So it’s a good thing I came up with this Trailers of the Week feature, since it seems to be the only way to get myself to regularly update this blog anymore. Maybe I should just change the site to Best Trailers of Our Lives? I’m going to try to post about other stuff soon, I promise. But for now, let’s talk about foreign movies and British trailers!
Coriolanus
FUCK. YES. I know that this movie can’t possibly be as amped-up as this trailer makes it out to be (and looking back at reviews from its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival confirm that suspicion), but still – that’s the way to market an obscure Shakespeare tragedy to a modern audience. Basically, this looks like what NBC’s almost-awesome “Kings” tried to be, only making the protagonist Ralph Fiennes in full-scale bad-ass mode rather than Christopher Egan attempting to break Keanu Reeves’ record for blandest hero ever (and arguably succeeding). Anyway, it seems that Vanessa Redgrave is the one to watch here; I get shivers every time I watch the “And then men die…” clip.
A couple of notes: first, if “Coriolanus” looks suspiciously like “The Hurt Locker” to you, that’s because the same expert DP, Barry Ackroyd, is on board. I’m digging the gritty look. And second, the fact that this trailer proudly declares “From the screenwriter of “Gladiator” and “The Last Samurai” is the most hilarious thing ever. Did Shakespeare have a consulting role on those films? I wasn’t aware.
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Another UK production, and another captivating trailer, though for entirely different reasons. The off-kilter shifts in tone, the stunning visual details, the eerie sense of something unspoken lurking underneath the surface – not to mention Tilda Swinton giving “the performance of her career,” which is a bold, bold claim. Definitely not going to be the “feel-good” film of the season, but this one should be a stunner.
Senna
This one wasn’t even on my radar at all until last week, when it arrived in limited release stateside to generally phenomenal reviews, and it’s suddenly looking like a Best Documentary frontrunner (though with that snub-prone category, who knows). ESPN Films has been doing fantastic documentary work lately – their “30 for 30” series of TV specials last year was leagues beyond what we’d come to expect from bland sports docs; they tackled lesser-known moments in sports history from unexpected angles, making them gripping and informative even for the most casual fans (I particularly recommend “The Two Escobars,” if you ever get the chance). “Senna” looks to be much the same – more of a character study than a simple highlight reel. The competition, the obsession, the insanity, the energy: what made Ayrton Senna, a Brazilian Formula One racing legend, tick? I’ve never understood the fascination with racing, but maybe this film will help on that score.
Also, as a last bonus, here’s the awesome French poster for Roman Polanski’s upcoming adaptation of the awrad-winning play “God of Carnage.” Is it just me, though, or is Christoph Waltz more terrifying in the middle column than the far right?
The Best Films of Our Lives 