I enjoy films about dysfunctional families and their various dramas. I also enjoy quiet independent films devoid of the usual Hollywood crap (car explosions, gratuitous violence or nudity, people who are too pretty to be real, etc). But I’m starting to wonder if the world of independent film is overusing the dysfunctional family hook. The main reason I wonder this is because I can’t seem to get into the trailer for Smart People, which has all the elements of a movie I’d usually be looking forward to.

Great cast: Dennis Quaid is a self-absorbed mopey college professor. Ellen Page is his overachieving high school daughter (sort of a snarkier Rory Gilmore). Thomas Haden Church is his lovable loser (adopted) brother. And Sarah Jessica Parker is his new love interest (as long as she stays away from any Carrie Bradshaw-like moments, she’s a pretty good actress).

Good pedigree: It’s from the same production team that did Sideways (a terrific movie).

Relatable story: A family that seems to have it all together on the outside, but is a crumbling mess behind the scenes. Dad is lonely, and kind of a pretentious jerk. Daughter is neurotic and doesn’t know how to just be a kid. Brother is the black sheep of the family, whose very presence is an annoyance, yet necessary to bring the family back together.

I guess what makes me somewhat ambivalent about Smart People is that the story is too relatable and too familiar. How many times have I seen the story of a family being brought back together by an unlikely agent? You Can Count On Me comes to mind. Maybe even The Family Stone. The trailer leaves me with a bit of a Little Miss Sunshine feel, too. I don’t know, maybe I’m being too critical and cynical, and I’ll eventually eat my words when Smart People has something new to offer when I eventually RENT IT.

Smart People is rated R and opens April 11. (Official site)

In my post for Dan in Real Life, I stated that I was officially experiencing Steve Carell overload. Which is still true. By my estimation, Steve Carell has starred in about 200 movies over the past year (OK, so it’s actually only 4 or 5, but it does feels like a lot more).

I guess that’s why I was so quick to discredit his new movie, Get Smart. That is, until I saw this trailer.

The idea behind Get Smart is pretty simple: bumbling idiot becomes international spy. However, the idea behind casting Steve Carell in this role is nothing short of brilliant.

Get Smart is essentially a live-action version of Inspector Gadget. Or to put it in terms of more modern pop-cultural phenomenon, Get Smart is what would happen if Michael from The Office became an international spy. Which is exactly why this casting is so spot on. There’s a lot of good comedic actors around these days, but none of them do the self-righteous moron character quite as well as Steve Carell does. And this movie seems to be the natural progression for Carell’s self-righteous moron character. In other words, if you think he was funny running an office, wait till you see him trying to save the world…

So I guess that Get Smart is going to be a SEE IT for me. Granted, I still wish that Carell would tease us a little more by making fewer movies. However, this is certainly one of the movies that he should have made. And from the looks of the trailer, I expect it to be damn funny.

Get Smart is rated PG-13 and opens on June 20. (Official site)

When I first came across this trailer for What Happens in Vegas…, let me tell you that I was somewhat less than enthused. By now, I’ve seen so many mediocre movies about a young couple getting married that just the thought of watching another one kinda makes me want to gouge my eyes out. In fact, I can think of two such movies just starring Ashton Kutcher (Just Married and Guess Who)

In other words, watching this trailer was simply a formality before I wrote a scathing Skip It post.

But then something unexpected happened: I laughed. Twice.

And thus, I find myself in a somewhat awkward position. You see, I really have no desire to see another romantic comedy about the perils of an ill-advised marriage, especially not one starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz. And yet, this trailer did sort of crack me up. In fact, the twists depicted in this trailer (particularly the part about winning 3 million dollars) makes me think that this movie might actually be better than the hundreds of other similarly themed movies. So I ask you, what’s a guy to do?

I guess when I really search my soul about it, there’s only one solution to my dilemma: I’m afraid I’m going to have to RENT IT. It’s certainly possible that the only funny moments were the ones shown in the trailer. But in the off chance that there are more just like them, I’m willing to make space for it on my Netflix que. Only time will tell if that was the right decision or not.

What Happens in Vegas… is not yet rated and opens May 16. (Official Site)

Feel free to Tell Us Your Opinion.

This looks like a pretty compelling drama that definitely has me intrigued. It’s just a shame that I came to this conclusion by doing further research after watching its lackluster trailer.

What I saw in the trailer:

Evan Rachel Wood plays the younger version of Uma Thurman’s character. In the past, Wood and her best friend long to leave their boring hometown. In the present, Thurman is a moody woman with an unruly daughter and is being haunted by something that happened in her past. Her husband makes a comment about her being young when they met, which cuts to a scene in the past where Wood is yelling at her best friend. I assume the drama centers around the girls’ friendship ending over a man. Yawn.

What I learned in further research:

The girls’ friendship ends over a tragic event that happens at their school (not over a man), and as the anniversary of the tragedy approaches in the present, Thurman’s character begins to unravel.

OK, now I can get on board. I love well-done heavy drama that makes you sympathize, think, and ache along with the characters. It should also be noted that the director of Life Before Her Eyes also directed House of Sand and Fog, an extremely well-done drama bomb. So I’ll be adding this one to the Netflix queue and RENT IT.

Life Before Her Eyes is rated R and opens in limited release April 18. (Official site)

Feel free to Tell Us Your Opinion

Alright boys and girls, it’s that time again: time for another list.

My original goal was to make the granddaddy of them all: the top all-time movie trailers list. However, I got sidetracked and stumbled upon so many great teaser trailers that I decided to make a separate list for them first.

Don’t worry, the best movie trailers list will be coming soon, but for now, here’s The Top 10 Teaser Trailers of All-Time. This list contains (in my opinion), some of the best trailers ever made (teaser or not). So take a look and let me know what you think. And if I missed one of your favorites, please provide a link (and/or upload the trailer to the site), so that others can see it as well.

Hope you enjoy. And as always, feel free to comment here.

There’s a theory in the entertainment industry that women, for the most part, aren’t funny. And if there was ever a woman to disprove this ridiculous theory, I believe that Tina Fey is her. She managed to inject a much needed dose of humor into SNL (a show that, let’s face it, has been struggling for laughs ever since she left). She even managed to keep Mean Girls from being a soppy teenage drama bomb and made it a truly hilarious, and eerily accurate, movie. And if you don’t think that 30 Rock is one of the best comedies on TV right now…I don’t even know what to say to that. Fey is both a great comedic writer and actor, and despite the fact that she’s so hilarious and probably rich enough to buy me on the black market, she manages to remain a down to earth and relatable person. She not only proves that women can be funny, but she proves that they can also be smart, sexy, and normal, all at the same time.

Because of all this, I’m definitely interested in her upcoming film, Baby Mama. Fey plays a successful businesswoman of a certain age longing to have a baby. But due to fertility issues, she has to find herself a surrogate. Enter fellow funny lady Amy Poehler as a dimwitted, Southern-drawling, junk food eating, yet highly fertile baby mama (could her character be based on a certain former Mouseketeer whose life is currently spiraling out of control?). Poehler moves in with Fey during the pregnancy, upsetting Fey’s meticulously ordered life, and naturally, hilarity ensues.

Normally I wait for comedies to come onto DVD, but I might actually make the trip to the theater to SEE IT. I think I owe it to Fey and all the funny women trying to make it in show business.

Baby Mama is not yet rated and opens April 25. (IMDB page)

Feel free to tell us your opinion here

I think I’ve probably mentioned before that I absolutely despise our tabloid culture. That said, however, I have to admit that the tabloids really don’t affect my life most of the time. I mean, I don’t visit TMZ.com, and most of the news programs I watch don’t regularly cover Paris and Britney and Lindsay. And so long as those girls continue to make meaningless fluff like The Hottie and the Nottie or bad pop music, then who am I to say that people shouldn’t be allowed to indulge in a harmless guilty pleasure.

On the other hand, when our tabloid culture starts to infringe on entertainment that I would otherwise be interested in, that’s when I start to get a little peeved.

Take this new movie Chapter 27 for example. There’s no denying that this movie has a very compelling story (the days leading up to Mark David Chapman’s killing of John Lennon). And in a perfect world, I’m fairly confident that this trailer would have really sparked my interest in the movie. However, instead of focusing on the story of Mark David Chapman while I watched this trailer, I found myself wondering whether or not Jared Leto had hooked up with Lindsay Lohan during the filming of the movie.

And there-in lies the problem. Say what you will about Lindsay Lohan’s choices in life, but the reality is that she’s a pretty good actress. And there’s no reason that she shouldn’t be playing this role or any other serious role. And yet, the truth is that any movie that Lindsay Lohan iis in is essentially ruined for me. Because instead of seeing the character that she’s playing, I will always see the rehab-ditching basket-case that’s plastered all over my TV, no matter how much I try to avoid her.

So even though I’m interested in the story Mark David Chapman, I’m sorry to say that this movie is going to be a SKIP IT for me. I hope that Hollywood will follow its usual trend and come out with another movie about the exact same subject sometime soon. And I especially hope that Lindsay will get her act together and stop being such a good target for the tabloids, so that I can finally enjoy a movie that she happens to be starring in.

Chapter 27 is not yet rated and opens in March. (IMDB page)

Feel free to Tell Us Your Opinion.

Well, Rachel and I have been exchanging frustrated emails the past couple of weeks about the utter lack of interesting new trailers being released onto the internet lately. That’s why, this weekend, instead of continuing to bang my head against the wall, I decided to do what I often do in times of depression: think back to the good ol’ days.

With that in mind, I spent a fair amount of time this weekend sifting through the ether (aka YouTube) in search of old trailers from some of my favorite all-time movies, which I then ripped and uploaded onto my own site (gotta love modern technology). I’ve added some good ones, and there’s more to come soon.

So if you’re bored and feel like taking a trip down memory lane, check out the new additions to TrailerSpy’s Classic Trailers Page. And if you’re feeling really inspired, you can rate your favorites or even upload a few old trailers from your own favorite movies.

I realize it’s not as exciting as seeing new trailers for films you’ve never seen before, but hey, it still beats spending your time at work doing what your bosses are actually paying you to do.

Feel free to comment here.

Here is another movie to test the theory that Judd Apatow can’t lose. He’s playing producer for this comedy, which is written by one of Apatow’s usual suspects, Jason Segel. Segel also stars as regular guy Peter, who is dating a celebrity named Sarah Marshall (played by Kristen Bell). She dumps him and starts dating some douchebag musician, and in an effort to get over her, Peter takes a trip to Hawaii. And of course Sarah is there with the afore mentioned douchebag, vacationing at the same resort Peter is staying at. Holy awkwardness, Batman!

The plot may not seem like much, but I’m convinced that any comedy written by an Apatow alumnus and produced by the man himself is bound to be hilarious (look at what he did with a story revolving around high school boys trying to get laid). Several of the usual Apatow gang members make appearances, such as Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd. And since I’m still in mourning over the cancellation of Veronica Mars, I’m thrilled to see Kristen Bell appearing in anything (if she manages to solve a crime while being sassy, I may shed tears of joy). There’s a chance I’ll see this in the theater, but I’ll most likely wait to RENT IT.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is rated R and opens May 30. (Official site)

Feel free to leave a comment here.

As a way to kick off our featured trailers for 2008, I thought it would be fun to take a quick look back at some of my favorite movies from 2007 (and their trailers).

I admit that I haven’t seen as many as I would like to, due to my chronic case of ‘I’ll wait for it to come from Netflix’ disease. So a lot of the late in the year heavy-hitters (No Country For Old Men, Atonement, There Will Be Blood, etc) aren’t even under consideration. But of the 2007 movies I’ve seen, here are my top picks:

5. Knocked Up

I really wanted to add one of Judd Apatow’s comedy masterpieces to the list, but having never been pregnant or a horny teenage boy, I can’t really say I necessarily related to either Knocked Up or Superbad. But I’ll give Knocked Up my pick, due to Apatow actually directing that one and its inclusion of Paul Rudd. I’m thrilled to see R-rated comedies making a comeback.

4. Waitress

Putting its tragic back story aside, Waitress really is a lovely film; it’s expertly crafted and feels like a fairy tale grounded in real life. And it’s about pie! How can anyone hate a movie about pie?

3. Sweeney Todd

Naturally I would have at least one musical on my list, and Sweeney made mincemeat of Hairspray (pun totally intended). It was dark and disturbing, and completely unique from the stage show (which a lot of theater purists seemed to hate for some reason). Tim Burton did a fantastic job of capturing just the right tone of pitch-black comedy and did wonders with his troupe of non-singing actors. And how the hell is Alan Rickman, at age 120, so sexy and disturbing at the same time?

2. Juno

Yay for quirky indie films! And yay for this one not taking the road most traveled (that slow dancing in the basement scene could have easily gone another way that would have totally ruined the movie). Ellen Page, who I admit has grated on my nerves in the past with her “could I BE any more sardonic” personality, is spot-on as a snarky pregnant teenager. She’s tough and sassy, yet there’s a vein of vulnerability that runs through her performance that makes Juno believably human. My only complaint about the movie is that Michael Cera and Jason Bateman never had a scene together! Maybe there’ll be some fun extras on the DVD for all the Arrested Development fans out there.

1. Once

I watched Once on DVD on December 29, and then again on December 30, and could kick myself for not making an effort to see it when it was in theaters. I remember reading all the good reviews it got and thinking, “Oh, a movie about Irish musicians…that can wait for Netflix.” Idiot!

This was by far the best movie I saw in 2007, and probably in the top five movies I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s an incredibly simple tale of two street musicians in Ireland who meet, compose some songs together, then record a demo CD. But the simplicity is what makes it so perfect. It manages to be both heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time, but without being cloying, cutesy, or cliché; definitely not an easy trick to pull off. The actors aren’t really actors, but actual musicians, and it’s their rough edges that make the movie what it is; heartfelt and real. And we never even did a trailer review for it! Oh, the humanity…

So there are my favorites from 2007. All are subject to change when the Oscar contenders are released on DVD and I get around to watching them. What were some of your favorites this year? And what are you looking forward to in 2008? According to this list, I’m looking forward to more movies about unplanned pregnancies, which is odd, considering my opinion of children (in a nutshell, I’m not a fan).

Feel free to leave a comment here.