The Wolverine – Domestic and International Trailers
Promotion for James Mangold‘s The Wolverine was modestly quiet for a long time. But this week we have seen a range of promotional materials trickle out including stills, posters, and the obnoxious ‘tweasers’: the micro teasers for the trailers. Then in one fell swoop Fox has released the US domestic trailer as well the considerably different international trailer. Lucky us!
This is the sixth big screen appearance of Hugh Jackman‘s popular X-Man, and by the looks of these trailers we will be getting more of a personal journey in this outing: the film is based on Chris Claremont and Frank Miller‘s popular story-arc from the 1980’s which sees our hero in Japan and is the basis of a lot of the characteristics that made old Logan such a popular superhero.
Besides an appearance from Famke Janssen‘s Jean Grey, keep expectations low for surprise appearances by another other X-characters.
The film also stars Hiroyuki Sanada, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Svetlana Khodchenkova, and Will Yun Lee as the freaking Silver Samurai!
Will The Wolverine hack its way to box office supremacy on the film’s global release on July 25? Despite the final quality of the film, and taking in to account the lack of competition on that date, the answer is probably.
via iTunes and The Wolverine UK
White House Down – Trailer
Deep Impact versus Armageddon. Dante’s Peak versus Volcano. Here we have the 2013 equivalent: the battle of Olympus Has Fallen versus White House Down — both action films dealing with a takeover of the White House and the peril of the US President.
With Olympus Has Fallen only a week away, there will be a few months breathing space between films: White House Down is being released locally September 5.
Which movie will win the battle of the White House? Personally, I’ll take White House Down‘s director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) and stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx over Olympus Has Fallen‘s director Antoine Fuqua and stars Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, and Aaron Eckhart.
Olympus Has Fallen will probably already be available on home video by the time White House Down hits Australian theatres. Will the gamble of leaving such a large gap pay off, or will people be weary of the similar premise by then?
Kick-Ass 2 – International Trailer
This red-band trailer is more Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) based than the previous release. And with good reason; Hit Girl was the breakout attraction of the 2010 original, so the more you can promote her the better. Everything here is still looking promising, and the punch-line at the end made me do a legit spit take.
Kick-Ass 2 is still waiting for an official Australian release date. Will it fare any better than the first instalment?
Pain & Gain – Red Band Trailer
All the reasons people dislike Michael Bay are justified, but a big problem is his choice in film is not reasonably suitable for his style of filmmaking; such as what we’ve seen with the Transformers films and Pearl Harbour.
Michael Bay is in his element with big, straight-forward action films geared towards adults, which is why is next big release, Pain & Gain, has so much potential. If he can tap into the bombastic brilliance (yes, I said it) that was Bad Boys or The Rock, this should be a real fun ride.
Speaking of The Rock, this film stars Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub, Rob Corddry, Ed Harris, Rebel Wilson, and the omnipresent Ken Jeong.
Pain & Gain opens nationally on August 8, bringing up the tail end of blockbuster season.
World War Z – Trailer #2
Based on the outstanding novel by Max Brooks (son of Mel Brooks, believe it or not), World War Z – the novel – is an oral retelling of the zombie apocalypse, told through interviews with many of the survivors. It is narratively fairly unique and is a compelling read.
The film adaptation from director Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace) is looking more and more like a basic, bland take on the source material. Instead of coming from many different points-of-view, this is just Brad Pitt doing his best Tom Cruise impression by running all over, saving the day and whatnot. It all looks very uninspired, and for this film to be released at a time when the general interest in zombies is waning, World War Z doesn’t appear to have much going for it.
World War Z opens wide in Australia on June 20, and is opening against the big guns of Monsters University and Despicable Me 2. I’m predicting the film to come in third at the box office, enough to declare World War Z a disaster of zombie-plague proportions.
Riddick – Teaser Trailer
I was never a huge fan of Pitch Black or its big-budget flop sequel The Chronicles of Riddick, but producer and star Vin Diesel has always shown a high level of enthusiasm for the title character and has been plotting away at the third instalment of the series. The passion project from the team of Diesel and director David Twohy was a long gestating process, and with post Fast and Furious success Diesel has gained enough clout to source a modest budget to get this leaner third chapter in to production.
Also featuring Katee Sackhoff, Dave Bautista, and a returning Karl Urban, Riddick opens nationally on September 12.
Hummingbird – UK Trailer
Hey, remember that movie where Jason Statham is a no-nonsense, bald, British tough guy that fights and drives cars wearing a suit? Yeah.
Hummingbird is from writer/director Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) and will be released later this year.
The Kings of Summer – Teaser Trailer
This teaser doesn’t show much of this upcoming comedy,but fans of impromptu percussion should love it.
The young cast will be filled out by some television favourites such as Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, and Megan Mullally. The Kings of Summer should hit this years Australian film festivals before seeing a wide release.
Elisa Iannunzio
Luke Miksa
Sorry I'm Late.com 