Riddle me this: Why is it that a trailer featuring a young couple in love, whose time together is cut short by his death, leaves me with a warm fuzzy feeling?

No, it’s not because of my schadenfreudic nature, but rather from a rather eclectic and promising cast. There’s Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler as the young couple in question (you know him from 300, I know him from The Phantom of the Opera. Let’s just agree to disagree). He’s a goofy Irishman, she’s a somewhat uptight American; naturally they’re going to make an adorable pair. Then, after he’s dead, a series of letters he prearranged are delivered to her that instruct her to go on crazy adventures, thus helping her to start her life anew without him. (Methinks this means he was aware of his imminent doom for awhile, though the trailer makes no indication of what sort of tragedy ended his short life.)

And who better to grieve and have crazy adventures with than Gina Gershon and Phoebe, I mean, Lisa Kudrow? And what better eye candy to make you get over your dead husband than Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Denny!) and Harry Connick, Jr.? And the icing on the cake: your mom is Kathy Bates!

P.S., I Love You is definitely not going to shake the foundation of modern cinema, but it certainly looks charming enough for my Netflix queue, so I’m going to RENT IT.

P.S., I Love You is rated PG-13 and opens December 21. (Official site)

In my opinion, the quality of a movie trailer really does mean something substantial. It’s like they say: there’s no second chance to make a first impression. If a movie puts out a bad trailer, like Rush Hour 3 just did, that’s a lot like me going up to a girl and asking if she’s tired, cause she’s been running through my mind all day. After that, it doesn’t matter if I’m smart or attractive or funny…she’s never going to get past my cheesy intro.

Likewise, I think that a good trailer can turn a not-so-likely blockbuster into a box-office success. A good trailer is like an average guy stepping in and rescuing a girl from an asshole that’s being a bit too forward. After that, the girl is going to at least give the guy a shot, and she may even overlook a few of his other faults because of his initial chivalry.

The upcoming 300 movie is a prime example of the latter. Unlike the last major war epic, Troy, which was all star-power and little substance, 300 is all substance and very little star-power (I’m guessing that Brad Pitt and Eric Bana have a few more fan websites devoted to them than Gerard Butler and Lena Headey). And yet, dispite the lack of bankable stars, this movie is expecting to be a huge hit. And why is that? Because everyone who’s laid eyes on this trailer has been blown away. It’s artistic, it’s powerful, and it leaves you with the distinct impression that the film is going to be awesome.

After the long string of epic war movie flops, I haven’t been that anxious for 300 to come out. However, thanks to this great trailer, I’m definitely going to SEE IT now.

300 is rated R and opens on March 9. (Official Site)