This week on The Rundown I’d like to take a look at a few upcoming films that feel a lot like movies we’ve seen many times before.
Will they bring something new to the table?
But first…
With the holidays approaching quickly, I thought I start this edition of The Rundown with a little Christmas news and a new movie called:
Arthur Christmas
Why not right? Could be funny.
That tiny elf is a little annoying but that giant UFO Santa Sleigh looks pretty badass.
I Am Number Four
When the first trailer was released I thought this film looked like a decent FX ride. Super powers have been done millions of times but it felt different.
I personally love the whole the idea of knocking off these aliens (?) one by one in sequence. I’m also a big fan of the villains that appear in this second trailer.
I‘m hoping for some epic climactic battles that feature a bunch of these tattooed, trench coat wearing bad asses. I’m also curious if we will see all 9 in the film. Maybe they are saving them for the inevitable sequel if it performs well at the box office.
What I DON’T like about the trailer is how similar it feels to Twilight. It has a lot of differences on the surface but it appears to be the same story. Vampire/Alien goes to high school and falls in love with a girl and vows to protect her at all costs.
It’s the same isn’t it? I’m hoping it isn’t but some of the action that don’t remind me of X-Men look sweet.
Decide for yourself.
Vanishing on 7th Street
I caught this trailer and immediately thought of all the zombie movies that begin with the same familiar imagery.
The world has ended. Everyone is gone and one man wakes up in the morning having missed the whole thing. In this case, Darth Vader has to figure out where everybody went.
Thankfully, this film is NOT a zombie film and looks to give the ‘everyone is gone’ scenario a fresh approach.
In this case, the Pitch Black approach.
Regardless of the similarities, I’m actually curious as to where this film will go. Who are those shadowy people and where DID everybody go?
I’ll give this one a shot.
Real Steel
This image below is enough for me but the trailer definitely helped.
- Giant Robots. Check.
- Big VFX battles. Check.
- Boxing movies often win the best picture Oscar. Check.
Okay…
This movie has about as much chance of winning best picture as Howard The Duck getting a remake but there is something about an underdog story and this is definitely a different take on the boxing genre.
Now… There is that pesky comparison to that ‘other’ giant robot franchise and this movie will have a hard time distancing itself from the Shia and his Autobot friends but I think it looks pretty entertaining.
THE LINK: For more on the story, head over to Slashfilm. [Possible Spoilers]
THE LINK: Collider has a fantastic piece that includes an interview with director Shawn Levy
Transformers Dark Of The Moon Trailer
Speaking of giant robot movies….
We finally got a look at the new Transformers movie this week.
Pretty much everyone hated the second film but I think every fan of the first film is still willing to give this one a shot.
What do you think?
I think there is zero chance Transformers 3 will suck.
THE LINK: Stay up to date on all the big upcoming superhero movies
Thor Trailer
This was definitely a great week for Thor. Movie sites everywhere are featuring detailed set visits which provide amazing insight into the production.
Click HERE and HERE for a few examples.
The studio then released a wicked poster you can check out HERE.
Then… THEN… We got the first official trailer.
Inception Mapped Out By Christopher Nolan!
Slashfilm put up a pretty great article this week that included a hand drawn image by Christopher Nolan detailing the various layers of Inception. I’m still blown away at how complex the film is while remaining easily accessible to audiences. It could have gone the other way but Nolan is a master storyteller and Inception is one hell of a ride.
Check out my review of Inception here.
FURTHER READING: The Legend Of Inception
Playing Through & NSI Online Short Film Festival
Since I won’t get to do this too often in the next little while as we don’t have any new films coming until next summer, I thought I would add in some 17 West news.
Our short film, Playing Through, was recently selected to be a part of the NSI Online Short Film Festival.
We are extremely happy to be included in this year’s fest.
You’ll be able to watch the entire film for free on their website. In the mean time, check out the trailer below and then head over to the NSI website to watch more amazing shorts.
Until next week!
this looks like it might be for you.) The film was directed by Jodie Foster and looks like a fairly entertaining idea on the surface but I’m not totally convinced it will succeed yet.
hype you’ll remember wondering if not obsessing over what the ‘monster’ would look like. For months we were subjected to concept art and leaked photos.
