As soon as I finished watching this trailer for Awake, about five different questions popped into my head simultaneously. And since I’m not sure which one is more important, I’ll just list all of them and let you guys decide:

1) Why hasn’t Hayden Christensen done more movies in the past couple years?
2) How exactly do you make a movie about a guy under anesthesia?
3) Why would you want to make a movie about a guy under anesthesia?
4) How is Jessica Alba able to star in fifty movies a year?
5) Why the hell aren’t there any good movies anymore?

I’m not sure what the answer is to most of these questions, but I’m pretty sure at least one answer has to do with the Star Wars prequels and another has something to do with Oscar season. But I guess the more pertinent questions for this post are #2 and #3.

Now, I get the drama involved in watching a person discovering that nothing about is life is as he thought it was, and that there are people trying to kill him and all that. But the fun of that kind of movie comes when the protagonist gets to act on what he’s learned and take revenge on the people who’ve wronged him. But how the hell do you take action when you’re laying on a hospital bed, trapped in an anesthetic paralysis?

My feeling about this movie is that this is one of those stories ripped from the headlines that probably should have stayed in the headlines. Yeah, it’s incredibly freaky that 1 in 700 people remain conscious while they’re under anesthesia, but you can’t really make a movie about that. Movies about action, and it’s hard to have any action when the main character can’t move during the majority of the film.

Unless I hear that this movie is the next Sixth Sense, with some sort of unbelievable twist at the end, I’m afraid I’m going to have to SKIP IT. And the saddest part is that I think Hayden Christensen is a far more talented actor than those Star Wars flicks revealed (have you seen Life As a House?), but this movie doesn’t look like the right vehicle to try to reawaken his career with. My guess is that it’ll just put it to bed for good.

Awake is rated R and opens February 26. (IMDB page)

What do Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, and Katie Holmes have in common? Well, nothing (as far as I know) other than they’re starring together in the comedic crime caper, Mad Money. The three ladies work together at the Federal Reserve and decide to commit the victimless crime of stealing the old money that is about to be destroyed. “It’s like recycling!” cries Keaton. Let’s just hope the same can’t be said for the jokes in this film, which is the suspicion I have based on its trailer.

Nevertheless, it’ll probably be entertaining enough for me to RENT IT. I usually enjoy Keaton’s work, though her lovable daffiness is starting to wear thin on me as she gets older. I’ve always thought Queen Latifah was a far better actor than anyone gives her credit for (check her out in Chicago if you don’t believe me). The weakest link in this cast is Holmes, who I’ve never been a fan of, even before the whole Tom Cruise/Scientology/hiding her baby from the world debacle. I just don’t think she’s a very convincing actress and she talks out of the side of her mouth (which earned her the nickname “Stroke Face” in my circle of friends). But I was pleasantly surprised at her performance in Pieces of April, so here’s hoping she’s able to surprise yet again.

Mad Money is rated PG-13 and opens January 18. (Official site)

Everybody has a select set of words or phrases that they find unsettling. A sampling from my list is ‘baby mama’, ‘body soil’, and ‘recreational gynecologist’. And after viewing the trailer for The Amateurs I have a new one to add: ‘amateur pornographer’. Luckily, this looks to be unsettling in the funniest way.

Jeff Bridges (evoking the same frustrated stoner demeanor he perfected in The Big Lebowski) leads a clan of lovable small-town losers who believe that the key to their collective happiness and success lies in making an adult film. Of course none of them are filmmakers, nor do they know any filmmakers, nor do they have the funds to hire actual filmmakers…but they refuse to let such trivial details deter them. Local spots (like a mattress showroom) become the setting, local losers (like Joe Pantoliano, who’s played some of the best losers ever) become the scriptwriters, and local hotties (like Judy Greer and Lauren Graham) are recruited to be the stars. Rounding out this eclectic cast are Ted Danson, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Patrick Fugit, and Glenne Headly.

Perhaps the most unsettling thing about The Amateurs is its back story. The movie was filmed in 2005 with the name The Moguls and played in a few film festivals, then disappeared. Now it’s resurfaced again with a release date in December, to be quickly followed by a DVD release in February 2008. Why all the drama? I certainly don’t know. Perhaps it didn’t perform well at the film festivals and its release was pushed back for some final tweaking. Perhaps it took this long to finally find a distributor. Whatever the reason, I think it looks entertaining enough to RENT IT. But you know, that’s just like, my opinion, man.

The Amateurs is rated R and opens December 7. (IMDB page)

After I graduated from college, I did a short stint as a valet parking attendant in Los Angeles. It really wasn’t that bad of a gig. I got to drive some really nice cars that I’ll never be able to afford, and I got to see some really famous movie stars up close. Plus, it allowed me to survive in L.A. for a year, while I figured out that screenwriting wasn’t for me.

But I’ll never forget my first day on the job. It was a big Hollywood party at some producer’s house. The whole night, I was crossing my fingers that I’d get a movie star’s car, but it just wasn’t happening. And as the party dwindled down, another attendant handed me a set of keys that I knew would be my last of the night. Which is why I was so disappointed when I saw that the keys belonged to a PT-Cruiser…certainly no movie star would be caught dead driving a PT-Cruiser. But as I pulled the car up to the door and stepped out, there he was, Mr. Two-Time Academy Award-Winner himself, Tom Hanks, waiting for his car. I stared at him like an idiot, completely star-struck, and continued staring as he took the keys out of my hand, open the door for his wife Rita and then drove away.

Looking back, though, I wonder if I would be nearly as star struck if the same thing were to happen today. That was in 2001, mind you, soon after Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, and long before The Terminal and The Da Vinci Code. If I handed Tom Hanks his keys today, I’m not sure it would have had the same effect on me. Nowadays, Tom Hanks is just another movie star, but back then he was the best movie star around.

I’m not saying this to put Tom Hanks down. The guy is beyond talented; he’s proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. But it just seems like he’s been playing it safe lately. A few too many animated films and not nearly enough Oscar contenders. I guess that’s why this trailer for Charlie Wilson’s War got me a bit exciting. It’s obvious that this is a meatier movie than Hanks has been doing recently. It’s still no Forrest Gump, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. And though he probably won’t be winning his third Academy Award for this one, I do think he’ll be a lot more entertaining than he was in The Ladykillers.

Charlie Wilson’s War is definitely a SEE IT for me. And not only because of Tom Hanks. It’s also directed by Mike Nichols and written by Aaron Sorkin, two guys who can do no wrong in my book.

Charlie Wilson’s War is not yet rated and opens December 25th. (Official Site)

It’s such a strange world that we’re living in right now. There are wars going on in the middle east, and genocide in Africa, and yet, I feel so removed from all of it. I mean, I watch the news, and I know the issues, but none of it seems to hit me on a deeper level.

And here’s the saddest part: the only way that I feel like I can connect to it all is by watching movies about it.

I’m not saying this to make a point or to bring everyone down. I’m just stating a fact. The only reason most people are conscious about Global Warming now is because of An Inconvenient Truth. And the only reason most people are conscious about genocide in Africa now is because of Hotel Rwanda.

It’s a shame that people need movies to get them outraged about the things that they should just inherently be outraged about, but I guess that’s the world we’re living in now. And with that in mind, I say we should start making a whole lot more movies about the shitty things that are happening around the globe. If that’s the only thing that can move people anymore, then filmmakers have a responsibility to move as many people as possible about as many important causes as possible.

Darfur Now is probably the biggest movie to date about the genocide going on in Darfur, and hopefully it will have the same effect on people that An Inconvenient Truth had. And if nothing else, hopefully it will at least give people like me a way to connect to something that I should already be deeply connected to, but for some reason am not.

That’s why Darfur Now is a SEE IT for me. I need to care more than I do, and $11 is a small price for a much needed kick in the ass.

Darfur Now is rated PG and opens November 2. (MySpace Page)

If, like me, you were wondering what was up with Jack Nicholson’s bald head at last year’s Academy Awards, the answer is The Bucket List; where he plays a cancer patient who buddies up with Morgan Freeman. Both men are terminal cancer patients sharing a hospital room and behaving like typically grumpy old men, until Freeman introduces his “bucket list”: a list of things he wants to do before he kicks the bucket. “Cutesy,” is Nicholson’s snide reply, and I’m inclined to agree.

The two men decide to do the bucket list, which includes such madcap adventures as skydiving, racing cars, and riding a motorcycle on top of The Great Wall of China. Then things take a somber turn when they discover what should actually be on the bucket list: reconnecting with their estranged loved ones. Nicholson eventually gets angry at Freeman for butting into his life; Freeman calms him down with his gentle, no-nonsense demeanor (how I wish he’d tell Nicholson to “get busy living, or get busy dying”, but I don’t see that happening). I would imagine they then kiss (or at least buddy hug) and make up, then eventually die.

So the feeling I’m left with from the trailer for The Bucket List is how I feel about most Rob Reiner films: that I’ll wait for it to show up on TNT or TBS one Sunday afternoon and I’ll watch it then. But since there is no “wait for TV” option here at Trailer Spy, I’ll say RENT IT, out of respect for film veterans Nicholson and Freeman. This movie with any lesser actors would be an automatic skip it for me.

The Bucket List is rated PG-13 and opens December 25. (Official site)

Just wanted to point people’s attention to our new video player. I’m pretty happy with it. Chicks dig new video players.

This trailer hit the internet a few days ago, and I have to say, it’s one of the best trailers I’ve seen in a while.

I’m always curious about how much input a filmmaker gets into designing the trailer for their movie. I know that most trailers are made by big marketing firms like Trailer Park, but when I see a gutsy trailer like this one for Slipstream, I just can’t imagine that the director (in this case Anthony Hopkins) had no creative input into how it got made.

Judging from the plot description (and from the trailer!), Slipstream seems like it’ll be an interesting movie. It’s about a screenwriter whose mind goes haywire, causing him to slip into his movie and his characters to slip into his real life.

That plot reminds me a bit of Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, where Billy Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time. I loved that book, and it seems like that sort of a trippy, disjointed story could play really well on film. Unfortunately, such a story would have to be directed exceptionally well to pull it off, and as much as I like Anthony Hopkins, he’s just too inexperienced of a director to make me believe that he’ll succeed.

If this thing was directed by David Fincher, I’d be all over it, but seeing how Hopkins has only directed two previous movies, I’m going to have to wait and RENT IT. But if it’s any consolation to Sir Anthony, I’m going to watch the trailer a few more times, perhaps with some popcorn and a large soda.

Slipstream is rated R and opens in limited release on October 26. (Official Site)

Julie and Tal have been kind enough to allow me to be the default reviewer of any movie musical trailers, which is both a good and a bad idea. On the one hand, I am a musical theater freak (geek, nerd, loser, etc.) so I definitely have a passion for any movie musical coming out. On the other hand, I’m liable to give every one a SEE IT review without even caring how good the trailer actually looks.

Luckily, the trailer for Sweeney Todd looks absolutely fantastic, so my SEE IT review is completely justified. My only complaint about it is the very thing I’m looking forward to the most…the fact that it’s a musical. There isn’t a whole lot of singing going on in the trailer, so I have to wonder if someone who knew nothing about this show would even be aware of all the singing they’re in store for. A big concern for many of the fans of the stage production has been the casting. Sure, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter are amazing, but can they sing? I’m still not sure. But I’m sure as hell going to be at the movie theater opening weekend to find out.

For the uninitiated, Sweeney Todd is indeed a musical, composed by Stephen Sondheim, and it was originally staged on Broadway in 1979. It tells the tale of Benjamin Barker, a well-liked London-based barber whose life is destroyed by the corrupt magistrate, Judge Turpin, who lusts after Barker’s wife. Barker is arrested under false pretenses and exiled for 15 years. Upon his return, he learns that his wife is dead and Turpin has named himself the adoptive father of Barker’s daughter (and would prefer to be more than a father to her, if you know what I mean). Hell-bent on getting the revenge he deserves, Barker adopts a dark and sinister alternate persona; Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street. He opens up a barber shop above the pie shop of the questionable baker, Mrs. Lovett, where he offers “the closest shave in town”. So close, in fact, that you may wind up with your throat slit and your body disposed of in a most unusual way. Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett become partners in crime and eagerly await the day when Judge Turpin will cross their murderous path.

Clearly, this is not your typical musical. There are no gangs dancing in the streets and the hills are definitely not alive with the sound of music. Sweeney Todd is probably one of the blackest and goriest musicals ever created. Which is why I think Tim Burton was a perfect choice to direct the film version. Johnny Depp was an interesting choice for Sweeney, but his collaborations with Burton have never let me down before. I think Helena Bonham Carter looks a bit too young to be Mrs. Lovett (whose supposed to be middle-aged, and not a pretty middle-aged), but again, her work with Burton has yet to disappoint. Alan Rickman is Judge Turpin, and has he ever been a wrong choice in anything he’s done? No, he hasn’t. Don’t even try to argue with me, I’ll just stick my fingers in my ears and pretend I can’t hear you.

I said it before, but here it is again. SEE IT. Even if you’re a musicals-hater, give it a chance. This is definitely not your grandmother’s kind of musical (it got an ‘R’ rating, after all).

Oh, and for the record, there’s a movie version of Mamma Mia! being filmed now for release next summer, and I’m going to tell you now to go see that one, too.

Sweeney Todd is rated R and opens December 21 (Official site)

Ok, I’ve watched the trailer for 27 Dresses four times now, and the only thing I can think of is “meh.” That’s not a good sign, but 27 Dresses looks better than the drivel that studios usually release in the depths of January.

Katherine Heigl (in her first attempt to open a movie on her own) plays a woman who has been a bridesmaid 27 times, and now she is about to watch her younger sister marry the man she’s in love with. Throw in Rupert Everett, and you’ve got the sequel to My Best Friend’s Wedding.

With a title like 27 Dresses, this couldn’t be more of a chick flick. But here I am, a member of the movie’s target demographic, and I’m on the fence. Why is that? Well, any woman who would subject herself to being a bridesmaid 27 times is just crazy, I tell you. And even though I loved Knocked Up, something about Katherine Heigl just rubs me the wrong way. (Sorry.) Then again, Edward Burns gets some screen time, and that’s never a bad thing. James Marsden isn’t so hard on the eyes either.

When January 11 rolls around, if I’m itching to get out of the house and there’s nothing else at the movies, I may just break down and see 27 Dresses. But somehow I highly doubt it. RENT IT.