Happy Trailers - Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

A new trailer is out for Avengers: Age of Ultron. I didn't think it was possible, but I'm looking forward to this movie even more after watching the trailer.

First, check out the trailer. My comments follow.

We get a better sense of the tone of the film; dark, dark, dark. The Avengers had a Star Wars vibe to it; a lot of swashbuckling action, a sense of humor to offset some the darker moments. Staying with that analogy, Age of Ultron is channeling Empire Strikes Back. All the characters look like hey are going to darker places (there's a lot of 'serious drama faces' in the trailer), the action seems pretty brutal, and the villain is much closer to home than a bunch of random alien grunts. Ultron is Tony Stark's techno-baby after all, the "Dark Side" of his genius.

A few random things. The Hulk/Hulkbuster fight looks amazing. No Vision yet; I guess they want to leave some sizzle for their cinematic steak. And, we get a glimpse of Andy Sirkis, holding a gun. It hasn't been announced who he is playing, but he looks a little like Mentallo.

What do you think? Just slap on some goggles and he's good to go.

Can the story measure up to the visuals we have seen? Given Marvel's record, I think it is safe to say it will.

Happy Trailers - Ant-Man (2015)

Scott Lang from the comics.

While Avengers: Age of Ultron looks like a home-run, what about the other Marvel Cinematic Universe film for 2015, Ant-Man? Well, we finally got a trailer this week and it looks...okay. Not much action, a little bit of snarky humor, a lot of Michael Douglas (Hank Pym aka the first Ant-Man). I kind of wish they had gone with the Eric O'Grady Ant-Man; mostly because I want to see him use his superpowers to check out Black Widow while she's in the shower.

Okay, my fantasies aside, this gives you a basic "redemption" story-arc, some motivation for the hero (he has a daughter AND a kind of whiny Hank Pym telling him why he needs to be a hero), guns being shot, people flying through windows, some flying ant riding, people walking in an aggressively purposeful manner; pretty much standard action movie fodder. Nothing really stands out and Michael Douglas's speech is delivered so lifelessly, that I hope another take is used in the film.

Marvel has more or less delivered with the last 10 movies (yes, even The Incredible Hulk is watchable, if only barely) so for now I'll assume the blahness on display here will be replaced by HOLY-FUCK-THAT-IS-AWESOMEness once I see the actual movie. And I am looking forward to seeing how Yellowjacket looks on the screen.

Eric O'Grady,a man who knows that with great power comes great responsibili-titty.

Happy Trailers - Mad Max, Fury Road (2015)

When I saw the first trailer I thought, "not bad; looks like some good action, even if it reminds me of Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone." Now, trailer two has dropped and I must say, this movie looks completely insane, in a very good way. I get the impression that George Miller is taking the route he did in The Road Warrior and focusing on non-stop action, mostly of the vehicular type. There are so many great shots, including some good looking CG, that I'm a little afraid that it may be impossible for the film to live up to the expectation levels the trailer sets.

Tom Hardy looks appropriately stoic as Max.

Charlize Theron brings the bad-assery as warrior chick...Furiosa. Nope, not making that up.

Then, there's this dude, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne, who was Toecutter, the lead villain in the original Mad Max), who I guess is the big bad.

And, let's not forget why we are really here...cars and explosions...and exploding cars!

Check out the trailer below and prepare to enter "A World Without Hope."

Happy Trailers - Monsters: Dark Continent

There's a new trailer of the upcoming sequel to Gareth Edwards' 2010 alien creature flick, Monsters. Looks like director Tom Green (whose directed some British TV) has ramped up the action, increased the stakes, introduced new aliens, has more human; basically, a major upgrade of the original. It looks pretty good and seems to have a very different focus and tone compared to the first one. If the trailer is any indication, this should be worth checking out.

Happy Trailers - The Pyramid (2014)

Another found footage movie...great. Because, the world doesn't have enough films featuring shaky cam, budget-saving cuts from the interesting stuff (like the monsters) in favor of character reaction shots (I'm looking at you Cloverfield), silly "video artifacts" (I've never had a video camera, DSLR or handheld suddenly get digital snow or any other artsy imperfection) and mysterious editing. Who's editing footage that has been found in an abandoned camera? And, who is the audience? Sometimes it is established, sometimes, it isn't. However, since there are some films that use these conceits to good effect (e.g., Blair With Project, Europa Report, Diary of the Dead) I don't reject found footage movies out-of-hand.

The opening of the trailer, a faux-history lesson told with still images, works for me. It sounds ominous, the images are stylishly rendered and presented and it creates a nice background for the film. And then we get...toxic air. I remember this scene from The Mummy. So is this an homage, a rip-off or have we all suddenly forgotten the pinnacle of Brandon Frasier's oeuvre?

I do like the idea of a massive, buried pyramid being found. It is a neat concept and a good jumping off point for a whole host of stories. So, why do we get a retread of The Descent? Monsters and mazes...that's the best the creative team could come up with? I mean, really, there seems to be nothing else to this movie. Also, why the heck are the deaths of most of the characters shown, including, apparently, the finale? Of course, this may not be the case; you can't really tell from a few seconds of footage. However, I have the bad feeling that, like many found footage movie trailers, we just saw a lot of the "money shots" in what will be a long, dull slog through badly lit sets with the occasional CG-monster jump scare.

Not impressed; but, I will watch it at 2 am when it shows up on Netflix in a few months.

Check out the trailer below; maybe you'll see something to like that I missed.

Happy Trailers - Automata (2014)

Set in the year 2044, Automata follows the adventures of insurance agent Antonio Banderas who is investigating what appears to be emerging self-awareness in robots.

The story isn't unique; however, the trailer gives the impression that this might be a more thoughtful version of the dreadful I, Robot. The world has a very Blade Runner feel to it. You have a collapsing eco-system, a mix of high and low tech and a mono-color palette (black in Blade Runner, white in this film), as well as the subject, how artificial intelligence might come about and the ramifications. Visually, the tech and city designs we see in the trailer look good. And the cast is serviceable.

Of course, if this film doesn't want to be a generic action/effects orgy, it needs to have a good story. And that is something that you don't get a sense of from the trailer. It looks interesting - I like the idea of a non-standard hero being brought in (insurance guy) and that the sign of emerging self-awareness are robots modifying their bodies. It will also be interesting to see what they do with the concept of a robot refugee camp. How much time will be spent developing an AI society? Will this be an examination of where technology could be taking us, both good - creating a new form of intelligence - and bad - the eco-collapse that the world appears to be in the midst of? Or will we get robots running around doing sinister thing? From the tone of the trailer, this does not appear to be the case. However, the only way to know is to get my butt in a seat when the film comes out. And, the trailer presents enough of the story and visuals to make me want to do that.

Happy Trailers - Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

I tried to read Fifty Shades of Grey (back off, it was research for a novel) and just couldn't get through it. I've written...um...read...um...heard of...better random Interwebs porn. But, since the book sold fifty zillion copies to masturbating mommies, it is being turned into a big, terrible movie.

At least, if the trailer is any indication.

I guess the leads (Dakota Johnson (bonus: she already has a good pornstar name), Jamie Dornan) are attractive enough, although, we get to see Dornan without a shirt on, but we do not see Dakota's boobs. i call blatant sexism. Come on Hollywood, one standard for all.

Anyway, we get some dialogue delivered in breathless style, like everyone is taking the stairs. Sexy or asthmatic, your call. You do get the gist of what the movie is about. Young girl, slightly older rich guy, glider rides (what, no ponies?) secret sex dungeon, tied up Dakota faking an orgasm. The end. What it looks like - with the long glances and tight close-ups on blandly pretty people - is a Twilight movie only without vampires. Yes, I know the source book started out as Twilight fanfic. The movie, however, did not have to follow that same visual style as those dreadful movies. But, since this film is meant solely to drain money from your wallets, it makes sense it would be as commercial as possible in all ways.

The Fifty Shades trailer is great for one reason; it does tell you everything you want to know about the film. If this blahness is your thing, then you should enjoy the film. Otherwise, the trailer screams - sorry, tells you breathlessly- to "steer clear." Is it too much to ask to have a sex film (which is what this is) that actually seems...well...sexy? Hot? Not liable to put me to sleep?

Well, If you want to see a great dom-sub movie, check out Secretary.

Hey, we are informed by the trailer Beyonce has made an "exclusive version of 'Crazy in Love'" for the movie. You get to hear part of it during the trailer. And, it is as pop-generic as you'd expect. So, if you like that kind of thing I guess this is a bonus. For me, it reinforces just how much this film is firmly aimed at being profitable and forgettable "product."

Happy Trailers - The Devil's Rain (1975)

The Seventies were the heyday of Satan movies. Films like The Exorcist, The Omen, and The Omen 2 were big budget examples of demonic cinema. There were also a lot of low-budget films in this sub-genre, some good, some bad. Race with the Devil and The Car are examples of enjoyable low-budget Satan movie. At the other end of the spectrum are the amazingly titled but otherwise boring as...well, Hell...Satan's School for Girls and the horrible Italian rip-off of The Exorcist, Beyond the Door.

Somewhere in the middle is The Devil's Rain. The film is a mess as far as the story is concerned, with numerous plot holes. However, it does make good use of its Southwestern locations, has some great, mid-tier actors (Bill Shatner, Ernest Borgnine, Tom Skerritt), decent low-budget effects and a pretty good pace. In short, it's an acceptable drive-in movie (although it needs a shower scene with hottie Joan Prather). It entertains, gives us some nice images and a few mild scares and then wraps everything up in a fairly unsettling fashion. In short, it's worth seeing.

The trailer, however, does everything a trailer shouldn't. First, it starts with some cheesy paintings. Guys, we're in a movie, not at the Met. Then, it shows all of the effects money shots. Finally, it gives away the ending! So, why watch the 90 minute long movie when I can just watch a 3 minute long trailer that makes about as much sense?

Favorite quote form the trailer: "A melting Hell on Earth!"