Yesterday’s trailer news was all about X-Men: First Class, and I was very happy to finally see some footage. I wish there had been more Emma Frost, because I’m completely fascinated with January Jones’s non-acting acting style and am curious to see how she brings that level of understatement to such an overstated character. But overall, my reaction was pretty mellow and low key (Ms. Jones would have been proud).
Then, purely by chance, I happened to catch the extended trailer for Battle: Los Angeles last night during a South Park re-run, and it left me screaming and cowering in a corner, wrapped in my Empire Strikes Back comforter and waving my Hitachi Magic Wand as a weapon. Holy crap! How did this movie escape my notice for so long?
Admittedly, my initial reaction after the first few seconds was, “Really? Another robot alien invasion movie?” But then…then…around 20 seconds in, they don’t just show a big, crazy explosion, they show some guy’s reaction to it. And I was hooked. Then, throughout the trailer, we get all these gut-wrenching scenes of human strength, frailty and emotion. Explosions and alien machines of some kind are everywhere, but the focus is on all the human stuff. That’s not how they usually market these kinds of movies. Usually, it goes like this: shot of cocky star saying something cocky or sexist, followed by rapid-fire scenes of CG mayhem, capped by cocky star making some joke about being cocky. Also, someone grizzled, like a Tommy Lee Jones or a Frank Langella, will say something like, “God help us all.” Then there’ll be another big explosion at the end.
But this? This trailer is pretty fabulous. Even if the movie is awful, I would totally watch this trailer over and over and maybe grab some popcorn and make an evening of it. It also seems to promise to have the only thing than can extract tears from my cold, dead heart: triumph of the human spirit. Gets me every time.
I’m a little worried that Michelle Rodriguez is in it, playing what Johnny M refers to as the “Michelle Rodriguez character.” But wouldn’t it be awesome if this movie actually delivers on the potential of its trailer?
Yesterday’s trailer news was all about X-Men: First Class, and I was very happy to finally see some footage. I wish there had been more Emma Frost, because I’m completely fascinated with January Jones’s non-acting acting style and am curious to see how she brings that level of understatement to such an overstated character. But overall, my reaction was pretty mellow and low key (Ms. Jones would have been proud).
Then, purely by chance, I happened to catch the extended trailer for Battle: Los Angeles last night during a South Park re-run, and it left me screaming and cowering in a corner, wrapped in my Empire Strikes Back comforter and waving my Hitachi Magic Wand as a weapon. Holy crap! How did this movie escape my notice for so long?
Admittedly, my initial reaction after the first few seconds was, “Really? Another robot alien invasion movie?” But then…then…around 20 seconds in, they don’t just show a big, crazy explosion, they show some guy’s reaction to it. And I was hooked. Then, throughout the trailer, we get all these gut-wrenching scenes of human strength, frailty and emotion. Explosions and alien machines of some kind are everywhere, but the focus is on all the human stuff. That’s not how they usually market these kinds of movies. Usually, it goes like this: shot of cocky star saying something cocky or sexist, followed by rapid-fire scenes of CG mayhem, capped by cocky star making some joke about being cocky. Also, someone grizzled, like a Tommy Lee Jones or a Frank Langella, will say something like, “God help us all.” Then there’ll be another big explosion at the end.
But this? This trailer is pretty fabulous. Even if the movie is awful, I would totally watch this trailer over and over and maybe grab some popcorn and make an evening of it. It also seems to promise to have the only thing than can extract tears from my cold, dead heart: triumph of the human spirit. Gets me every time.
I’m a little worried that Michelle Rodriguez is in it, playing what Johnny M refers to as the “Michelle Rodriguez character.” But wouldn’t it be awesome if this movie actually delivers on the potential of its trailer?
Anyone else excited about Battle: Los Angeles?
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