"Skyfall" Teaser Trailer

The last pieces of this year are slowly starting to fall into place, be it with a certain gut-feeling of worry that we may not have quite the same quality of films that we had last year. With films falling off the end of year slate, such as "Gravity" most recently did, it's hard not to be just a bit worried for the status of our year's end celebration of cinema. What gets me even more worried is the irrational level of hype that surrounds a single teaser for a film. The internet has been abuzz all morning over "Skyfall", the latest Bond film which I'm actually quite optimistically inclined towards. I can only shrug at the prospect a simple teaser can offer. Does it pique my interest in the film? Sure, but not to the point of cutting myself each day I don't see it.

Film Review: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

"They say that I'm insane. Don't worry. You can nod. I am insane."

When you kick off your film with as beautifully disgusting a title sequence as the one in David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", you are typically expected to keep up that kind of stylistic intensity. If we expected anything out of this film, it was a film of stylistic means, which it almost seemed like we were heading into. The eight minute long trailer seemed like the perfect abbreviation and promotion for a film that's a great deal more than your average serving in terms of size. But if I learned anything in the first ten minutes of the film, it was how appropriate the marketing for the film was, as this is ultimately a 2 hour and 38 minute promotion trailer, except there's nothing more to receive from it.

Ficher's film seems to follow Mikael Blomkvist, a newspaper editor who ends up soiling his reputation by falling into a libel prosecution by... someone. It's vague at best, but whatever to free him up in order for him to be sent off to investigate the disappearance of the niece of the head of a rather important corporation. How is it important? Well, that's also rather vague. And why should we really care about the death of a 16-year-old girl? To be honest, I'm not at all sure. The way you bound from subject to unrelated subject in a film trailer is very much true of how the first meeting between Blomkvist and Henrik Vanger goes. It's speedy, abrupt, and we barely get any idea of what's going on. We don't get any room to care about the mystery.

Film Review: "The Adventures of Tintin"

Let it be known, that the Spielbergian adventure flick has not gone out of style. Three years after he stained his career image permanently with "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", Spielberg puts out two films this year. One of them is the Oscar play, as much expected and maligned by myself. But to be perfectly honest, it's always been his more commercial plays that caught my attention, which is an ironic reversal of how things usually work. It's when he's not searching for meaning, and rather searching for thrills, that he strikes his strongest films, and also his weakest, but they are anything but banal. How is he the exception to the rule? An experience in cinema that is both his gift and his bane.

"The Adventures of Tintin" isn't an explosive return to greatness for Steven Spielberg, but it is a rollicking ride of a film. Based on the Herge comic series, the first film in Spielberg and Peter Jackson's co-operative film trilogy spends no immense amount of time establishing the Tintin character. From the first minute after the uppity animated opening, he's shown as eager, ambitious, and pretty much your zero qualms protagonist. Does he need to be a lot more? No, but we would damn sure like him to be. If Herge never gave him ample dimension, writers Steve Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish could have taken a bit of license with this one. But it's never really distracting, so there's that.

For Your Anticipation: Overbearing Creepy Music

I'm not sure Jim Sheridan is the type of man you'd expect to take on this sort of overtly creepy sort of haunted house flick. BUT "Dream House" is a twist on that, because it's also a psychological drama. Combine the two, and you get, something. I'm going to be honest. I'm not interested in this beyond Daniel Craig. The man just can't get a break these days. Besides that, there are other things I have more of a priority to write about.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Extended Trailer

Aside from the obvious, I've been looking forward to "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" for the specific reason that it has David Fincher taking on something less heavy-handed in subject matter. This trailer takes me down from those feeling enough for me to be slightly disappointed, but not down on it yet. There are moments here that ring quite a bit obvious, and you can't help be wonder if they could've done a better job in writing.

For Your Anticipation: I Figure You Owe Me

I guess that Joe Favreau was a little too fixated on making a fusion of the western and science fiction genres, and not enough on placing a science fiction concept inside of a western. Something that Friends with Benefits taught me is that your film can't be all about one thing. There are usually several different cogs working around in the best of westerns, and I don't see a single one moving here. It took a chance to pay attention, but this just doesn't seem to have what it takes to hold my interest. Films like these are what's killing the western genre.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Trailer (Again)

As time goes by, I become more and more certain of my belief that the leak of the red-band trailer for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was intentionally orchestrated. That being said, we now have the cleaner green-band trailer, so the choppy version is no longer necessary. I'll be honest and say that the leaked quality of the trailer was one of the most favorable parts of it, so it may be a tad difficult to adjust to a higher quality. The footage still looks wonderful, but without the gritty violence that gave us a hint at what the film would really be like.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Trailer

Working off of a previously developed phenomenon like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo can turn out a bit wrong. Let Me In, based off of Swedish novel Let The Right One In, had considerable trouble drawing in viewers. However, seeing as the second two films in the Swedish trilogy turned out a bit disappointing, perhaps the new version, still set in Sweden, will work out better. Judging from this trailer, leaked online via YouTube, he's taking the gritty and ugly approach we all knew he would. Take a look and comment below!

Theatrical Trailer: Cowboys & Aliens

If a trailer runs through roughly the same footage and terrain as the previous one, can it still be thrilling in a whole different way? The marketing team behind Cowboy & Aliens sure seem to think so, and it looks like it's paying off so far. I've been on the fence concerning this effort since the first trailer, because I wasn't sure if they'd properly manage the two story aspects organically. This trailer gives an emotional backbone for all the badassery and explosions. While I'm at it, Daniel Craig does a brilliantly grizzled American western accent.

Are We Equals, Mr. Bond?

Sam Mendes Still Directing "Bond 23"

The fate of the next James Bond film was thrown into uncertainty months ago when MGM announced that they were putting all their projects on the shelf. Now that their problems have been momentarily sorted out, Bond 23 has been put back into pre-production, but until now we didn't know whether or not the project was preserved in the way it was originally. However, thanks to Kate Winslet's confirmation that her husband Sam Mendes is still on board to direct, it seems that Daniel Craig will also be returning as James Bond, and it will still be based off of a script by Peter Morgan. David Arnold confirmed his participation in scoring the next film, so it's just a matter of putting it into production, and therefore only a matter of time.

Teaser Trailer: Cowboy's & Aliens

I know there have been several trailers that I still have to address, and I'll get to them as soon as I can. For now though, I just have to mention the new teaser for Cowboys & Aliens. If you were expecting anything especially mind-blowing, this trailer will disappoint you. It's meant as quite simply a tease, giving you hints at what to expect, and planting seeds for mysteries you're not quite sure of. The only thing that's certain is that this won't be like anything we've seen thus far. Take a look, and let me know your opinion.

"Cowboys & Aliens" Teaser Poster

Jon Favreau has about eight months before his next blockbuster film comes out, and in that time it could turn into something that's absolutely dreadful. I certainly hope not, because judging from this simple teaser poster, it could turn out to be the major hit of the summer. Buzz has been residing below the surface for Cowboys & Aliens, and I suspect things won't really get moving until a trailer is released. Hopefully, this new poster is a sign of things to come. It's an easily classic image, and I'd contest with anyone who dares to say otherwise. The plot itself sounds like a stellar combination of The Bourne Identity, Independence Day, and just about any western, and it easily finds itself somewhere towards the top of my list of most anticipated films of 2011. Take a look, and let me know what you think!

In 2012, James Bond Returns

A while back, it was beginning to look like the end of days, at least for MGM. They were going under, The Hobbit seemed like it would never see the light of day, Cabin in the Woods was being buried alive, and James Bond was knocking on his own grave. Luckily, Spyglass Entertainment has signed a deal to help MGM out with their upcoming films. That means, among other things, that the next film in the James Bond franchise will be released in November of 2012, a mere two years from now. It's still unclear whether or not Daniel Craig will return, or if Sam Mendes and Peter Morgan will continue to be involved. It all comes second to the fact that Bond isn't going anywhere.

Craig and Mara Officially Cast in "Dragon Tattoo"!

I assume that you've heard of or read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and by now you know that David Fincher is making an American adaptation of the book. Well, a great deal of time has been spent on speculating who will play Lisbeth Salander, the tatted girl of the title. Even though I was personally hoping for Ellen Page, I'm finely satisfied with who they picked. Rooney Mara has been cast in the title role, and while she isn't a house hold name, she may soon be. She's already had experience with Fincher, having appeared in this October's The Social Network.

As for the male lead, Daniel Craig has been officially confirmed for the role. Not that that wasn't already obvious, but at least we have confirmation. Word still has yet to come on filling the supporting cast, but I trust that they will do as good a job as they've done here.

Daniel Craig to star in "Dragon Tattoo"!

The other day at Comic Con, Daniel Craig spoke about wanting to get back to the James Bond franchise as soon as possible. Right now, it doesn't seem like that will happen any time soon, if ever. So what is an actor to do besides play a cowboy? Play the male lead in David Fincher's interpretation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I've been pretty quiet about casting rumors regarding Fincher's adaptation of the book, because I don't want to make too much hype about something that may not happen. However, I do hope the rumors that Ellen Page might take the title role, because that would be the greatest casting decision ever. After Inception, I want to see Page go the distance.

So now that Craig has been signed on for the film, it's only a matter of time before all the other cast members come into place. There are plenty of roles to fill, and if they're filled with actors as phenomenal as Daniel Craig, we may have yet another David Fincher film nominated for several acting awards come awards season two years from now. Right now, the only things set are Craig, Fincher, and the release date of December in 2011. On a semi-related note, Awards Circuit just posted a review of Aaron Sorkin's script for Fincher's The Social Network, and it's definitely something to check out. Follow this link!