Five new trailers hit this week that got the buzz-o-meter buzzing. A hitman romance directed by an actor. A doc about an infamous boxer. A new vampire film from a Korean master. A new drama from a Spanish master. And a quirky-looking romance with two wonderful young stars. See what piqued my interest this week.
On the Bubble
Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs (Sept. 18)
Trailer
With March Madness kicking off this week, I thought it fitting to have a film listed as on the bubble. With the release of the first trailer for Sony's CLOUDY WITH THE CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, I'm lukewarm. As an animation fan, I hold onto hope that every animated feature will be good, but nothing in CLOUDY looks promising. The children's book seemed to have a subtle subversive comment on gross consumerism, but from the trailer MEATBALLS seems like an average outcast makes good story. Judge for yourself.
Getting Buzzed
5) Merry Gentleman (May 1)
Trailer
After watching the trailer for MERRY GENTLEMAN, the story of a lonely hitman following for a younger Irish woman looked promising. Michael Keaton stars alongside the underrated and charming actress Kelly Macdonald. But what really piqued my interest was seeing that Keaton makes his directorial debut with this film.
4) Tyson (April 24)
Trailer
I followed Mike Tyson's career when I was a kid. Because of all his problems since, I believe many younger people don't know just how dominate he was. Director James Toback is his friend and now they have made a film about the turbulent life and career of the controversial sports icon. I can't wait to see if Toback was able to get deeper than an outsider would or whether he'll be one-sided toward Tyson. It will be interesting to see.
3) Thirst (2009)
Trailer
Chan-wook Park's vengeance trilogy — OLDBOY, SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE and LADY VENGEANCE — is a powerful series and has made Park a unique and savage voice in cinema. His segment in the horror anthology film THREE… EXTREMES was the most haunting and now he returns to the genre with this vampire film called THIRST. For Park fans, this is the EVIL LIVE film he's been talking about for awhile. It's supposed to hit the U.S. this fall, but you never know. So all we get know is this non-subtitled Korean trailer to whet our appetite. Sadly, the U.S. never got his last film — I'M A CYBORG, BUT THAT'S OKAY. Best title ever!
2) Broken Embraces (Nov. 6)
Trailer
A new Pedro Almodóvar film is always worth getting excited about, especially when he is working with his muse Penelope Cruz. In this new thriller, Cruz plays a fledgling actress who is chased by an unscrupulous financier. Her story will be combined with three others in a 1950s film noir style. Descriptions have referenced IN A LONELY PLACE and THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, which have me excited.
1) (500) Days of Summer (July 24)
Trailer
This week we get the theatrical trailer for the Joseph Gordon-Levitt/ Zooey Deschanel romantic comedy. The trailer had me at the extended opening clip. It's the first day of spring today and this film makes me want it to be late July tomorrow.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
