We dig trailers and Trailer Roundup brings you a selection that are either highly anticipated, interesting for discussion, or simply look awesome to us. The intent here at Cinapse isn’t to bring the newest, quickest, most hot-off-the-presses stuff, but simply to highlight what has come out recently (whether large or small) and to discuss what we’re digging and not digging. And unlike much of the (often soul-crushing) marketing machine that grinds on and on in Hollywood, the trailer remains a promotional tool that can be art in and of itself, and is often the best indicator of tone, scope, and style for an upcoming feature. Let us know what you think about these trailers!
We haven’t done a “trailer round up” post at Cinapse since last Summer. But as we grow our team and our readership, we’re always looking for new ways to bring you more content and it feels like the right time to resurrect Trailer Roundup! Summer is an odd time for trailers because the BIGGEST and baddest studio tentpoles have already released their first and even second trailers for most of the giant Summer fare. So most of these trailers are for Fall films that probably exist on a different budgetary plain than most of the stuff in megaplexes right now. Let’s get down to business, and remember, these are chosen subjectively by me, at random, based on what I want to talk about… hopefully you will join me in discussion.
LEFT BEHIND
I grew up in church culture and counted myself a fan of these books before I realized how drastically my own beliefs differ from the apocalyptic future that authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins believe in and capitalized on in their wildly popular Left Behind series of novels. But let’s be honest… we’re ALL curious about this one. I clicked on this trailer the first second I had the chance. With Nic Cage replacing Kirk Cameron in what we all hope will be an epic reimagining of those original films, Stoney Lake Entertainment have to be aware that their niche Christian film is going to attract some attention from all of us Cage-ites out here beyond the boundaries of the “Christian Ghetto” entertainment industrial complex. Perhaps getting Cage involved is their ultimate tool for evangelism?
Whether in the theater, or on VOD, or streaming, or the way God intends this to be seen: via Redbox rental… I have a feeling many of you will join me in watching this movie.
That said, with HBO getting ready to launch similarly-themed The Leftovers later this month with Damon Lindelof as show runner, is there any chance that Left Behind and its intentionally evangelistic messages will break through to a wider audience than those who are morbidly curious? Let us know what you think.
Left Behind hits theaters on Oct. 3rd, 2014… unless The Rapture comes first!
BIG HERO 6
Disney Animation seems to be on a bit of a roll these days with recent mega hits like Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph, even while some seem to feel that Pixar is struggling a bit. But what is maybe most fascinating about this trailer for Big Hero 6, beyond its remarkable success as a teaser, is the fact that this is a Marvel property that Disney is mining for a big, family-focused, computer animated adventure. We are seeing a more complete merger between these various companies all under the Disney umbrella now.
I don’t know anything at all about the Big Hero 6 property, but I do know that this teaser appeals to me more than just about any big animated film in a long time that isn’t made by Pixar.
I’m probably not the best person to judge what we are seeing here since I haven’t seen many of the big recent Disney films, don’t consider myself a big animated film fan, and am not familiar with the original property. BUT, if you take all those things into consideration and still hear me say that I LOVE this little teaser, then maybe we get a sense of what Disney and Marvel are up to with developing all these previously unknown to the mainstream properties! If you’re a Big Hero 6 expert, or if you’re like me, let us know how you reacted to this trailer!
Big Hero 6 hits theaters in February of 2015 and can’t get here soon enough.
GET ON UP
I didn’t see 42, but by all accounts I’ve heard, it was a much better film than most people expected, and then-unknown Chadwick Boseman pulled off an accomplished performance as baseball great Jackie Robinson. So I’m much more open to the idea of him playing James Brown in a biopic than I might have been otherwise.
This is an older trailer that I wasn’t aware of until I saw the more recent one that was just released. (And I liked the older one more than the new one, so here it is!) Sure, there look to be a LOT of very traditional biopic elements to be found here, but I think Boseman’s performance looks electric, and Brown’s music proves intoxicating even interspersed throughout this trailer. This film could go either way, probably largely depending on how you felt about The Help as this is from the same director, but what I will say is that the trailer has my attention when the project itself did not.
Get On Up gets down before it gets on up in theaters August 1st.
A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES
I’m somewhat irrationally excited about most Liam Neeson projects these days. It isn’t that his career is heading in the best of directions, it is just that I really like tough guy movies. They’re my comfort food. And I will say that I’d love Neeson to go more in the hard boiled crime direction as his mega-action days wane.
I’m not at all familiar with the novel this film is based on by Lawrence Block, but a quick IMDb search tells me I should be more excited about this movie than even the trailer made me. Why? Director and writer of AWATT Scott Frank also wrote and directed the awesome little Joseph Gordon Levitt crime film The Lookout, and wrote the screenplays for Get Shorty, Out Of Sight, and Minority Report!
On top of my newfound excitement about Scott Frank, and the overall appeal of a solid crime thriller in the Fall season, I’m also pretty into that Black Hole Sun cover that plays over the back half of this trailer, and also look forward to seeing another performance from The Guest and Downton Abbey‘s Dan Stevens as well! Are you a fan of the original novel or have any thoughts on this trailer?
Neesons will punch through a plate glass window into your face as you take A Walk Among The Tombstones in theaters in September 2014.
And I’m Out.