Trailer Spotlight: Ice Age 4, Frankenweenie, Bernie

Ice Age: Continental Drift
Out of all of the non-Pixar/Disney animated franchises, this is probably the one I care about the least. The first one is alright, I guess, but not a movie I want to watch repeatedly. The second one was somewhat less alright I think but honestly I remember nothing about it. And I never saw the third. There's just nothing about it that appeals to me but more importantly, I am thoroughly unimpressed by the names attached to this series. Ray Ramano is great but Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Wanda Sykes, etc. all belong on the list of actors who drive me crazy. All that to say, I'm not running out to catch Continental Drift on opening weekend. I will say, though, that it looks more entertaining than either of the previous two sequels, giving it a chance to wind up in my Blu-Ray player at some point. Check it our for yourself and by all means, tell me what I'm missing with this franchise.



Frankenweenie
If there's one thing I've learned over the years of movie watching, it's that you can never judge a Tim Burton film by its trailer. I have been completely surprised in both good (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which I quite like) and bad (Planet of the Apes) ways based on my reading of the trailer. So I just don't know about Frankenweenie. It does appear to be another film that could have trouble finding an audience beyond the Burton followers. So essentially the question is, will Frankenweenie be the next Nightmare Before Christmas or the next Corpse Bride?


Bernie
I must admit: a cast list highlighted by Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey doesn't exactly send me into a frenzy. But I will say two things in defense of Bernie. 1.) This trailer has grown on me. I watched it once and walked away unimpressed. I watched it again for this writing and I'm much more intrigued because... 2.) If director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused) can pull the mockumentary portion of the film together tightly, this film could really work. Plus, while I'm not a McConaughey fan, he does his best work in supporting roles when he seems to be having fun (see: Dazed and Confused, Tropic Thunder) and that appears to be the case here. Could be worthwhile.