genre. This movie, however, generated some legitimate interest in me as METALLICA are at the top of the metal game and it would be interesting enough to see what conflict, if any, these guys go through while trying to make an album together. They obviously don’t break up but I’ll settle for the chance to see if the band has any amusing DEF LEPPARD anecdotes.
Director: Eric Bergeron, Vicky Jenson
Cast: Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Jack Black, Martin Scorsese, Peter Falk, Michael Imperioli, Vincent Pastore, Doug E. Doug, Ziggy Marley
Release: October 1, 2004
Synopsis: Oscar (Will Smith) is a fast-talking little fish who dreams big. But his big dreams land him in hot water when a great white lie turns him into an unlikely hero. At first, his fellow fish swallow Oscar’s story hook, line and sinker and he is showered with fame and fortune. It’s all going along swimmingly, until it starts to become clear that Oscar’s tale about being the defender of the Reef is all wet. Oscar is finding out that being a hero comes at a Market Price when his lie threatens to make him the Catch of the Day. Now he has to tread water until he can get the scales to tip back in his favor again.
View Trailer:
* VARIOUS (Windows Media, QuickTime, Real Media)
Prognosis: Negative.
The release of this movie’s trailer in the same week that THE INCREDIBLES hit hardly seems like an accident. This trailer has some major differences with THE INCREDIBLES, one of them being, actually, that THE INCREDIBLES trailer didn’t blow.
We get an opening shot of a restaurant. Sharks are dining at a well-to-do establishment (okay, so we’re gonna go down the sea life-who-live-just-like-humans-do-but-with-a-twist road) where Jack Black plays the son of a rather large shark, voiced by Robert De Niro. Young Lenny refuses to eat some seafood on the grounds that he’s, “a vegetarian.†Gasps ensue, as does hilarity, because he’s a shark, man! Sharks aren’t vegetarians! They’re carnivores! That goes against nature! Hilarious. Really, it is.
From the restaurant we get a horse race. Not just any horse race, mind you, but a seahorse race. A seahorse race. But that’s not the best part, you see, because just leaving it there would be another sea life-living-as-humans-but-with-a-twist convention. No, a fish, voiced by Will Smith, bets on a seahorse and it doesn’t win. It trips near the finish line. Smith shouts out to anyone who will listen to his insistent yammering, “Who trips under water?†Exactly what I’m thinking, Will. How does anyone trip under water? It’s craziness I tell you! It goes against nature.
Well, after a little more exposition, a moment I will save you from, we get the idea that that Will’s character is mistakenly seen as an almightily shark slayer after an unfortunate mishap with a boat’s anchor elevates his character’s standing in the aquatic community. Somehow, after a series of events where Smith hams his voice up for all it’s worth, touting his newly found street cred, he comes to the realization that he needs to slay another shark to remain in such high regard and that Jack Black’s shark character needs to disappear. It’s a little confusing, but I’m thinking there is some kind of running away from home/father/son issues going on in this film that will eventually end with a teary reunion for all. But, back in the trailer, and from out of nowhere, one of the best old school jams starts up, Car Wash, as there seems to be fish washing other fish in what I can only suspect is an exciting opportunity to see another example of sea life-living-as-humans-but-with-a-twist. I mean they’re in the water already, but yet they wash each other. It’s a terribly puzzling riddle but luckily I don’t care as we come to the one redeeming moment in the trailer. I have much love to give to an amusing dialogue exchange between De Niro and Martin Scorcese, who makes his first appearance in CGI, with multiple volleys back and forth using the word “what.†Very amusing.
This is bright looking trailer and picture. The colors don’t look anywhere near the natural palate in FINDING NEMO, and, to take it one step further, this film seems visually closer to taking an episode of the Snorks, snatching the clothes off a mid-seventies Doug Henning, pouring a gallon of childhood-grade tempera over everything and putting it all on a paint shaker for a week and turning it into small, animated pieces. I know that Dreamworks will probably rake it in for this film, on top of the colossal amounts it will make for SHREK 2, but I was categorically unimpressed with anything, with the exception of Bobby De Niro and Marty Scorsese, I saw in this trailer. I don’t know what this movie needs but kids will be beside themselves just to see this thing. My words are essentially moot and unimportant even as I write this.
Director: Jaume Balaguero
Cast: Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, Iain Glen, Stephan Enquist, Giancarlo Giannini, Fele Martinez, Fermi Reixach
Release: June 18, 2004
Synopsis: A teenage girl (Paquin) moves into a remote countryside house with her family, only to discover that their gloomy new home has a horrifying past that threatens to destroy the family.
View Trailer:
* Small (Quick Time)
Prognosis: Nice. Real Nice.
Creepy is good. Two year old creepy, sitting on a shelf somewhere looking for a domestic audience, is an inherently horrific and nervous place to be.
I am happy to see Anna Paquin jumping into the horror genre (I know some semantic specific folks might take umbrage for movies like this that “desecrate†what is true horror, but deal with it for right now.). I am hopeful that a certain cliché comes close to coming true which has everything to do with her getting scintillatingly wild with some forgettable dude before a psychotic ax murderer hopped up on lime Pixie Stix busts up the Cinemax after midnight nude fest. Alas, I know I will be disappointed on all levels pertaining to this flick but I’ll cheerfully take the fact that Anna is in this thing as compensation. She is, in actuality, one of the brightest spots for women in film that’s working today. She’s hasn’t had a lot of stupendous roles but you can’t deny her charm in X2, X-MEN or even in the PIANO. Horror, for her, is a new direction.
As a kid I grew up on a steady diet on Freddy, Jason, PHANTASM, SALEM’S LOT (still freaks me out to this day), and healthy doses of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRES (part two is a solid sequel, don’t kid yourself on this fact). What I like about this trailer, then, is the mood it creates. While it isn’t as exploitative as those others I mentioned, there is definitely a genuine effort here to make everything feel uneasy and slightly evil.
Right from the word go the trailer is bathed in blacks, grays, and very muted whites. Anna drops some foreshadowing that the kid that starts the trailer, a nearly pound for pound replica of the twerp from THE RING, is afraid of his own father. Good. Immediately there are some familial issues going on that are going unaddressed and will hopefully end, somehow someway, in some violence.
Cut to Anna picking up a phone, a creepy kid voice on the other end saying something crazy, but before you try to understand what the hell is being said, a lighting bolt flashes and the silhouettes of people sitting in chairs in front of Anna flickers quickly as the scene cuts away to a bloody hand and then an eerie, sustained banging on a door becomes the noise you incessantly hear as the other thespians are introduced. Let me say bravo to the filmmakers who used a tank topped Anna jiggling down a darkened hallway making my one wish (see intro) closer to coming true, for including a Lena Olin in this craziness, and for convincing Giancarlo Giannini to go along for what looks like a fairly thrilling ride.
After the intros are out of the way, and the sound of creepy banging continues in the audio background, it all stops to let Giancarlo let us all know, cliché trumpet please, “no one can stop it.†Stop what, you ask? I have no clue! And who cares as the last half of this trailer is filled with great cut scenes, a great soundtrack, a precision dropped F-bomb, ghostly kids (hey, did they rip a page out of How To Blend The Ring and The Devil’s Backbone handbook?), chicks screaming, and the best part of it all? It didn’t give away jack about what the hell is happening to this family. I don’t even know if they can be called a family, but I’m glad I don’t have that information.
Dimension, as a distributor, has been responsible for a good amount of flicks that live on the fringes of the video store shelf. BELOW, EQUILIBRIUM, and even the popular SCREAM come to mind, but it has also unleashed holy terror like MIMIC, HALLOWEEN: H20, PHANTOMS, yo, and even HIGHLANDER 3: ENDGAME. They have a good record and it seems to be that they either really nail what they’re selling because they believe it will find its audience, either at the theaters or the secondary video market, or they are dooming one more flaccid picture to the horrors of the cut out bin at the local Wal-Mart.
Director: Brad Bird
Cast: Brad Bird, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee, Craig T. Nelson, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, Sarah Vowell
Release: November 5, 2004
Synopsis: Bob Paar used to be one of the world’s greatest superheroes (known to all as “Mr. Incredibleâ€), saving lives and fighting evil on a daily basis. But now, fifteen years later, Bob and his wife (a famous former superhero in her own right) have adopted civilian identities and retreated to the suburbs to live normal lives with their three kids. Now he’s a clock-punching insurance claims adjuster fighting boredom and a bulging waistline. Itching to get back into action, Bob gets his chance when a mysterious communication summons him to a remote island for a top-secret assignment.
View Trailer:
* Small, Medium, Large (QuickTime)
Prognosis: Positive.
The best way to say how much I enjoyed this trailer would be to say that I was smiling throughout the entire thing.
While FINDING NEMO ranked the lowest loved Pixar film for me (you really can only take so much of Albert Brooks’ neurotic voice for so long), it still fares better than anything else any other studio has tried to do using traditional animation techniques (raise your hand if you loved TREASURE PLANET. Thought so.) What makes Pixar so formidable as a company, and as a marketplace competitor, that specializes in computer generated movies is their focus on having a good, solid story that can be enjoyed by both the child and adult contingent of the movie going audience and is the basis, a foundation, to everything else they do. Most of the other studios give lip service to the fact that every animated story starts off with a good story but there is a reason why Pixar will continue to dominate this landscape. That’s why Dreamworks had a hit with Shrek and the same reason why THE INCREDIBLES looks like a fun romp of shared fun for all.
What is exciting about the trailer for THE INCREDIBLES is that it opens up bathed in a red hue. A camera sweeps through a CGI landscape of a city, the movie logos of Pixar’s previous adventures making it very clear to the kiddies what is coming, a creative way to prime the childhood mind before hitting them with the new stuff. Lest we believe that this will be an empty trailer of just hype and literally not one real substantive shot of footage, which is often the case for animated pictures, we get Mr. Incredible himself, Craig T. Nelson, in full regalia, tapping on a microphone and mumbling to himself about his strength in relation to the small mic bud he is supposed to be talking into. With the first gag out of the way, the trailer dumps some nitrous oxide into its engine as it starts showing extended clips, good clips, of the movie.
Not since TOY STORY have I wanted to see an animated feature like this. It shows so much for a movie that isn’t coming out until November. There is a great bit about the impenetrable, physical nature of Elastigirl’s battle suit (notice the attention to detail the rockets on the side are given) and Frozone’s diatribe on the nature of secret identities in relation to female to male relationships. The fact that Samuel L. Jackson is playing the part of Frozone is wonderfully delightful if for no other reason than his voice is such a resonant calling card of his abilities as an actor.
The music is reminiscent for the opening credits of MONSTERS INC. and the very last moments of this trailer can do nothing but leave you with a good feeling. Frozone lives in an apartment. He hangs his uniform on the wall for ease of use. It’s missing just when he needs it. Immediately, and I’m fairly sure it’s his wife he calls out to, he asks where his super suit is. He yells it out, actually, and gets a lippy answer in return. The ensuing outburst, Sam Jackson style, is heightened by his need to use it and save people while all he’s getting is attitude. Good stuff.
Brad Bird, the man behind the lens and script, should be known in animated circles for his work on the much maligned by many an audience when it was in the theater, THE IRON GIANT. He also wrote an insanely funny short on AMAZING STORIES which had about as much influence on my views about what was funny animation when I was a wee lad of about 10 when it aired as anything else. Some good things are in alignment to make this a great picture and I am sure, nearly positive, this will be another notch in the belt of Pixar.
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