It;s been a big week for trailers as the studios begin to hit high gear pimping their fall/winter releases. Rather than individual posts for each of these, I thought I’d just do a quick round-up with short comments on some of the ones that have hit my desk recently:
First up, Liam Neeson returns with the third iteration of his popular Taken series. Honestly, I’m hoping this is the last one, as I’d much rather see him reprise his role as Matt Scudder from A Walk Among the Tombstones, which I liked much more than i have these movies. (And do we really have to do the whole number-instead-of-letter thing? Not only is it incredibly annoying, I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to pronounce Tak3n. But that’s how it is on the poster, too.)
Like many other people, I’ve pretty much given up on Keanu Reeves ever showing much acting range, but his performance in the upcoming John Wick is getting some pretty good buzz. I suppose as long as he’s not called upon to do much more than glower and point a gun, and the actual acting is left to those around him, it might turn out pretty well.
Of course, coming from Christopher Nolan and starring Matthew McConaughey -who is, and rightfully so, having an incredible year and is Hollywood’s and everyone else’s darling right now – the nearly 3 hour long Interstellar is on pretty much everyone’s most anticipated list. Here’s the new and “final” trailer for it
The people behind the upcoming Exodus: Gods and Kings say they “aren’t trying to out Heston [Charles] Heston”, referring, of course, to the star’s lead turn in the 1956 biblical epic The Ten Commandments, which is probably a good thing, because no matter how you may feel about the man himself or the older flick, there is really no denying that the role of Moses is one that completely belongs to him. Nonetheless, I am actually looking forward to seeing this movie, if only to see how well they pull off the plagues with today’s new computer effects. Which, of course, is exactly the reaction the studio is hoping for.
Among the smaller upcoming releases that I’m looking forward to is Pride, a comedy based (extremely loosely, I’m sure) on a true story of the culture clash that occurs when a group of “gays and lesbians” – as the trailer repeatedly calls them – from London decide to support the workers of a small mining town in Wales in their struggle for better working conditions. Hilarity (at least according to the trailer) ensues.
J.K. Simmons unleashing torrents of the shouty upon Miles Teller is reason enough for me to be looking forward to Whiplash.
I’ve written before about how much I’m anticipating the upcoming Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing flick The Imitation Game. It got a new UK trailer this week.
And finally, for those of you who are planning to wait about seeing this week’s huge box office draw Gone Girl, or who find yourself looking for something else to see when ou show up at the theater only to find that it’s sold out, I’m going to suggest The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, which also opens this weekend.
Okay, that’s it for now. There are a couple of others that I’ve not included since they really just don’t interest me, and I’m sure I’ll be back with more soon as the marketing machine gears up after this summer’s doldrums, but hopefully there’s at least a couple here that will interest you as well. Let me know what you’re looking forward to and what trailers have caught your eyes in the comments.
Update: My friend Zach Hurst commented on the Facebook page that this trailer for Clint Eastwood’s upcoming movie American Sniper is “up there with one of my favorite trailers of all time.” I may not go that far, but it is a damned effective trailer:
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