Trailer Park: The Lost, The Damned and The Dead
Filed under: Fandom, Trailer Trash, Trailers and Clips
Land of the Lost
This comedic remake of the classic Saturday Morning show takes some license with the material, but it's got Will Ferrell and it's got Sleestak. Where can I buy my ticket? Ferrell plays scientist Rick Marshall, who's written a book on time warps (which is particularly odd since IMDB says his character is a Forest Ranger). Despite a Today Show interview that goes hilariously wrong, Marshall apparently proves his theories by traveling across time and space with two colleagues to a world of dinosaurs, ape people and lizard men. Check out the trailer below.
The Damned United
Michael Sheen of Frost/Nixon plays Brian Clough, who for forty-four days coached the Leeds United soccer team (or football team as they call it on that side of the pond). Based on true events, Clough was apparently a controversial figure. I got the impression the trailer was assuming I already knew who he was, so perhaps a different approach would be appropriate for the non U.K. markets.
Deadline
Brittany Murphy stars as a writer who moves into an old house so she can work in peace, but the ghost of a young woman murdered in the house (Thora Birch) is getting in the way of her deadline. This looks like generic ghost plot number 4 and there's something about Murphy here I find off-putting. Not sure if it's her "I don't want to be bothered by the outside world" attitude or her out of control hair. Despite the premise this looks like a less than spirited effort.
Sugar
A talented young Dominican pitcher with dreams of making it in the big leagues gets invited to Spring training in Iowa., where cultural barriers and an unreliable throwing arms threaten to stall his ambitions. No star power but it looks like an indie drama with potential.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Once again the plot of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been borrowed for nefarious purposes. Matthew McConaughey plays a celebrity photographer and lady's man who is visited by the ghosts of girlfriends past present and future in hopes of figuring out why he's such a jerk. Jennifer Garner also stars as his one true love. This one looks trite and predictable.
Gommorah
No, this doesn't have anything to do with that giant jet propelled turtle from Japan. Based on a book by Roberto Saviano, this is hard hitting look at how organized crime works in modern Naples, Italy. Saviano has been under police protection ever since the book was published and I doubt release of the film will help, but this one has piqued my interest.
12 Rounds
Detective Danny Fisher (John Cena) is on the trail of a man who has kidnapped his wife and set up a dozen challenges for him to overcome. Presumably inspired by the 12 labors of Hercules, I think this film's gimmick threatens to outweigh its characters and story, but things apparently blow up a lot.
New this week on AOL Moviefone:
- Next Day Air - Scrubs star Donald Faison and Mos Def play delivery drivers who deliver a large shipment of cocaine to the wrong address in this action comedy. Check out the trailer:
- Cherry Blossoms - In this German language film an elderly man with a terminal illness is devastated when his wife suddenly passes away and decides to travel to Japan as he and his wife had always dreamed of doing.
- The Objective - Daniel Myrick, one of the directors of The Blair Witch Project helms this supernatural thriller about U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan dealing with a sort of Middle Eastern Bermuda Triangle.
- Of Time & The City - A visual essay about Liverpool, England told through home movies and newsreel footage.
- 500 Days of Summer - A young woman has her non-belief in love tested when a young man falls deeply in love with her.
- Donkey Punch - Horror thriller about three young women who make the mistake of partying with strangers on a boat in the Mediterranean.
- Echelon Conspiracy - Thriller about an engineer who receives a mysterious cell phone that saves his life, makes him rich, and may be the death of him.
- Fast and Furious - Second trailer for the new Vin Diesel sequel.
- Street Fighter: The Legend of Chung-Li - Film based on the classic video game series.
- Red Mist - An experimental drug allows a coma victim to leave his incapacitated body and take revenge on those who hurt him. Here's the preview:
- Friday the 13th - Remake of the classic slasher flick.
- Taken - Liam Neeson plays an ex special ops soldier on the trail of the people who kidnapped his daughter.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-07-2009 @ 12:11PM
Kaeli said...
Wow, how depressing... I remember feeling a little glimmer of joy when I saw that the Sleestak in the movie were so similar to the original series... perhaps I was foolish to assume that they would approach everything else with the same sense of nostalgia and respect. I know it was a silly show, especially by today's standards, but there's more than enough substance to make a fascinating world. For just a silly 70's children's show, there was a well thought-out history and intriguing mysteries that slowly unravel... Pylons? Crystals? Pakuni? Lost City? No, just a mosquito joke, and a CGI Tyrannosaur.
The original series had stop-motion dinosaurs and only two Sleestak costumes. Two. They shot the same two actors from different angles to create the sense of hundreds of those creepy guys. I think they managed to do more with some clay and those two rubber suits than these guys have done with a huge budget and limitless CGI. So depressing.
As an aside, I just showed this trailer to someone else, and despite the presence of Sleestak (and character names, but it's been a while since she's seen the show), she didn't realize what it was for until the title flashed onto the screen... and then her jaw hit the floor. It seriously bears zero resemblance to the source material.
As much as I tend to love Will Ferrell, I think I'm going to have to pass on this one. I have the whole original series on DVD, I think I'll just curl up with that instead. :)
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2-07-2009 @ 6:13PM
MosquitoControl said...
I hate Will Ferrell.
And I hate when original material is dumbed down to poop jokes because those sell.
But that movie looks hysterical and like it could actually be quite clever.
I might actually pay to see Will Ferrell. Imagine that...
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2-08-2009 @ 7:24AM
Charles Thompson said...
Dumbed down... really?... did you guys actually watch the original show?!! Let me tell you what gets me about all you armchair critics- you pass judgement on something for which you have only seen a fraction of in a trailer. You imbue the source material, which was made for no money and aimed at 7 to 12 year olds munching cereal on Saturday mornings, with some sort of epiphany inspiring profound wisdom pool. You criticize, criticize, CRITICIZE!!! Where's your opus, genuises? I agree that the CG in this movie, based on what I saw in this brief trailer, makes my eyes feeel like they are being rubbed with sandpaper but the Sleestak (designed by Academy Award nominated shop, Spectral Motion) look AWESOME!! Chaka looks pretty cool (considering the fact that the original made me feel like throwing up my Cap'n Crunch) and Will Ferrell is, well, Will Ferrell. He's a very successful funny man and like any other social icon, he's not for everyone. Here's a little pearl for you malcontents: Wait 'til you've seen things in their entirety before you pass judgement. Don't judge a film by its trailer. Give it a chance, kids. It's not supposed to change your life, it's just light entertainment.
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2-08-2009 @ 6:53PM
MosquitoControl said...
Did I not say "it looks like it could be clever."
Also, you sound kind of hypocritical, and what is the purpose of trailers if not to judge films by them? That's the entire reason why effort is made into producing and distributing them.
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