Monday 20 June 2011

A Summer of Films

Film trailers are an incredible thing when done well, one of the crucial elements in convincing us to go see a particular movie and so, by natural extension, a bad one can doom a film at the box office. For today's post i'm going to post trailers to the 10 films i'm most excited about for the summer, in no particular order; there's a full range of good, to average, to really kind of poor trailers on offer here, but i want to see all of these films either because of or despite the trailers, and i will mark which is which.

1. 30 Minutes or More (Because)
Now this looks hilarious; it's from the guy who made 'Zombieland' and has Jesse Eisenberg in it, so they're off to a strong start anyway, but the trailer made me laugh more than any recent trailer i can recall. I really hope they haven't done what a number of comedy films do, which is put all the best jokes in the trailer so as to draw you in, leaving you eventually disappointed when you see the film as a whole.


2. Bad Teacher (Because)
I'd watch this on the basis of it having Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz in, but the trailer is pretty promising. Segel I love because of 'How I Met Your Mother', Diaz is superb when doing comedy, 'The Mask' and 'Something about Mary' spring to mind and Timberlake showed a lot of potential as an actor in 'The Social Network' and I'm interested to see what else he manages.


3. Horrible Bosses (Because)
It's a premise for a comedy that starts off simple, a group of men all have different, but equally horrific, bosses, then becomes deranged, they intend to kill said employers. I like Bateman and Day and the trailer has enough laughs in it to make me want to give it a try on it's release.


4. Friends With Benefits (Because)
If you'd told me even a year ago that i'd be wanting to see two separate movies this summer at least partly on the basis that Justin Timberlake is in them i'd have only just finished laughing now. But here it is, the second film with him in that looks damn funny and suggests he has some serious comic chops. He's backed up here by Mila Kunis and so long as it avoids being too similar to the Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher effort on the same concept, 'No Strings Attached', then this should be really good. Plus it has Woody Harrelson in, which instantly makes me want to like it.


5. Transformers : Dark of the Moon (Bit of Both)
As i've stated a few times on this blog i love a good, idiotic summer blockbuster where plot takes a back seat and ridiculous spectacle is the main focus, and the latest Transformers movie promises to deliver exactly that. The trailer confirms that it's unlikely to be even vaguely more intelligent or challenging than the past two, but i don't think it needs to.


6. One Day (Despite)
Now this is definite Chick-Flick territory, but as i'll explain when i cover romance in my favourite genres series I kind of enjoy venturing into this particular field so long as it's done well enough, i don't feel guilty for liking them either. This is based on a book I love by David Nicholls and i can't deny that despite my love for Anne Hathaway, she was never who I'd have imagined as the main female lead. However I'm willing to give it a try on the basis that it's a damn good story and it's being directed by the woman who made 'An Education'.


7. Cowboys and Aliens (Bit of Both)
This, like 'Transformers', is not ashamed to be a idiotic blockbuster, and despite a slightly underwhelming trailer, i reckon it will be great entertainment.


8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (A Lot of Both)
I remember reading the final book of the Harry Potter series when it first came out and thinking that if nothing else, the final showdown between the forces of good and evil was just crying out for a film adaptation, full of epic battles and individual heroism. If the film does justice to how i pictured the scenes while reading i will be a very happy audience member and the trailer suggests they just might.


9. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Because)
The trailer for this has gone some way, but not fully managed, to redeem the plain awful and clumsy title. I just don't understand the logic behind choosing such a clunky name, but choose it they did and any trailer is going to have to try and make up for that for me. The first couple definitely emphasise the strength of the idea well enough to make me willing to venture into the cinema despite such an ill-judged title. Plus it has Freida Pinto in, so that's a definite reason to watch.


10. The Help (Because)
Now this is going to be an over wrought, overly sentimental film, full of rousing speeches about just how wrong racism is and how people need to change their attitudes, but i quite like the look of it despite, or perhaps actually because of that. Sometimes that's what you want, a film about good people triumphing over bad, not through force but because their idea is simply a more noble and powerful one.


Today's song is from one of my favourite artists, even if i am annoyed that his UK tour comes nowhere near me.

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