Trailer Roundup (vol. 11)

Let’s all go to the movies! Here’s Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest: There Will Be Blood:

This is a very odd trailer. On one hand, it’s unlike all the standard trailers made today for the attention-challenged generation. That would normally be a good thing, except that Paul’s trailer is so determinedly odd and humdrum, that it’s not all that appealing for the film. But then, I’ve loved his previous films — Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, Hard Eight — so who knows?

Next up is another documentary from Morgan Spurlock, who brought us Supersize Me. He’s at it again, this time with What Would Jesus Buy:

That has to be the funniest trailer I’ve seen in a long time. It chronicles the antics of some crazy dude calling himself “Reverend Billy” and his street preaching / street theater. He has a “church” of sorts, called the Church of Stop Shopping. Even that name makes me smile, with its imperative verb instead of an objective noun (like “Church of the Nazarene” for instance). It sort of reminds me of Stephen Colbert’s clunky book title I Am America (And So Can You!). Priceless. And I love the angle of Rev. Billy’s campaign. It singlehandedly ribs Pentecostalism and consumerism with a giant wink to the audience. Can’t wait!

Ok, moving on. Here’s Guy Ritchie’s latest, Revolver:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=t3TL_j5jqLU

It’s so good to see Ritchie back to what he does best — make really snappy, convoluted British crime movies. I’m so there, about as much as I wasn’t there for his Madonna movie. Yikes!

And the people who brought us the Brazilian street movie City of God, comes a sequel, City of Men:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KICHjZRYfTk

Here’s another interesting documentary Chicago 10:

This is an odd one, mixing documentary footage and accounts with, of all things, animation. It’s from the people who made The Kid Stays in the Picture, about legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans. That film too was very unorthodox. It was like a Ken Burns doc on acid, taking photographs and slicing them apart and moving foregrounds and backgrounds around, effecting sort of makeshift live action scenes. It was a very fascinating technique.

With Chicago 10, they’ve taken a bold new direction with incorporating animation. Just as in The Kid Stays, they filled the gaps of missing footage with semi-animated photos… In Chicago 10, they’ve filled the courtroom gaps by animating the transcripts. Could be really good.

Here’s a neat little movie called 21:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZxzcMAF7GI

It’s based loosely on the actual account of MIT students playing the odds at blackjack and winning big. I suppose that story in itself wasn’t big enough for the big screen, so they felt they needed to spice it up with guns, violence, and sex. That’s cool I guess. But I think given the choice, I would much rather see a documentary about the real story.

And finally, what you’ve all been waiting for — the new Cloverfield trailer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufYF0f-zMgY

Yep, it’s monstrous dystopia time! The title is now officially “Cloverfield”. And I. Can’t. Wait. Do you here me?