"Les Miserables" Teaser Trailer

"Les Miserables" has been a subject of debate for quite some time now, especially given the post-Oscar dissent that Tom Hooper's last film, "The King's Speech", has often received. I do include myself in that party of distaste with Hooper's dutiful translations to screen. Bad, I don't think I'd go quite so far to claim, but certainly bland and uncinematic. Judging by "Les Miserables", Hooper is sticking to his near-perfectly framed art direction and costume design of the period. The characters, perhaps not so much. I leave that for the performances to decide, and I can definitely see Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway distinguishing themselves in this film, and perhaps newcomer Samantha Banks. But Hooper will have to dial up the style and flair if it's to go beyond simple performance accolades.

"Rise of the Guardians" Trailer

This year is seeming somewhat indecisive in terms of its animated offerings. Not that I'm not interested in what's to come, and in fact there are quite a few, "Rise of the Guardians" included, that I am very much looking forward to. I'm just not entirely certain on exactly how strong they will turn out to be, or if they'll prove to fall flat instead. I certainly hope not, and even on paper "Rise of the Guardians" is an interesting idea. The legendary holiday characters teaming up to face the villain is predictable to a degree, but is Dreamworks ever anything but such? They've done wonderfully entertaining things on their formula, and it ultimately depends on if they can make the character dynamics work. It can't just be a team fighting and defeating somebody. It has to be more than that, and I hope they find the right balance.

For Your Anticipation: True No-Holds-Barred Violence

So, is anybody else seriously concerned about a robot uprising making "Real Steel" take a cynical and depressing turn towards the end? Apparently not, because this is the sweet and happy kid-and-his-robot movie. Leave it to the braver, and more severely twisted, directors to disturb us with apocalyptic nightmares. If I seem angry at "Real Steel", it's mostly because of the name. If they'd called it "Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots", I'd be totally on board. Hell, I'd have my tickets bought and payed for now. The fact of the matter is, I'm just not interested. I'd rather spend my time on "Transformers: Dark of the Moon". In fact, I think I'll probably do that.

Oscar 2010: Presenters Go In Pairs

From the way this looks, I'd say we're looking at a decent stab that the shortest Oscar telecast in a while. Perhaps it won't actually put people to sleep. On the other hand, this is an odd bunch, completely devoid of Tina Fey or Steve Martin. Such a shame, but there's that open space for Best Supporting Actress. Maybe they'll make a surprise appearance, but nothing is set. I just know that this will be a difficult ceremony to sit through if The King's Speech sweeps as many believe it will. I'm praying for an upset.

1. Art Direction (Tom Hanks)
2. Cinematography (ditto)
3. Supporting Actress (?)
4. Animated Feature (Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis)
5. Animated Short Film (ditto)
6. Adapted Screenplay (Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin)
7. Original Screenplay (ditto)
8. Foreign Language Film (Russell Brand, Dame Helen Mirren)
9. Supporting Actor (Reese Witherspoon)
10. Original Score (Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman)
11. Sound Mixing (Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson)
12. Sound Editing (ditto)
13. Makeup (Cate Blanchett)
14. Costume Design (ditto)
15. Dcumentary Short Subject (Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams)
16. Live Action Short Film (ditto)
17. Documentary (Oprah)
18. Visual Effects (Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law)
19. Editing (ditto)
20. Original Song (Jennifer Hudson)
21. Director (Hilary Swank, Kathryn Bigelow)
22. Actress (Jeff Bridges)
23. Actor (Sandra Bullock)
24. Picture (Steven Spielberg)

Teaser Trailer: Real Steel

Well this is kind of... stupid. I guess we were bound to get our first look at Hugh Jackman's next film, Real Steel, eventually, but if you thought it might smarter than the premise sounds, you would have been wrong. This film looks to reach new heights (or depths) of stupidity, with robots that look like the unholy offspring of Mudflap and Skids from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The one honor that I will give this trailer, is Huge Jackman. Jackman is a more than capable actor, and somehow brings this obviously dumb up to the class of something I'll probably, and unfortunately, end up seeing. Take a look, and let me know what you thought of it.

Darren Aronofsky to Direct "The Wolverine"

Well, it turns out that this news is indeed true. I wasn't ready to believe it when it was originally announced, because it just seemed so particularly boneheaded. However, Darren Aronofsky, director of next month's highly anticipated psychological thriller Black Swan, is now set to the The Wolverine, which focuses on the Marvel character played by Hugh Jackman. As the title suggests, it is not a follow up to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so I assume we're forgetting that ever happened. It is instead going to take place in Japan, with Logan falling in love with a woman who is betrothed to another man. I'm not sure of much beyond that, but it already sounds like a bit of a stretch for Aronofsky. Then again, it is written by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects), so you never know. We'll just have to hope for the best, I suppose.