This Week in Trailers: Kick-Ass 2, The Hangover Part III, Star Trek Into Darkness, After Earth, More

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The Hangover Part III – Teaser Trailer

The Hangover Part II was an unashamed cash-grab, built solely to take advantage of the runaway success that was the first instalment from 2009. And unashamed it was, retreading moments from the original nearly beat-for-beat; character moments, musical cues, and general plotting were simply re-placed from Vegas to Bangkok. It is lazy — yet successful and lucrative — filmmaking at it’s worst.

The Hangover Part III looks to continue this tradition: moments from this teaser look strikingly familiar, they even got band Wolfmother back for a third run. One can only hope with a return to Vegas they can recapture the charm of the first film, and avoid the unwanted and seedy meanness which made watching Part II such a dirty experience.

It’s also a shame that due to continuing tradition, the talented Justin Bartha is once again stuck on the sidelines, leaving the antics solely up to Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and the manic Chang Chow (Ken Jeong). Jeffrey Tambor, Heather Graham, Jamie Chung and Mike Epps return, as does director Todd Phillips.

Prepare yourself for a severe case of déjà vu when The Hangover Part III opens wide nationally on May 23 and it will — along with Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness — set the pace for the rest of blockbuster season.

via Warner Bros.

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Kick-Ass 2 – Red Band Trailer

The sequel to the modestly successful 2010 superhero film comes with a different director (Jeff Wadlow replacing Matthew Vaughn, who is sticking to producer duties) and a much smaller budget, as is clear by looking at the first teaser. Things look much brighter than before, and I would assume the violence and language will be toned down — if even slightly — to try and recoup its humble investments: something that its bigger budgeted predecessor struggled with.

Although the VFX and set design look schlocky at best, most of the original headline cast is returning (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christoper Mintz-Plasse), and joining them are some terrific actors that don’t have three-part names: Donald Faison, John Leguizamo, Morris Chestnut, and a nearly unrecognisable Jim Carrey. Carrey’s role as Colonel Stars and Stripes will be a big factor in getting people to see this, as he looks and sounds fantastic and is nearly unrecognisable.

Kick-Ass 2 does not yet have an official Australian release date, but I would expect to see it at the tail-end of blockbuster season, depending on how it fares on its US release.

via MTV
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Review: The Karate Kid (2010)

This article was published on the original Sorry I’m Late.com on 14/07/10.

The Karate Kid

Before I start, I need to address what has to be possibly the most misleading film title since The Never Ending Story (or maybe Snatch); the remake of retro 80’s staple The Karate Kid does not contain any semblance of Karate! Forgetting the passive racism – the film is set in China (home of the Kung Fu used in the movie), whereas Karate originates from Japan – it is obviously a ploy to lure audiences to a household brand-name despite all logic and common sense. Either way, it’s pretty poor form from the producers (Big Willie Style!) and another prime example of Hollywood once again patronizing the film-going public.

But now it’s time to take my rage cap off and review this bastard…

He knows never to touch a black man’s radio.

This new take on the Karate Kid sees the action shift from the USA to China, where 12-year-old Dre (Smith) and his mother (Henson) move to begin a new life. Now a fish out of water, the formerly over-confident Dre has to come to grips with living in a foreign land: the language, the customs, weird pre-teen crushes and getting beaten on a regular basis up by a thug of adolescent Wushu upstarts. In steps humble maintenance man – and Kung Fu guru – Mr. Han (Chan): In failing to make peace with Dre’s tormentors and their eeevil teacher, he begins the long journey to teach Dre not only the martial arts to defeat his foes, but the life lessons to help him come to grips with his personal relationships and new surroundings.

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