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Trailer Park: Wildlife Edition
by Matt Bradshaw
Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was a good one. Why not grab yourself a turkey sandwich (might I suggest Italian bread with stuffing and perhaps a little mayo) and join me as we explore wildlife (in every sense of the word) in modern cinema.
Cloverfield
A giant monster rampaging through New York? Life doesn't get much wilder than that. While this full length trailer has more footage than we saw with the teaser that premiered last Summer with Transformers, we still don't get to see the monster that decapitates the statue of liberty. J.J. Abrams is obviously playing it close to the vest, and I doubt there will be an official look at the monster until the movie hits theaters on January 18. After all the buildup, though, how can anything live up to the hype? Anyway, the Quicktime version is up on the Apple website, and it's presumably much nicer looking than the bootlegged Youtube version Erik was warning people away from a few days ago.
Strange Wilderness
A badly produced TV wildlife show ("sharks can only be found in two places on earth: the Northern and Southern Hemispheres") is on the verge of cancellation, so its hosts go looking for the legendary Sasquatch to boost ratings. With a cast that includes Steve Zahn, Justin Long, and Superbad's Jonah Hill, this has the potential to be really funny, and that bit in the trailer with the laughing shark just kills me. The movie even has Ernest Borgnine who, based on the number of upcoming films IMDB lists for him, doesn't let the fact that he's 90 slow him down much.
The Sasquatch Gang
Two bigfoot movies starring Justin Long in one Trailer Park? Who would have thought? Actually, now that I do think about it, two bigfoots in a trailer park would make a pretty interesting movie in itself, but I digress. Described as "An Epic Tale of Nerds and Turds," the story involves a group of sci-fi/fantasy nerds who stumble across some giant footprints and what appear to be Sasquatch droppings, and a couple of dull-witted slackers try to profit from the whole thing. I'm slightly less enthusiastic about this one than Strange Wilderness, but I'm still looking forward to this one. This was originally called The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang.
21
For this one we find our wildlife in a Vegas casino. Kevin Spacey recruits a cash-strapped math whiz from MIT to take part in a card counting scam. Spacey is reunited with his Superman Returns co-star Kate Bosworth, and Laurence Fishburne is impressive as a bad ass casino exec. The film is based on the book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich, which was itself based on true events. The preview is slick enough, but I'm not wowed by it. Maybe the idea of watching people play cards for two hours doesn't grab me, but I don't think this one's for me. Here's Jessica's take on the trailer.
College Road Trip
A college roadtrip? Talk about wildlife. Well, maybe not. Martin Lawrence plays an over protective father who accompanies his daughter on a visit to the college she hopes to attend. Wackiness and embarrassment for the daughter ensue. Lawrence's humor has a strong kid appeal, a fact I learned when my nephews insisted that Big Momma's House was comedy gold. It doesn't work for me, but humor is a subjective thing, and I'm betting fans of Lawrence's other films will like this. Adding to the kid appeal is the presence of Disney Channel star Raven as Lawrence's college bound daughter.
by Matt Bradshaw
Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was a good one. Why not grab yourself a turkey sandwich (might I suggest Italian bread with stuffing and perhaps a little mayo) and join me as we explore wildlife (in every sense of the word) in modern cinema.
Cloverfield
A giant monster rampaging through New York? Life doesn't get much wilder than that. While this full length trailer has more footage than we saw with the teaser that premiered last Summer with Transformers, we still don't get to see the monster that decapitates the statue of liberty. J.J. Abrams is obviously playing it close to the vest, and I doubt there will be an official look at the monster until the movie hits theaters on January 18. After all the buildup, though, how can anything live up to the hype? Anyway, the Quicktime version is up on the Apple website, and it's presumably much nicer looking than the bootlegged Youtube version Erik was warning people away from a few days ago.
Strange Wilderness
A badly produced TV wildlife show ("sharks can only be found in two places on earth: the Northern and Southern Hemispheres") is on the verge of cancellation, so its hosts go looking for the legendary Sasquatch to boost ratings. With a cast that includes Steve Zahn, Justin Long, and Superbad's Jonah Hill, this has the potential to be really funny, and that bit in the trailer with the laughing shark just kills me. The movie even has Ernest Borgnine who, based on the number of upcoming films IMDB lists for him, doesn't let the fact that he's 90 slow him down much.
The Sasquatch Gang
Two bigfoot movies starring Justin Long in one Trailer Park? Who would have thought? Actually, now that I do think about it, two bigfoots in a trailer park would make a pretty interesting movie in itself, but I digress. Described as "An Epic Tale of Nerds and Turds," the story involves a group of sci-fi/fantasy nerds who stumble across some giant footprints and what appear to be Sasquatch droppings, and a couple of dull-witted slackers try to profit from the whole thing. I'm slightly less enthusiastic about this one than Strange Wilderness, but I'm still looking forward to this one. This was originally called The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang.
21
For this one we find our wildlife in a Vegas casino. Kevin Spacey recruits a cash-strapped math whiz from MIT to take part in a card counting scam. Spacey is reunited with his Superman Returns co-star Kate Bosworth, and Laurence Fishburne is impressive as a bad ass casino exec. The film is based on the book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich, which was itself based on true events. The preview is slick enough, but I'm not wowed by it. Maybe the idea of watching people play cards for two hours doesn't grab me, but I don't think this one's for me. Here's Jessica's take on the trailer.
College Road Trip
A college roadtrip? Talk about wildlife. Well, maybe not. Martin Lawrence plays an over protective father who accompanies his daughter on a visit to the college she hopes to attend. Wackiness and embarrassment for the daughter ensue. Lawrence's humor has a strong kid appeal, a fact I learned when my nephews insisted that Big Momma's House was comedy gold. It doesn't work for me, but humor is a subjective thing, and I'm betting fans of Lawrence's other films will like this. Adding to the kid appeal is the presence of Disney Channel star Raven as Lawrence's college bound daughter.