Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode III trailer and UK release info

The trilogy will be complete this July with the DVD release of Robot Chicken Star Wars - Episode III, the latest spoof from Adult Swim's stop-motion animated comedy series from Seth Green and Matthew Senreich.

Voice talent returning for this third Star Wars-themed special include Billy Dee Williams, Ahmed Best, Breckin Meyer, Seth MacFarlane, Dan Milano, Abe Benrubi, Donald Faison, Rachael Leigh Cook, Adrianne Palicki, Eden Espinosa, Hugh Davidson, Bob Bergen, Keith Ferguson, Tom Kane and Zeb Wells, along with newcomers Zac Efron, Anthony Daniels, Mike Henry and Donald Glover.

Along with the 45-minute special, Robot Chicken Star Wars - Episode III also comes with over 3 hours of extra features including trailers, featurettes, commentaries and more.

Take a look at the trailer...


Star Wars Robot Chicken - Episode III is released on DVD on July 4th. Pre-order it here.

Conan the Barbarian reboot gets a new trailer

Reboot 'specialist' Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th) turns his hand to the sword and sorcery genre with Conan the Barbarian, a new take on Robert E. Howard's Cimmerian warrior that promises to deliver an interpretation more faithful to its original source material.

Set to arrive later this summer, the film sees Jason Momoa (Stargate: Atlantis, Game of Thrones) picking up the reigns from Arnold Schwarzenegger, who of course portrayed the character in 1982's cult classic and its subsequent sequel Conan the Destroyer (1984), and sees Conan journeying across the continent of Hyboria on a quest to avenge the murder of his father and the slaughter of his village.

Take a look at the new trailer...


Conan the Barbarian is set for a 3D release on August 19th and also stars Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, Saïd Taghmaoui and Ron Perlman.

For the Love of Trailers - Hesher, Circumstance and Cinema Verite

What to look forward to (or not) as Louise-Afzal Faerkel casts her eye over the trailers for upcoming releases Hesher, Circumstance and Cinema Verite...

So the royal wedding is over, the celebration of a resurrected Jesus (has he?) has taken place and it is back to work for all of us (bar the students and unemployed). This also means some of you may already have had the pleasure of seeing many of the latest trailers out there. But just in case you have not been so lucky, let me recommend (or disapprove of) a few examples...

HESHER

Directed by Spenser Susser.
Starring Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson, Devin Brochu and Piper Laurie.

Hesher has a good trailer. It does. It is very well put together, it is funny, it is compelling. Why the choice of such a straight and narrow, down-the-line manner of selling a movie? Perhaps this is the style of the film itself, in which case – fair enough. It saddens me a bit though.

With such a film, you would ideally like to be thrown in the deep end and be shocked, not chaperoned into the edit. The depiction of the narrative is straight down the line with no twists. The opening 30 seconds are very good; extremely well-crafted, tight, expository but not in a patronising way and it brings us gently into the movie.

I guess it takes a certain type of film to pull off this type of trailer making; a film that can bear it without making it boring: a film for which that style will make sense.

Indeed, the particular use of lines and images chosen make for its originality. Those very particular moments, whether they be the best ones in the film or not, genuinely work. It is very structured, nicely cut and thoroughly entertaining because although its form is perhaps predictable, the content really is not.

The one bizarre thing about this trailer (yup, there is one!) is the mood switch around 1 min 45secs in. It is peculiar but not unjustified. The film makers and distributors seem to want to reach as wide an audience as possible, hence the mood change to attract more people. I applaud this approach as it is not used enough.

All in all, there is something about this trailer that makes you forgive its lack of ingenuity. I was entertained throughout and thus am satisfied, yet a little disappointed. I guess I should not always demand too much of the trailers I watch. 7/10


CIRCUMSTANCE

Directed by Maryam Keshavarz.
Starring Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy and Reza Sixo Safai.

And when I don’t, when I have no expectations, no idea what I am about to delve into: this is when I truly feel I find the real gems. Circumstance genuinely took me by surprise. For this simple trailer needs no form of originality in order to get the message across.

The excellent and grasping opening line catches the viewer’s attention instantly and the rest of the trailer holds it there, through a steady and not overtly rushed pace. It manages to explain the story without even hinting at the film’s final resolution and creates a dramatic, tight and intense trailer. It is engaging and it works. Nothing special, but presents it as something different and special, something you must see!

There are no hurried montages, no epic soundtracks. It takes its time all the way through, and when you were most expecting a montage towards the end, there is none and gives space and presents the movie, rather than sell it.

I will admit – on the outside, this is the type of film and thus trailer that will mainly attract avid film fans, women and people interested in homosexuality and foreign cultures. It is hardly going to compel your average 15-year-old Playstation-loving young man (unless they are up for watching a bit of woman on woman action. Oh God, is this Black Swan all over again?).

Nonetheless, the trailer does as much for it as it can: despite the unusual plot, the trailer (fairly) neutrally presents and shows the film as it is, without attempting to draw in particular people. 7/10


CINEMA VERITE

Directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini.
Starring Diane Lane, Tim Robbins, James Gandolfini, Thomas Dekker and Kathleen Quinlan.

Mistake no. 1 of trailer making: do not choose music too easily recognised from other films. Your audience will associate it with something else and it will diminish your chance of getting people to buy your product. I am not thinking of arias from La Bohème, Jingle Bells or the like. I am talking about actual music composed for other TV shows or films. Like in this instance the soundtrack to American Beauty (among others).

Your audience will not be able to dissociate themselves from the original product so you have already compromised your chances. This is the first issue with the trailer for Cinéma Vérité.

Issue no. 2: the cut is lazy and the scenes are too long. Yes, it is for a TV film (a HBO production, might I add!) but promo-making still needs to be poignant and on the money. This is not. The lines are weak (perhaps this just reflects the quality of the film itself?) and badly chosen (e.g. Diane Lane in her “I don’t wanna give you the wrong impression” bedroom scene). It makes for a dull edit, with nothing else really winning over the audience.

It is however a solid and interesting subject matter, which (more or less transparently) relates to today’s reality TV. In all honestly, I think it is probably good that it does not get released on the silver screen. It is not a strong enough script, as far as I can tell from the trailer.

This trailer has not managed to entice or tease the audience: it has merely condensed 2 hours of television drama into one 2-minute presentation. The only really nice thing about it is the graphics that appear at random and sparsely. 4/10


Louise-Afzal Faerkel

The second official trailer for Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds

For a time it seemed as though Warner Bros. had forgotten that they have a superhero film coming out this summer, but that's all changed lately as the marketing machine kicks into overdrive on Green Lantern with a flood of new posters and now, the second official full-length trailer.

Directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), the $150m blockbuster sees Ryan Reynolds star as Hal Jordan, the first human to be inducted into the Green Lantern Corps., an intergalactic peace force and brotherhood of warriors who are sworn to keep order in the galaxy. Joining Reynolds in the cast are Blake Lively, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins, Temuera Morrison, Taiki Waititi, Jon Tenney, Jay O. Sanders, Geoffrey Rush, Michael Clarke Duncan and Peter Sarsgaard.

Take a gander at the new theatrical trailer courtesy of Yahoo Movies...


Green Lantern is scheduled for a 3D release on June 17th. Be sure to check out the first trailer and an extended preview.

Michael Bay rolls out a trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon

It's been a good couple of days for new trailers, what with X-Men: First Class and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and now comes the first official full-length trailer for Michael Bay's Transformers: Dark of the Moon, along with the following brief synopsis:

"Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. When a mysterious event from Earth's past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us."

Bay took some stick for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (personally I thought it had its moments, but not many) and it's been speculated that the director will quit the franchise after the release of this third feature. If that's the case then it certainly looks like he's going out with an almighty bang and it's hard not to be impressed by the sheer scale of the action in this trailer. Check it out...


For a detailed breakdown of the trailer head over to CinemaBlend and visit Apple to watch in HD.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon stars Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, Alan Tudyk, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand and Glenn Morshower, with voice talent including Peter Cullen and Leonard Nimoy. The film hits cinemas on July 1st.

First trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Harry Potter fans may be disappointed that Daniel Radcliffe has pretty much closed the door on reprising his role as the Boy Wizard in any future instalments in J. K. Rowling’s blockbuster fantasy series but here’s something to cheer them up – the first trailer from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.



Arriving in cinemas on the 15th of July, the eighth feature brings the epic saga to a close and follows Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) as they look to destroy the remainder of Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes) horcruxes in preparation for a final decisive showdown with the Dark Lord.



Feast your eyes on the trailer...

Directed by David Yates (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1), the film also stars Helena Bonham Carter, Jim Broadbent, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters and Bonnie Wright.



Visit the official Harry Potter UK Facebook page here.

Two new trailers for X-Men: First Class

If our current poll is anything to go by then Matthew Vaughn's lycra-clad mutant prequel X-Men: First Class could be the superhero movie to watch out for this summer and with just five weeks to go until the film arrives in cinemas, Fox have decided that it's a good time to hit us with a brand new trailer.

Now we've had snippets of new footage over the past couple of weeks courtesy of international trailers, and while this one starts out the same as the first it's only a matter of time before things get going. Along with more of the Xavier (James McAvoy) / Magneto (Michael Fassbender) story, the new trailer also gives us a look at some of the younger mutants and their powers including Havok (Lucas Till), Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Angel Salvadore (Zoe Kravitz).

It certainly looks like First Class is going to deliver some epic Cold War-era action scenes when it opens this June. Take a look for yourself...


Update: Fox have also released yet another international trailer and again, it features plenty of alternative footage...


X-Men: First Class also stars Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, Oliver Platt, Ray Wise, Caleb Landry Jones and Jason Flemyng, and is set to open in the UK on June 2nd with a North American release the following day.

DVD Giveaway - Unmistaken Child - NOW CLOSED

Director Nati Baratz's award-winning 2008 documentary Unmistaken Child comes to DVD for the first on April 11th and to celebrate the release the kind folk at Matchbox Films have supplied us with three copies of the film to give away to our readers.

Read on the for synopsis, trailer and details of how to enter the competition...

After world-renowned Tibetan master Geshe Lama Konchog passed away in 2001 at age 84, the Dalai Lama charged the deceased monk’s devoted disciple, Tenzin Zopa, with the task of finding the reincarnation of this spiritual leader. Unmistaken Child is the story of his four-year search, following Tenzin as he embarks on an unforgettable quest by foot, mule, and even helicopter, traveling through breathtaking landscapes and remote traditional Tibetan villages.

Along the way, Tenzin listens to stories about young children with special characteristics and performs rarely seen ritualistic tests designed to determine the likelihood of reincarnation. He eventually presents the child he believes to be his reincarnated master to the Dalai Lama — who will ultimately make the final decision."

If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning all you need to do is drop us an email with your contact details, the subject heading "UNMISTAKEN CHILD", and an answer to the following question...

The Dalai Lama is a highly revered official of which religion?

A) Scientology
B) Buddhism

The competition closes at 6pm on Sunday April 10th. UK entrants only please.

The Prize Finder - UK Competitions
Loquax Competitions
Competitions Today

Captain America: The First Avenger trailer has arrived...

2011 is a going to be big year for Marvel Studios, who will be hoping that both Thor and Captain America manage to deliver enough quality to keep the momentum going and further increase anticipation for Joss Whedon’s superhero epic The Avengers, which will of course go toe-to-toe with The Dark Knight Rises next year. So far we’ve had a couple of trailers for Kenneth Branagh’s Thor (see here and here) and now we finally get a chance to see what Joe Johnston and Chris Evans have been getting up to with Captain America: The First Avenger as the first full-length trailer arrives online.

Captain America: The First Avenger sees Steve Rogers (Evans) volunteering to participate in an experimental Super Soldier program, which turns him from sickly G.I. to the legendary superhero Captain America. Joining Evans for the ride are Hugo Weaving, Sebastian Stan, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones, Dominic Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones, Neal McDonough, Stanley Tucci, Richard Armitage, Derek Luke and Samuel L. Jackson.


Captain America: The First Avenger hits North American screens on July 22nd and arrives here in the UK the following week.

For the Love of Trailers - Miral, American Animal and Another Harvest Moon

What to look forward to (or not) as Louise-Afzal Faerkel casts her eye over the trailers for upcoming releases Miral, American Animal and Another Harvest Moon...

MIRAL

Directed by Julian Schnabel.
Starring Hiam Abbass, Freida Pinto, Yasmine Al Massri, Willem Dafoe and Vanessa Redgrave.

This could be glorious. It could be immense. It could be small, but powerful. It could be entertaining and nothing more. It could be an Oscar-contender. Based on the trailer, it could be anything – and that’s a problem.

The trailer for Miral has no definable mood or setting to it and the actors’ performances are lost in the waffle that is the story-telling in this chronological structure (is it really, though?). It took me three viewings to grasp the content of the trailer to the fullest and I am still left somewhat numb, if I am honest.

Freida Pinto’s screen presence is damn-near insignificant as she swoops in an out of the frame. An alright actor though she is, she evokes no emotion in the viewer: there is no connection. Why? Because the editing does not bring forward her best moments? Or is she simply not very good? Why could Julian Schnabel not have cast an unknown (Palestinian) actress instead? Pinto leaves no mark on the spectator and this is the first and essential failure of the trailer.

Furthermore, I have a hard time getting my head around the editing style. After the first half, it gets messy, leaving the viewer unsure of how the story unfolds. The more I watch the trailer, the less I understand how it has been edited. It is not at clear as it could have been, nor is it captivating or creating atmosphere. If anything, the background orchestra are alone in setting the mood.

I still want to watch the film, but more so for its subject matter, not because of the trailer. It is not as moving as it could be. Perhaps their mistake is in being too understated? It is a fine line between over-dramatic and underwhelming and cutting trailers is a true art.

But this is a trailer that completely fails to capture its audience and keep them motivated to watch more, thus making it hard for the audience to care. I can barely identify with Miral as a woman. She’s got no personality and is, as it looks here, misrepresented. An unfortunate 5/10.


AMERICAN ANIMAL

Directed by Matt D'Elia.
Starring Matt D'Elia, Brendan Fletcher, Mircea Monroe and Angela Sarafyan.

I have a huge soft spot for American independents made by young inexperienced people like myself. Perhaps because this is exactly the type of movie I would love to make.

However, trailers for these films always end up in one of the other extreme: truly brilliant (and occasionally better than the film itself) or utterly shit. For the first time, I think I may have stumbled upon something so middle-of-the-road-esque, that it am left scratching my head, thinking “How am I going to write this review?”

Let me start with the negatives. Not the best choice of music. In fact, the music sounds like it has been chosen because the film makers needed something with a crescendo. But it feels so half-hearted...

The use of filler clips rarely works. It makes the trailer inconsistent and messes with the viewer’s emotional response to it. A smoother approach could consistent of a series of scene grabs - done! That is the type of style usually reserved for this type of trailer and is efficient enough.

On the other hand, one of the strengths of the trailer is that it represents the film as one that really knows the identity of its target audience. It could either back-flip and perhaps prove to be too narrow and alienating to other audiences, or be right on target. The trailer leaves this question unanswered, making the film even more attractive.

Another question is whether or not there is too much dialogue? Mumblecore is pretty much dead, move on. Or is this perhaps an attempt at keeping mumblecore alive. Sometimes the dialogue is spot on (like the section where they explain how they have created their own world) and sometimes it’s annoying (Not Blonde Angela’s dialogue in the smoking scene has left scars on my inner scriptwriter’s soul).

It’s hard to make one’s mind up about a lot of things based purely on this trailer and it functions nicely in this way. It’s merely a taste of what is to come in the film and entices the viewer to really sit down and watch it before making up their mind.

It may be perceived as a slow trailer, but is intense nonetheless – mainly due to Jimmy’s character, who dominates the screen fully and makes it worthwhile. It also defines the style of the movie (and the trailer) as an actor’s movie and an intriguing character piece. Excellent representation, but with flaws that drag it down to a 6/10.


ANOTHER HARVEST MOON

Directed by Greg Swartz.
Starring Ernest Borgnine, Piper Laurie, Anne Meara, Doris Roberts, Richard Schiff, Amber Benson and Cybill Shepherd.

Movies about old people are just awesome. There’s something incredibly touching about their performance, their personalities, the stories and the whole idea – which is produced all too infrequently – of giving older actors significant roles (let alone make an entire feature film around them!).

There is an innate sympathy in humans, I think, to sympathise with older people. But all too often also, older actors are patronised or used merely for comic effect (e.g. Betty White in, like, everything of the past 10 + years). Older actors can be funny, but they have so much more potential still and it is far too rarely untapped. This trailer shows us a movie where they and their characters are taken seriously and is a touching, clever trailer, from the choice of clips downright to the graphics.

Indeed, the latter contribute subtly yet efficiently to the build-up of the edit. Their function is obvious, but not annoying or redundant.

This trailer works marvellously, as the viewer is touched from the first line when Ernest Borgnine slowly, but not painfully, gets off his chair. The genuine effort he puts into the action (or at least an effort that feels real) inspires sympathy and admiration. That’s how you grip an audience!

It is what I would call a sectioned structure as opposed to a chronological one, because the edit makes you understand what the story is about as opposed to spelling it out, like it would be so easy to do otherwise. In fact, it evokes emotion by selecting small (the best?) snippets of the film rather than attempt to narrow down the narrative to 2½ minutes of blah. It assembles lines and actions from the film to create a sense of character and why we should care about them. Yes, this sounds like a somewhat primitive approach. Nonetheless, it is one that is necessary in this case, so as to pay respects to the film.

It is an acting piece and this trailer fully shows this. More trailers like this please! 7/10


Louise-Afzal Faerkel

Full length trailer, new poster and official synopsis for Super 8

J.J. Abrams really has been on a roll these past few years, co-creating Lost, producing the acclaimed monster movie Cloverfield and defying all odds by pulling off a successful Star Trek reboot, and it looks as if he's going to continue that run with his latest feature Super 8. Written and directed by Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg, Super 8 has been shrouded in secrecy since day one and while a brief teaser last May gave little away it certainly helped to build anticipation for the film's release this summer.

Well now you can ramp that up ten-fold with the arrival of the official synopsis, new poster and first full length trailer in one fell swoop...

"In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth – something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined."


Super 8 stars Kyle Chandler (King Kong, The Day the Earth Stood Still), Elle Fanning (Babel, Somewhere), Ron Eldard (Black Hawk Down, Freedomland), Noah Emmerich (The Truman Show, The Walking Dead) and Amanda Michalka (The Lovely Bones, Secretariat), and is set for release on June 10th (North America) and August 19th (UK).

'Hitler Begins' with Dawn of Evil: Rise of the Reich

Up-and-coming German actor Tom Schilling (The Baader Meinhof Complex) stars as a young Adolf Hitler in Dawn of Evil: Rise of the Reich, a biopic recounting the early career of the most infamous dictator in history, tracing Hitler's transformation from humble origins as an aspiring art student to a power-obsessed and ruthless egomaniac. Premiering at the Montréal Film Festival back in 2009 under the title Mein Kampf, Dawn of Evil will arrive on these shores with a DVD release later this month.

It is of course rare for German cinema to tackle the rather sensitive subject of the former Führer and while we aren't expecting Downfall: The Beginning, this could still be worth checking out. Let's face it, if anyone could do with a reboot it's this guy.

Take a look at the synopsis and official trailer...

"Rejected by the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, the young, dictatorial and strikingly untalented Adolf Hitler is befriended by a Jew, Schlomo Herzl who at the time is working on a novel entitled 'Mein Kampf'. Herzl's concern for the sad young Hitler leads him along a new path which will lead to disaster in world history."


Dawn of Evil: Rise of the Reich is released on February 28th.

Hammer Films to unleash The Resident and Wake Wood this March

British horror institution Hammer Films has been enjoying a bit of a rebirth lately; last year saw the release of Let the Right One In remake Let Me In from Cloverfield director Matt Reeves, while this March will see the arrival of The Resident, a thriller from Finnish writer-director Antti Jokinen, along with horror Wake Wood from Irish filmmaker David Keating.



The Resident stars Hilary Swank as Dr. Juliet Devereau, a recent divorcee who moves to Brooklyn, NY to start a new life in a spacious loft apartment but mysterious occurrences soon lead her to suspect she is not alone. In a chilling revelation, she discovers that her landlord Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder and has developed a dangerous obsession with her, which leads to a terrifying game of cat and mouse as Juliet is forced to fight and free herself from Max’s increasingly sinister intentions. Co-starring are Lee Pace (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn), Eric Balfour (Skyline) and Hammer icon Christopher Lee.



The Resident trailer:

Wake Wood centres on married couple Patrick (Aidan Gillen) and Louise Daly (Eva Birthistle), who move to a remote Irish villiage to grieve the death of their young daughter. There they learn of a pagan ritual which allows a person to be brought back from the dead for three days to say a final farewell to their loved ones. After convincing the villagers to help, the Daly's resurrect their daughter but when the child returns and they decide to keep her the couple must pay a terrible price for breaking the rules. Wake Wood also stars Timothy Spall (The King's Speech), Brian Gleeson (Love/Hate), Ruth McCabe (Silent Witness) and newcomer Ella Connolly.



Wake Wood trailer:





The Resident hits UK cinemas on March 11th, while Wake Wood will hit screens on March 25th. Meanwhile Hammer also have an adaptation of Susan Hill's supernatural novel The Woman in Black on their slate, with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe attempting to step out of the shadow of the Boy Wizard as lawyer Arthur Kipps.

X-Men: First Class trailer (finally) arrives online

Fox announced yesterday that the first trailer for Matthew Vaughn's upcoming superhero prequel X-Men: First Class would make its way online today and sure enough, following an agonising few hours for X-Men fans, the wait is finally over. The film, which is produced by Bryan Singer and written by Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass), Josh Schwartz (Chuck), Jamie Moss (Rise of the Apes), Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz (Thor), explores the origins of Professor Xavier's (James McAvoy) X-Men and his falling out with one-time buddy Magneto (Michael Fassbender).



Joining McAvoy and Fassbender in the cast are Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw, Rose Byrne as Moira MacTaggert, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, January Jones as Emma Frost, Jennfier Lawrence as Mystique, Jason Flemyng as Azazel, Lucas Till as Havok, Zoë Kravitz as Angel Salvadore, Ray Wise as the US Secretary of State and Oliver Platt as the Man in Black.



Check out the official synopsis and trailer...



X-Men First Class charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, and reveals a secret history of famous global events. Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men.

X-Men: First Class is set for release on June 2nd in the UK, with a North American release the following day.

First trailer for Israeli zombie flick Another World

Israel is about to get infected with the release of the independent action horror Another World from filmmaker Eitan Reuven. The country's first foray into post-apocalyptic zombie territory, Another World sees a small band of survivors fight for their lives after a biological warfare program turns the rest of humanity into savage, blood-thirsty monsters. An interesting teaser trailer is currently doing the rounds (check it out below) and the film's official website has a load of cool images featuring plenty of blood, guts and firepower, which is always good in my book. Looks like this could be one to watch out for.

Synopsis:

Five characters try to survive constant attacks by the infected. Each one of them represents in some way a different aspect of human existence, a different world-view, but most important, a different moral view about the world and his/her place in it -

The Colonel – A professional soldier. Represents the political-military-economic establishment, which sees life as a constant violent struggle for power and resources.

The Doctor – Represents a commitment to love, justice and non-violent struggle against all wrong.

The Wizard – A young man, an inventor and an autodidact scientist, who looks at life as a puzzle to be solved. He strives to discover, understand and invent, with no thought as to the consequences.

The Daughter – A simple girl with simple ambitions – sailing through life enjoying every comfort, while ignoring or unaware of bigger and more profound issues.

The Mouser – A murderer and rapist, evil in the most banal aspect of the word.

The plot takes place during their last six days. All along, as the characters evolve, they listen to a daily radio program dealing with the extinction of the dinosaurs, finding correlating themes to their own situation. As the protagonists move and try to survive, and as their world views and correlations to the situation are gradually reveled, the following themes are explored: the essence of evil, the boundaries of moral responsibility, species (and humankind) extinction, love, grace, euthanasia and more.

Visit the official website or Facebook for more details.

Super Bowl TV spots - Captain America, Super 8, Thor, Transformers and more!

The Super Bowl took place across the pond yesterday, meaning our American friends got to enjoy a host of new trailers for some of 2011's most anticipated movies. Included among the goodies was a first-look at footage from Joe Johnston's Captain America: The First Avenger along with TV spots for big tentpole summer releases such as Cowboys & Aliens (dir. Jon Favreau), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (dir. Rob Marshall), Rango (dir. Gore Verbinski), Super 8 (dir. J. J. Abrams), Thor (dir. Kenneth Branagh) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (dir. Michael Bay). So, for those of us outside of the U.S. (or for those inside who may fancy a recap), feast your eyes on some of the highlights below...

Battle: Los Angeles


Captain America: The First Avenger


Cowboys & Aliens


Fast Five


Kung Fu Panda 2


Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides


Rango


Super 8


Thor


Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Aliens, ghosts, psychics... Gawd Bless America!

Earlier this week we were sent the trailer for upcoming indie 'documentary comedy' Gawd Bless America a from filmmaker Blake Freeman, which is gearing up for a limited theatrical release in the States from February 17th. The film sees Blake accompany a morally and financially bankrupt 69-year-old named Leroy on a journey across the U.S. in a quest to disprove the notion that aliens, people with psychic abilities and ghosts live among us. Look's like funny stuff, so have a read of the official synopsis and be sure to check out the trailer...

"Leroy's spent his life savings on trying to protect himself from aliens and paranormal ghost, by entrusting the help of psychics. Upon the discovery of Leroy's plight, Blake decides he must take Leroy on a hilarious journey across the country to "uncover the truth" of of all things paranormal. From Aliens to Voodoo curses, Blake takes on them all, by pulling pranks on the 'so called' experts with hopes to ultimately prove to Leroy, he has been taken advantage of."


Join the Gawd Bless America Facebook site for more info and clips from the film.

For the Love of Trailers - Perfect Sense, Burning Palms and Carbon Nation

What to look forward to (or not) as Louise-Afzal Faerkel casts her eye over the trailers for upcoming releases Perfect Sense, Burning Palms and Carbon Nation...

PERFECT SENSE

As much as I dread voice-overs in movie trailers, sometimes they can be necessary. They can still be pathetic but otherwise the trailer might not make sense, or be as enticing as they could be. Particularly when said trailer is edited rather unorthodoxly. Instead of cutting around the plot, the trailer has been cut around the characters. This makes for a more diverse form of editing, a different way of luring the audience into taking interest in the movie.

However, before the viewer realises the style of editing, the first minute it is a pure cheese-fest. Eva Green’s fatigued voice rolls over dull images of what could be a badly put together romantic drama. Thus making the film seem unimportant and unoriginal. Then something happens.

The editing gets more complicated and the voice over fleshes out, intensifying the trailer. We are offered glimpses of a reality we do not necessarily know as our own, but one we can most definitely still relate to – even though little, if nothing, of the actual plot (if there indeed is one?) – is exposed.

All this time, the viewer never gets a full image of what this film is like. General moods are created and hints are dropped, but the public is never directly told what to expect. Herein lies the absolute strength of the trailer. And the voice over is half of the reason why. It is very hit-and-miss but the bits that work do so extremely well.

With a great cast like that, it is not necessary to sell the movie through them. It kinda sells itself. Thankfully, the publicity crew had the wisdom to create an appealing trailer that sells itself, not its stars. Yet the main actors’ names are displayed from the start of the trailer till its end. This ironically works in its advantage, making for a structure that is untraditional and that intrigues the avid cinema-goers (read: trailer gawkers). As for the non-film geeks, they should easily be seduced – again, not just by the cast – but by the mystery surrounding the film’s plot.

The music works like a charm and underlines the obscure atmosphere and unclear plot superbly. The strength of the film lies in its fine balance between not knowing what is really going on and keeping mystery exciting, not odd or alienating. A good 7/10.



BURNING PALMS

Here is a great example of when a trailer cut to music really works.

Other than that the trailer is your standard quirky, graphics-based presentation of a cute indie movie. You know, typical stuff. A presentation of characters, making for a structure where plots are not the most interesting: it’s about character studies. This works within context, but is not note-worthy and I won’t linger on it longer.

But do take note of the music chosen. God forgive me, I do not recall what it is. I have it on the tip of my tongue and its killing me…

Be that as it may, it is one of the rare times an over-used, über recognisable tune has been used wisely. The trailer revolves its structure around the anticipation of the music’s climax and the story, as it were, lends itself well to such an edit. This would be a great template to anyone who wants to learn to cut to music. It is not too over-powering and the story is not neglected.

Even though I despise montages, I think it would be impossible to cut this trailer any differently without the inclusion of one. Indeed montages can work, when done with ingenuity and wit, not because it’s a sure winner with the audience.

In fact, the montage creates and sets the mood for the story, which – if cut differently - could have been clumsily. You might be overwhelmed by it all, possibly unsure of what everything means or how it relates to each other, but it works. It evokes excitement and grabs the full attention of the viewer – and not just because it’s a loud piece of instrumental music.

This movie sells itself well through this approach. It is presented as quirky, unpretentious and does not try too hard to impress. It lacks the usual atrocious series of one-liners one normally witnesses in trailers for this sort of movie and it is a brilliant breath of fresh air.

Its choice of structure is not an unfamiliar one, but the edit is so neat and poignant that it really hits home. Do yourself a favour and watch it: 8/10.


CARBON NATION

Documentary trailers have a certain structure to them. I have pointed this out before and this promo is another one cut traditionally that goes straight to the point. Done.

Trailer for documentaries work best when they don’t try to create a mood like for fiction pieces. This allows an unbiased, honest piece, this time about the environment and how one can deal with climate change.

The physical edit is traditional (talking heads, etc.) but the concept does try to deviate from the usual. The absence of a patronising voice over is much appreciated. The choice of music is refreshing. The graphics make sense and tell the story, rather than contain lots of quotes from various magazines and newspapers or what awards the movie has been awarded. The whole promo has gone 180 degrees the opposite way from the standard edit and it goes well with the idea that this is a movie about climate change “that doesn’t even care if you believe in [it]”.

This is a documentary that wants to sell itself, not boast to the public what it has achieved. Sure, this tends to win over people who would otherwise not bother with documentaries, but it still works, if people are given a chance to watch it.

It is a simple concept, which makes for an easy trailer. A nice 7/10.


Louise-Afzal Faerkel

Teaser trailer for independent horror Down the Road

Up-and-coming writer-director Jason Christopher (The Pendant) has just finished shooting his second feature, a throwback slasher entitled Down the Road that pays homage to iconic genre classics such as Friday the 13th and Halloween. Featuring veteran character actor Clint Howard (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Apollo 13, The Water Boy) and with script mentoring from Friday the 13th scribe Victor Miller, Down the Road is currently in post-production for a release later in the year.

Check out the synopsis and official teaser trailer...

"A father, Hunter Isth, is rocked by a tragic accident in his life. He flees town and is no longer seen. Partying teenagers fall victim to a town lunatic. Through out the years the stories become urban legends and more than likely, myths. In present day we meet Jenn, a tough and beautiful girl, who has just been released from an extensive stay at the hospital. When her parents bring her home she barely has time to rest as her friends come over and drag her out camping for the weekend. Seven friends venture out to the woods but as each friend starts dissapearing one by one they each try to survive the wrath of a true mad man."


You can check out an interview with Clint Howard over at FEARnet, who will also be interviewing director Jason Christopher and producer Deven Lobascio later this month for a feature entitled "Film Makers to Watch in 2011", hosted by Saw creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell.

First trailer for Lincoln assassination drama The Conspirator online

Robert Redford helms the James McAvoy starrer The Conspirator, which follows the arrest and trial of Mary Surratt (Robin Wright) after her involvement as a co-conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September 2010, The Conspirator is scheduled to hit cinemas in the Spring and also features Justin Long (Jeepers Creepers), Evan Rachel Wood (The Wrestler), Jonathan Groff (Glee), Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins), Alexis Bledel (Sin City), Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda), Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and Toby Kebbell (Dead Man’s Shoes).

Check out the trailer…


The approach is an interesting one as it focuses on the aftermath and personal repercussions of Lincoln's death as well as the wider concerns.

The next couple of years will be Abe heavy with Spielberg's Lincoln starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Timur Bekmambetov’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - with Benjamin Walker (Flags of our Fathers) announced today as the beefcake President - both set for release in 2012.