For this week's Trailer Park we're taking a Rube Goldberg approach, with an intricate series of mechanisms (metaphorically speaking) allowing us to careen from one trailer to the next by one connection or other. Ready? Let's start with:

X-Files: I Want to Believe
Yes, I want to believe too. X-Files became unwatchable for me in its last few years on the air, but prior to that it was one of the best hours of dramatic television ever. I'd love to see the series revived as a successful film franchise, but this trailer isn't doing much for me. We have the reappearance of Fox Muldar (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), as well as the theme from the TV show, but the rest is a muddle of chaotic imagery. This being X-Files, details are being kept to a minimum, but I'm not seeing enough here to get me revved up, which is how I was hoping to feel. Here's Elisabeth's take on it.
And speaking of Gillian Anderson...

The first trailer for City of Ember has just arrived online (watch it above or over on the film's official site). Cinematical premiered the teaser poster for City of Ember not long ago, and it looks like the folks from 20th Century Fox and Walden Media are itching to get the buzz going on this one by debuting a trailer long before the film's October 10th release date. This will also be the same trailer that plays in front of Prince Caspian this weekend. Based on the best-selling novel, City of Ember was produced by Tom Hanks and stars Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Tim Robbins, Martin Landau, Toby Jones and Harry Treadaway. Directed by Gil Kenan (Monster House), the synopsis for Ember looks like this:

"For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights - underground. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing . . . and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. Now, two teenagers in a race against time, must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city's existence, and help the citizens escape before the lights go out forever."

What say you? I think it definitely has potential, especially with that cast. (Seems like a cool book, too.)

Cinematical has just received this exclusive teaser poster for City of Ember (click to enlarge), due out this October 10th courtesy of 20th Century Fox and Walden Media. Based on the best-selling novel from Jeanne Duprau, City of Ember was written by Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands) and directed by the very talented Gil Kenan (Monster House). Oh, but the talent doesn't stop there -- check out this cast: Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Tim Robbins, Martin Landau, Toby Jones and Harry Treadaway. And did I mention it was produced by Tom Hanks?

And here's a synopsis for ya: "For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights - underground. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing . . . and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. Now, two teenagers in a race against time, must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city's existence, and help the citizens escape before the lights go out forever."

Early buzz tells us the film looks gorgeous, so that's definitely a good sign. We've also been told that the first trailer for City of Ember will debut in front of Prince Caspian this weekend. (Chalk up another reason to hang with those peeps over in Narnia.) Once again, City of Ember arrives in theaters on October 10th.

So who's excited for this one?

Last month, Bill Murray signed on for his first live-action feature in a few years, Fox Walden's adaptation of Jeanne Duprau's City of Ember. The film is being directed by Gil Kenan, the man who brought us the Oscar-nominated Monster House, from an adaptation by Caroline Thompson, who has penned many-a Tim Burton film from Edward Scissorhands to Corpse Bride. With production currently underway in Belfast, we've finally got word on the rest of the cast, which is pretty impressive -- Tim Robbins, Martin Landau, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Harry Treadaway.

To recap -- the story is about a city called Ember, which is always in the dark of night, and gets all of its light from electric lamps. Two children, Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, see that the lights are beginning to flicker and are determined to find out why -- thereby unraveling the strange story of the city, and becoming their home's hope for survival before the lights go out for good. Lina is being played by Atonement star Saoirse Ronan, and Doon is Harry Treadaway, whose most recent film is the Ian Curtis biopic -- Control. Bill Murray is, as expected, The Mayor of Ember, who the children go up against, and as for the rest of the new cast -- Robbins is Doon's father and an inventor who holds a secret about the city, Landau is Doon's boss in the Pipeworks and Jean-Baptise is a greenhouse worker. Between the talent behind the production and the story itself, I'm itching to see what they make of the dark, electric-lit world.