Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Reviewing the previews: Grading trailers for 2011 movies

We grade the next few months of movies based on the trailers.

"Season of the Witch": Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman are a couple of grizzled crusaders who transport an alleged witch to burn at the stake. With straight-to-DVD special effects, risible dialogue and Nic Cage with a sword. I'm there. Grade: B

"The Green Hornet": "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" director brings the crime fighter to the screen in the form of Seth Rogen. Looks sorta funny, though Rogen's even a little grating from the trailer alone. Bonus: Christoph Waltz is the villain. Grade: C+

"No Strings Attached": Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher are two best friends who become friends with benefits and then fall in love. Somehow, Kutcher looks charming playing off Portman. Plus, a good supporting cast and writing that doesn't seem to insult your intelligence too egregiously.  Grade: B-

"The Rite": Exorcist Anthony Hopkins vs. demons in Vatican City. Jump-scares, jump-scares, jump-scares, mostly cat-generated. I'm usually up for a good demon movie, though, even one as unimaginative-looking as this.  Grade: C

"The Roommate": Crazy college girl goes all "Single White Female" on her unsuspecting dorm mate. Looks bad in all the right ways. Grade: B

"Justin Bieber: Never Say Never": Doc on the pop singer's "inspirational" rise. Grade: D-

"I Am Number Four": YA novel adaptation about a teen alien fighting off bad aliens. Giant action sequences, cool superpowers and, look!, Timothy Olyphant! Grade: B+

"Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son": Martin Lawrence is still milking this. I'll tolerate one testicle-injury gag in a trailer. Not two.  Grade: F

"Hall Pass": In the Farrelly Brothers' latest, Jason Sudeikis and Owen Wilson get a "hall pass" from their wives to sleep with whomever they want. Their subsequent failures look hysterical. Grade: B+

"Drive Angry" (in 3-D): Nic Cage escapes hell to rescue his granddaughter from the cult who killed his daughter. Or something. Satan's right-hand man is hot on his tail. Absurdly cool car stunts, a country-fried sense of humor and Nic Cage with a shotgun. Grade: A

"Rango": Computer-animated flick about a lizard (voiced by Johnny Depp) who becomes the sheriff of a troubled desert town. We do need more animated Westerns, so ... Grade: B

"Battle: Los Angeles": This trailer starts and you think, oh, another alien invasion movie. Trailer ends and you're like, whoa, it's THE alien invasion movie. Grade: A

"Red Riding Hood": Amanda Seyfried plays Lil' Red in a re-imagining from the director of the first "Twilight" movie. This looks a lot like the first "Twilight" movie. Grade: D

"Paul": Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are on a road trip when they pick up an alien hitchhiker (voiced by Seth Rogen) who likes scatological humor and eating birds. Looks fun. Grade: B+

"Sucker Punch": Zack Snyder (director of "Watchmen," "300") gives us his own "Alice in Wonderland," this one with machine guns, dragons and skimpy leather outfits. Grade: B-

Reach Micah Mertes at 402-473-7395 or mmertes@journalstar.com. You can follow Micah's tweets at twitter.com/micahmertes.

Copyright 2010 JournalStar.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://journalstar.com

No comments:

Post a Comment