Head-Slamming Trailer for 'Broken City'

Hard not to like this movie. It just puts its cards on the table. Refreshing.






















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I Own You

This plays like one of those movies that barely keeps its head above water at the box office but everybody wants to see as a rental or on TV/cable.

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The Poster Was Broken But The Trailer Hums

Okay, yesterday I trashed the poster but I love this trailer. Story with some depth, characters with hidden agendas, twists and turns -- what's not to like.

Most of this takes place at night and the imagery benefits. Nice visuals/camera. Should be easy to watch.

A chewy flick that should make for a good rental/TV night.

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'The Man With the Iron Fists' Red Band Trailer

Russell Crowe in a kung fu movie?

Looks good, and remember, "You can't spell kung fu without f and u"


















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Sumptous, Bleak, and Moving Trailer for 'Les Misérables'

Production design to burn. Great camera -- wide angle stuff especially good.

Though Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe have been getting all the press, I can't say Anne Hathaway has ever looked better.

Trailer gets under your skin. This may score.





















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Russell Crowe with Charlie Rose

A nice talk. Good look into Crowe's prep for 'The Next Three Days' and other movies. "Either the narrative is complete on the page, or the potential of that narrative is so clear that you can take a risk..."

Trailer I've not seen before at about the 4 minute mark.

Clip from 'The Next Three Days'

'The Next Three Days'

Keep It Simple

I see this poster and I immediately like it. It sums up what the movie is about. The character appears to be running away, (as opposed to chasing someone). He is facing (our) left and is moving to our left yet is placed poster-left, leaving the majority of empty space behind him where an unseen antagonist is giving chase.

If you look at what is behind the character all you see is out of focus highlights. This creates uncertainty and enhances the feeling one is being followed. It also lends more power to the antagonist. That is, the bad guy is frightening enough for the protagonist to run like hell despite the fact we can't see that anyone is giving chase.

The shot is done with a telephoto lens the way a sports photographer would cover an event, which creates an objective feel -- the viewer is watching from a distance (where it's safe), more of a disconnected observer, and is not an integral part of the action. This isolates the character from us making him appear more alone, more separated from anyone who might care or watch out for him. The telephoto lens also creates compression, which is the illusion that distant objects are the same distance as close ones. This ramps up the sense that the character is being chased because whatever is behind him appears closer than it really is -- a typical nightmare scenario.

The character's index finger is on the trigger of the pistol. A rather uncool thing considering the normal 'finger alongside the weapon, flat and off the trigger, very cool and benefiting from lots of training' look usually favored in the movies. This yields a gritty feel that conveys the gravity of the subject matter -- appropriate in the current environment. Of course, this may have been done simply to avoid having the character look as if he did not have an index finger on his right hand as it would not have been visible if it were flush against the far side of the weapon. Even if that was the case, the end result still works despite being a convenient side-effect.

Another effect that stands out is the use of vertical lines across the entire poster. These are the kind of lines you see if you look closely at a CRT video monitor.

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Body Of Lies

This one has potential, but if it's just another by-the-numbers thriller posing as a meaningful statement it will fall flat. It's not as if there aren't plenty of real bad guys out there to make a movie about. As Russell Crowe's character (CIA honcho Ed Hoffman) says, "It's a dangerous dangerous world..."

The trailer isn't getting much traction, though. People are skeptical. Story will have to deliver the goods on the very real and very dirty work the CIA engages in if 'Body of Lies' is to succeed. Ridley Scott certainly has what it takes. His 'American Gangster' had the ring of truth and subtle performances by Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe made it work.

The last thing people want to see is a fakey look at terrorism (see last year's 'The Kingdom' which was Hollywood schlock and a slap in the face, and lost money). If 'Body of Lies' doesn't deliver audiences will shoot it down.

Here's an interview with David Ignatius, the author of the novel (of the same name) on which the movie is based. Ignatius is a journalist with The Washington Post and has the connections one would need to create a credible story about CIA operations.

I hope they did this story justice. If not, I just don't need that crap in my life. If so, I'm looking forward to it.

Frank Lucas: American Gangster

I just finished watching 'American Gangster' on DVD. Movie is nicely directed by Ridley Scott with 'invisible' camera technique that not only doesn't bring attention to itself, it makes you forget you're watching a movie. Also to credit for this movie's easy flow is screenwriter Steven Zaillian whose script brings this true story to life in a direct and accessible way, without over-stylizing it for the big screen. Drug lord Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) and the detective that chased him, Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe), are brought to life by Zaillian's script, and backstory is handled so effectively and naturally you feel like you know them by the end of the movie -- in fact you feel like you've known them for years.

'American Gangster' is a pleasure. I'm looking forward to watching the extended unrated version.

Here's Denzel's outlook on Lucas, with comments by Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott, and Russell Crowe.