Judging Movies by Their Trailers
By Scott A. Rosenberg
scott.rosenberg@am-ny.com
Who has time to see movies? If you're busy like me, you don't often make it to the movie theater that often. But that shouldn't stop me from reviewing movies. In this new reoccurring feature, The Tangent will be judging movies based on their trailers.
Valkyrie - opening Dec. 26. Directed by Bryan Singer. Starring Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Carice Van Houten.
Loose plot: Spy pirates try to save Europe from Nazis? I'm not really sure.
Following up on his comedic role in "Tropic Thunder," Tom Cruise returns with ... Nazis. Yeah. "Valkyrie" has the same tone of the "Mission Impossible" flicks and it seems to fail as a period war piece - everyone sounds like an American, even the Brits. But the film does have all the requisite explosions to capture my attention, plus Cruise wears an eye patch for most of the trailer, and that makes me think of pirates. 2.5 stars out of 4.
More after the jump
Marley and Me - opening Dec. 25. Directed by David Frankel. Starring Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane and Alan Arkin.
Loose plot: Dog causes havoc, but people love each other
You know what's offensive about "Marley and Me"? It is pretty much the same as every movie with a crazy pet, but with name actors and a best-selling book behind it. In under three minutes, this hit pretty much every animal cliché you can think of: Pee jokes, ruining Christmas, cute kids, attacking a post man, eating precious valuables, and, the worst, a dog have a human reaction like he's Scooby Doo. Ugh. We get it, he's a bad dog. Enough. The soundtrack to the trailer is pretty good, I will give it that. But only that. 2 stars out of 4.
Slumdog Millionaire - opening Nov. 12. Directed by Danny Boyle. Starring Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto.
Loose plot:In India, winning on game shows can help you win your true love
Except for the fact that "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" is so 1999, Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" looks fantastic. It's got some bright lights, intrigue, a big Indian train, dancing and some downright powerful imagery. It has the right combination of uplifting moments, music flourishes and plot explanation. 4 stars out of 4
