Trailer Stash: Harry Potter, Star Trek, Up, Che, The Wrestler, more
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And now, a look at a few of the latest movie trailers to hit the web:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceRelease Date: July 17, 2009
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Just think: we could be watching Harry Potter right about now had Warner Bros. not delayed it until next summer. Instead, we have to struggle to decide what to see after Quantum of Solace. The first full-length trailer for The Half Blood-Prince, the sixth book, simply looks fantastic. And not to beat a dead horse, but it looks like the darkest entry yet, despite the obvious efforts to emphasize the humor. The real reason it could be the most compelling installment yet is Alan Rickman (Snape) and Michael Gambon (Dumbledore), both of whom will be given the screen time to craft a pair of impressive performances. Still, July has never seemed further away.
Nothing But the Truth
Release Date: Dec. 19 (limited)
Director: Rod Lurie
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Vera Farmiga, Alan Alda
Writer/director Rod Lurie has never met a moral dilemma he didn't like. In 2000's The Contender, vice presidential nominee Joan Allen fought off Republican rival Gary Oldman when he accused her of sexual misconduct. Here, Beckinsale fights the government after refusing to name her source in a story she wrote exposing the identity of CIA operative, played by Farmiga. It's essentially the Valerie Plame case remade by Hollywood. If all this sounds a bit pessimistic, forgive us. But Lurie is known for one-note, edifying stories that just happen to be blessed by some powerhouse acting. He guided Allen and co-star Jeff Bridges to Oscar nominations, and buzz has similarly built around Farmiga, Dillon and even Beckinsale herself. Surprised the former Underworld vixen has reinvented herself as a serious actress? You shouldn't be. Beckinsale was terrific in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, and damn near deserves an Oscar nomination already this year for her searing work in David Gordon Green's Snow Angels.
Coraline
Release Date: Feb. 6, 2009
Director: Henry Selick
Featuring the voices of: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher
It's nice to be reminded there's true talent in the world of animation outside of the folks at Pixar (more on them later). Henry Selick, the mastermind behind perennial holiday favorite The Nightmare Before Christmas, returns to adapt Neil Gaiman's chilling children's tale, Coraline, to the big screen. The narrator at one point utters the phrase "extraordinary imagination," which somehow manages to feel like a gross understatement. While the trailer is understandably cut to make the film look commerical and light-hearted, it most definitely will be neither. Exquisitely animated, Coraline looks like a knockout, the kind of family entertainment that just doesn't get made anymore.
New in Town
Release Date: Jan. 30, 2009
Director: Jonas Elmer
Starring: Renée Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr., Rashida Jones
