30 Seconds to Summer - THE SEQUEL
Monday, February 7, 2011 at 2:05PM We're doing a quickie Yes No Maybe So for the Superbowl movie spots.
Aaron Eckhart fights aliens in Battle: Los Angeles
In Part One I covered the movies I'd already done some thinking about (usually due to stars or superhero familiarity). Here in Part Two, movies I had not paid even a whiff of attention to up until this very moment. New eyeballs who have casually dropped in from a google search might be shocked that a movie website exists that does not spend almost all its posting time serving up rumors about blockbuster movies and had never before EVER said a word about these four movies exists. But it's true! The Film Experience exists!!! There are about 21,000,000 sites that do that other thing well but this is not one of them.
after the jump super 8, battle los angeles and more.
Let me know what you think of these four movie spots in the comments.
SUPER 8
Yes, No, Maybe So? Yes.
My preference is ALWAYS movie advertising that doesn't tell you too much. Although in this case maybe there's not enough since we can only assume that it's about a little boy with a camera (How meta!) and maybe an alien invasion? Something creepy is going on at least. "Do not speak of this..." Was that Elle Fanning? Oh, Coach from Friday Night Lights. Points for that. Bonus Points for the lighting during JJ Abrams name. He's flipping the bird to critics who are always "stop it with your hard-on for the lens flare."
TRANSFORMERS 3 or TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
Whichever you prefer. Michael Bay probably doesn't care so long as you buy a ticket.
Yes No Maybe So? Do you have to ask?
In truth I don't hate this spot at all --- the music is fun in that I Am A Teaser. Consider Yourself Teased, Bitch kind of way -- but if the first movie taught me anything, it's that these movies are only fun in very very very short doses like, well, trailer-sized doses. Then the movie will be 150 minutes of sunshiney gloss in which Shia LaBeouf runs around, the supporting cast tries to cover every demographic, awkward Bro humor permeates the non-action scenes, and cars zoom around and gobs and gobs of CGI crash into other gobs of it in ways that no one can follow if they're being honest with themselves. Wait which glob of CGI just smashed into which other glob? Who's winning? Who can tell!? I can't remotely begin to understand what's happening.
Now you might just say 'Nathaniel, you are not the audience for these movies. You can't judge.' But I tell you this and swear on it:. If a girlie movie arrives in which pounds and pounds of fabric by the worlds greatest costume designers swirls around in my face and lands on beautiful actresses but i can't tell which lady is wearing which dress and who ended up in the blue versus the pink and who's high heel that is and which wrap just obstructed my view of which tailored suit and what any of it means, I WON'T LIKE THAT MOVIE EITHER. So there.
FAST FIVE
Yes No Maybe So? Maybe So
I probably won't end up seeing this (will it screen for critics?) but I could theoretically imagine myself enjoying it. I actually still remember seeing the first one and being surprised that I was having fun.
BATTLE: LOS ANGELES
Yes No Maybe So? Yes
I love Aaron Eckhart -- did I tell you about how...ok yes I'll shut up bout that -- and am happy he got a lead in an action movie. He's such a good actor and with that memorably strong chin he really ought to be a big star in the classic Hollywood mode. He gets cast in all these subservient to the female lead roles (Rabbit Hole, Erin Brockovich) which he's good at but it's a very odd career development when you remember this his breakthrough role was as the world's most misogynistic evil businessman (In the Company of Men).
Bonus Points: if a city has to be destroyed in the movies...
I'm only kidding Los Angelenos but I AM tired of it being NYC that gets the beat down in every sci-fi movie. So why not LA for a change? Pull your own weight with the world destruction fantasies!
Reader Comments (15)
Aaron Eckhart is my man crush. I'm not even fucking kidding. I've been following his career since Thank You for Smoking and is pretty much the only male actor that I'm obsessed with.
TELL US ABOUT WHAT, THOUGH? AM I MISSING SOMETHING?
I liked the first Transformers, didn't see the second, and am a Maybe So for the third -- depending on what my fellow Michael Bay fans say. They all hated the second one, thus the avoidance.
But Super 8? YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
Jonathon -- oh that i went to the same college while he was there -- or at least during his last year there? Not sure. (I've mentioned it a few times). I didn't know him personally but my friends who were in theater did. BEST PART OF STORY: I have a copy of a student film that he starred in on VHS. not even joking.
Walter -. why the enthusiasm? is it just the people involved or the actual trailer?
I saw all the trailers in both parts-1 & 2.
Super 8 is the only one I'll be seeing.
TRANSFORMERS
No. That's all. People should really, really stop watching Michael Bay movies, so the guy is banned from making movies. Forever.
FAST FIVE
No.
BATLLE: L.A.
Maybe, finally, a good mashup of District 9-cheap-Sci-Fi and Michael Bay-Roland Emmerich-destruction. That first Teaser still haunts me.
SUPER 8
YES YES YES YES YES
This looks awesome. With a TV spot alone, my most anticipated Blockbuster of the summer. Abrams really absolutely nails the 80s-Spielberg-ET-Close Encounters-Goonies style. Can't wait. Love those movies und I'm pretty certain, I'm gonna love this one as well.
I might end up seeing nothing. Super 8 seems like it could be good but a high-energy and cleverly-made teaser doesn't guarantee anything for me.
I'll super 8 because as you said, it does what teasers are supposed to do best, and i'm actually curious. (I just hope this curiousity leads me to somewhere better than Cloverfield did)
Transformers 2 was my worst theatre experience. I'm in engineering school so naturally Robots are the favourites and the films I like are for weirdos. My friends dragged me to watch it (much like the first film) and I had such a bad headache afterwards. It's just so noisy and messy. There's NO chance I'll ever be watching this one.
SOOO EFFIN JEALOUSSSSSSSS. UGHH. NATHANIEL, YOUTUBE IS YOUR FRIEND.
Already talked about SUPER 8 and BATTLE: LA in the other post, so the other two films...
TRANSFORMERS - I actually really liked the first one, but hated the second one. Will probably see the third one out of habit even if I now have insanely low expectations. With that said, I have loved the trailers so far. The teaser one with the moon landing was brilliant and this one was good. If only these trailers aren't for a Transformer movie!
FAST FIVE - I've somehow seen every film, at least with the original cast. Didn't check out the TOKYO one for that reason. In any case, enjoyed the first, lukewarm liked the second, the fourth was not good, and now... who knows? Going by the trend, it's going to be absolutely horrible.
Your take on the Transformers is wonderful.
As for NYC v. LA in terms of movie destruction, wasn't LA destroyed just last year in 2012? We need some place like Omaha destroyed. Or Dallas. Hear that movie screenwriters? Destroy Dallas.
Oh wait... nobody would care.
Super 8: Yes! I love the old-school-Spielberg-by-way-of-JJ-Abrams feel of it, especially the score.
Robots Go Smash, Vol. 3: No. Just...no.
Fast Five: No. I wasn't a fan of the second one, which was the only one I saw. Its just...eh.
Battle LA: I want this to be really good. I know its most likely not going to be the film I want it to be, but I'll still see it.
Will there be a part 3 where you talk about the animated movies? Rango actually looks decent.
TRANSFORMERS 3: HELL NO. Disliked the first and hated the second (I didn't pay for either film, though, so at least I haven't financially supported the franchise). I've learned my lesson.
FAST FIVE: NO. Disliked the first film and never bothered to see the rest, so I certainly won't starting now.
BATTLE - L.A: YES. I'm pretty cautious after the dreadful Skyline but this looks pretty entertaining and has some good talent in front of the camera.
SUPER 8: HELL YES! The TV Spot was fantastic and the talent behind the camera has been responsible for some of my favorite TV Shows and Movies of the the past decade (and of all time). If it weren't for Harry Potter, this would be my most anticipated film of the summer/year!
Re: Fast Five: it was filmed here in Puerto Rico, actually some of the scenes right here in the building where i work. Hence, i will go just to identify the Puerto Rican scenery.
As a repatriated Angelino I will try not to take issue with the desire to see L.A. in ruins. (Really, it's not like Hollywood has given us a free pass - how about "Independence Day", "2012", and last year, "Skyline?)
Am I just imagining it, or is this year looking like it might be a fairly big year for mainstream literate SF films (not including Harry Potter or comic book adaptations) ?