Sometimes it seems the best part of going to the movies is the trailers (unless, of course, you have to sit through 20-minutes of them before the feature). I enjoy the trailers — unless I’ve seen the same one for at least the last six months (I’m lookin’ at you Crazy, Stupid, Love.) — and now there are so many different ways to see them even before you set foot in a theater that it’s almost anti-climactic when you do see them on the big screen. Now, we offer you another way to see new trailers for some highly anticipated upcoming films with the added bonus of some commentary by a few of our crack CliqueClack staff. Without actually having seen the movie, we’re just going to draw some conclusions about what to expect simply from the trailer. So, we invite you to enjoy the trailers and add your own thoughts as well!
Conan the Barbarian
- Chuck — I have to say this new trailer is much better than the first one I saw. That one looked so low-budget that I had absolutely no desire to see the movie. This new trailer is epic in scope with some impressive action and effects. Only problem I can see is some of the acting is, well, not very good.
- Michael — I hear you on Conan. Big fan of the original film, cheesecake as it was, and the comics, especially the Buscema rendered ones. I will be giving this a go, but I’m keeping my expectations extremely low based on the trailers and advanced talk-talk.
- Jeremy — I was not a fan of classic Conan – but this looks somewhat popcorn flick-y. Could be a good diversion.
Immortals
- Chuck –If you liked the look of 300 then you’ll like this. I don’t know anything about the Theseus story, so I have no idea how true the movie hews to the legend. I wasn’t a huge fans of 300 though, but I’m more than willing to give this a shot.
- Jeremy — This is about as loosely based on Greek mythology as I’ve seen in a while — I suppose it might as be called “300 with additional magic.”
- Carla — I don’t really have anything worthwhile to say about it. I won’t be going to see it.
- Kona — This is the opposite of a movie that would appeal to me. I already didn’t see 300, so Imma go ahead and keep on keeping on.
John Carter
- Chuck — When did they drop the of Mars part of the title? This is another Edgar Rice Burroughs literary character I know nothing about. I thought this was going to be a sci-fi, action epic but the whole tone of the trailer makes it seem like a dry, depressing drama … with aliens.
- Jeremy — Don’t know anything about it, trailer bored me completely and the entire full theater of crazed Harry Potter fans I was in.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
- Chuck — I loved the first one, loved the chemistry between Downey and Law, loved the whole look of the film and I’m sure I’ll love this one. My only hesitation comes from the numerous scenes of things blowing up. I like the puzzle and trying to figure out where it’s all going … explosions are often not required.
- Jeremy — Big fan of the original, although I wouldn’t call it great, but still great fun. This looks to follow along the same veins as the original — and this one DID enthrall the theater I was in.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
- Chuck — Growing up with the original Apes movies, I have a major problem with this one being a prequel to that series. If you’ve seen Escape from the Planet of the Apes (the third in the series), you’d know that apes Cornelius and Zira were brought back to the present day of the movie, and [SPOILER] gave birth to the baby named Caesar. In the fourth film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, society has embraced ape slavery and Caesar comes out of hiding to lead the apes in a revolt which leads to the last film, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, which ends with the apes winning and explains how they “blew it all to hell” way back in the first movie. So now this movie comes along and totally rewrites the Planet of the Apes history in one fell swoop, and I’m not liking it … of course, I’m old and probably the only person left in the world who has seen all five original Apes films (in one day even!). And now even James Franco is bad-mouthing the movie! I would have preferred a story that fit with the original series, but I’ll give it a shot to see if they can do that by the time the end credits roll.
- Michael — I’m riding your train, Chuck, when it comes to the films. I remember getting to the sequels as a kid as they came out and was very much enamored with Battle. While I’m concerned with this fudging of the timeline, I’m still excited about it and will give it a shot. The trailer is rather spiffy, interesting and urgent and I’m on board with it. The proof will be in the pudding. Additionally, I was a fan of the Curtis comic magazine that ran POTA stories — adaptations of the films and original stories. I was extra thrilled that Mike Ploog — one of my all-time favorite artists — did a run of some of the originals in that mag. Additionally, I got some of my artistry from copying some of his drawings as a lad …
- Jeremy — Eh. Boring and it seems like the entire movie’s in the trailer.
5 Days of War
- Chuck — I don’t know about this one. It has a truly awful poster, and the movie itself just looks cheap and the actors don’t grab me either (and what is up with Val Kilmer?). It actually reminds me of a much better film from 1983, Under Fire with Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman and Joanna Cassidy, about a journalist caught in the middle of a war. I’d rather see that again than this (and it had a much spiffier poster).
- Jeremy — Politics + explosions? Looks like it could be enjoyable — plus it’s got the greatest Eastern European character of all time, Rade Serbedzija, so I’m halfway there already.
Photo Credit: Lionsgate/Universal Pictures/ Walt Disney Picture/Warner Brothers/20th Century Fox/Anchor Bay Films
Saw the John Carter trailer before Captain America, and it did pique my curiosity. But it’s telling that I looked at my brother and we both went, “What the heck was that?” It would have really helped if the title was John Carter of Mars – at least we’d have an idea of what the story is about. Perhaps the filmmakers want to keep the Mars thing a surprise for people who don’t know how to use Wikipedia, but I doubt anyone’s going to show up unless they have a better idea of the story – and just adding “of Mars” to the title would help in that department.
*POST AUTHOR*
I don’t know why they dropped of Mars from the title, especially since the poster features the JCM initials. If I hadn’t read the blurb, I would have had no idea the story took place in the Civil War era. It looked like the Old West to me! Let’s hope the next trailer is a little less lethargic.
Don’t the Old West and Civil War Era coincide?
Old West 1800-1900
Civil War Era 1860s
Aren’t they basically one and the same?
*POST AUTHOR*
I’m referring more to location than era. When I think of Civil War era (in movies) I think of the Old South, i.e. Gone With the Wind, plantations, Atlanta and all that. When I think of the Old West (in movies), I think of a small town in the middle of a dusty nowhere and that trailer just made me think of an Old West movie town like the one currently on screen in Cowboys & Aliens. I didn’t really think Civil War location when I saw that.
yes…here in italy the conan 3D reviews are very bad.
and about Rise of the Apes…well..i’m a big fan of the original franchise…and i’m sure this will suck!
i didn’t know james Franco started to talk bad about this!
*POST AUTHOR*
Has Conan already opened in Italy? I haven’t seen any reviews here yet, but I do like this trailer more than the first one.
About Franco, I read where he said that the finished film isn’t quite the same one that he signed on for, there were changes to the script and re-shoots, and in the end he was just an actor for hire. So, he’s not coming out directly to say it’s bad, but once someone says it’s not the same film as when they started and he was just there to collect a paycheck, that’s not a good sign.
Thanks for the comment!! :-)