Trailer Stash: S. Darko, Knowing, Funny People, more

And now, a look at some notable trailers lighting up the blogs and message boards:

S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale
Director: Chris Fisher
Starring: Daveigh Chase, Briana Evigan, Jackson Rathbone
Release Date: Straight-to-DVD May 12



You might be wondering why a straight-to-DVD sequel is headlining this week's Trailer Stash. In short, as you can already tell, it's the "continuation" of the remarkable 2001 cult film Donnie Darko. Nevermind director and creator Richard Kelly did everything in his power not to have this film made; 20th Century Fox went ahead and did it anyway. One look at the trailer, and you can see why Kelly wouldn't want anyone else to touch his story and characters. Not only did this film not get a theatrical release, it also features those typical sequel-esque ploys, rehashing shots and characters: Frank the Bunny is back, and they even pretty much replicated the trampoline and person-in-the-middle-of-the-road-about-to-get-run-over scenes. Plus the dialogue and acting is as lifeless and dry as you'd expect. Still, some of the scenes and effects look pretty cool, and if you're wondering, that is, believe it or not, the once-little girl who played Samantha Darko in the first film some eight years ago.

Knowing
Director: Alex Proyas
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn
Release Date: March 20



Speaking of Kelly, he'd actually written an earlier draft of this movie before his take was tossed and it became this big-time-studio blockbuster. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Remember, Kelly wrote Domino, too. So here we have proven blockbuster and cult director Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City, I, Robot) directing hit-or-miss actor Nicolas Cage in what looks to be an interesting premise. A 50-year-old time capsule filled with elementary students' predictions of the future yields one student's interesting mish-mash of numbers on paper. Turns out, those seemingly random numbers actually predicted a slew of the major catastrophes to that point...and then some. Disasters galore flood the trailer, and you begin to wonder what's coming next. It could be a standard, overwrought action flick with a lame crowd-pleasing twist, or it could actually be worth watching. It's tough to tell from this trailer.

Funny People
Director: Judd Apatow
Starring: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jason Schwartzman
Release Date: July 31



Writer/director Judd Apatow's third film, Funny People, stars A LOT of funny people: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jason Schwartzman, Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill and a handful of comedians playing themselves (Andy Dick, Sarah Silverman, Norm MacDonald). Wu-Tang Clan's RZA stars as well, and he recently told us about a few things he learned while on the set of the film. The big question is, can this movie kill Sandler's long-running unfunny streak (some might argue since Happy Gilmore)? Answer: all signs point to yes. Apatow has proven himself the master of meaningful comedies, or comedy with a point. In his first film since 2007's Knocked Up, an established comedian (Sandler) asks an up-and-coming comedian (Rogen) for help writing new material. (Call it art imitating life, as Rogen is the fresh newcomer, and Sandler, well, he could use a little guidance lately.) Little does Rogen know his new-found buddy is dying of a fatal disease. Within this single, three-minute trailer itself, you'll laugh, cry and regret having to wait a painfully not-funny five months for the release.

Adventureland
Director: Greg Mottola
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr
Release Date: March 27



On the upside, you don't have to wait too much longer for Adventureland, the second film from Superbad director and Apatow-clique member Greg Mottola. Like the previous movie, it's a coming-of-age story, this time about getting a job and finding one's path after college. On the downside, this red-band trailer is a reminder of why Apatow's Funny People will be infinitely better, showing us just some of the pitfalls within: rapid-fire vulgarity for the hell of it (pun slightly intended), no-brain drug/sex/toilet humor and perhaps worst of all, Ryan Reynolds. The storyline makes it seem entertaining enough, but at what (ticket) cost? That's up to you.

I Love You, Beth Cooper
Director: Chris Columbus
Starring: Paul Rust, Hayden Panettiere, Shawn Roberts
Release Date: July 10

 

From the director who brought you both the first two Home Alone and Harry Potter films (Chris Columbus) comes a movie we can only hope to which there is no sequel. Based on the novel by Larry Doyle, this teen comedy appears to include, unfortunately, a lot of watered-down John Hughes goddess-and-the-geek humor. You even have the muscle-head jock (in this case, army guy) and jealous boyfriend, whom our hero, Denis, must deal with after he publicly proclaims his love for the dude's girlfriend, Beth Cooper, during his graduation speech. Yeah, it shows a lot of cool stuff we wished could've experienced in high school, and that's always fun. For like, you know, two seconds.

Broken Embraces
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Starring: Penelope Cruz, Lola Duenas, Angela Molina
Release Date: Nov. 6



It's nothing much: just a 30-second, standard, foreign-film trailer. Standard, meaning dramatic score accompanied by absolutely no dialogue. There's not a whole lot of information out there on the film, and here we just see a lot of embracing between Oscar-winner Penelope Cruz and a bunch of other people. Although the film is premiering in Spain next month, U.S. audiences will have to wait until the limited release in November.