The more trailers I watch, the more I feel like it really ain’t that hard to make a good one. For those aspiring trailer makers out there, I’ll tell you what I think are the three most important things to consider while making your trailer: Music, Music, and Music.

There’s a misconception out there that movie trailers are supposed to be mini-movies. In other words, you take the best dialog and drama and comedy from your movie, and you cram them into a two and a half minute short. However, in my opinion, a good movie trailer isn’t a mini-movie; it’s a Music Video.

Trailers are a medium far different than a movie. They’re not meant to teach you anything or move you or surprise you. They’re just meant to pump you up for the future film. So I say, leave the heartwarming drama and the intriguing twists for the actual movie, and instead, just make a fun little music video. Pick out a couple catchy tunes, throw in some flashy scenes, finish it off with a witty one-liner, and vuala, a sure seat-filler.

And with that, I give you the trailer for Street Kings. It’s the best trailer I’ve seen in a long while (which automatically makes the movie a SEE IT for me). And I don’t say that because I like the Speed/Training Day feel they got going on, nor because I’m a die-hard House fan and love the idea of seeing Hugh Laurie on the big screen. The real reason I love this trailer is because of the music. It’s perfect.

And speaking of music, if you’re like me and you just have to know what songs are playing in a trailer, I’ll clue you in.

The song in the beginning is Lupe Fiasco’s “Put You On Game.” And the song at the end is RZA’s “Fatal,” from the Blade:Trinity soundrack.

Street Kings is rated R and opens April 11. (Official Site)

Oh, and as always, you can leave a comment here.

These poor, poor movies. Based on last weekend’s box office receipts, they’ll all be rolled over by the Spider-Man juggernaut.

The Ex: It’s really too bad that Spider-Man will just flatten this movie. We here at TrailerSpy are looking forward to this comedy starring Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, and Jason Bateman. Three of our favorite actors in one movie? Rock on! I felt a tad guilty laughing at the guy-in-the-wheelchair jokes, but they are funny. We can’t wait to SEE IT.

28 Weeks Later: This is the follow-up to the smash hit 28 Days Later, which made a star of Cillian Murphy. This time around, London faces a second deadly outbreak of the rage virus. Horror and sci-fi fans, run and SEE IT.

Georgia Rule: More people will see the photos of Lindsay Lohan snorting cocaine than will see this movie. Early reviews are scathing. To quote the AP, “With Georgia Rule, Lindsay Lohan has made her Gigli.” Ouch. Lilo is overpriced and overrated, and maybe now studio heads will stop hiring her. (But if studio heads stop hiring her, then we won’t get to read any more warning letters blasting her penchant for calling in sick due to “exhaustion”.) I love Felicity Huffman and I’d love to see her do well, but she’s playing third banana to La Lohan and Jane Fonda. I originally said I wanted to rent it, but now I plan to SKIP IT.

For Mother’s Day, go take Mom to see Waitress instead.

I was able to score tickets to an advance screening of Waitress, so I get to do a review of an entire movie for you! The screening provided the viewers with small apple pies from a Manhattan bakery, and since the way to my heart is indeed through baked goods, it is somewhat difficult for me to be overly critical of this film. But I shall put my Homer Simpson-like love of pastries aside and review this film with an unbiased mind. You can read Julie’s review of the Waitress trailer and learn a bit about it’s tragic back-story here.

Keri Russell is Jenna, the titular waitress, and she gives the word ‘miserable’ a whole new definition. She’s trapped in a boring southern town, working as a waitress at a diner, and married to a man she no longer loves (played with the perfect blend of pathetic and horse’s ass by Jeremy Sisto). Then, to add insult to injury, she’s pregnant. The pregnancy is unplanned and very much unwanted (Jenna had actually vowed to stop sleeping with her husband, he had to get her liquored up to do the deed). The only solace in Jenna’s life is her pies. She is revered as a sort of Michelangelo of pies in her town and finds comfort in inventing new pie recipes that coincide with whatever is going on in her life at the moment (which is how they get names like ‘I Hate My Husband Pie’ and ‘Bad Baby Pie’). Her dream is to take first place at an upcoming pie contest, collect the $25,000 prize money, get the hell out of Dodge, and open up her own pie shop somewhere far, far away.

While her plan seems simple enough, it’s anything but.

Click here to continue reading Waitress..Mmm…Pie.

The Nanny Diaries was originally scheduled to open this weekend, but instead MGM decided to move the movie to September to better position it for the Golden Globes. What’s left to open this weekend? A bunch of movies aimed at guys and one really awful chick flick.

Fracture: As Tal wrote back in February: Hopkins and Gosling? ‘Nuff said. Anthony Hopkins is accused of murdering his wife and Ryan Gosling is the hotshot District Attorney sent to put him away. Gosling’s character discovers that the case isn’t as open-and-shut as he’d thought, and then things start to get interesting. Ryan Gosling’s career is on fire right now, and you can’t go wrong with Hopkins’ chilling stare. SEE IT.

Hot Fuzz: Did you ever notice how when an English person says something funny, it’s even funnier? Hot Fuzz would be funny set in any country, but add British humor to the mix and it looks downright hilarious. A big city cop is reassigned to Podunk, UK, and he must lead the small town cops. There is something fishy about this town, though, and City Slicker cop sets out to investigate. As the trailer says, this one is “brought to you by the guys who watched every action movie ever made.” RENT IT.

In the Land of Women: The official site for this film is myspace.com/itlow, and that’s just stupid. Really. First off, not every film is meant to be promoted on MySpace. Secondly, itlow? (I get that it’s an acronym, but itlow is still lame-o.) That was the best they could come up with? Anyhoo, In the Land of Women stars Seth Cohen, oops, I mean Adam Brody, as a dumped guy who somehow meets Meg Ryan and starts dating her young daughter, played by Kristen Stewart of Panic Room. With a title like that, the film is obviously aiming at women. As a woman, I say yuck–and I love a good chick flick. SKIP IT.

Vacancy: I’ll admit that I really don’t like horror films, so it is hard for me to be impartial here. Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale that are stranded and check into a motel for the night, and then realize that all the room’s previous occupants have died horrible deaths. It seems like these two bonafide movie stars have wandered into a movie that should be starring Chad Michael Murray and Sarah Michelle Gellar. SKIP IT.

I get frustrated sometimes when I see the people that we choose to “celebrate” in our society. It’s sad to know that the next album Britney Spears puts out will probably go platinum, and yet there are so many talented musicians out there who can’t even get a record contract. And it’s depressing to know that Nicolas Cage’s new movie will probably gross a couple hundred million, and yet so many really good actors are out doing off-Broadway plays, struggling to even get noticed.

But then every once in a while, miraculously, we seem to get it right. Every once in a while, we celebrate people because they’re talented and not just because they’re, well, celebrities. And every once in a while, you see a celebrity who actually seem like they’d be a nice person in real life and not a jackass.

That was my first thought when I saw the preview for The Ex. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to know that a movie starring Zach Braff, Jason Bateman, and Amanda Peet will probably be a huge success. If I had to make a list of the top ten celebrities I’d most like to hang out with, those three would all be on that list.

So yeah, The Ex is definitely a SEE IT for me. With three of my favorite actors and a trailer that makes the movie look hilarious, I don’t really see a whole lot of downside. Plus, there’s nothing I love more than some good wheelchair humor. I mean, if we can’t make fun of crippled people, who can we make fun of? Am I right? Anyone? OK, maybe not.

The Ex is rated PG-13 and opens May 11. (Official Site)

See, we look out for you. Vanity Fair is presenting free screenings of Fracture tonight in cities across the country. To RSVP, click here.

Disturbia: I am generally not a fan of thrillers or horror movies, but this one looks interesting. Shia LeBeouf is under house arrest, so he spies on his neighbors from his bedroom window. When he becomes convinced that he is watching a murderer, he and his friends take the investigation into their own hands. It’s a teenage Rear Window. RENT IT.

Perfect Strangers: Halle Berry and Bruce Willis are playing cat-and-mouse in this predictable thriller. $11 bucks says they are only in it for the easy paychecks and the movie will tank. SKIP IT.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters: Fans of the Adult Swim cartoon on the Cartoon Network will be running to SEE IT. The rest of us aren’t as sold. Ryan has already bought his ticket for the 10pm show in Williamsburg.

Lonely Hearts: File this one under “why don’t more people know about this movie?” After all the movie has a great cast, and it is based on true events. Jared Leto and Salma Hayek play the “Lonely Hearts” killers, who got their name by luring their victims via the personal ads. John Travolta and James Gandolfini play the detectives who are hot on their case. The trailer looks intriguing, but the lack of a big distributor could be a bad sign. RENT IT.

Year of the Dog: Rachel saw this one so you don’t have to. Molly Shannon stars as a lonely dog lover in the new film from Mike White, who wrote The Good Girl and The School of Rock. John C. Reilly, Peter Sarsgaard, Regina King, and Laura Dern round out the cast. Although the trailer looked promising, the movie is a dud. SKIP IT.

Even though the new movies aren’t the best bunch we’ve seen in a while, there are still some good films in theatres. Blades of Glory is as funny as you’ve heard it is, The Namesake is a true work of art, and The Lookout has received some major kudos from our friends at Oscarwatch. SEE IT!

That’s right, you get a review of the trailer AND a review of the actual movie since I was lucky enough to score tickets to an advanced screening.

First, the trailer. The trailer sets Year of the Dog up to be your standard romantic comedy. Molly Shannon is a lonely woman devastated by the recent death of her beloved dog, Pencil (the trailer doesn’t explain why she named her dog this, but I was sure there was a cute story behind it). At the encouragement of her girlfriend, Shannon uses the loss of her pet to finally make an effort to have some sort of love life. She goes on a date with John C. Reilly, who reveals that he once shot his childhood dog. Clearly this match was not meant to be.

But then she meets Peter Sarsgaard’s character, another dog-lover who encourages her to adopt one of the animals he is trying to save from the pound. And not only does he rescue unwanted dogs, he’s a part-time dog trainer to boot! And he wears weird little shorts and a fanny-pack! Clearly this guy is the yin to Shannon’s slightly off-center yang. So this movie wasn’t going to be groundbreaking piece of cinema history, but a cute romantic comedy about a pair of animal-lovers could be just the ticket for giving you a case of the warm fuzzies.

But the movie left me with anything but a warm, fuzzy feeling. Shannon’s character, Peggy, leads a quiet and solitary life. She works as an administrative assistant for a boss who is kind of a tool and she doesn’t seem to have any close friends other than her coworker, Layla. Most of her spare time is spent visiting her brother and sister-in-law and their two young children, and they never seem all that interested in her visits (they’re those annoying sort of parents who raise their children the way some book told them to). Pencil is the center of Peggy’s world, her one true love, and her best friend. Anyone who has ever had (and loved) a pet is sure to relate. She loses Pencil early in the film and it’s about as heartbreaking as you would imagine (and yes, we do learn why she named her dog ‘Pencil’, and no, the reason isn’t as cute as it could have been).

After her disastrous date with the accidental dog-shooter, Peggy starts to warm up to Sarsgaard’s character, Newt. She adopts the dog he suggests for her and together they spend time at the dog park. He reveals that he’s always felt more connected to animals than to people and he, too, lets his dogs sleep in his bed. Peggy swoons and waits for him to make a move, and when he doesn’t, she starts to wonder if Newt is gay (a conundrum that seems to be a staple in modern-day romantic comedies). Finally, letting her guard down, Peggy admits that she likes him. Now here is where they fall in love and have a cute, yet awkward, romance! Right?!

Well, not so much. Newt declares that he can never have a relationship with anyone, male or female; he is celibate, by choice, for reasons I can’t even begin to understand. So that’s the end of that romance. The rest of the film focuses on Peggy becoming more and more crazed over her love of animals. She starts out innocently enough: exploring the options of becoming a vegan and volunteering to help place pound-bound dogs with families. Then she slowly spirals into madness: stealing money from her boss and sending it to animal charities, taking her young niece to a slaughterhouse, and eventually, attempted murder. Where the hell is this movie going? It suddenly turns into a runaway train with no destination. Then it tries to tie everything up in a neat bow by explaining that there are many types of love: love for a husband or wife, love for a boyfriend or girlfriend, and love for a dog. And there’s nothing wrong with any of these loves, it’s all about finding the one that makes you happy. Ok, fair enough. But can we get back to that attempted murder thing?

The thing that bothered me most about Year of the Dog was that it ends up perpetuating the very stereotype that it set out to debunk; that pet-lovers are crazy people incapable of having relationships with other people. The movie makes the attempt to show that there’s nothing wrong with loving your pets and, yes, you can still have personal relationships while loving these animals. But then having Newt outright declare his inability to connect with people and Peggy going mad negates everything that was set up earlier in the film.

I also had some trouble believing Peter Sarsgaard as both a love interest and a dog-lover. I think Sarsgaard is a great actor (check him out in Garden State and Shattered Glass), but there always seems to be something sinister lurking beneath him. Maybe it’s his beady eyes, his wry smirk, or his cool, even-toned voice, but I’m always waiting for him to casually reveal he has a dead body in the trunk of his car, then calmly take a sip of coffee.

My recommendation is to SKIP IT. If you love animals, you’ll just be insulted by how pet owners are portrayed. If you don’t love animals, I’m sure you had already decided on your own to skip this one.

Year of the Dog is rated PG-13 and opens in limited release April 13. (Official site)

The Aqua Teen Hunger Force is FINALLY coming to the big screen! Matt Maiellaro & Dave Willis’s lovable tribute to lethargy, drug abuse, and plain old punky attitude is opening on Friday and I couldn’t be more excited.

If you’ve never seen the Aqua Teen Hunger Force, you’ve probably heard of it by now. Unless you don’t keep abreast of current events, it’d be nearly impossible for you to have missed the recent bomb scare in Boston that was caused by its marketing team placing Lite-Brite-like boxes all over the city.

Regardless, it’s an adult cartoon that airs on the Cartoon Network during their Adult Swim program. The show revolves around a cracked out superhero group that consists of “Meatwad”, who can transform into three objects (a wad of meat, an igloo, and a hot dog – although he has been known to morph into other shapes when on drugs), a waddling cup called “Master Shake”, and a levitating box of French fries known as “Frylock”. Many of their adventures take place in and around their New Jersey abode, and they always feature ridiculous situations that can only be described as pee-your-pants hilarious.

The movie will surely be no different. A brief synopsis on IMDB describes the plot as “an action epic that explores the origins of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force who somehow become pitted in a battle over an immortal piece of exercise equipment.”

Wow.

How anyone can turn away from that, I’ll never know.

But since I love playing the devil’s advocate, let’s say you can. How about a flaming chicken? Is that enough for you? What if I told you Bruce Campbell is its voice? Still not sold? Well, brace yourself cause Chris Kattan is in it too!

Ok, so there’s not a whole lot of star power behind it…but who cares!?! It’s going to be amazing, so make sure you SEE IT.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters is rated R and opens on April 13th.

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I almost feel like it’s a waste of energy to go through the list of movies that are opening this weekend, because we all know that none of them mean diddly-squat when they’re put up against a movie that’s directed by a man named Quentin Tarantino. And the fact that Tarantino’s new film is part of a double feature means that we’re all going to be even less inclined to see a second (make that third) movie this weekend.

But hey, this is the weekend preview, and there are plenty of other weekends coming up when you can watch one of these films, so I guess I’ll go through the motions.

Grindhouse: SKIP IT. Just kidding. (Official Site)

The TV Set: I’ve seen a number of movie blogs that seemed to be really jazzed up about this movie, but I’m not buying it. The TV Set is David Duchovny’s latest love-child, where he plays a TV writer trying desperately to keep the company suits from stripping the integrity out of his TV show and ultimately out of him. Unfortunately, as much as I like the idea, I can’t help but think that this movie would have made a lot more sense if it were being shown where the title suggests: on the TV set. With that in mind, I think I’ll just do the job for them and RENT IT. (Official Site)

The Hoax: I doubt that this has anything to do with anyone in Hollywood reading my earlier post about The Hoax, but I do find it interesting that the recent trailers for this new Richard Gere movie have stopped mentioning the fact that “the hoax” he’s trying to pull off is pretending to write an authorized biography of Howard Hughes. It’s still my contention that few moviegoers really care about Howard Hughes (unless he’s being played by Leonardo DiCaprio), so I think the new marketing strategy is smart. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done, so I’m going to SKIP IT. (Official Site)

Are We Done Yet?: My thoughts exactly. I don’t have any children, so I have absolutely no interest in Ice Cube’s new family comedy. Then again, even if I did have kids, I’d probably make my wife take them to see it, and I’d still SKIP IT. (Official Site)

The Reaping: I know that not everyone agrees with me on this one, but as I said last week, I’m definitely going to SEE IT. Hilary Swank plus 10 commandments equals at least the $11 I’m gonna spend on my theater ticket. (Official Site)