3 High Profile Trailers Premiere

3 very anticipated films premiered their first full length trailers and teasers this week.



The new "Batman Begins" trailer is, to say the least, amazing (LOVE the 1-sheet above). Great ramp-up opening that once again hints at who Christian Bale will ultimately become. A few pointers...check out the fighting arm guards he wears during a fight scene with Liam Niason. Watch for the Batmobile on the street below as a huge girder explodes and crashes down. The first clip we see of Batman is high above the city with his giant cape billowing in the wind (a shot I think they should have played up more). Matched a few moments later by a descending Dark Knight zooming through a stairwell, that cape seeming as though it's about to consume everything. THIS is Batman. That last shot is actually scary. "Where are you?!!" So far I'm very impressed and really excited. The only thing I'm a little concerned with is the number of star actors in this film; aside from Liam Niason there's Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Tom Wilkenson, not to mention Katie Holmes, Ken Watanabe, and Rutger Hauer. That's a big slate. Hopefully they will all do nothing but accent Bale. This could be the real deal.



I also enjoyed the "Charlie & The Chocolate Factory" trailer. This of course will be the forth Tim Burton/Johnny Depp pairing, and despite the fact that there's only ONE original "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" (no one will ever replace Gene Wilder), this still seems wildly fascinating and Depp looks like he's having a blast. I remember saying some years ago that if they ever did a remake, Tim Burton should make it. Wish granted, I'm in. Plus this means they'll be putting out a new, even better DVD special edition of the original film. Since I've never owned it on any format I'm looking forward to finally bringing it into my collection.



And finally the first teaser for Steven Spielberg's "War Of the Worlds" which embraces the opening monologue from the original book. Good start. Spielberg and Tom Cruise put up their own money to produce this (everything was shot just for the teaser). My one big sticking point about this whole endeavor is that it's set in the present day. Not really comfortable that this was the best choice. Has anyone ever tackled transposing the book directly into a film, set in turn of the century London? Would that make a compelling movie? Hard to say. I'm also a little skiterish about the tag line, 'they're already here'. This evokes the sequel series from the early 90's with it's "Invaders"ish premise. Again, whether this new version is good or bad, the original will definitely be getting the extra special edition DVD treatment. In lieu of this I'm glad I didn't buy the current DVD issue. Next year I can pick it up in style.



In other movie news, the Golden Globe nominations were announced Monday.



Top of the list, I'm very glad to see David Carradine nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Kill Bill, Vol. 2". Some of the best scenes in the movie were just watching him have a conversation with Uma Thurman, whom I'm also happy was nominated for Best Actress in thr same film.



God Almighty, are there enough nominations for "Desperate Housewives"?! Jeeeez! We're talking almost every actor in the show as well as the show itself! STOP!



Matt LaBlanc in "Joey"...This gets an even bigger STOP!!!!!



Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd in "De-Lovely" with no Best Picture nom. This is just as it should be because the performances made the movie. Ah, that music video I did for The Bowl worked it's magic! ;)



My picks for Best Picture Drama are "The Aviator" and for Comedy or Musical, "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind". "The Aviator" isn't due in wide release until Christmas Day (which I'm really looking forward to seeing), but from the advance clips and reviews this really seems to be the kind of film the HFP goes for. Not to mention The Academy. Scorsese is nominated for Best Director as well. It's time to give the man his due, damnit!



I was also glad to see HBO's "The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers" get nominated for Best Mini Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television as well as nods to Geoffrey Rush, Charlize Theron, and Emily Watson.