So, I was talking to a friend, and he goes, “Have you seen the trailer for the new Tron movie?”

And I was all like, “What?”

And he was all like, “Huh?”

But yeah…he wasn’t making stuff up. Twenty-seven years after the first Tron film — the one that introduced the entire Pac-Man Generation to heavy-handed Christian allegory — we’re getting a sequel. Honestly, I’m not sure how to feel. The original Tron – while it certainly had its detractors — was a tour de force of visual pizzazz. It was light on story and heavy on flash; in other words, it was perfect for what it was. How could you possibly improve on it or build on it in any meaningful way?

It was also light on CGI. And yes, I admit that that stuff has its place, but it’s become something of a crutch to Hollywood in the last decade or so (dull storyline? add some CGI robot fights!). And I’m sorry to say that this particular trailer is filled with mediocre computer graphics. Maybe they’ll look better on the big screen; and they’ll certainly be more impressive in IMAX 3-D (!!!)…but really, when it’s no challenge whatsoever to make your movie look like it’s taking place inside a computer, what’s the point?

Then again, Tron was pretty much the awesomest thing ever, and I definitely won’t miss the sequel. Hmmm…I’m torn. Watch the video and tell me what you think.

HD goodness available here!

A mockumentary about a terrible Christian pop group? This one seems strangely appropriate for the site, since many of our contributors are (or have been) associated with the Christian music industry (not me of course — I’m cool!!!). It started as a series of shorts on FunnyOrDie.com (you can watch them all here) written by longtime Christian music journalist Dan Ewald (interesting interview here), and proved popular enough that he decided to expand it into a feature-length film. Personally, I found the shorts more cringe-inducing than funny (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind you), but the film looks extremely promising (see a surprisingly nuanced scene here), and reportedly has previewed to standing ovations both at Christian music festivals and at more “secular” (if you’ll pardon the expression) venues. If nothing else it sports an impressive cast, with alumni of Knocked Up, The Sara Silverman Program, The Office, Saturday Night Live and Curb Your Enthusiasm. (And, of course, it’s good to see that Victoria Jackson can still do things besides thump her Bible on Fox News.)

Anyway, here’s the trailer. I look forward to hearing what people think of it.

UPDATE: Are any of you having trouble viewing the embedded video clips? And if so, are you running a PC/Mac, and what’s your browser?

I wanted to highlight one of the DVD releases this week that needs a bit more love. Tarsem Singh’s The Fall has been dividing some critics, but everyone appears to agree that it is a visual feast. Singh (who’s last film, The Cell, was also an eye-candy feast) spent over 4 years filming The Fall in 18 different countries and financed it with his own money. Roger Ebert had a wonderful interview with the director a few months ago; it’s a great read, detailing Tarsem’s process and how he accomplished some of the incredible visuals sans the use of CGI:

Tarsem made millions as a director of commercials, and gladly spent most of them to make his movie. “Everybody in advertising,” he was telling me, “always says one day they’ll make a great movie with their own money, blah, blah, blah. They never do it. David Fincher, one of my producers, told me, ‘You happen to be the fool that has done it’.”

I hope to have my own review up in a few days, but in the meantime, peruse Alexander Coleman’s review or Daniel Getahun’s and drink in the trailer. Follow the links to the trailer and extended clips in glorious QuickTime. Gosh, this film is gorgeous.

LARGER VERSIONS
The Fall – DVD Trailer
Clip – The First
Clip – Wedding Crashers

I’ve never been one for bio pictures. Walk the Line failed to excite me, Oliver Stone’s W. looks to be awfully facile (much like its subject), and I couldn’t muster up much excitement for Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles no matter how good his performance may have been. These films walk a box office tightrope: they are usually seen rabidly by people who know and love the person being biographed (is that even a word?) and completely ignored by the rest of the world who doesn’t really care to spend money on film about them. When it comes to Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office, I fall into the second category.

But strangely enough, this new trailer for Milk, Gus Van Sant’s biopic of the famed politician, has me excited. To put it mildly, I think this may be one of the best movie trailers I’ve ever seen. Having done some trailer editing, I’ve experienced firsthand how hard it is to achieve the right balance of tension while trying to preview a story AND keep people interested. This trailer achieves all three, it is perfectly edited and designed, features just enough plot material, and flows seamlessly for the entire running time. The performances look to be electrifying as well; I’m sure that helps a lot.

It will be interested to see how Van Sant uses his unique style with this material and if he’ll be successful at evoking strong feelings of compassion both for people who believe in Milk’s cause and those who do not. Paranoid Park (Van Sant’s last film) was a huge success in making a decidedly niche character extremely relatable … perhaps this will be the same.

Turn the volume up and check out the trailer High Definition at Quicktime or in YouTube below.

Apparently, American audiences are craving another addition to Lionsgate’s Saw franchise … after all, what would October and its accompanying holiday be without some good torture porn? But what’s so special about this particular trailer that makes me point it out?

The new teaser for Saw V is the third trailer I’ve seen in a year in which the main musical centerpiece is an ironically used piece of religious music. The first trailer was Hitman which used Schubert’s Ave Maria, the second Alien vs. Predator: Requiem using Silent Night, and now this new horror film using the classic hymn of the Christian faith Be Thou My Vision.

This has to be the most blatantly offensive of them all. Although I’m a Christian, I’m certainly not one to get caught up in the boycotts that emanate so often from the orifices of the Christian Right; but this is just wrong. It may not be illegal, but its one of the most distasteful, disrespectful, and intentionally offensive pieces of advertising I’ve ever seen. Shame on Lionsgate.

Sorry if my angst shows, but I really don’t think we need another one of these films. Don’t we have enough already? Every time I see a new preview for one of these, I’m reminded of something Frank Darabont (director of The Mist) said in an interview last year:

The torture-porn thing is pretty distasteful. I’m just not into it. Horror unfortunately tends to go in these cycles where it puts itself back in this ghetto. I just don’t find anything amusing about people getting tortured. I wish we weren’t making these movies. I think it degrades the culture. I think it diminishes the human spirit.

Truer words, Frank. Truer words.

Here’s the link to the trailer at YouTube — it doesn’t quite deserve the HD treatment

I’m usually the last person to know or care about movie projects that are in development — really, what good does knowing about these things years in advance get me, except for possibly an ulcer? This project, though, is one I’ve been drooling over with all the anticipation of a rabid Batman fanboy for more than a year now.
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A landmark film like The Dark Knight (supposedly … I’m waiting two more days to see it) deserves to have some big-money trailers preceding it. There’s one I especially have in mind: Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Alan Moore and David Gibbon’s Watchmen. Just in case you don’t know, Watchmen is, as the trailer suggests, “the most celebrated graphic novel of all time.” Its true: Moore and Gibbon’s superhero fantasy is one of the most sweeping, complex, pieces of literature to be written this century. If you haven’t read it, well, consider this an order. You’ll probably find it in a used book store for a good price. Hit the jump for further comments.
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The newest film in the legendary James Bond franchise arrives on November 7 and it may have the most inaccessible title of any American movie … ever. Its pretty easy to understand with the help of a dictionary, but Quantum of Solace is said to have extra meaning with the actual movie in view (I heard something about it being the name of a terrorist organization, but I could be wrong). In any case, the title fits, seeing as 2006’s much-needed reboot to the Bond series (Casino Royale) left a more emotive Bond in tragedy after the loss of former flame Vesper Lynd. The new film, helmed by Marc Forster (Stranger Than Fiction, Monster’s Ball), will pick up exactly where Casino Royale left off — it’s the first real James Bond sequel.

Check out the trailer in HD over at Moviefone.

Or just watch in in glorious YouTube fuzzy vision. Your call.

From David Fincher, the director of Fight Club, Seven, and Zodiac, comes an epic fantasy/romance based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald? Yes, you heard it right. This November, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett will grace cinemas. The Fitzgerald story about a backwards-aging man has been adapted by Eric Roth who penned the screenplay for Forrest Gump. Production has been wrapped for a while now, but rumor has it that post-production has been extremely tough because Pitt’s face needs to be aged and affixed to his character’s numerous age changes.

I don’t normally read screenplays before I see a film, but I’ve read the first draft for this and it was fantastic. I can’t wait to see what Fincher has in store this November. This may just be the best film of 2008.

Check out the trailer in beautiful HD over at Quicktime!

Kids’ movies these days are in a great state of disarray. Pixar always offers up their best and succeeds, but the rest usually end up floating at the bottom of that large barrel of disposable cinematic sludge. Judging by the trailer, there could be no more worthy addition to that sludge than Beverly Hills Chihuahua, a new animated (?) film from Disney that looks something like the very scary lovechild of High School Musical and those old-school Taco Bell commercials. While sitting in the theater watching this, my friend Matt leaned over to me and said, “Were you aware of this abomination?” No, I wasn’t. I’m so glad to have grown up in the days of classic Disney…

YouTube below. HD available here, but not necessary in the least.

The Fall
I don’t know how long this trailer for The Fall has been around, but I just stumbled upon it over at Quicktime today. Apparently The Fall made its original debut in September 2006 at TIFF and has been released in various places around the world before starting its limited release here in the US of A on May 9. The first time I watched the trailer, some of the fantastical visuals turned me off … it reeked of artistry run a muck. But when I took the time to consider the possibilities I was a lot more hopeful. Seeing the trailer, I’m assuming the title references a fall from innocence and could be an intelligent tale about the power of the imagination and the importance of story. The visuals may serve their purpose well even though it is directed by Tarsem Singh, the man behind the 2000 J. Lo vehicle The Cell. It also stars Lee Pace who helped make television a brighter and better place last fall with Pushing Daisies, one of the most underrated TV series in recent memory.

Looks like a mixed bag. It could be a masterpiece, or it could be a load of crap. Download the HD trailer and decide for yourself (YouTube provided below but not recommended).

The Fall

At long last, the ivy clad champion of Hyrule is getting his debut on the silver screen. Is it up to snuff? Could this, finally, be the video game adaptation to legitimize the genre that Uwe Boll has singlehandedly destroyed? Looks epic, looks faithful to the source, looks to have a large enough budget. Chime in with your thoughts.

Here it is

WALL•E

Pixar is the King Midas of Hollywood right now. Although this trailer is a bit old (well, its a week old, but those of you addicted to the internets have likely already seen it), it needs mention here. I admit that neither Finding Nemo, Cars, or Ratatouille initially piqued my film geek zeal (although they were all great to one extent or another), but this trailer serves up the fix. Revealing more story than any of the previous teasers have, I am already lining up to purchase my ticket.

WALL•E in High Definition (choose Trailer 3 from the options)

The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk
Hollywood’s last go at this franchise was one of the worst examples of faulty director choice I’ve ever seen (except, perhaps, John Woo for Windtalkers, but that’s another matter). Ang Lee is an amazing talent behind the camera, but whatever studio exec thought he was a good choice to helm a comic book film was smoking some bad crack that day. If the following trailer for the new reboot is any indication, Louis Leterrier (The Transporter franchise, Unleashed) was the right director for the job. In other changes, Edward Norton replaces Eric Bana, and I am all for the switch. Bana was always a little too rough and rugged to be Bruce Banner, but Norton is the perfect fit.

Feast on the new green giant here (in cruddy Flash as well as HD)

Hancock Teaser

Hancock
This trailer has been around for a few weeks, but I could not pass up the opportunity to share it on here with those of you who haven’t seen it (and for those of you who have, you should really watch it again). Peter Berg (The Kingdom, The Rundown) is one of my favorite working directors, and while he has never made anything earth shattering, his films never fail to entertain and delight me. This latest from him, which opens this summer, stars Will Smith as a…well, I don’t want to ruin the surprise for you. Just watch the trailer.

Watch the Trailer in HD! Do it!

And here is the YouTube version, if you must.

Tasty treats this week in the trailer park: little girls with creepy dolls in 3D, mystical rapture-like disappearances, and mashed-up apocalyptic mind benders. Enjoy.

Coraline
Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors and I instantly fell in love with Coraline when I read it years ago. It’s a children’s fairy tale with bite: not too scary for a child of 10, but not tame enough to remove all fears. The director of The Nightmare Before Christmas tackles this one, with Teri Hatcher and Dakota Fanning doing the voices. And its in 3D! (not the trailer, but the film) Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy….

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After 19 years of waiting, Steven Spielberg gave a valentine to all of us today by unleashing the teaser for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Technically it’s not the best teaser … but that’s forgivable because it’s darn good to see Harrison Ford in that fedora looking as if he hasn’t lost a beat. Couple this with The Dark Knight and the 2008 Summer Movie Season is looking delectable. Watch the trailer in brilliant High Definition over at Yahoo or be lazy with YouTube below.

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Each week we plan on bringing you the best of the freshest trailers floating out there on the internets. We scrounge the deep recesses of the net, looking for films you’ve never heard of, but we also toss in the cinematic pop-culture fix of the moment (ala Iron Man) because, well, sometimes that stuff is just cool. And really, you need to see what Iron Man looks like, even if you don’t know who the heck he is. He’s a dude in a freakin’ iron suit that blows stuff up! Who doesn’t want to see that?

On principle I like to watch trailers in HD, the highest quality I can get. I realize many of you don’t care about that, so I’m embedding YouTube versions for those with, shall we say, ‘less refined tastes.’ Those who desire their trailers as pristine as possible get links to the HD versions.

Edit: I can’t get the embedded YouTube clips to work, so for now you’ll just have to deal with the HD versions.

Son of Rambow

Son of Rambow
For all my talk of Iron Man, there is another super hero movie that I instantly fell in love with the moment I saw the trailer. Son of Rambow was an audience favorite at Sundance this year, and it deals with two boys coming of age while they film their own sequel to the blood-drenched franchise that put Sly on the map. The trailer radiates charm, and you owe it to yourself to watch it. My number one pick this week.

Son of Rambow in HD

Hit the jump for my other picks this week (including Iron Man).
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