Hollywood Fads NEW TRAILERS

As the Twilight Saga finally comes to a close and the storylines for the Vampire Diaries and True Blood become tired we herald in Hollywood's three new fads.

The first being Werewolves, though to be honest with the usually amazing Teen Wolf ending on such a terribly confusing season finale I wouldn't be surprised if it only lasts one more season.

The second is classic modernisation with Once Upon A Time which has been a huge success for Abc since it premiered last year and some new additions such as Elementary (based off Sherlock Holmes) and Beauty and the Beast on CW. On film we have the newest reimagining of The Wizard of Oz series with Disney's Oz: The Great and Powerful starring a blockbuster cast headed by James Franco as Oz himself and Mila Kunis as the wicked witch. I'm hesitant to add this but Disney's retake on Snow White titled 'The Order of the Seven' starring Saoirse Ronan in the titular role as Ms. White herself was to be set in Asia as a kung-fu movie with Jet Li also in the main cast. Before we groan, this project has been put on hold indefinitely, no doubt because of the critical flops, 'Mirror Mirror' and 'Snow White and the Huntsman' earlier this year. It seems Snow White should be put back to sleep in the reel room for another several years until we exhaust all other fairytales. I would very much like to see a modern adult take on the Pied Piper. Imagine how much press a movie about an online peadophile would be if it was entitled the Pied Piper.

The third fad that is really starting to take traction now is the zombie movie. We've had plently of movies with zombies in them before such as the classic 'I Am Legend', 'Zombieland' and 'Resident Evil' but these films mainly focused on survivors slaughtering soulless zombies. With the new zombie movie we focus on other elements that have not previously been explored in film such as the political and social implications of a zombie apocalypse as World War Z sets out to do and the scenario in which a zombie falls in love with you as we see in the trailer for Warm Bodies.

I'll let the trailers do the talking:

Warm Bodies

World War Z

The Master (2012, Annapurna Pictures)

I think expectations will be high when The Master is released in September which is pretty much self-explanatory when you note that the film stars Joaquin Pheonix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams playing cult initiators.

Pheonix plays the role of Freddie Quell, a soldier returning home from World War II apparently suffering PTSD. He meets Lancaster Dodd (Hoffman) who is launching a religious organisation (cult) and becomes totally submerged in the movement but later finds himself questioning his beliefs.

Some of the opening shots in the trailer already show off the fantastic photography we expect to see throughout the film. Especially the camera angles and placements definitely give the film an edgy and dramatic feel.

The Master opens worldwide on September 21st 2012. It was bumped up from October 12th partially due to the current interest surrounding Scientology after Tom Cruise and Katie Holme's divorce.

Skyfall (2012, Eon Productions)

The brand new trailer for the new 007 movie Skyfall has just been released.

Check out all those scrumptiously photographed environments in the trailer and let me know what you think about the trailer in general.

I felt like it was another pretty standard action movie trailer. Guns, explosions, 'clever' dialogue and a pretty girl. Though I bet the movie will be more than just another action movie. It is Daniel Craig playing the titular role of James Bond after all.
Also good to see Judi Dench back as a sassy old lady. Last movie I watched of hers, 'Notes On A Scandal' (2006) she was playing opposite Cate Blanchett as a possessive and lonely, lesbian spinster. She really is an outstanding actress.

The Imposter (2012, Picturehouse Entertainment)

Algerian Frenchman Frédéric Bourdin is a man guilty of assuming at least 39 false identities in his lifetime. The documentary 'The Imposter' follows the story of his 5 month stint impersonating missing 13-year old American boy Nicholas Barclay and how he managed to convince and then alienate the Nicholas's family and American authorities as to his identity. A fascinating tale about a broken man playing on broken hearts this documentary includes interviews with the real-life players in this story including Bourdin himself, the family of the missing teen and the FBI agent who eventually uncovered the truth. Interspersed with beautifully shot recreated segments with actors. Currently playing at film festivals worldwide.

Cloud Atlas (2012, Warner Bros. Pictures)

Can anyone tell me what the hell this film is about? A five minute trailer for 'Cloud Atlas' was released today but it does little to help explain the concept behind the movie. Rather I was left feeling confused but somehow intrigued. At first I thought it was a indeterminate time film that used the same actors playing different characters through different centuries such as Aranofsky's 'The Fountain' or an abstraction of a similar idea in a broader context such as Malick's 'The Tree of Life' but it appears that it focuses more on a single action that has repercussions throughout history.

As the directors described in a commentary, the trailer had to be 5 minutes as there was so much to explain.
I was almost relieved to hear that one of the directors (yes there are three) is none other than Lana Wachowski of the Wachowskis, the duo that came up with the epic The Matrix Trilogy that I never really fully understood either.

It remains to be seen whether the film will really conquer all the genres it claims to embody or whether it will become a horribly self-indulgent piece of art.

US release date is set for the 26th October this year.

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (and trailer for Life Of Pi)

I can't wait until this movie comes out on general release in Australia as I missed out on tickets to the screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival. The trailer looks stunning even though I have no idea what it is about except that it is a fantasy film that follows a young girl in New Orleans.

I guess it's a good thing that the trailer doesn't give away the plot though as these things always kind of plant preconceived ideas about how the movie should be and you end up spending the whole movie waiting for a particular scene or being annoyed that the movie is nothing like the trailer.

It is directed by Benh Zeitlin with cinematography by Ben Richardson. Not familiar with his work but will definitely keep an eye out for him as some of the shots from this movie are so beautiful in terms of composition.

And while we're on animal movies here's the just-released trailer for Ang Lee's screen adaptation of Life of Pi. Looks exciting and the visuals remind me of the dreamscape sequences from The Lovely Bones.


I should add that I am in no way affiliated with Fox Searchlight, I just happen to enjoy all the films they release.

Young Adult (2012, Paramount Pictures)

Mavis is just your average 30-something jealous, psycho bitch who returns to her hometown in an attempt to rekindle a relationship with her happily married ex after she recieves an email from him announcing the birth of his baby.
Along the way she bumps into a crippled man at a bar who turns out to be one of the less popular kids from her old high school and they establish a rapport.
Featuring one of the most awkward sex scenes in the history of mainstream American cinema Young Adult is a wickedly hilarious film about growing up.

The Descendants: About The Cinematography in Relation to the Story