Film School Rejects » Movie Trailers, Previews, Coming Soon

The Slammin’ Salmon Trailer: The Movie is Better, We Promise

Neil Miller — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:34:56 +0000

Anchor Bay Entertainment has released the first official trailer for the upcoming Broken Lizard comedy The Slammin’ Salmon, which they will release in limited fashion in December. I caught this film when it made a stop here in Austin for the SXSW Film Festival in the spring. And for reasons unknown, this trailer does not in any way do it justice. The film is a bit dark, full of laughs and all of the inappropriate and meticulously random humor that we’ve come to love from the Broken Lizard crew (a la Supertroopers). This trailer however, seems to cheapen the film’s effect and relegate its funny moments to a series of gags.

So just keep that in mind when you check out the trailer and official synopsis below, both courtesy of Apple.

In the latest comedy from Broken Lizard, (the creators of Supertroopers and Beerfest) “Slammin” Cleon Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan) is a former Heavyweight Champion of the World turned celebrity owner of a high end Miami seafood restaurant, The Slammin’ Salmon. A terrifying bull of a man, Salmon uses fear to rule over his misfit waitstaff (Broken Lizard’s Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, as well as Cobie Smulders and April Bowlby) and on this particular night, he takes his bullying skills to a new level. In an effort to pay off a gambling debt to the Japanese Yakuza, Salmon sets up a contest to ‘inspire’ his waitstaff to sell more food than they ever have before: the top selling server wins $10,000 while the waiter in last place gets served with a broken rib sandwich—courtesy of the Champ himself. Spurred on by greed and panic, the staff resort to backstabbing, bribery and indecent proposals in an attempt to upsell their patrons while simultaneously sabotaging their co-workers. As the hours pass, the dining room action becomes more frenzied as the contest escalates into a brawl for first place in order to win the money.

The Slammin’ Salmon hits theaters in limited release on December 11, 2009.

Exclusive Video: Gentlemen Broncos Orders Turkey Testicles

Neil Miller — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:14:49 +0000

This is probably the single strangest exclusive we’ve ever received (and for that matter, posted), but what the heck. It’s late on a Friday and we don’t have much else to talk about — we might as well give you a look behind the scenes of Gentlemen Broncos in which their props man orders very specific kinds of turkey testes for director Jared Hess. Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Spend a few moments of your life in cruise control below.

Gentlemen Broncos stars Sam Rockwell, Jemaine Clement and is directed by Napoleon Dynamite’s Jared Hess. It is in limited release now.

It’s Complicated Trailer: Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin Get It On

Neil Miller — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:22:06 +0000

Alec Baldwin is randomly crying. Meryl Streep is a little bit of a slut. Steve Martin, still crazy. And writer/director Nancy Meyers — purveyor of such estrogen-infused classics as What Women Want, Something’s Gotta Give and The Holiday – is back again for another round of romcom with It’s Complicated. This time, she’s taking the story of a divorced woman (Streep) who starts having a fling with her fast-talking ex-husband (Baldwin), even though he’s now married to a younger woman (Lake Bell) and she’s got a thing with her architect (Steve Martin).

It’s all very derivative — the kind of romantic comedy you take with a dose of promethazine (via suppository, of course) for your arthritis. You know, the ultimate sequel to Meyers’ Mel Gibson collaboration, What Old People Want. Alas, there is no doubt that Alec Baldwin will be his stock brand of hilarious and Meryl Streep will be her stock brand of graceful, classy and ever-so-charming. Doesn’t guarantee a great movie-going experience, but it’s a start.

See the trailer and official synopsis below, courtesy of Apple.

Writer/director Nancy Meyers (What Women Want, Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday) directs Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin in It’s Complicated, a comedy about love, divorce and everything in between. Jane (Streep) is the mother of three grown kids, owns a thriving Santa Barbara bakery/restaurant and has—after a decade of divorce—an amicable relationship with her ex-husband, attorney Jake (Baldwin). But when Jane and Jake find themselves out of town for their son’s college graduation, things start to get complicated. An innocent meal together turns into the unimaginable—an affair. With Jake remarried to the much younger Agness (Lake Bell), Jane is now, of all things, the other woman. Caught in the middle of their renewed romance is Adam (Martin), an architect hired to remodel Jane’s kitchen. Healing from a divorce of his own, Adam starts to fall for Jane, but soon realizes he’s become part of a love triangle. Should Jane and Jake move on with their lives, or is love truly lovelier the second time around? It’s…complicated.

Despicable Me Trailer #2: Supervillains Are Funny

Neil Miller — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:28:10 +0000

Ever since Universal Pictures released the first teaser trailer for their upcoming animated comedy Despicable Me back in July, I’ve been curious about it. The animation looks great, the voice cast is solid, it comes from Christopher Meledandri, the producer of such underrated animated flicks as Robots and Horton Hears a Who! This might actually be something worth watching out for.

And here, just days after Dreamworks released the abysmal trailer for How to Train Your Dragon, Universal and Illumination Entertainment have dropped a new, longer trailer via Apple. This time we finally meet Gru (voiced by Steve Carrell), the world’s #2 supervillain. He’s engaged in a war of wits with Vector (voiced by Jason Segel), the world’s #1 supervillain. That’s all we know for now — but the film follows Gru’s fight to become number one, and to steal the moon.

That sounds fun. The Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud and Sergio Pablos directed film will also feature the voices of Will Arnett, Mindy Kaling, Kristen Wiig, Russell Brand, Danny McBride and Julie Andrews. It hits theaters on July 9, 2010.

Final Sherlock Holmes Trailer: Exciting, Isn’t It?

Neil Miller — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:23:38 +0000

There’s no doubt that Warner Bros. wants this version of Sherlock Holmes, of which the vision is derived from the wild mind of Guy Ritchie, to be the exciting, exhilarating version of Sherlock Holmes. This runs in contrary to what many Holmes fans would suggest is the true nature of the character created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes has always been a thinker, a scientist and a clever detective. But Ritchie’s version seems to take on Holmes’ wild side — the boxer, the philanderer, the smart-ass. Fair enough, I suppose. It should make for a shiny, glossy Hollywood actioner fit for a holiday weekend release.

With that in mind, check out the new trailer for the film below, which comes courtesy of MTV. In it, we are given more of the film’s plot — including the looming presence of Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), the film’s mysterious villain. As well, we see more action!

Sherlock Holmes stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong. It is in theaters December 25, 2009.

UPDATED: Angelina Jolie Goes Bourne in Domestic ‘Salt’ Trailer

Neil Miller — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:45:18 +0000

Remember back when we reported that Angelina Jolie was coming on to the project known as Salt, taking over for Tom Cruise and forcing a re-write of the script to change the title character’s name from Edwin A. Salt to Evelyn A. Salt? This is that film, and it doesn’t look half bad. Essentially, this trailer shows the film to be Jason Bourne, but with a way better body.

Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is a CIA officer who swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. When she is accused by a defector of being a Russian sleeper spy, Salt goes on the run to clear her name and ultimately prove she is a patriot. Using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative, she must elude capture and protect her husband or the world’s most powerful forces will erase any trace of her existence.

It’s clear that this would’ve been a cool role for Tom Cruise, it would have been very much in the vein of Mission: Impossible and thus potentially run-of-the-mill. The switch to Salt being a woman, and being played by Jolie, does add a new dimension. A dimension that makes this film worth looking forward to.

Salt also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Liev Schreiber, and is directed by Phillip Noyce (Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games). It hits theaters on July 23, 2010. Note: We’ve removed the Russian trailer at the request of the studio, and replaced it with the new, official domestic trailer courtesy of Yahoo Movies.

Uwe Boll’s ‘Darfur’ Trailer Cannot Spell

Dr. Cole Abaius — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:34:24 +0000

As much as you’d love for me to give the normal angry comments about how bad Uwe Boll is (and he is absolutely terrible as a director), I have something new to add to the pile of arguments against the man.

Uwe Boll can’t spell.

Or at least his marketing department can’t, because the new trailer for Darfur, a film based on a topic so far beyond Boll’s intelligence level that he’d need a twenty foot pole just to touch it with a ten foot pole, has a damned misspelling in it.

Did you mean: existence?

Say what you will about our own grammar-mistake-and-typo-ridden film site, but I’ve never (in all my years of studying film marketing), ever, ever seen a straight-up misspelling in a piece of film marketing. Let alone a trailer.

It happens at 1:39 in the trailer, but you should definitely check out the whole thing:

Thanks, Dr. Boll!

Even more fine velvet glove work about the tough issues from the world’s greatest filmmaker.

What do you think?

Source: Twitch

WHAT THE: ‘Tucker and Dale Versus Evil’ Trailer is Genius

Dr. Cole Abaius — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:07:58 +0000

Most of my job consists of sitting around in dark movie theaters, sitting around forming opinions, and sitting around on the internet finding things that blow my mind. While taking a break from surfing for videos of animals on LSD, I stumbled upon sister site ShockTilYouDrop who had a fantastic (rough) trailer for an as-yet unsold flick called Tucker and Dale Versus Evil.

Despite hating the name to no end, the concept is pretty great – a comedy that looks at psycho hillbilly horror flicks as if they are all just one huge cultural misunderstanding. Makes me want to go watch 2001 Maniacs again.

Feast your eyes, sinner:

Some solid kills there, made even scarier by the possibility of them ending up on America’s Funniest Videos. And Alan Tudyk is brilliant even when he’s playing a guy who thinks he’s a pirate.

Plus! It has Katrina Bowden who you know as That Hot Blonde Girl on “30 Rock.”

What do you think? Why did they get rid of the word “Home” from America’s Funniest Home Videos? Why??

Prince of Persia Trailer Jumps Into Your World

Neil Miller — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:10:37 +0000

Earlier today, a leaked version of the Prince of Persia trailer was taken from a UK television broadcast and placed on a little-known site called YouTube. Several other movie websites picked it up and started running with it, but not us. Why did we decide to take the moral highground against piracy and leaked footage? Well, we didn’t. I was just taking a nap.

Luckily, the folks at MySpace released the trailer in high definition right as I was waking up from my mid-afternoon slumber, saving me from any ethical dilema. Not that there is one, we will always deliver the goodies to our readers. Anyway, the trailer features our first look at what promises to be an adventure story on a large scale, with Jake Gyllenhaal as the thinly accented Prince, trying to escape with a very special dagger and hide it before the forces of evil (played by Ben Kingsley and Toby Kebbel) can get it and use it for, well… evil. At his side is the smooth-skinned, mysterious princess (Gemma Arterton) who serves as both his and our guide in this trailer.

My first impressions are those of surprise, as I did not exactly expect this Mike Newell-directed film to come barreling out with such a grande teaser trailer. But once put into context with Jerry Bruckheimer as producer, it makes sense. This movie feels very much like it will be to video game adaptations what Pirates of the Caribbean was to theme park ride adaptations — the exception to the rule. A fun, entertaining and exciting film where no such thing should ever be.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is in theaters May 28, 2010. Check out the trailer below or in HD over at MySpace.

How to Train Your Dragon Trailer Fails Its First Test

Neil Miller — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:06:24 +0000

There’s a pun here somewhere. I just can’t find it. Perhaps it is something along the lines of, “perhaps Dreamworks Animation should learn how to make a good animated movie” before they tackle the dragon training. Or, “perhaps they should stop assembling voice casts with names that are hot and concentrate on character.” I’m not sure. They both seem to work, so you take your pick.

Yahoo Movies has splayed out the first trailer for How to Train Your Dragon, the next animated adventure from Dreamworks Animation. And at first glance, I can’t see much here to be excited about. Just when we thought Dreamworks was coming around last year with Kung Fu Panda, they go and drop Jay Baruchel’s all-too-recognizable voice into the story of a boy who just wants to be a real viking warrior. And in order to do so, he has to befriend a dragon, engaging in a friendship that could ultimately turn the tides for his entire homeland forever.

And therein lies the difference between Dreamworks and Pixar. The former seems content with regurgitating the same ‘hero’s journey’ storylines and the same base-level animation, never adding much spice to the mix (the obvious exception being the aforementioned Panda). The latter, the dynamic and ever-escalating leader in the animated feature realm, continues to tell new, fresh stories and delight us with their ability to make story and character priority one, all while dazzling us with their far superior visual aptitude. It is easy to see why one has a following and the other is playing second fiddle.

How to Train Your Dragon is in theaters March 26, 2010. Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrara, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Craig Ferguson, Kristen Wiig and T.J. Miller voice the film, directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. The trailer is below for your inspection.

Final Avatar Trailer Becomes Official

Neil Miller — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:23:17 +0000

Yahoo Movies has released the final trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar, which we sort of debuted yesterday as the film’s international trailer (remember the Thai subtitles?). This time, we get it in glorious high definition, and at 3 and a half minutes of runtime, it is quite epic. Our own Cole Abaius asked yesterday if this was the trailer to turn all of the naysayers around? The trailer to give all of us the hope we once had for an epic sci-fi adventure unlike anything we’ve ever seen? And from what I can see, it isn’t changing the world overnight — but it still looks pretty cool.

Avatar takes us to a spectacular new world beyond our imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption and discovery, as he leads a heroic battle to save a civilization. The film was first conceived by Cameron 14 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not yet exist. Now, after four years of actual production work, Avatar delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film, disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story.

Avatar is in theaters on December 18, 2009.

Tony Scott to Helm ‘Showgirls 3′ with Men in Bowties and Spandex

Dr. Cole Abaius — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:48:07 +0000

If you’re like me, you love the excess of the 1980s that’s most likely directly responsible for the current downfall of our society. Thanks, a lot, parents. Your wanton disregard for decency and love for cocaine flushed us down the toilet. I know the truth. Bret Easton Ellis wrote my 8th grade history book.

Luckily, we’ll be affronted by that very excess when Denzel Washington enthusiast Tony Scott focuses his attention on the life of Chippendale’s inventor Somen “Steve” Banerjee. There’s currently no title, so I’m going to go ahead and call it Showgirls 3: Showboys 1: A Rope of Sand.

According to Variety, the story will focus on Banerjee who went insane after getting successful and went as far as hiring a hitman to kill a choreographer. If you know anything else about Banerjee, you’ll also already be aware that he was a pioneer of the female mud wrestling scene in Los Angeles and once ran something called a “backgammon club.”

Lisa Schrager will write the script. Hopefully she’ll wear black spandex for inspiration.

And…since I’m contractually obligated to mention him:

No word on whether Zombie Chris Farley will be involved.

What do you think?

Worth Watching: Sam Taylor-Wood’s Nowhere Boy Trailer

Neil Miller — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:39:16 +0000

Here’s an interesting film. Nowhere Boy, the feature debut of Sam Taylor-Wood, focuses on the formative years of The Beatles, before they were ever The Beatles. It is a John Lennon biopic that focuses on his early years, starring Aaron Johnson as the would-be rock icon and Thomas Sangster (Love Actually) as his eventual partner in crime, Paul McCartney.

The casting is curious, as neither Johnson (as Lennon) or Sangster (as McCartney) have “the look” as you might expect from a regular biopic, but the film seems to have some pep. It will be interesting to see how Lennon’s teen years — including his relationship with his conservative aunt (Kristen Scott Thomas) and his less than reliable birth mother (Anne-Marie Duff) — play out on screen. The script comes from Matt Greenhalgh, who wrote Control, the Joy Division biopic from last year that was nothing short of magnificent. To say the least, the pieces are in place for a breakout debut from Taylor-Wood, whose work in short films has been heralded by many critics.

I for one, am looking forward to seeing how this one ends up. You can begin your journey as well, by taking a look at the trailer below. Nowhere Boy opens in the UK on December 25th, with no current release date set for the United States.

Can This New ‘Avatar’ Trailer Turn It All Around?

Dr. Cole Abaius — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:13:17 +0000

There was almost no way for any film to survive under the crushing weight of the hype that Avatar has strapped around its neck, and since the marketing department fumbled the ball time after time, the buzz about the film at this point is probably not exactly the brand that James Cameron would hope for. Especially for something that’s been in his mental hopper for almost two decades.

I’ve been on the skeptical bandwagon since the beginning, but mostly I’m just disappointed in the marketing (which has nothing to do with the film or James Cameron). It looks good, although some of the CGI just still looks like what we’re used to already, but I’ll be damned if the people in charge of selling this thing have taken a golden goose and strangled it to death on the one-yard line. How’s that for mixing whimsical and sports metaphors?

Now there’s a new leaked foreign trailer on the interwebs (I’m thinking Thailand?), and it looks like what we should have seen all along. A classic style long-form trailer with a character introduction, some keen dialog, and some fantastic action sequences.

But I’ll let you be the judge:

Right on. It’s sort of the trailer we’ve seen for every action flick ever, but it’s a trailer that works and actually looks good. It’s my contention that the creatures of Pandora only look ridiculous without the context of the film. When there’s some story and life given to them, I have no doubt that they will be breathtaking and as real as we need them to be. With any hope, if they develop his character, Sam Worthington might also seem real and life-like.

Thoughts? Does this change your mind on Avatar?

Source: The Film Stage

Clint Eastwood’s Invictus Trailer Rises to Power

Neil Miller — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:51:06 +0000

Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for Clint Eastwood’s next film, Invictus, which tells the true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match.

I’m sure the film will be a rousing success, as Eastwood is no slouch. As well, he’s packed his film full of great actors (Freeman and Damon) playing characters of other nationalities. So if they stick the accents, they’re in for some Oscar love. It’s the awards season equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. And it all starts with a trailer, which can be seen below courtesy of Apple (who also has it in HD).

Film School Rejects » Movie Trailers, Previews, Coming Soon

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