'Pacific Rim' Delivers Its Best Trailer Yet But I'm Still Not Sure. So Not Sure

There's just something off about 'Pacific Rim'. Perhaps that's because the plot has such a fresh twist, however that wouldn't explain the odd feeling I get watching trailers. This latest is no exception. It's put together well -- the best, most compelling one yet to be sure -- but watching it I'm...confused. It's like a deep philosophical exploration jammed together with a robot movie and, somehow, that leaves me wondering.

I hope the flick scores. Surely, we could use an injection of intellect during the summer months. (See what I mean? I'm talking about a robots-vs-monsters-from-another-dimension movie and use turns of phrase like 'injection of intellect'. That's weird).

As I was saying, yes, I'd like to see smarter popcorn CGI crash-bang summer movies. We get so much glimmering fluff every year... However there's something about the conceit of melding your mind with another pilot in order to control a giant robot and the inherent implications regarding identity, surrender of personal freedoms and privacy to keep society free, and general mental/emotional mumbo-jumbo in 'Pacific Rim' that gives me pause.

That said, I freaking love the monsters. Wow, they did a good job with those. Can't wait. I might have to turn the sound off whenever there's dialogue to avoid existential brain-freeze, but -- can't wait.



















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'The Conjuring': Very 70s, Very Sure

Looking forward to 'The Conjuring'. Everything I've seen has that feel, that solidness you get when the conceit is played seriously, and the acting isn't hammed up or self-conscious. There's a commitment here and we don't see that much these days, not since the 70s really -- back when audiences hadn't been subjected to every editing shock technique a million times and were still willing to get involved in a ghost story that didn't rely on extreme gore or VFX tricks.

These clips have a smooth flow, unhurried feel, and the camera remains relatively still. The action doesn't come off over stylized and a lot happens out of view, which hands things over to the audience's imagination -- something of a lost art in movies anymore.

Another plus is Vera Farmiga's care in selecting projects to be involved with. Hopefully, that bodes well for this screenplay. Also, though James Wan directs, the title has an elegance lacking in words like 'Saw' or 'Insidious'. It would seem they're going for something different.

This might shake up the status quo. If 'The Conjuring' scores we'll see more quiet, linear, sensible, and hopefully character-rich creepshows.





 




















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'The BoxTrolls' Primer-Slash-Trailer

I love Laika Studios. 'ParaNorman' and 'Coraline' were better than good. They're like Pixar but not as clean cut, with more swish, and more fun.

'The BoxTrolls' is exactly my cup of tea.





















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'Pacific Rim' Featurette -- or -- You Kaiju, You

I had my doubts about 'Pacific Rim'. Still do. I'm thinking the depth of character they're going for might not be attainable in a summer blockbuster (especially a pure genre monster flick) without coming off too involved or even hokey to the target audience. That's neither here nor there, really. We'll see.

But, gotta hand it to Guillermo del Toro. He and his team designed and rendered some very cool looking monsters. Possibly the best CGI yet. I can't remember seeing anything like this before.

After seeing this featurette I'm thinking 'Pacific Rim' has a shot at huge box office.





















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Trailer for 'Afternoon Delight' Tries So Hard

I'm just not 'feeling the pole' here. Looks good, looks like they did a great job, but this trailer is stand-offish.

Thing is, I like anything with Juno Temple, and director Jill Soloway picked up the Directing Award, Dramatic at Sundance for this flick, so I'll blame the way this trailer plays on editing.

Besides, any movie that has the line "Feel the pole" can't be bad.






Here's Jill Soloway's 'Meet the Artist' video from Sundance.





















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