Some "Bad" Previews I've Seen Recently

I haven't actually been to the theatre at all this year, which is rather unusual for me. This Friday I'll be going to see Zooey & Adam, however. I did want to bring attention to some really poor trailers I've seen recently (let's face it, I just want to mock something).

Valentine's Day



Here's a checklist:

-Knock off of Love Actually-check
-Padded cast for no real reason, other than being able to say "look at all these FAMOUS people"-check
-Stupid movie about an even stupider holiday-check

When I first saw the trailer, I thought of the deplorable He's Just Not That Into You, which I wrote about here. Clearly, they're aiming at the exact same audience. Here's another thought: Bradley Cooper is a pretty funny guy. Why is he doing movies like these? Give me more of The Hangover and less He's Just Not That Into You, please.

And Hollywood, please churn out some intelligent and witty romantic comedies. Stop making drivel like this.


The A-Team




You will notice that Bradley Cooper is in this one as well. I understand this one a little better, because the guy's career is on fire right now, it's a major blockbuster, and he's probably getting a decent paycheque for it. Same with Liam Neeson. This movie looks like it will be similar to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which I have not seen (and don't intend to, unless I'm making some sort of game of it). I didn't know a lot about The A-Team before I saw the trailer, and my parents told me the basic premise after I told them a movie version was being made. It sounded like campy fun to me, but I find that many TV to movie adaptations fall flat. Generally you have to recast the roles, and most actors can't capture the "magic" of the original actors.

The new Star Trek is an obvious exception though, but it was placed in the expert hands of J.J. Abrams, creator of Lost; the best show on television.


Clash of the Titans




I don't much care for trailers that are merely a display of all of the "action scenes" to be contained within a film. I find this one cuts from clip to clip far too fast, so it's difficult to follow, and I had difficulty concentrating when I first saw it before Avatar. That being said, I might actually see this one. There are a lot of movies out there with terrible trailers that have ended up being fantastic. The cast is what makes it seem a bit more promising to me. I like Liam Neeson, and Sam Worthington probably has a great career ahead of him. I think Avatar will do for him what Titanic did for Leonardo DiCaprio. Worthington was also pretty good in Terminator: Salvation.

And here is one that I shouldn't find enjoyable...but I just can't help myself.

MacGruber (this is the 'Red Band' trailer, therefore it is not safe for work)

It looks enormously stupid, but I'm a sucker for the MacGruber sketches on Saturday Night Live, so I'll be going to see this. At least it'll be rated R, which means they can go farther with the humour than they ever could on the show. I'm not overly familiar with Val Kilmer, but I've liked everything I've seen him in, and he was very funny in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.

The movies based off of SNL sketches have had mixed success. Wayne's World is legendary, but there is also It's Pat!, which bombed magnificently at the box office. I have hopes for this one, it looks like it will be dumb fun at the very least.