Yeah, it's another one of those ads! I don't think you can beat last year's Autumn compilation (I think that young man ATE it all, bless him), but I do believe it's worth mentioning.
Why? Because summer's more or less over. The nights are drawing in, sunsets will arrive around 3pm and movie buffs will begin talking about which of their favourite films of the year will be entirely ignored during awards season.
It also falls to me and my ilk to declare which films we're most looking forward to for the rest of the year, so with that in mind, this post is going to be all about the five films I'm most looking forward to seeing in cinemas this autumn. On the evidence of that trailer, one of the highlights is going to be a re-release of a 25-year-old film, but I suppose that's because it's Certifiably Awesome.
But skirting around Jack Black raping literature, babies projectile vomiting on Ben Stiller for recycling the same joke for a whole movie (again) and Jackass 3D, here are some of the gems in that trailer I'm most looking forward to in what remains of 2010.
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Whozat? It's "That Facebook Movie", and I was highly sceptical that it would be any good until I saw the trailer embedded above.
Why? Aside from Jesse Eisenberg continuing to set himself apart from his similarity to Michael Cera, it'll be the first big acting showcase from both the new Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield, and Rooney Mara, the new Lisbeth Salander. David Fincher's directing, and with the early reviews and previews, I'm hoping for a critique on a generation, closer to Fight Club than to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Expect... a metric fuck-ton of "like" and "poke" wordplay from reviews across the board.
DESPICABLE ME
Whozat? Like Megamind, the other big CG-offering in that trailer, it's a film told from a supervillain's perspective- in this case, one who plots to steal the Moon with the help of a bunch of chattering yellow midgets he's created to serve him.
Why? Unlike Megamind, it looks kooky and different enough to have piqued my interest. It also got rave reviews when it came out Stateside earlier in the summer, and has the voice talents of Steve Carell, Jason Segel and Russell Brand behind it, to name a few.
Expect... something along the lines of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, would be the best case scenario. Worst case scenario... well, Megamind.
RED
Whozat? Based on the DC graphic novel, it's about a band of retired CIA assassins who club together when one of them comes under fire from their old employers. Carnage ensues, and Helen Mirren takes control of a gun turret. That never happened in The Queen.
Why? I've seen that trailer many times in the cinema and I'm always happy to see it. After the embarrassment of Jonah Hex the other week, it's nice to see John Malkovich actually having fun instead of slumming it to pick up a cheque.
Expect... the Academy to be intensely confused that a film they'd consider so low-brow features so many of their favourite people. Maybe it's hoping for too much that the stalwarts here would get acting nods at the Oscars.
LET ME IN
Whozat? The English language remake of Let The Right One In. No, no, no, hold on. It actually looks quite good if you give that trailer a watch. The basic story is more or less the same- a young lad who's victimised by bullies in his school finds a way to fight back when he befriends the vampire girl who moves in next door.
Why? With the talent involved, I'm being open-minded. Even though it looks like they're playing up the horror angle (something that's largely absent in the original film) the director seems to have the utmost respect for the sources, and he's assembled a great cast too.
Expect... criticis to close their minds entirely and lambast it no matter what. They're so convinced the original is perfect that it'll be like having a one night stand with someone who looks exactly the same as your long time partner. But hey, I might like it!
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (Part One)
Whozat? Are you kidding? The only thing I should really need to explain at this stage is how they're splitting the original book into two films
Why? It's the end of a massive cinematic undertaking, or at least the beginning of the end. Under director David Yates, the films are the best they've ever been, with the exception of the series benchmark, Prisoner of Azkaban. This time around, Yates is taking the fairly pedestrian opening of the book and turning it into a paranoid road movie with our three heroes against the world, and even turning on each other...
Expect... half a film. If it exceeds my expectations, I won't come out of it thinking "well I have to wait until summer for all the good parts", but for now I'm keeping my hopes down. Oh, and make sure you don't give any money to the shitty 3D conversion, which is going to hurt how this film is received, in my opinion. Maybe they'll change their mind about the stereoscopy in Part 2.
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All of this without mentioning the myriad 2010 features that don't appear in the uber-condensed trail for the season, but somehow I'm still looking forward to them. Amongst those, Burke and Hare, Monsters, Buried and Jackboots on Whitehall.
Hey, the alternative today was to write a review of Cyrus. You want that? I didn't review it because there's not an awful lot to say about it. That's because it's not about much. It's been misleadingly advertised to people who like actual narrative events. The cast do a fine job, but it ultimately fails to take mumblecore into the mainstream. There, mini-review.
I'm Mark the mad prophet, and until next time, don't watch anything I wouldn't watch.