I can't say I'm holding out much hope for Identity Thief to be good necessarily. Bateman's track record over the last few years is sketchy to say the least and you couldn't call the humor on display in this trailer. On the other hand, Melissa McCarthy is one of the more talented physical comedians in the industry and it looks like they're going to turn her loose here. I don't know, could be a decent bet for a lazy Sunday rental.
Promised Land (January 11) - Matt Damon, John Krasinski, Hal Holbrook
This definitely looks to be a little strong on the preachy front but still, with a cast like this, Promised Land can't be too bad. It's good to see Damon re-team with Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant and Damon also co-wrote the script with Krasinski. It's got a great pedigree but can it deliver?
Promised Land (January 11) - Matt Damon, John Krasinski, Hal Holbrook
This definitely looks to be a little strong on the preachy front but still, with a cast like this, Promised Land can't be too bad. It's good to see Damon re-team with Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant and Damon also co-wrote the script with Krasinski. It's got a great pedigree but can it deliver?
The Croods (March 22) - Emma Stone, Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds
I haven't been all that interested in this film's production but I must say, if the trailer is any indication, The Croods is much closer to How to Train Your Dragon than I would have imagined. It can't be much worse than the collection of garbage we've gotten in the kid-friendly department this year.
42 (April 12) - Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Alan Tudyk
How has it taken this long for us to get a Jackie Robinson biopic up and running? This seems like a no brainer to me. I'm excited to see Ford in a role that has some meat to it and the cast surrounding Boseman (as Robinson) is stellar. I do have to say, though, the first look feels a little bit too much like The Express which wasn't all that impressive. I'm intrigued though.
The Lone Ranger (July 3) - Armie Hammer, Johnny Depp, Tom Wilkinson
I don't know exactly what it is about this project. Maybe it's that Depp hasn't been the star of a good movie in a long time (seriously, IMDB his most recent half-decade or so). Maybe it's that The Lone Ranger has been in some version of pre-production for what seems like 20 years. Or maybe it's that the trailer is only a giant mechanical spider away from looking exactly like Wild Wild West. But whatever it is, I'm having a hard time mustering up much excitement for this one. Am I alone in this?
Lincoln (November 16) - Daniel Day Lewis, EVERYONE ELSE WHO HAS EVER BEEN AWESOME IN A MOVIE (and Sally Field)
With this cast (seriously, just look at the IMDB cast list), this director, and this subject matter, you can pretty much pencil Lincoln in as a frontrunner come Oscar season. I just hope it doesn't have the same tone as War Horse, which I kind of hated.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (December 14) - Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage
I have one and only real concern going into the three chapter version of The Hobbit. It's not the stretched out length of the story or the fact that Peter Jackson is clearly adding stuff or this whole 48 FPS film speed thing. I don't care about any of those things. My concern is that the dwarfs look goofy. I thought Gimli looked a little too funny in the Lord of the Rings trilogy but it wasn't a big concern because he was just one dude among a bunch of men, elves, and hobbits. But now that there are 12 of them and they're the majority of the main characters, I wish they looked a little less family friendly. And because of this concern I will only watch this movie 8 times in the theater, not 9.
Didn't watch all of these yet, but just a few comments.
ReplyDeletePromised Land: Too preachy just from the trailer, and from my knowledge, just plain wrong.
The Croods: I don't know. The look of the characters is somehow creepy to me. Not sure why.
Lincoln: Amazing man, amazing events, amazing story. I hope they don't put modern sensibilities on it, though and leave out the harder parts of the story. Sally Fields really looks like Mary Todd Lincoln.
42: I think this has been done before, just not in your lifetime. Robinson has been one of my heroes since I was a small boy. Looks strong, but putting a rap soundtrack to a period piece is insane.
The Hobbit: We are on exactly the same page. These guys were dangerous. There is an element of humor about them in the book, but I hope and pray they don't come off as caricatures. Please, please, Peter Jackson, don't mess too much with the story!
You picked some very good trailers to showcase!
ReplyDeleteLOL at your Hobbit comment. I started thinking the same thing. I am looking forward to 42 and hope it is good. Along with Lincoln. Mr. Sentimentality Spielberg better make it different than War Horse.
Not excited yet for "Prehistoric Brave" (The Croods)but I'll end up watching it.
Talmid, I think we should all expect the story to be beefed up significantly in The Hobbit since they're stretching it to 3 movies. I'm not complaining, though; I'm all for multiple Hobbit movies.
ReplyDeleteT, I think just about everyone who saw the Lincoln trailer immediately thought, "Please don't be like War Horse. Please don't be like War Horse." Here's hoping!