Yes, No, Maybe So: "Only God Forgives"

Only God Forgives reunites violence-loving director Nicolas Winding Refn with his Drive star Ryan Gosling for the story of a man (Gosling) whose cold-hearted mama (Thomas) urges him to seek vengeance against the man (Vithaya Pansringarm) who killed his brother. The trailer came out a few days ago (many days ago?) but I couldn't bring myself to type about it before now because my finger was too busy hitting "replay". The film opens in July and the wait might be excruciating.

Kristin Scott Thomas. Cinematography by Larry Smith 

The trailer came out a few days ago (many days ago?) but I couldn't bring myself to type about it before now because my finger was too busy hitting "replay". We'll break it down with our Yes No Maybe So™ system after the jump and I promise to say something about it other than "OMGKristinScottThomas OMGKristinScottThomas OMGKristinScottThomas" though I can't promise I won't also say that a few times.

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Yes, No, Maybe So: "Carrie 2013"

If you remake Carrie they're all going to laugh at you!

the Mean Girls of Thomas Ewen Consolidated High School.

Or, if not laugh, than shake their heads in annoyance that you've dared to keep company with a 70s classic. I've never disguised or hedged my opinion here. I think Carrie (1976) is a GREAT motion picture. Not just a good one. Since it can't really be improved upon (specifically in the performance arena since Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie both did risky revelatory Oscar worthy work) there's no reason to remake it. Unless of course you have a fresh take on it, which is the only reason to ever remake anything that's great to begin with.

The teaser which featured merely voiceover about the telekinetic PMSing high school misfit over a zoom in on Chloe Grace Moretz as Carrie White as Firestarter was a hit as teasers often are (leave them wanting more!) but the new trailer basically says "hey, I'm just the same as the old Carrie only with actors you kids know. Look, it's all the famous scenes including the climax. Come see me in October!"

Pray for forgiveness Julianne! You're risking ANOTHER iconic do over?!

Having clearly stated my bias -- I'm a "no" ahead of time on principle -- let's break it down anyway after the jump with as much of an open mind as I can muster on this one.

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Yes, No, Maybe So: "The Wolverine"

I have to believe that the superhero subgenre of action flicks reached its populist peak last summer (it'd be tough to have MORE of a glut than a summer season where The Avengers, Batman and Spider-Man were the three most popular releases). Though I grew up loving comic books and superheroes, too much of the same thing is bad for any artform, and the movies need a wee break from all the mutated testosterone... at the very least throw us a curveball with a female superhero. 

But it's hard to resist this mutton-chopped mug. Hugh Jackman returns for his sixth stint as an atypically rage-filled Canadian... aka Logan, The Wolverine.

What they did to me - what I am - can't be undone."

That's one of the many DRAMATIC lines in the trailer but I sincerely hope he's not talking about X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Undo, undo! The Yes No and Maybe So breakdown is after the jump...

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Yes, No, Maybe So? Greta Gerwig in 'Frances Ha'

Hey lovelies. Beau here with a look at the newest indie darling. 

It’s hard to pin down Noah Baumbach. While most of his nineties peers have vanished from the cinematic landscape or are reaping all the glory on the mountains, he’s that curious anomaly that no one is quite sure what to do with.

Since his resurgence and critical coup in 2005 with The Squid and the Whale, (a coming out party for Jesse Eisenberg post-Rodger Dodger) he’s only made two films in the seven/eight years after. Margot at the Wedding is an enormously divisive picture, but even that couldn’t prepare audiences and critics alike for his follow-up, Greenberg featuring a particularly acidic turn from Ben Stiller. It’s not many films that could inspire such vitriol as to warrant something like this on theater’s windows nationwide. 

Eek.

Yes, No, Maybe So breakdown after the jump.

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Yes, No, Maybe So: "Inside Llewyn Davis"

Hello, lovelies: Beau here, searching for distractions from the onslaught of crap coming our way in the next few months, and the fact that I still haven't seen Before Midnight. (insert vicious, hyperbolic rant here.) Luckily for me, the trailer for the new Coen Bros. is just the ticket.

YES:

Carey? Carey... are you in there?

• Coen Brothers. Duh.
• Carey Mulligan. Duh.

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