Broken Embraces Trailer

Almodovar's latest looks to be a visually arresting stunner, as always. In U.S. theaters November 20th.

Mary and Max Trailer

There is something about stop-motion animation that is enormously endearing. I'm fascinated by the process and I love the results.

Mary and Max is a claymation feature by Adam Elliot that has somehow slipped under my radar until now. It's the story of two lonely people - 8-year-old Mary and 44-year-old Max - who become unlikely penpals and friends. Toni Collette, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Eric Bana make up the voice cast, and the film is currently sitting at a solid 94% over at RT.

Adam Elliot also wrote and directed the Oscar-winning short film Harvie Krumpet. I'm not at all sure if Mary and Max is supposed to get a release here in the U.S., but I hope it does well. It looks charming and poetic and vaguely sad.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

I had a dream a couple of weeks ago that I saw this movie and loved it. Not even kidding. I'm wondering if that dream will turn out to be at all prophetic, as this trailer certainly intrigues me.

Flight Delay

I sort of slept through the news of Up in the Air's push back to December last week. Thankfully we now have a new, broader trailer to whet our appetites until it makes its way to theaters.

Best British Films: 20. Red Road

Red Road is an exceptional film from director Andrea Arnold, who's making the rounds on the festival circuit this year with Fish Tank. It follows a woman named Jackie, a CCTV operator in Glasgow, who suddenly recognizes one of the many faces she moniters day after day and tries to integrate herself into his life.

Red Road is the first film in Advance Party, a projected trilogy following a set of rules dictating how the films will be written and directed. They will all be filmed and set in Scotland, using the same characters and cast. Each film will be made by a different first-time director. Minor characters in one film may be major characters in another, and vice versa. It's a concept from none other than Lars Von Trier, director of the wildly controversial Antichrist, out next month. I'm anxious to see what the next two installments have to offer.

Andrea Arnold certainly did her part with Red Road, a chilling and suspenseful indie that admirably portrays despair and isolation. There is a deeper motivation to each of Jackie's seemingly bizarre actions, but Arnold doesn't rush us into understanding. The story unfolds at its own pace, with no excessive explanitory dialogue. We learn the story through context only, and its effect is more powerfully felt this way.

Featuring great performances and a strong message about the barriers people hide behind after suffering profound losses, Red Road is a phenomenal first film from Andrea Arnold, and has me highly anticipating this year's acclaimed Fish Tank. ****/4

A Single Man Trailer

Above is the trailer for A Single Man, the first feature from director Tom Ford. Colin Firth took home the Best Actor prize from the Venice Film Festival.

Not much can be gathered about the plot from this trailer, which focuses primarily on the film's striking visuals, but from what I can gather from various Venice reviews, the film is set in Los Angeles in 1962. George Falconer, a British college professor, is struggling to find meaning in his life after the death of his long-time partner, Jim. The film follows George through a single day, in which George is consoled by his closest friend, Charley, and is stalked by one of his students, Kenny.

Sounds interesting, to say the least. No word on a US distributor as of yet, but I'm hoping one is found in time for an awards run, as I would LOVE to see Colin Firth getting a little love from Oscar. The poor man has never once been nominated despite several extraordinary performances. For shame.

Antichrist Marketing

As I admitted back in August, Lars von Trier's Antichrist is a film I have no intention of seeing. Ever.

Reviews are pouring in from Toronto and while plenty of people seem to admire the genius and daring of the film, there are plenty saying that the film contains the most horrible and disturbing images ever seen in cinema. That's not something I feel comfortable puting myself through, quite frankly.

But for those who are interested, I have some more marketing for you. First, there's this as-yet-unapproved poster, which I've heard is very appropriate, and I have to concede it's intriguing:

And then there's this trailer:

If the film is well-received after its release on October 23rd, we could see a surge of support for Charlotte Gainsbourg, who took home the Best Actress prize from Cannes last May. Somehow I think this is one film that AMPAS will be holding at arms length, however well-liked.

Best British Films: 23. My Summer of Love

Pawel Pawlikowski won the BAFTA for Best British Film for his moody and bittersweet love story, My Summer of Love. Rightfully so. My Summer of Love is an exceptional film of teenage love, lies, and loss, with wonderful lead performances from Natalie Press and Emily Blunt.

Press plays Mona, a lonely girl with no family except her older brother, who has recently found God and turned his bar into a kind of church. When she meets a sophisticated rich girl (Emily Blunt) suffering from parental neglect, opposites immediately attract and the two girls swiftly become inseparable.

The relationship between Mona and the rich girl, Tamsin, soon becomes romantic and obsessive, the girls promising never to part. Forthcoming Mona doesn't realize, however, that Tamsin is quite a talented actress, and she's in for a painful surprise when Tamsin's true colors show themselves.

The tone of the film is pitch-perfect as a love story between two moody and self-important teens. The film seems to have incorporated eyes as something of a visual theme, perhaps hinting that there is more to the love story and to Tamsin than what Mona initially perceives. Its a knockout indie gem worth your time. ****/4

The Princess and the Frog

Another trailer for The Princess and the Frog has hit the web. This time we get a bigger taste of the new music by Randy Newman. I have very high hopes for this one.

Up in the Air Trailer

Wow. From all the accounts at Telluride and now this beautiful trailer, I think we're looking at one of the best of 2009. I can't wait.

Thanks to /Film for the embed.

Terrible Yellow Eyes

A quick interruption of the non-stop and obsessive movie talk. I had to tell you all about what is quite possibly the coolest website I've found all year. Terrible Yellow Eyes is a collection of artwork based on Maurice Sendak's classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are. Please visit.

Spike Jonze's hotly anticipated film adaptation of the book hits theaters October 16. My apologies for neglecting to post the trailer until now. It's easily one of the best I've seen this year. Perfect tone, perfect music, perfect images to draw people to the theater on opening weekend. I know I'll be there.

Trailer for The White Ribbon

Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke won the Palme d'Or at Cannes earlier this year for The White Ribbon, which focuses on a children's choir in northern Germany just before World War I. The film is also playing at Telluride and Toronto this month.

The international trailer just recently made its way online, and it looks great. I'm of the opinion that black and white is criminally under-used today. I think it makes for some beautiful imagery when used correctly (the red coat in Schindler's List comes to mind), and I love to see modern filmmakers put it to good use.

Germany selected the film as its official entry to the Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language Film race, and it also picked up the FIPRESCI Best Picture prize last month. It may be the most decorated film of the year so far.

The White Ribbon will hit US theaters December 30th.

Trucker Trailer

Last week I told you about the indie film Trucker, and how Michelle Monaghan's performance was gathering some buzz. I'm not at all sure if the talk will amount to anything, but here's a look at the new trailer, just in case.

Trucker is currently slated for a limited release on October 9th.

Bright Stars On The Rise

Below is the trailer for Bright Star, the Jane Campion film that debuted at Cannes this year to favorable reviews, with more than a few critics calling it "a return to form" for Campion.

I'm pretty excited about this one. Jane Campion's classic The Piano is a very special film to me, personally. Not only is it an astonishing film, but it's the first movie I watched when I was young that made me realize that film could be art, not just entertainment.

Bright Star has its limited release on September 18th, so when it reaches a theater near me I'll definitely be catching it. It's the story of the poet John Keats and his love affair with neighbor Fanny Brawne, which inspired his work. It stars relative newcomers Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish, who both received some praise for their work back at Cannes.

I'm still a little upset with Abbie Cornish for being a low-life homewrecker, but it's exciting nonetheless when new talent is on the horizon. We'll see soon enough if she can give that other newcomer a run for her money during awards season.

Trailer For Agora

Here's a trailer for the new Alejandro Amenabar film, Agora, starring Rachel Weisz. Agora is the story of Hypatia of Alexandria during the uprising of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Hypatia was the first female mathematician of note, a philosopher and an astronomer.

Amenabar also directed one of my favorite ghost stories, The Others, and the Spanish film The Sea Inside, starring Javier Bardem. That film won the Venice Film Festival and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film back in 2004.

This trailer doesn't really engage me much, even though I love Rachel Weisz and films that explore this era. Agora screened at Cannes last May and didn't exactly inspire much praise, but it could be one to watch for some awards consideration. As of yet, the film hasn't secured a distributor, but the costumes and sets are beautiful, at least.

The Men Who Stare at Goats Trailer

Just spotted this trailer over at /Film for The Men Who Stare at Goats, an unbelievable true story about a reporter chasing a lead on an experimental U.S. military unit attempting to develop psychic powers for use on enemies. Ewan McGregor and George Clooney star as reporter and subject, respectively.

Trucker Buzz

I've just caught wind of a small film called Trucker, which has been making the rounds on the festival circuit this year. It stars Michelle Monaghan as Diane, a loose and carefree truck driver who indulges in one-night stands and drinking binges until her estranged young son is dropped at her doorstep.

Monaghan's performance has garnered praise from most everyone who has caught the film so far, and some are speculating that this could be an awards caliber performance from the actress, whose former credits include Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Gone Baby Gone, and North Country. Writer-director James Motttern cites her performance in the latter as the reason he cast her in Trucker.

“I tried to make Trucker for a few years. One problem I was always faced with was finding a lead actress that really spoke to me on a gut level. I looked for a long time. Then I saw Michelle Monaghan in a movie called North Country. Her performance in that film is outstanding. But there’s this one scene where the character she plays is
standing outside her trailer saying good bye to Charlize Theron’s character and
the camera holds on Michelle for a beat, not saying a word; I saw that and it hit me like a freight train - 'There she is. Diane.'”

Looks like we have another one to keep an eye on. Here's the trailer for Trucker, which is scheduled for release on October 9th.

Your Mind Is The Scene Of The Crime

Like I told you last week, trailers for Christopher Nolan's films don't usually give away much of the plot. No exception for this Inception teaser. Take a look, in case you didn't get a chance to see it in theaters in front of Inglourious Basterds this weekend.

I'm likin' it. Color me intrigued.

Shutter Island Moved To 2010

SHOCK. That's my response. This was a film I was really looking forward to, and now it seems we'll all have to wait until February 2010 to see it.

Paramount has moved the Martin Scorsese thriller from its original October 2nd release date, which would have put the film in a prime spot for awards consideration. This is apparently the issue. Paramount already has two major Oscar contenders slated for release this year, Jason Reitman's Up in the Air and Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, and has decided to cut back expenses by pushing back Shutter Island and nixing its awards campaign all together.

I don't understand it, quite honestly. The film looked like a winner, with a cast and crew that certainly would have drawn a lot of buzz. Martin Scorsese. Leonardo DiCaprio. Patricia Clarkson. Michelle Williams. Ben Kingsley. Jackie Earle Haley. Seems strange.

I'm hoping against hope this isn't an indication that Shutter Island is not as good as it looks. Who knows, though. Paramount obviously sees more potential in other ponies this year. What a disappointment.

Michael Moore's Latest

It's been a busy day for trailers. Now we have the full-lenth trailer for Michael Moore's new documentary Capitalism: A Love Story. Whatever your personal opinion of Moore, you can't deny the man knows how to make a stir and draw attention to his causes.

With ten Best Picture slots this year, will he finally slide one of his films into the top race? Maybe not, but I think it's safe to say Capitalism: A Love Story is a contender for Best Documentary Feature.