The Hunger Games is now nearer than ever — duh. But March draws even closer as we enter Feburary, and Lionsgate plays on that fact by releasing another excellent trailer for the upcoming film. I think this trailer is better than the first, so don’t delay and hit the jump to check it out.

Without further ado…

I really love seeing the reasoning behind Katniss volunteering herself to compete to the death — while the other trailer displays this, this time around the close-knit relationship is profiled much better. I’m excited to see Jennifer Lawrence headline this film, as her talent almost exceeds her beauty.

The supporting cast is also no B-list, which also stars Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Liam Hemsworth, and Woody Harrelson.

The Hunger Games comes out March 23th, 2012.

What Did You Think Of The Trailer?

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If you love movies in any fashion, you are likely aware that there is a huge transition going on in hollywood. Film production is literally dying and digital cinema is taking its place. Some filmmakers are thrilled, while others are frustrated. Actor Keanu Reeves has a new documentary called Side by Side that highlights this great divide and the trailer ensures it is a must-see.

Reeves has brought the most influential filmmakers to the screen to discuss the topic and it is intriguing, just based on the few interviews seen in the trailer, how many differing opinions there are. While many of them seem to relish the transition to digital, purists like Christopher Nolan and Wally Pfister loathe the very concept of film extinction.

The debate is a compelling one and anybody in this industry will likely have a strong opinion. As a filmmaker myself, I am a huge supporter of the digital movement. It has allowed me to explore ideas both small and grand independently without relying on industry professionals to complete my vision. I was trained as a digital filmmaker and I will remain one likely for life. It is clearly the future of filmmaking, and while I admire those who think like Nolan and Pfister, I kindly disagree.

One of the biggest complaints of film purists is that the democratization of filmmaking by digital methods has lowered the bar of what is acceptable. I completely disagree. What it has done is made the creative space larger. I’m sure if you did a survey of films released before digital became a fad, the ratio of shitty to quality productions would be nearly the same. The fact of the matter is, the only thing that has changed is the amount of content. The key is to remember that great filmmakers will make great films regardless of the method by which they film it. As always, story is king, and it wouldn’t matter if you shot on 70mm IMAX film, Canon 5D MkII or Arri Alexa, if your story is shit, so is your movie.

Anyway, the trailer for Side by Side is intriguing and hopefully this movie gets seen by many, because it should be. Obviously it has the star power to do so, with interviews including all the big names you see in the image above. And those are the people we want to hear from, not some technician whose design of a digital camera puts a significant bias on his reasoning. If you have ever wondered about the technical side of the film industry, spoken in terms that you can likely understand, this seems to be a great option in 2012.

Watch the trailer at Vimeo below:

Side by Side Official Trailer (2012) from Company Films on Vimeo.

What Do You Think? Does this look like a documentary you’d watch? Do you have an opinion on the digital vs. film argument?

If anyone knows Wes Anderson, watch this trailer for five seconds and you can already tell it is one of his films. The look and feel of his films has a very distinct taste to them. Hit the jump to enjoy the trailer for Moonrise Kingdom, which features many of Anderson’s usual cast of characters like Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, but also new faces like Bruce Willis and Edward Norton.

Check it out.

I’m definitely not the biggest Wes Anderson fan, but I did like Fantastic Mr. Fox and the Royal Tenbaums, and loved The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The man has a style that is unlike any other. While it isn’t really my style, I respect him as a filmmaker and a storyteller.

Moonrise Kingdom hits theaters May 16th, 2012.

What Did You Think Of The Trailer?

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With the roll that Christian Bale is on, it’s only fitting to see him again acting as a protector — this time he tries to shield Chinese women from the rape, murder, and destruction brought by the invading forces of the Japanese in World War II. The film is The Flowers of War, and the story is set in the city Naking, China, the site for one of the world’s untold atrocities. The city played host to the massacre, rape, and destruction of thousands of Chinese lives. This World War II massacre is far less known than the Nazis Final Solution for the Jews. While the Japanese did not enact a plan to exterminate all the Chinese in an industrial fashion, the twisted and sickening things to take place at Nanking could make any stomach turn. Very few people within the city walls were able to act as a refuge to the persecuted Chinese people, but The Flowers of War has Christian Bale fighting back to stop the Japanese from preying upon the people within the church. Hit the jump to check the trailer out.

The Flowers of War Trailer:

What Did You Think?

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UPDATE: We now have a 1080p HD embed of the trailer that you can view right away after the break…

Fanboys have been drying off their sweaty palms all morning in anticipation for first full The Dark Knight Rises trailer. A teaser released on July 18th gave us only a slight glimpse of the third installment of Christopher Nolan’s beloved Batman trilogy. The new trailer gives a solid look at how Gotham has held up over the last eight years and where it might be headed.

The trailer gives us plenty of contemplate and even more to salivate over. The gut reaction when it’s over is one of relief and anticipation, but also disappointment that it is still seven months away. Nolan and Warner Bros. are following the same structure as The Dark Knight when it comes to releasing promotional material and a recently launched viral campaign. With the prologue currently showing in front of select IMAX screenings of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, we can expect this trailer will be the last look at this movie for a while. The prologue will most likely not be released online as it would defeat the purpose of showing it in true IMAX theaters only.

As for this trailer, it definitely shines a light on Bane’s capabilities and a propensity for remote-trigger explosives. Voice complaints aside, he’s going to make for one terrifying villain. And just to briefly acknowledge those complaints about his voice, just remember this movie is made with purpose and integrity. Surely he is aware of the situation and Warner Bros. will be running in circles trying to correct it. But as of right now, I personally have no quarrel with this voice. I could hardly understand most of what Sherlock Holmes was saying in Game of Shadows and I enjoyed it perfectly fine.

One line of dialogue I heard perfectly well, and can’t get out of my head, is Bane’s message to Batman: “When Gotham is in ashes, you have my permission to die.” Shit just got real:

Via Apple.com for the official HD release, or the HD YouTube embed below:

As for breaking down this trailer, there is plenty to consider. So, here are some thoughts on what might be happening. Obviously, this is highly speculative and comes from my core as a Batman and Chris Nolan fan. Considering all that we’ve seen at this point, there is plenty to consider when trying to unwrap the plot. Yet, there are still so many questions. Will Batman die? Will John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) be a re-imagining of Robin? Is Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) actually Talia Al’ Ghul? But hey, this is why we enjoy Chris Nolan’s movies. They are entertaining and allow us to deliberate for months.

I understand that it’s typical of Nolan to cut anything in a non-sequential way, with a lot of misdirection, but below is how I feel the trailer might fit into the big picture. And it should be noted there are dozens of things to pick up on from the trailer, but these are just some initial thoughts worth sharing.

National Anthem, Bane climbing a ladder, Bane walking through a corridor and Bane pulling the trigger + explosion… This may be all part of the same scene. In my opinion, this will be Gotham’s first interaction with the masked man. A true entrance if ever we’ve seen one. I don’t think he wants to kill all the fans, but rather wants them to first-hand witness his wrath, along with the television audience. His goal is more about getting Gotham to fear him enough to follow him.

The plate of dinner… A reveal of Bruce on a cane. He doesn’t make it easy for you, but it’s clearly Bruce in the reflection. Based on the following dialogue, “You were as precious to me as you were to your mother and father. I swore to them I’d protect you. And I haven’t,” What if that is dinner set by Alfred and there’s a note that says that he’s gone to protect him? And Nolan actually has the balls to put Alfred military background to use and have him try to stop the madness himself.

“The mayor’s gonna dump him in the spring”… Obviously at Wayne Manor and includes a shot of ailing Bruce watching from an above balcony. He’s likely hosting an event to honor Harvey Dent (notice the Harvey Dent pictures stage right and left) and remind the people that Dent was their hero. But this is a private event and there are a lot of smiles being put on to cover their true emotions during peace time. This could be early in the film as an establishing point that it’s been 8 years and we are at peace.

Selina Kyle dance… We’re getting a great statement about the class warfare plot line this movie will take. Selina Kyle is coming from a lower class and sneaking her way into this wealthy masquerade in an attempt to get into Bruce’s ear and threaten him. I think she’s rogue, and uninvolved with Bane’s big plan. But she might buy into it momentarily. She might find out Bruce is Batman and have new respect for him, mirroring Rachel. I don’t think the kidnappings are for some Scarecrow trial of the rich as some has speculated, but I do think that Bane’s mercenaries will hold hostage Gotham’s richest in an effort to make them look weak and pitiful.

“What does it mean? Rise”… Bruce is in some kind of an underground well prison. A lot of theories have been thrown around about this, but here’s mine. Bane injures Batman enough to hold him prisoner and has his mercenaries (the men jumping into the well) drop Bruce off in that prison. Bruce finds out that it’s where Bane is from and another prisoner tells him how Bane came to be and how he was fueled by fear in that place. The shot of Catwoman in the prologue suggests to me that she got caught by police and then did a sexy Catwoman escape. I don’t think these two prisons are connected.

Marion Cotillard… Taking off the mask with a sly smile definitely feels like Chris Nolan winking to the fanboys that she is in fact covering up her real identity as Talia Al’ Ghul, daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul.

Will Bruce Wayne, Batman or both die in The Dark Knight Rises?… The trailer certainly suggests, along with the poster, that we may see the end of this character in more ways than one. One thing is for sure, Bane beats him down enough to give him permission to die.

What Do You Think? Has Christopher Nolan Made A Third Movie Better Than The Rest?

Sometimes I wish I actually had a neuralyzer when Hollywood makes bad decisions. I’m not sure what trend suggested the world needed, or even wanted, another Men In Black movie, but Columbia Pictures is convinced there is still juice left in this one. So, after almost a decade since Men In Black II, the first trailer for Men In Black III has crash landed on the Internet.

There are some welcome additions to the cast as Josh Brolin and Emma Thompson join Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Looking at the cast, the most intriguing addition has to be Bill Hader as Andy Warhol, which will likely be a cameo role. We still expect it to be funnier than anything Will Smith can muster up.

It will be great if Men In Black III turns out to be a hilarious science fiction adventure, but there are very few in that genre that live up to expectations. The original Men In Black serves as one of the few success stories in the comedy/sci-fi mashup. Now that Will Smith has used his Hollywood status to produce movies nobody asked for like The Karate Kid remake starring his son, we can assume he put his “magic touch” on this relatively dead franchise.

Nevertheless, the trailer is here. It’s shining moment is its finish, where we get Josh Brolin’s impression of Tommy Lee Jones. The voice is eerily similar to his portrayal of George W. Bush in Oliver Stone’s biopic W. and might give us some funny interactions. On a side note, this means the stars of the Jonah Hex and Wild Wild West will go head to head.

Now, this is a 3D movie, but the trailer comes to us in 2D online. You can definitely tell there are some 3D-centric moments that should shine if shot correctly. The real concern with this movie revolves around its time travel plot, which is an alarming trend in Hollywood. It’s a cheap excuse to change the past and start over in order to extend a franchise without affecting origins.

Check out the trailer below.

What do you think about the first teaser? Do you want to see it or will you neuralyze yourself to forget it?

Previously, the a fore mentioned team paired up for the Award winning Juno. Since the Ellen Page hit in 2007, Reitman moved on to Up in the Air which garnered Oscar attention, and Cody moved on to Jennifer’s Body, which garnered Razzie attention. Personally, I didn’t hate Jennifer’s Body and thought it was worth a view. However, the weakest aspect of the Megan Fox flick was Cody’s written dialogue and storytelling. In summation, I don’t really like Cody as a screenwriter. But the real reason I am composing this post is because I am going to see Young Adult later tonight, and I wanted to make the Movie Mash readers aware of the film as a review will be posted next week sometime.

Charlize Theron is a chameleon, an actress who can morph into any role (see Monster), and think she is the perfect fit for this role. She oozes that bitchy entitled beautiful woman role — almost the exact same character she is playing as the evil queen in Snow White and the Huntsman. I am also a fan of Jason Reitman’s work — the man can tell a story visually. He does an excellent job giving his characters humanity with his visual composition. Anyway, check out the trailer for Young Adult and look for my review sometime next week.

What Did You Think Of Charlize In This Role?

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In this edition of Trailer Trash MASH we a have long-awaited horror/sci-fi/comedy and an under-the-radar sci-fi/action/thriller. Man, movie genre categorization has become particularly granular over the last decade, huh? Anyway, let’s start with the former, shall we? Joss Whedon is currently in the midst of post-production on next year’s The Avengers. Before he was tapped for the superhero blockbuster, Whedon had co-written and produced  The Cabin in The Woods. His writing partner and the film’s director is none other than Cloverfield and the upcoming Spielberg-helmed Robopocylpse scribe, Drew Goddard. With this duo, you know the film is gonna have some weird, bloody goodness. Check out the trailer after the break.

What’s nice about this trailer is it blatantly calls out that “you think you’ve seen this before.” Which is true, because the setup looks identical to other cabin-set, college horror bloodbaths (i.e. Cabin Fever). But instead of a flesh-eating virus, there is some truly weird shit going on here. We’ve got an apparent force field protecting a state-of-the-art underground complex (the sci-fi), swat teams, Jabbawockeez and zombie-esque bros with super strength (the horror!!). Ya, it looks nuts.

The film has some notibles to the cast, including a pre-Thor/Star Trek Chris Hemsworth, as well as veteran character actor Richard Jenkins (who I couldn’t spot; let me know if you did). Anyway, it looks like Whedon’s Avengers gig finally got the distribution delay back on track for this film, and we’re all in for a bloody good time. Check out the trailer below for The Cabin in the Woods, hitting theaters April 12, 2012.

Next up we have a space opera-esque action pic with ma’ main man Guy Pearce in. An actor who has been criminally underutilized – whether that’s his fault or his agent’s. Anyway, the movie is Lockout, and the trailer opens up in a pretty unique way; the first 20 or so seconds are Pearce (giving a very Brad Pitt-esque performance) while being interrogated (punched in the face) by everyone’s favorite Russian bad guy, Peter Stormare, until all hell breaks loos with a montage of space battles,  explosions, gun fights and Guy Pearce looking broodingly badass… ’nuff said, right?

If that didn’t sound like enough cred for you space geeks, Lockout is written by French action scribe Luc Besson, writer of one of my favorite sci-fi action films of all time, The Fifth Element. And although his work has been a tad atrocious as of late (i.e. From Paris With Love, Columbiana), here’s to hoping that he can re-ignite that creative flame from Element (*raises glass*). Check out the trailer for Lockout below, hitting theaters April 20, 2012.

[ via Yahoo!, Wired]

What Do You Think? Which one are you more excited for?

I don’t know much about The Hunger Games, but this initial trailer has my attention. Fellow Movie Masher Sarah Williams has long told me about the glory living in the pages of the books, but I’ve never had time to sit down and catch up. I am really excited to watch this story come to life on the big screen. The story follows 24 teens fighting it out to the death for sporting entertainment in a post-apocalyptic world. Don’t miss this trailer, it is definitely a must see.

Check out The Hunger Games.

Personally, this film just jumped up pretty high on my list of must see upcoming films. The Hunger Games hits theaters March 23rd.

What Did You Think Of The Trailer?

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @matthewdeery

Pixar released the first trailer for their highly anticipated film Brave. Not only are the visuals realistic looking and crisp, but the premise of the movie seems interesting enough. It almost has the Hunger Games element of competition feel to it minus the fights to the death. Pixar could use a strong rebound after their first flawed failure Cars 2 smeared their perfect resume. Hit the jump to check it out.

Pixar’s Brave:

The visuals kind of remind me of How to Train a Dragon. Not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing, but it has a feeling of what I can only describe as piggybacking on their recognizable brand. Eh. Whatever, I am definitely looking forward to it. Brave comes out June 22nd.

What Did You Think Of The Trailer?

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @matthewdeery