This Week in Trailers: The Wolverine, White House Down, Pain and Gain, World War Z, Riddick, Kick-Ass 2, More

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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

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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?

via MovieFone

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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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