New Trailers, Yaaay! “Paranormal Activity 3”, “Contraband” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”

If you’ve ever wanted to see haunted houses, gritty revenge, and sad wunderkinds all in one blog post, it’s your lucky day!

First up: another trailer for Paranormal Activity 3. The latest chapter in the Paranormal Activity franchise is directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, the same guys who did Catfish. This time, we’re taking a trip back to the ’80s, and unfortunately, it’s not for the awesome music. Katie and the other one are little girls now, and that can mean only one thing: it’s origin story time. Creepy stuff has been happening inside the house, and luckily a guy who really loves video cameras is here to help. This only makes the demon more angry and threatens to burn the entire house down. This October, get ready for more ADR’d-in shrieks than ever before!

Next is the trailer for Contraband, starring Mark Wahlberg as Chris Farraday a security guard who once led a life of crime. When his brother-in-law Andy messes up a drug deal, one concerned look from his wife (a blond Kate Beckinsale) is the only motivation he needs to get back to his old ways in order to save Andy’s life. He’s up against incredible odds, but he has the drive to do it, and bad guy Giovanni Ribisi better not mention his wife again, ’cause Chris is gonna kill him.

Contraband hits theaters in January.

Finally, the trailer for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Some kid whose name I’m too lazy to look up plays a child prodigy who will make you feel extremely depressed about yourself. He looks at bugs, speaks in truisms way too advanced for his age, over-enunciates, and uses magnifying glasses and binoculars, so you know he’s really smart. When his dad dies in the September 11th attacks, though, he encounters a puzzle so challenging, it requires a different kind of smarts…street smarts. Didn’t learn that in Prodigy College, didja? See, his dad left him a key that supposedly unlocks something. He has to find what it is and goes on a quest of such epic proportions, a U2 song starts playing. I think it doesn’t unlock something tangible, and instead opens his eyes to being yourself or some other poignant life lesson.

But that’s just me. I’m actually surprised he hasn’t guessed that.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close hits theaters in December.

 

 

This Trailer for “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” is 4 Minutes Long, But Definitely Worth It

There are so many good things about this trailer for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo that I don’t know where to start. Y’know, most people are going to hate on the length, but I like it; it allows us to go deeper into the story and learn more about the characters. I think that if it were shorter I wouldn’t be able to understand it.

The movie tells the story of a man named Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), shunned by the journalistic community for a libel accusation. He travels to an island occupied by a large family, the patriarch of which is Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer). His daugter Harriet was murdered forty years ago, and Vanger wants answers.

Blomkvist can’t do this all on his own, so he gets help from a  young computer hacker/private investigator named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), a good investigator but a constant troublemaker.

Christopher Plummer gives off a really creepy vibe in this trailer as the distraught father. Maybe it’s him, or maybe it’s the fact that whenever I hear the word “island” I think of Lost. Either way, I’m really excited to see more of his performance and find out whodunit.

I also like the trailer’s score. It’s done by Trent Reznor, of the band Nine Inch Nails. I know nothing about him or NIN, but he puts out some awesome movie scores. This one has got  piano and other sounds that grow louder and more intense as the trailer progresses, and it’s really great.

The movie looks good. Watch this trailer. Now!

 

“Premium Rush” Trailer: Joseph Gordon-Levitt Rides A Bike!

You’re riding a speeding bike across the busy streets of New York City, danger at every turn. That, however, is all in a day’s work for Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Bicycle Messenger. The trailer for Premium Rush briefly introduces us to his character, Wilee, a guy who gets his kicks delivering messages and letters AND OH MY GOD HE JUST GOT HIT BY A TAXI!!!!!!

Turns out that accident might have been part of a more sinister plan. Time rewinds and we get a bigger picture of the whole story: he’s assigned to deliver a package “premium rush”, and soon learns that someone eeeeeeevil is making him their next target.

The movie looks okay. I like Gordon-Levitt (he was in 500 Days of Summer) and the plot looks interesting enough. I just hope it won’t be a normal “mysterious package” movie and the only thing different will be bike chases instead of car chases. The trailer also doesn’t really have a consistent tone, either: one minute it’s “Whoo! Ridin’ a bike! Rock music!” and the next it’s “Mysterious… life and death… edgy thriller music.” It kinda feels like it’s trying a bit too hard to be a thriller, but I do like how the title cards get more and more intense as the trailer progresses.

Premium Rush speeds into theaters on January 13th.

“What’s Your Number?” Trailer: Oh No, Anna Faris Is Freaking Out About Love!

So much so, that she falls. Twice. In six seconds.

But I’ll get to that part later. In What’s Your Number?, Anna Faris plays a young woman unlucky in love. She even tells us herself in one of those cutesy monologues, complete with cutesy music that somehow reminds me of cupcake shops.

One day, Anna learns from a romance magazine that women who date over 20 guys eventually turn into old cat ladies. AND GUESS WHAT?! ALLY’S DATED MORE THAN 20 GUYS! Aaaaaackk!

She makes a deal with her next-door neighbor (I think) (played by Chris Evans). Captain America will help her track down all her exes, and she’ll help him flee his current girlfriend. HILARITY/AWKWARDNESS ENSUES!!

Okay… A couple of things: Anna needs a date to her sister’s wedding, which is partly why she’s embarking on this quest. The only thing is…she’s going to all this trouble, and Chris Evans is her neighbor. She even has a little deal with him. Why not just invite him instead of this romantic comedy adventure? Problem solved. I really don’t see why she just…gah. You confuse me, movie.

Oh, and she falls, because this is a romantic comedy.

You can watch all the cutesy awkwardness in the trailer. What’s Your Number? hits theaters on September 30th.

Caution: the trailer has a bit of sexual humor at the end.

 

“The Big Year” Trailer: It’s Official–David Frankel Is The Male Version of Nora Ephron

The Big Year is a kinda-comedy about bird enthusiasts. But since bird watching is too boring, the studio decided to scrap that part from all of its marketing materials. Instead, we get a story about three middle-aged buddies played by Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black, who I guess is “middle-aged” now. Sad.

Because they’re all middle-aged, they’re all facing different mid-life crises. One is having trouble at work, one is having trouble with his wife, and the other is having trouble with…I don’t really know, but he’s in his 40s, so he’s having trouble.

So, they decide to embark on a “big year”, and do all the things they could have done when they were younger. (Of course, the Wikipedia page brings back the boring by telling us that the “big year” is actually a competition to find the largest number of birds…yawn.)

Their birdwatching is so boring, even the Voiceover Guy couldn’t think of anything to say and had to resort to reminding us that this movie is, in fact, a comedy.

The trailer shows off some of that  “comedy”, and it’s mostly people falling and Nora Ephron-style pearls of wisdom (“They’re men, dear. If they ever stop competing, they die.”) and awkward moments mixed together in one. Plus, it’s got Credence Clearwater Revival music in it, so… your dad’s probably going to really like this movie.

The Big Year hits theaters on October 14th.

The beginning of the trailer features an introduction from Black, Wilson, and Martin, who’s talking in an obnoxiously loud voice. ‘Cause loudness is funny, get it?!

 

 

 

“New Year’s Eve” Trailer: Celebs! Celebrating New Year’s! Talking About Love In Woody Allen-Style Convos!

Now that half of the population of celebrities has celebrated Valentine’s Day, it’s time for the other half to celebrate the titular holiday in New Year’s Eve. The movie features an ensemble cast including Halle Berry, Sofia Vergara, Jon Bon Jovi (yes, Jon Bon Jovi), Josh Duhamel, Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, Sarah Jessica Parker, and more. Way more.

What’s it about? About 2 hours. HAH! Seriously, it’s about a group of friends/lovers/couples/single people/pregnant people ringin’ in the New Year. That’s all I was able to come up with.

It looks…like Valentine’s Day, but in New York during December. Oh, except it has a Pink song in the background instead of a Black Eyed Peas song. Anything is better than the Black Eyed Peas, so I guess the trailer gets some points.

It is pretty star-studded, though. As Katherine Heigl’s character says, “There’s gonna be more celebrities here than rehab.”

Which just makes me wonder how she knows that.

New Year’s Eve hits theaters on December 9th.

“Martha Marcy May Marlene” Stars the More Talented of the Three Olsens

Yep, there’s a third one. It’s a shame that all through my childhood, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were churning out the direct-to-DVD zany grrrl comedies while the youngest, Elizabeth Olsen, got no attention at all–in fact, I didn’t even know she was an Olsen twin until a couple weeks ago. To be fair, Martha Marcy May Marlene is her first film role, but c’mon. She should have at least gotten some mention.

The movie tells the story of a young woman (Olsen) who finds herself emotionally damaged after fleeing from a cult (led by John Hawkes), and struggles to become a part of her family again. It’s an especially dramatic and eclectic movie, so it’s a perfect one for Fox Searchlight Pictures, the studio I know as the king of drama and eclecticism.

Martha Marcy May Marlene is also generating some Oscar buzz, primarily for Elizabeth Olsen’s performance. It’s featured primarily in the trailer, and she’s got some serious acting chops. Even from the trailer I can tell that she really embodies the character.

Mary-Kate and Ashley, you can have your overacted chick flicks with the early-2000s voice-over guys and your own production company. Come February, Elizabeth’s going to have something you don’t: an Academy Award.

(Well, I hope. It’s a good chance. Probably.)

Martha Marcy May Marlene hits theaters in fall.