Friday, March 25, 2011

Gamer (2009)



Impressions based on the trailer

Computer gamers control a real flesh-and-blood human in a Doom-style first-person shooter game. The trailer promises action scenes with a heavy amount of violence and testosterone. There might be also be some social commentary about the dark underbelly of video game culture, but whether this is treated seriously or is just an excuse to see dudes shooting each other remains to be seen. 

How intrigued are you, based upon seeing the trailer?

Anne: Not very

Jack: Somewhat curious

Comments after seeing the film.

Anne: The trailer accurately portrays the action-packed aspects of the film. They definitely play up the things that boys in their teens (and men who think like boys in their teens) would like to see most. That is fair, but I’m personally more interested in the social commentary in the film which is hardly shown in the trailer. I didn’t realize that I would like this movie because it seemed too much like a brainless action film. The film takes place in a society where regular people are willing to turn themselves into puppeted sims for cash and death row inmates have a chance to win their freedom by fighting through 30 rounds of broadcasted combat. I really like the idea of a “big brother” mind control society that has evolved from our cultural championing of Gears of War, World of Warcraft and Second Life. I feel that the trailer only depicted half of the story. However, the movie does deliver the goods as a solid action film as the trailer displays.

Jack: Gamer is a rare treat – a futuristic shoot-‘em-up with a winking self-consciousness and a satirical spirit. The action sequences taking place inside the game world of “Slayers,” as well as star player Gerard Butler’s escape (apparently shot by co-directors Neveldine and Taylor using handheld cameras while rollerblading) are obviously what the trailer plays up as its main selling points. Some of the more idiosyncratic aspects of the film came as a pleasant surprise, such as its disturbingly kinky portrayal of the relationship between gamers and sims, a black-lighted shootout in a nightclub that resembles a Jackson Pollock painting, and not one, but two incidents where characters burst into song. I was happy that these elements weren’t spoiled by the trailer, but at the same time, advertising the film as simply a poker-faced actionier runs the risk of turning off more intelligent viewers who might really enjoy it.

Final Grade for Film: B-

Trailer Accuracy: 50%

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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Cyrus (2010)


How intrigued are you, based upon seeing the trailer?

Anne: definitely wanna see it

Jack: looks funny 

Impressions based on the trailer

Intelligent comedy of awkwardness, subversive romance with slightly taboo elements.

Comments after seeing the film.

Anne: This was a very uncomfortably funny film. The trailer almost looks like a taboo version of The 40 Year Old Virgin but reminded me more of Mike White’s Chuck and Buck. This is closer to a drama than a comedy but the comedic aspects take the edge off in a nice way. Even so, it’s a darker and more dysfunctional film than the easily-watchable Saturday-night-with-the-family comedy advertised in the trailer.

Jack: Here we have another attempt to shoehorn a totally unrelated film in with Judd Apatow’s crop of regressed-manchild comedies, with what looks like a Sundance-friendly version of Step Brothers. In reality, it is quite an excruciating and Oedipal portrait of some very damaged people. However, the subtle gifts that writer/director team the Duplass Brothers have with actors ensure that we are always laughing with, and not at, our characters.

Final Grade for Film: B
 Trailer Accuracy: 25%
   
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Saturday, March 19, 2011

True Grit (2010)


How intrigued are you, based upon seeing the trailer?

Anne: Curious but skeptical

Jack: YEEAH!

Comments after seeing the film.

Anne: I am a fan of the Coen Brothers, and I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, even when it comes to film genres that I’m not usually attracted to. I like that the trailer shows just as much of Hailee Steinfeld’s character as Bridges, Damon, and Brolin because even though this is her first feature film, her character is who the film is centered around. It’s the revenge story of a plucky and stubborn young girl, which interests me much more than the traditional western elements (horses, guns, and men being men.)

Jack: I’m a western nerd and the Coen Brothers are my favorite filmmakers, so I don’t really need to see a trailer to know that I am going to see this film. However, this trailer presents a fairly accurate picture of a great movie: a sparse and wintery revenge story, peppered with moments of the Coens’ quirky humor. The whole cast is fantastic, particularly the young newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. Bonus points for the trailer’s use of Johnny Cash’s haunting “God’s Gonna Cut You Down.”

Final Grade for Film: B
Trailer Accuracy: 100%
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Splice (2009)


How intrigued are you, based upon seed the trailer

Anne: one thumb up

Jack: two thumbs up

Impressions based on the trailer

Looks a little “Alien”ish. Pulse-pounding, science fiction horror flick. Young attractive scientists breaking the boundaries of science in controversial and somewhat gory ways. 

Comments after seeing the film.

Anne: As scary, gory and terrifying as the trailer makes the film look, this is a brilliant example of how deceiving a trailer can be! This science fiction movie has more to do with taking care of a new baby and questions of ethics and sexuality. I am not a fan of horror movies and I loved it. There are intriguing elements of psychological introspection and dysfunction that are eyebrow-raising and definitely worth checking out.

Jack: Re-viewing the trailer after watching the film elicited chuckles from both of us. Once again we have a very conventional trailer for a very unconventional film. Warner Brothers tried to promote this movie as a spine-tingling monster-on-the-loose picture with a topical science theme. In actuality, this is a deeply and unsettlingly human film about the emotional horror of new parenthood, using the science fiction genre as a vessel to shake viewers out of their comfort zones and consider philosophical questions. It has more in common with Eraserhead and David Cronenberg’s early films than with Alien.

Final Grade for Film: B+ 
Trailer Accuracy: 0%
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It’s the advertiser’s job to sell movie tickets and get butts in seats, but what if the movie advertised isn’t the movie you thought you wanted to see? It’s our job here at Don’t Trust the Trailer to step in and find the truth in advertising.


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