Every week countless trailers go unnoticed or unreported. Trailer’s are an art form in itself, and can be just as entertaining, if not sometimes more, than the actual films, so they deserve their own recognition. That’s why every week we sort through them for you guys, and put the ones we feel you should watch here in our Trailer Roundup.
[tabgroup][tab title=” Oldboy “]
Synopsis: A remake of 2003 classic about a man who sets out to find out why he was kidnapped and locked in solitary confinement for 20 years (changed from 15).
Director: Spike Lee
Writer(s): Mark Protosevich
Stars: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson, and Sharlito Copley
Release Date: November 27, 2013
Thoughts: So I’ve actual had the opportunity to read the script for this remake, and I just want to say that if you’re a fan of the original Oldboy, you won’t be disappointed, they don’t pullback for American audiences. The trailer though, is basically the same as the red-band trailer a couple of months ago, just without the gore. I liked the trailer then, and I like this one now. Brolin, coming on the heels of his highly emotional film Labor Day, is due for a hardcore, twisted action film like this. Spike Lee also looks to have some solid direction, and the trailer clearly hints at a lot of the iconic parts of the original. A lot of people mention the hammer, or the hallway, but I’ll choose to acknowledge the tone, which seems to be exactly on-par with the original. And Copley as the main man behind it all, hell yeah.
[/tab][tab title=” The Raid 2: Berandal (Red Band Teaser)”]
Synopsis: Taking place two hours after the its predecessor The Raid: Redemption, the sequel follows the same ass-kicking officer Rama as he… yeah, that’s basically all we know. No official plot synopsis has been revealed, and the trailer doesn’t give much either.
Director: Gareth Evans
Writer(s): Garth Evans
Stars: Iko Uwais, Arfin Putra, Alex Abbad, Oka Antara
Release Date: March 2014
Thoughts: With The Raid: Redemption being one my favorite films of 2011, going into this I was pretty sure I’d see the sequel regardless of the trailer’s quality, but wow did that impress. Giving away very little, if not none, of the plot, all we get is some awesome gory action shots. And who’d of thought you could make someone punching a wall look like a badass. It worked for Dae-su in Oldboy, and it sure works here. Tonally this also seems to be a bit darker than the first, which had its moments, but was also a bit campy at times with the insane fighting. The shots on the other hand look acutely similar to Nicholas Winding Refn’s film Only God Forgives. That turned out to pull nearly every punch (literally), but The Raid 2 seems to be holding nothing back, and upping its predecessor in every way.
[/tab][tab title=” Dragon Day”]
Synopsis: This plot is insane. An ex-NSA Analysts takes his family to a secluded mountain town to relax, but it takes a turn for the worse when China launches a major Cyber Attack on the US. Not bad, but exactly how is this cyber attack done? Well you know those small little labels on the majority of products that say, “Made in China”, well that cheap labor costs a hefty price when it’s discovered that they put viruses into all those products, basically disabling them.
Director: Jeffrey Travis
Writer(s): Jeffrey Travis, Matt Patterson
Stars: Ethan Flower, Asa Wallander, Jean Gotzon
Release Date: November 1st, 2013
Thoughts: Entertaining trailer? Sure. Would I want to watch this? Probably not. This seems like a political movie that couldn’t figure out a clever way to infuse its message. I mean it’s basically saying the US needs to pay back China because they make all our stuff. That said, the choice for the consequence to be them bugging every single product sounds like something two paranoid high schoolers would think of. It’s ludicrous, and if they took it in a campy tone it could be a fun movie, but it looks to play it off in total seriousness. Still, the trailer is entertaining to watch just for the plot explanation.
[/tab][tab title=” Charlie Countryman (Red Band)”]
Synopsis: A guy falls for a woman who’s claimed by a violent crime boss. Oh yeah, and Shia LaBeouf gets the shit kicked out of him multiple times and tries various concoctions of drugs.
Director: Fredrik Bond
Writer(s): Matt Drake
Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, Rupert Grint, Vincent D’Onofrio, & Melissa Leo.
Release Date: November 15, 2013
Thoughts: Hmm, looks like a pretty neat movie. I’ve read a couple of reviews on it, and I’m getting the same sense that the plot is very rudimentary, yet the film is beautifully made. Some of the very formalistic choices here make this trailer really stand out from the other basic guy falls in love with girl he can’t have story lines. Also, I for one like Shia LaBeouf, and here he seems to be comfortably playing a boy smitten with love in a drug and violence infused world, and it doesn’t hurt that he fully got into character by, as he admitted in an interview, doing LSD in preparations. On the other hand, Mads Mikkelsen is just a force to reckon with, and him being a stoic, mafia-like guy terrorizing LaBeouf is probably gonna be my justification for seeing this. Plus, you know, Ron Weasley.
[/tab][tab title=” Open Grave “]
Synopsis: A neat high concept horror about a man who wakes up with no memory in the middle of the wilderness inside a pit full of dead bodies. When he is rescued, he must determine whether the mass murderer is one of the rescuer’s, or if it is in fact himself.
Director: Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego
Writer(s): Chris Borey, Eddie Borey
Stars: Sharlito Copley, Joseph Morgan, Thomas Kretschmann
Release Date: January 3, 2014
Thoughts: I really like the idea: a man waking up in a pit full of corpses. It’s simple, frightening, and full of good mystery. But the execution in the trailer looks iffy, and the fact that the director is the man behind the horrific (no pun) found footage film Apollo 18, leaves me weary for this one. Though Sharlito Copley is one hell of an actor, and between District 9, Europa Report, and Elysium (which he was about the only good thing in it), he has a pretty solid pedigree. Concept alone though, the trailer is worth checking out, and I’ll probably catch it eventually on DVD.
[/tab][tab title=” Wigger Please “]
Synopsis: Malibu’s Most Wanted in real life. Anyone seen that movie? Probably not. This documentary takes a look at the phenomenon of “wiggers”, white people (usually suburban kids) who want to act black. Basically, think the son in GTA 5. Anyone played that game? Probably.
Director: Jonathan Ashley
Writer(s): Jonathan Ashley
Stars: N/A
Release Date: TBA
Thoughts: Watching a YouTube video of white kids acting like gangsters is pretty comical, but a whole movie… might be pushing it. Thankfully though, this looks to be actually examining the culture phenomena, and not just bashing on them and showing clips for laughs, so it could end up being quite interesting. This won’t be my most anticipated documentary, but if I spot it on VOD I might check it out.
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Grizzly Bomb 