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Author Topic: The Power of the Preview
philocinemas
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I would like to start this post by stating that I very much enjoyed M. Night Shyamalan's first three professional films: The Sixth Sense, Signs, and Unbreakable. At the time, he showed great promise - a future Hitchcock. I would have even considered myself an early fan.

The Last Airbender appears to be a great story. A good friend of mine is an avid fan and speaks very highly of the anime version. The special effects look great.

Here are the problems:
1 - Shyamalan's last several films (I've lost count) have been consistently bad and he has lost quite a bit of fan base.

2 - This movie has no recognizable stars. Some might consider this a plus, but I promise you that there is a reason why Cameron Diaz has continued to play a green Ogre for the last decade.

3 - All of the main stars are children. This could be good, but it is not being marketed as a kids movie despite the PG rating. Therefore it is bad.

4 - Competition- Toy Story III comes out this week (all the kids and most adults). The Twilight sequel comes out next week (all the females and their significant others). And The Karate Kid is still going strong (great movie even though it is about kung-fu and not karate, which is Japanese).

5 - And finally, most of the previews suck - the actual subject of this post.

My last reason will probably garner the most contraversey, but does anyone remember The Golden Compass. I know, everyone says the whole atheism thing did it in, but I don't believe that was it. Neither the preview, nor later the actual movie, ever connected with the audience.

I sat in a theatre three months ago and saw a preview for Karate Kid and I knew it was going to be a hit. Not just because I enjoyed it, even though that is usually a good marker, but also that the whole audience came alive during that preview. All the critics say Karate Kid was a big surprise - did all of them miss the preview? Same thing with The Hangover a year ago.

I have not seen a single preview for The Last Airbender, and I have sat through a few, where the audience showed any sign of life. Shyamalan, of all people, should know the power of the preview. His career was born with a great preview. Unfortunately, I predict that this time it will be the theatres themselves that will have ghosts.


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Robert Nowall
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I suppose Shymalan's making a movie out of a Nickelodeon catoon seems odd to me---it's not one I particularly cared for, and since I don't much care for Shymalan's work either, I doubt if I'll do more than stay with it for a few minutes while flipping through channels. (I did go to the movies to see "Hey Arnold!" and "Doug's 1st Movie"---but both were animated movies (really, blown-up episodes of the TV shows), and, besides, "Doug" was at Disney by then.)

I have thought a lot of this remaking of iconic (and semi-iconic) TV shows is a bit odd. I was watching an ad for a movie a couple of months ago, and thought, "Hey, this movie has the same plot as 'The A-Team!'"---only it turned out to be "The A-Team" remade, only without as much charm and wit and lightheartedness. Is Hollywood so devoid of ideas that they have to dredge up twenty-year-old TV shows that the youth audience, if they knew about it at all, wouldn't like? Do any of these remakes seem appetizing to the fans of the originals? ("Star Trek" exempted.) "The A-Team" got almost universally negative reviews---was there any point in it all?

(One of the previews I saw before seeing "Toy Story 3" appears to be a Disney live-action remake of the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" sequence from "Fantasia." (The brooms-and-water sequence featured briefly in the preview.) Does this seem absolutely pointless to anybody besides me? At least from an artistic point of view...)


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Rhaythe
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I thought "The Village" was decent enough... if a bit predictable at the end. But yeah, on every other account, Shyamalan's been a disappointment.

I was especially amused in "Lady in the Water" when he cast himself as the visionary genius that would change the world. Ever since then I've just assumed he was an out-of-control egotist.


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Kathleen Dalton Woodbury
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I thought LADY IN THE WATER was fun in a weird kind of way. And I was impressed at how he got away with a very religious movie with SIGNS by making it very poor science fiction.
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Pyre Dynasty
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I have always said that the first weeks results speak more about the marketing for the film than the film itself. I totally agree with you about the Golden Compass, they were a mess of previews for a mess of a movie. And don't get me started on the ads for Bridge to Terabithia, which were awful but the movie was great as long as people knew exactly why the ads were awful.

I quite enjoyed Siqns. I never saw Lady in the Water, though I want to. I refuse to see the Village. Unbreakable is one of my favorite movies, his fans hated it because it wasn't scary. (And I couldn't get them to understand that it wasn't meant to be horror.) Sixth Sense was good twice. I think he has run out of stories to tell, and he ran out of those two or three stories ago. Hopefully with The Last Airbender he will be able to focus on directing.

Oh and just some fact checking: The Last Airbender isn't actually a Nickelodeon cartoon, it's an Anime from Japan, the English dubbed version just plays on Nick. It is nothing like Doug or Hey Arnold. (But those were quality cartoons.) It's like Dragonball Z, but good. And the Sorcerer's Apprentice is based on a series of books, not the classic Mickey cartoon. But it would be nice to have some more Fantasia from Disney.


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aspirit
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quote:
The Twilight sequel comes out next week (all the females and their significant others).

For the record, this is false. Most of the females I know, including myself, will not be going to see the Twilight movie in theaters.

quote:
The Last Airbender isn't actually a Nickelodeon cartoon, it's an Anime from Japan, the English dubbed version just plays on Nick.

Where did you get that information? It's completely wrong. Avatar: The Last Airbender heavily references Asian cultures and looks similar to Japanese animated shows, but it's an American production animated in Korea. If it's been dubbed, then it was dubbed in a language other than English.


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aspirit
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To address philo's point, the animated The Last Airbender is one of my favorite shows, and I found the trailers really disappointing. The emphasis is on the special effects, and the overall feel is too dark (visually and emotionally) for the first movie. (There's supposed to be a trilogy--one movie for each season of the anime*.)

For those of you who haven't seen the animated show, the mood progresses slowly from hopeful discovery to desperation as the title character experiences the world's pain, faces the darkness in himself (mirrored by the prince), and realizes how much the fate of those he cares about rests in his hands--the hands of a child. The fire lord goes from being a distant, faceless enemy to everyone's worst nightmare. The colors start out light and cool and end up dark and hot.

Everyone here know how the original Stars Wars movies (yes, The Trinity) used colors to make distinct impressions? Remember how Luke progressed from an idealist kid to a shadowy potential-savior? That's what happens in the Airbender anime.

I don't think that will happen in the movies. What I'm worried will happen in the movie: Determined hero shows off his really cool airbending. Angry villians show off their wicked firebending. A Love Interest shows off her amazing waterbending. Everyone else talks about how scared they are but how hopeful they are that the hero will save the world, then fills in the scenery during fight scenes. Meanwhile, computer-generated Fire Nation technology Looks Really Scary.

Will we see pan-Asian influences in the world's architecture, technology, social structures, clothing, and etiquette? Possibly. But I'm not sure they'll be time to appreciate any of it.

Will Aang (the airbender) be the gentle, fun-loving kid forced to accept a violent destiny? Will Katara be the typical Love Interest or the complicated warrior of the anime? Will Sokka be the quirky genius with bright streaks of stubbornness and pride? Will Prince Zuko be the enemy we can't help but root for? We'll see. I can only hope.

*Japanese word for "animation". If I remember correctly, the show's creators did study animation in Japan.

[This message has been edited by aspirit (edited June 24, 2010).]


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Robert Nowall
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I was under the impression that "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was something produced for Nickelodeon (or whatever cable channel they were running it on last), rather than an import that just happens to run there. But my info is vague and could easily be wrong. (I liked the first version of "Dragon Ball Z" that played here---they just called it "Dragon Ball"---and it was just the first, oh, fourteen episodes or so. But the next episodes---now with the "Z"---got into these endless training-fighting-training-fighting sequences, that didn't let up even in episodes much later in the sequence. (I still do like the way the villians in one sequence become heroes in the next.))

I was also under the impression that "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in "Fantasia" was based on the Goethe poem and the well-known piece of music by Paul Dukas derived from it...just what this new movie is based on, I don't know, but I do know that the "brooms-and-water" from "Fantasia" sequence was definitely in the preview.

Also, it seems there are endless movies out there that seem like bad ideas on the face of it...say, that version of "Speed Racer"...or, also, almost any movie based on a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. It would seem nobody in Hollywood (or wherever the decision is being made) stops and asks themselves, "Does the world need this movie?" Some of the worry over this "Last Airbender" movie is why Shyamalan's doing it...


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aspirit
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Shyamalan has said that his daughter was a huge fan of the show. When he sat down to watch it with her, he thought it would make a great movie (or three). The thought excited him enough that he decided he would try to make the movie.

I figure, he probably doesn't want to work on any of his original ideas for a while. Surely he's still healing from the burns of recent years.


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philocinemas
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Lady in the Water was the last film he did for his kids. I chose it as the worst movie of 2006. I rank it up there with Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (They were only similar in how bad they both were).
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Kathleen Dalton Woodbury
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Well, then, I guess it goes under "guilty pleasure" for me. It was so hokey, it was fun. <shrug>
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philocinemas
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No offense meant, Kathleen. Movies are like art, all in the eye of the beholder. I remember someone, I believe it was Crystal, stating how much she loved George of the Jungle, which I thought was awful. Anyone has the right to like whatever they want. Most people I know love Halloween, which I find slightly above tolerable - I can't seem to get past some of the less notable acting. I loved Dark City, yet many people I know couldn't sit through it. I'm sure some people liked Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, against which I would be willing to sit through an Ed Wood marathon.
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Robert Nowall
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Well, whatever movie you think is the worst movie ever, you're sure to find someone who thinks it's great. And vice versa. Certainly I've enjoyed any number of movies that got universal bad reviews. I really enjoyed Ringo Starr's "Caveman"---I might've watched it 'cause of the "ex-Beatle in a movie" thing, but that didn't keep me there---only to see reviews over the years pronouncing it one of the all-time-great turkeys of moviedom.

On the other hand, one can learn to mistrust reviews. Leonard Maltin's last yearly movie guide gave a bad review to "WALL-E"...to the point where I wonder whether he (or whoever wrote it) actually watched the movie...and, 'cause of it, I have to take some of what's said in his books with a grain of salt...


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Pyre Dynasty
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Yeah, sorry I didn't do my fact checking for my fact checking section. I didn't know that Avatar:The Last Airbender (Sadly James Cameron stole the first half of the title) was American, but it is American Anime, done in the Japanese style. (Which is why I just automatically assumed it was Japanese, sorry.) But my point that it wasn't in the same genre as Doug, still stands.

And I quite like the Dragonball mythos and everything, the characters are great and when I hear someone explain the story to me I love it, but when it comes to the actual show the pacing is the worst ever. I once saw thirty minutes of stare down.

And also I have to fall victim to another assumption, further inquiry has shown that the movie Sorcerer's Apprentice has nothing to do with the book Sorcerer's Apprentice and does have more to do with Mickey Mouse. Now I wonder if they can do in 90 or so minuets what the cartoon did in 6.


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TamesonYip
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Having been introduced to Ed Woods on MST3K, I think an Ed Woods marathon could be tons of fun, just need to watch with the right people.
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rich
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I've seen a preview for Shyamalan-a-Ding-Dong's Airbender, but couldn't tell you what it was about if you put a gun to my head. Something about the elements. Or something. Oh, and I think it's got a little kid in it.

For the record, Shyamalan-a-Ding-Dong is a great director. However, his story sense has evaded him this last decade or so, and I refuse to give him anymore money. What I do now is that when his movies come out, I just set fire to dollar bills in the ashtray. That'll show 'im.


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philocinemas
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I wonder if Shyamalan read my comment about marketing to kids - I just saw a "Kid-friendly" preview with a creature that looked like Falcor, the dog-dragon from Neverending Story, landing and then sitting beside the main character. There is also a preview online that is better than any of the ones I've seen on TV or at the theatre. However, I imagine this is all too little too late.
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axeminister
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quote:
I really enjoyed Ringo Starr's "Caveman"

This was my #1 favorite movie ever from the time I saw it as a kid until I saw Fight Club.

How come no one mentioned "The Happening"?

Axe


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Pyre Dynasty
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The reason no one has mentioned the stupidest title ever is because I think we'd all like to suppress that particular situation from our minds. There is a place for forgiveness, even for directors.
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Robert Nowall
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I think we could make a long string of "Turkey Movies Some of Us Really Liked," but it seems more a separate idea for a posting, rather than a continuance of the ideas here.

Is it Shyamalan's "The Happening," or the bad movie from the 1960s with the Diana Ross and the Supremes theme song? (Yeah, I know it's probably the former...)


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philocinemas
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I actually saw Caveman at the theater, when I was 12 or 13 - I found it enjoyable back then. I think I've seen it once or twice since then. There were a lot of movies around that time that had similar styles: Blazing Saddles, History of the World Part I, Hawmps!, Airplane. It was definitely better than Wholey Moses with Dudley Moore.

[This message has been edited by philocinemas (edited June 28, 2010).]


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billawaboy
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I actually liked Lady in the Water, it felt exactly what it was - a children's tale, and if you compare it with the other movies in it's genre it holds up very well.

The Happening actually suffered from Mark Whalberg's acting and as always, Night's lack of simple logic. The wind, man, it would have affected everyone! BUT I'm willing to bet if they had put a different director's name on it, it would have been praised as some kind of off-beat non-mainstream movie. The Happening by George A Romero??? But yeah, bad acting + logical flaw ruined the movie.

The village I would rank as Shyamalan's second weakest movie after the Happening (forgiving the whole Sign's alien's secret weakness). The story fell flat for all the suspense it provided. BUT it's still one of the most beautiful visual experiences on films. I watch it just to see the deep yellows and browns - and ofcourse Bryce Dallas Howard is very easy on the eyes...can't believe she is Ron Howard's daughter....

Signs? the only flaw here was the whole alien's being allergic to water when we had whole oceans! koolaid or pepsi or even milk would have worked! Maybe it was all that the chlorine...other wise it was a great movie.

Unbreakable was awesome. Nuff said.

Airbender? I loved the previews. The teaser was awesome. Loved James Newton Howard's music. If the audiences were quite - perhaps they were quite with awe at the awesomeness of the scenes? Three People who saw a screening of it gave reports on aicn that Shyamalan finally broke his curse. The movie, apparently, was amazing.

But who knows how others will respond? Some people do get off on hating...

I have faith in Shyamalan. He verified his script with the original airbender writers, which is always a good sign that he respected the original material. The only other question mark is the voice of the main child actor. I haven't heard it - but it may happen that the voice doesn't fit with the 'feel' of the movie. That would be a shame. Other than that, I'm expecting it to be a hit.

BTW did anyone know Night wrote the screenplay for Stuart Little!?


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MAP
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I think this is funny because I had the opposite reactions to the previews as philocinemas. I think this goes back to everything is subjective.

When I first saw the previews for The Karate Kid, I thought, What, they are redoing my beloved Karate Kid movie using a preteen? I shrugged the movie off as a kid movie which I have no intention of ever seeing. I might though if it gets enough buzz, but really it didn't interest me at all.

I thought the Last Airbender preview looked awesome, and I plan to see it.

[This message has been edited by MAP (edited June 30, 2010).]


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aspirit
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Squee! The Momo teaser is what I've been wanting from Airbender trailers.

http://teaser-trailer.com/2010/06/new-trailer-of-the-last-airbender.html


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billawaboy
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My nephews are worried that the movie wont be like the show. I haven't seen the series at all - though everyone (well, my nephews) keep telling me it's the greatest cartoon series in the history of the universe. Hey, whatever happened to Ducktales, huh!? Blathering Blatherskytes!

Anyways...I don't expect the movie to reflect the tv show perfectly. It's bound to be more serious, more angst-ridden. I expect the main guy to be like Rand from Wheel of Time Series, lol. B-I-G chip on his shoulder. And you *know* those studio execs were probably tapping Night's shoulders left and right asking for more slapstick comedy or sexual innuendos. Hope he stuck to his guns.

Speaking of which, any news on making Wheel of Time into like, I dunno, A tv show? miniseries? a 26-part movie?
I know, we still need to see if the ending is something that was worth grinding thru 13 books - and waiting 20+ years. Oh well.

EDIT: Here is ebert's review of Airbender http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100630/REVIEWS/10 0639999/1001/reviews

Well...you know when they say the preview was much better than the movie itself? Well guess what...granted he did see it in 3D - which still has brightness problems...anyways...

Here a line from the review: ""The Last Airbender" is an agonizing experience in every category I can think of and others still waiting to be invented."

Poor, poor, M Night. lol.

[This message has been edited by billawaboy (edited June 30, 2010).]


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Robert Nowall
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The reviews I've seen---not that many, really, but a few---ranged from "lukewarm" to "bad." Now, you've got to take reviews with a grain of salt, but these ones aren't the kind that'll intrigue someone enough to get them in the theater. Sorry, you "Airbender" fans...

(Has anything like this ever been an improvement over its source material? Maybe some books-to-film...)


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billawaboy
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Sigh. Actually, most rotten tomatoes reviews range between worst movie of the summer to worst movie of the year.

Though my nephews really loved it - but they are kids. So maybe the kid fans will love it. I remember loving the live action version of teenage mutant ninja turtles. I can't bear to watch it now.

I'll probably wait till it comes out on Netflix. I hear the 3D was terribly transferred. So if you go, go to the 2D one.


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Robert Nowall
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Seems the reviews don't matter as much...box office had the movie in second place, below the "Twilight" thing but above the third week of "Toy Story 3." A success? Well, I can't say...I don't know what it cost to make, but the rule of thumb is that a movie has to take in two-and-a-half times that amount in order to be a hit...and Hollywood accounting processes are arcane and puzzling...
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Kathleen Dalton Woodbury
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Went to see ROBIN HOOD (with Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett) at a local "dollar theater" this week. It didn't do well at the box office, or so I heard, but someone (OSC?) had said good things about it, so we went.

And we liked it, a lot.

For whatever that may be worth.


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philocinemas
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quote:
...box office had the movie in second place, below the "Twilight" thing but above the third week of "Toy Story 3." A success? Well, I can't say...

Whether justified or not, any movie that opens the week of July 4th is considered a failure if it doesn't make at least a $100 M its first weekend. I know that isn't always true, but producers expect big returns on big dates. I imagine the bad press is going to sink it below Toy Story 3 by this weekend. Nevertheless, its relatively low opening has proven my point.

All the time on this site, it is reiterated that stories are ultimately about characters. My point about the preview was "yes, it had some cool special effects, but nothing else." I couldn't really even tell much of what the story was about from most of the previews (none of ones in the theaters). I knew absolutely nothing about the characters.

From the Karate Kid preview, I could give you a basic synopsis of the plot (even without having seen the original films). I could also tell you about the characters, who were significantly different in personality and presence (brief acting scenes) from the original films. Those things combined piqued my interest.


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philocinemas
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From previews I have recently seen, here are my picks for the summer's hits:

Despicable Me
Inception
Dinner for Schmucks
(tough call b/c it opens same day as Salt - will be a late bloomer or even video favorite)
Salt (Agelina Jolie in tight clothing, jumping across cars and buildings - a no brainer)
The Other Guys
The Expendables
(every action star in the last 20 years in 10 mins of footage - probably a strong start and quick fade)

These are from the previews I've seen - I could probably give a decent list of other upcoming hits based on who is in them or story line and time of year factors.

I'll even throw a wild card out there as well. I see The Expendables as a potentially weak release. I have not seen the preview for it, but Scott Pilgrim vs. the World looks like a possible suprise hit, but probably not the first week. And, as stated from the very start of this post, it may largely depend on the preview.


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Robert Nowall
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Another note on previews---why I didn't remember it before now is a mystery to me, too.

I saw a reviewer being interviewed somewhere, years ago---I don't remember who---but the reviewer complained about the large number of preview trailers he'd been seeing, that had every good bit from the movie in the trailer. I've seen enough to agree that this happens, maybe too often.

Anybody ever see a trailer, then see the movie, and find that there was nothing more interesting in the movie than what you saw in the trailer?


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aspirit
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The Matrix Reloaded
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andersonmcdonald
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Kathleen, I too liked Robin Hood. But OSC had nothing good to say about it. He walked out without finishing it. Different strokes for different folks, I guess...
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Pyre Dynasty
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I remember the preview for The Mask of Zorro containing all the action from that movie. I also recently saw a preview for Letter To Juliet that was a perfect synopsis of the movie, it contained all the turns and the ending.
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KayTi
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I am only vaguely familiar with the Airbender series because my kids sometimes watch it. That should give me enough background to understand the few previews I've seen. It has not.

I also really don't like the whitewashing of the cast. I really love Dev Patel (I think that's his name) from Slumdog Millionaire, but not a big fan of him playing a villain (and, as I understand it having done no research of my own, one of the only people of color in the movie.)

I lived in Asia for a while, I love the idea of movies with influences based on that region of the world, but they should feature people who are from there (in addition to whatever other cast members are necessary - Karate Kid being the example that comes to mind.)

My kids totally get that Airbender is from a different part of the world than us (in the show they watch) - why on earth didn't they choose a cast with some cultural heritage from that region? There are tons of extremely talented people! Since they went with mostly unknown young actors anyway, why? Seems strange to me and I was surprised with so many posts on this movie that nobody else brought this up. Is it just me/the things I've read?

But back to my main point - I should be able to get an idea about the plot of the movie from watching the preview, yet I have no idea what the central conflict is, only a vague idea of the principals.

We saw Despicable Me this weekend. It's a total winner. (I blogged about it if you were looking for a regular 'ol consumer review.)

All of the humor was pitch-perfect, the story was clear but contained many many twists in unexpected (but logical not deus-ex-machina) ways. The sad wasn't too sad (I'm pretty sick of kids movies that play the melodrama note like it's the last thing on earth.) The kids liked it, I think the adults liked it even a little better (maybe we're too used to expecting too little when we take kids to a movie?)

I will actively discourage interest in Airbender should any arise in my family.

The one grown-up movie I'm interested in seeing after reading several amazing reviews is The Kids are Alright. Sounds fantastic.


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Kathleen Dalton Woodbury
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Thanks, andersonmcdonald. If it wasn't OSC, then I wonder who it was that liked it enough for me to be encouraged to go see it?

Anyway, I'm glad I did. <shrug>


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andersonmcdonald
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I just re-read the review to make sure. Yep, he hated it. Then again, he didn't like Errol Flynn's or Kevin Costner's version either. I happen to like both of those. (Everybody can throw darts at me now)
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Robert Nowall
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I can't imagine anyone not liking the Errol Flynn The Adventures of Robin Hood...great Hollywood / Warner Bros. moviemaking at its height, great cast from Flynn and de Haviland all the way down to Trigger, and a fun time to be had by all. Besides that, the Blu-Ray version of it was what really opened my eyes to what Blu-Ray had over regular DVDs...
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philocinemas
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I have heard that Flynn was intoxicated during the entire filming of that movie.

I have also heard that the director of the Kevin Costner version had wished his star could have been intoxicated during the filming - he could have been a little more merry.

My favorite is Robin Hood: Men in Tights - Carey Elwes could speak with an English accent.


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walexander
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I saw Airbender, and regret every minute of it.

The cartoons were cute for the kids, I liked a couple of Shymalan's films, especially sixth sense, so I held out hope he might be able to do something intriguing with Airbender, something no one imagined. It was unimaginable for sure. It had small budget director can't handle big budget film all over it. He's decent at writing his own movie, but horrible at interpreting a very popular kids anime like Airbender, it's so bad I don't even no where to begin. And it can't just be all his fault, because everything felt off. Acting, special effects, scenery, costume, sound, and the worst was the editing. Most of the time they were literally what felt half way through a scene, and cut to farther into the future. Leaving you feeling like did I just miss part of the movie.

I can honestly say there are very few films I would walk out on, this one is on the top ten. After word I keep wanting to say "Ok! Jokes over! where the real film now!"

"Sorry, thumbs down for me."

w.


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philocinemas
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BTW, I'm one for one. Dispicable Me was the first "surprise hit" of the summer. It earned "twice industry expectations" and is now on track to earn $200M.


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philocinemas
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Oh, sorry - second surprise hit - Karate Kid was the first.
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Robert Nowall
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I look forward to seeing Despicable Me on video...but it wasn't the kind of thing that can put me in the theater seat.

I gotta emphasize: don't go by me. Moviegoing was never a big part of my childhood or adulthood. When I was a kid, I went to the movies maybe once or twice a year with my parents. I remember spending a buggy night waiting in line to get in to see Jaws---which I hated. The first movie I saw all on my own was Star Wars, about two years later---went back a second time that summer with my brother, and a third time on one of the late 1990s rereleases. (Star Wars is the only movie I've seen in theaters three times.)

Since then, I go, maybe once a year, sometimes two or three years. There have been movies I didn't much care for (The Black Cauldron), oddball movies (revivals of Rear Window and other Hitchcock movies, Abel Gance's Napoleon), associational-with-SF-or-fantasy stuff (Apollo 13, Dune, the Lord of the Rings movies), a couple of things I thought I'd better catch before they came and went (Doug's 1st Movie, An American Carol). And of course my recent interest in Pixar movies has brought me in on kinda a yearly basis.

The only really bad movie I've unbent enough to go to was Pearl Harbor---I stuck with it, but it was three hours of my life I'll never get back. Even then the attack was well-staged---it was just in a bad (and long) movie.


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philocinemas
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Not to brag... Never mind - who's kidding who?

With Inception, I'm Two for two!

I'm a little worried about The Other Guys - that's my weakest link - it comes out shortly after another more prominent comedy and falls between Salt and the Expendables, which a lot of people will go see despite the possibility that it might be awful (a real toss-up when it comes to Stallone pics).


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shimiqua
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Hey philo, what did you think of Inception?

I loved it. Every friggen minute. What great acting. Heck, what great direction, editing, concept, costume design, special effects, music, etc...

Blew me away.
~Sheena


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philocinemas
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Haven't seen it yet - I had a free ticket last weekend and the theatre doesn't let me use those to see any openers. I'll be out of town this coming weekend, so it will be some time next week before I get to see it.

What did I watch over the weekend? - Predators
It was pretty much what I expected - Think Cube in a jungle.


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Zero
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It was very good. Though it offered many more questions than answers.
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shimiqua
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You mean it made you think? That is rare for Hollywood.

I love it.


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PB&Jenny
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I was shocked today when my wife told me she didn't like the LOTR movies. Said they were entirely too long. 'She' would have cut them all down to one 2 hr movie!
I almost filed for divorce right there! lol

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