Yes, No, Maybe So: "J. Edgar"

That vibration you're feeling on the ground, that telltale rippling disturbance in your glass, is the clomping arrival of one of 2011's (presumed) Oscar behemoths, Clint Eastwood's biopic of FBI man J Edgar Hoover called J Edgar [official site].

Don't wilt like a little flower. Be strong."

Which means we have to get down to our yes, no, maybe so breakdown of things that make us want to buy a ticket, run away screaming, or mull it over before committing. As a founding member of the oft reviled and totally misunderstood* 'Clint Eastwood is Overrated Club' I realize my breakdown will already be broken for some. But I do approach each trailer with as open a mind as I can muster given my general leanings. In this case everyone knows (and I'd never deny) that I vew cradle-to-grave biopics as the mustiest of all film genres; they aren't inherently cinematic with their staccato 'greatest hits' survey of life since movies are always strongest when they capture something seismic in miniature about a character, story, time, or theme that suggests rather than illustrates a major life beyond two hours.

YES

Is that legal?"

• Ummm... welll... oh, okay. Got one. The font of the logo is excellent with those flamboyant J and G curls in the otherwise Serious Man signature.
• Like everyone else I'm curious to see how well the actors handle the "alleged gays" material.
• Maybe Armie Hammer has a lightness of tone that will help it. Though he looks vaguely brainless when he puppy smiles directly at Mr. Hoover, the "is that legal?" line has hints of mischief and love of life.
• The shot of the John Dillinger death mask reminds us that plot point, already cinematized on its own, has plenty of juice should they squeeze.

The trailer in question and more commentary after the jump

Click to read more ...

Yes, No, Maybe So: "We Bought A Zoo"

Perhaps it's my childhood calling but I've been looking forward to We Bought A Zoo all year on account of me likey the wild animals. I even initially thought it might be in the Oscar race on account of inspirational film and comeback possibilities for its director. But that was then... We finally have a trailer for Cameron Crowe's first movie since everybody decided to shun him (Elizabethtown) just a few short years after everyone decided that they worshipped him (Almost Famous). In the new film Matt Damon plays a widower (I think? It's unclear) struggling to raise his kids from central casting: let's call them Quippy Cute Moppet and Mopey Teenager In Need Of Fathering. The family is sad and needs a fresh start. They buy... wait for it... A ZOO!

Now, let's break it down with our patented Yes, No, Maybe So system. Does the trailer make us eager, eager to avoid or leave us somewhere inbetween? 

YES

• Matt Damon is aging gracefully, still handsome and still a belieavable everyman type. He'll undoubtedly be sympathetic as a widower with needy kids. 
• Wild Animals! Wild animals that don't dream of hanging out at TGIF with Kevin James. If you couldn't picture yourself jumping up and down with glee (ages 8 and under) when you heard that your new house is a zoo just like Quippy Cute Moppet you have grown way too cynical.
• Damon + Thomas Haden Church +  Elle Fanning +  Scarlett Johansson = solid starry blonde cast.
• Wait... is Scarlett Johansson playing a real person this time? Like not an idealized muse but an ordinary woman? 

NO

• Ugh. Turns out that Quippy Cute Moppet is a signatory to Hollywood's Mandatory Dissing of Bald Men Act. Haters gon' hate. 
• Ugh. Turns out that it's yet another movie that buys into America's dullard hatred of Elitist Education and Actual Job Training in favor of Blind Worship of Chutzpah. Just Do It!  "You don't need any special knowledge to run a zoo, just a lot of heart"... uhhhhh, don't you need some specialized knowledge of how to care for LIVING WILD ANIMALS ?! I'm guessing: yes. Heart won't help you if the animals have a toothache or a pregnancy!
• The music chosen for the trailer (bonus point to the first person who names it in the comments) is shorthand for Inspirational Underscore. 
• So too is the golden hue and pensive sunlight shorthand for Inspirational Film. 
• So too are the constant inspirational pep talks shorthand for Inspirational Pep Ta... uh, well.
• Will there be any single beat in this movie that isn't flat and processed and predictably shaped like a slice of American cheese?
• Is that moment that Matt Damon is all "whoa" with his body when he hears the lion roar, straight out of Amateur Slapstick 101 or is this trailer's editing just completely unforgiving? 
• "I want them to have an authentic American experience." I hope Matt isn't talking about raising his kids within a zoo because I've never met anyone who grew up in a non-figurative one. 
• Let me guess, Mopey Teenager In Need of Fathering falls in love with Elle Fanning? Is this going to be a distracting subplot in order to have something for everyone ala that high school crush thread in Crazy Stupid Love? 

Little Known Fact: Excessive Exposure to Bathetic Platitudes and Inspirational Media Causes MigrainesMAYBE SO

• Though it looks insufferably like a Generic Inspirational Family Film with wild animals as merely decorative distraction, who knows. Trailers are meant to appeal to the widest possible audience.
• Maybe the bear eats Quippy Cute Moppet?

The "No" column is awfully robust, I fear.

Where do you fall with this one? Or on Cameron Crowe in general actually? Tell me you at least love wild animals. 

Yes, No, Maybe So: "The Artist"

Sometimes our Yes No Maybe So series is just formality. Who doesn't want to see this big shiny novelty, a silent movie for 2011!?

Nevertheless let's manage expectations with our patented Yes No Maybe So system. Yes (all the reasons we're on board) No (potential issues the trailer suggests we could have) Maybe So (random introspection that's neither positive nor negative exactly)

Yes That Cannes win for Jean DuJardin is tantalizing, especially since the performance in short trailer form looks so deliciously physical and charismatic rather than a traditional 'Master Thespian!' type deal. But mostly the concept alone, the evidence of joyful dance scenes, clever physical comedy and the a heart that beats with the sincere love of cinema promises a good time. 

No Uh.... what to say... what to say... how will any onscreen terrier ever measure up to Skippy who starred in The Thin Man and The Awful Truth?
As you can see I'm failing to come up with a "no" this movie looks so gorgeous and fun. In all seriousness, though there's nothing in any way "turn off" about this brief look, I do wonder how the movie will sustain its gimmick over 100 whole minutes. 

Maybe So I've successfully read nothing about the plot of this picture but the trailer suggests A Star is Born style plot yes? I understand that we're dealing with Hollywood homage and archetypes and tropes so it's appropriate and all of that but my god that's been done hundreds of times already.

Here's the trailer...

are you a yes, no or a maybe so? does the trailer justify (for you) the Oscar buzz?

Yes, No, Maybe So: Haywire

Jose here with a new edition of Yes, No, Maybe So. Just a few days ago we brought you the trailer for Steven Soderbergh's Contagion and now here's the trailer for Haywire, a movie he will release a mere four months later. Apparently the whole retirement thing just helped to crank the creative juices inside him...

YES. Once again, that cast!

How did he handle two casts with these people? Can you imagine working with Fassy, Ewan, Gwynnie, Kate, Marion and Channing in the same year? Maybe they are the ones who are more like "can you imagine working with Soderbergh?".

Keep on reading for more awesome Soderbergh-ness...

Click to read more ...

Yes, No, Maybe So: Drive

Robert (of Distant Relatives) here with the lastest Yes, No, Maybe So. Even those well versed in the films of Nicolas Winding Refn may have been surprised when his latest film Drive, starring Ryan Gosling as a Hollywood stunt driver by day/getaway car driver for hire by night and Carey Mulligan as his love interest, was announced as part of the lineup for Cannes 2011. It premiered as one of the break out hits of the festival, and Refn took home the Best Director prize. Since then it's been hype, excitement, anticipation and endless tals of Refn/Gosling man-love. For those of us who didn't catch it on The Croisette, we're finally getting our first look.

I admit, I count myself among those who'll see just about anything with Gosling in it. But the supporing cast is equally intriguing, Mulligan, Christina Hendricks, Brian Cranston, and Albert Brooks whose buzzy villainous turn isn't even played up here. In fact there's something refereshingly sincere about this trailer, in a world where action movies are either for kids (or at least made to appeal to the widest possible PG-13 demographic) or ironically self-aware in a Machete, Shoot 'em Up kind of way that loves winking at you over their intentional B-picture status. No one here is mugging or pandering. At least not that I can tell.
 
Of course, I'm not sure that the Gosling fanbase and the gritty action movie fanbase are one in the same. I admit that I have mixed feelings about the genre and aren't even sure if I'm looking foward to this as a lark or with the excitement of something that could really be among the best films of the year. If the film didn't star Gosling, or the rest of that cast, or didn't have all the Cannes hype behind it, would I be as excited? Then again toss in enough hypotheticals and you're left with "if this film didn't have the elements that made it this film, i'm not sure I'd want to see this film," no kidding.
 
Really though, any personal reservations I can muster up are minor. I find myself squarely in the "yes" category for this. The trailer does a good job of solidifying it as a tough-as-nails action film with some staple archetypes and high cinematic style while maintaining plenty of mystery. It's a good tease. And then there's Gosling. Has anyone perfected the good boy charm/bad boy intensity like he has? Can we declare this "The Year of the Goz?" Maybe not yet, but he certainly seems at home as an action character.

Have you been anticipating this since Cannes? How important is the presence of Gosling? How much has the trailer affected the hype? Are you up for a good thriller?