Hey folks, the ever so cool TrailerMan is once again previewing previews of coming attractions coming soon to a theater screen near you. Personally I'm dying to see all three of these, and I've heard that the Liberty Heights trailer is already out and showing... Though I have yet to see it. Boy... that film is really coming out of nowhere for me. We have heard next to nothing about it... And it's now a major film on my "TO SEE" list. Enough of my tip-typing and onto the show. Maestro... Music.... Curtains! Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go!
There are some great movies ahead........and the previews to match. Most should be up by the weekend, or even this Wednesday since two movies opening, but I thought that to be the case for one or two this past weekend. Not much luck here in Manhattan, or at least in Chelsea but maybe I was steered into the wrong auditorium(s).....again. Nevertheless, great and well worth checking out.
LIBERTY HEIGHTS (Warner Brothers)
Barry Levinson once again returns to familiar territory in what I presume is the fourth of a series of his semiautobiographical films set in and around Baltimore (Diner, Tin Men, but for me the best, Avalon). This definitely has all the qualities one would expect from the director with a solid cast each making an imprssion headed by Adrien Brody, Joe Mantegna and Bebe Neuwirth. As with the previous films, a superior sense of place and time is established (clearly the mid 1950's) in what unspools as a compelling coming of age story since it involves an interracial romance. Even with the confines of two minutes the romance comes off as sincere and winning considering it a time of little tolerance. Humor punctuates throughout as does a sense of family and very touching insights. A class act, but will need the rapture of the critics and public alike to carry into the awards season and consideration, obvious its mid November release positions as such.
DOGMA (Lions Gate)
The trailer I viewed I am sure is green band and considering the outcry of blasphemy over content, theme and the like isn't evident here. What is on screen looks fantastic. No secret the movie stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon who play angels on a mission....yeah thats not real clear and thankfully neither is Linda Fiorentino and the abortion clinic. But Alan Rickman is feartured throughout as a boozy fey angel of importance and Chris Rock, splat! literally falling from the sky on asphalt is a delicious snip of film that sets up an irreverance that is cheeky but not at all offensive. AND THAT is what makes this trailer a standout. Add to that the coolness of Jay and Silent Bob at the end and very subtle hints of a squishy demon about, and you have for the college, Kevin Smith fans, AICN fans, alternative film/specialized with apparent cross-over appeal crowd, a movie that they've probably heard about, but this trailer will get them there.
MAN ON THE MOON (Universal)
Sometimes films get made about individuals or events the public as a whole may not in their lifetime have grasped as "significant". Is this the case about Andy Kaufman? To be sure, yes, go ask anyone over 45 or under 25 and the answers blur. This trailer addresses that right from the get go with his name and date of birth/death followed with triple screens of standup, TAXI, wrestling and more with voice overs of "comic genius, scammer, nutso, unpopular, beloved, original"......In 45 seconds or less one is intrigued by the dichotomies of this unique performer and then floored by Jim Carrey in his appearance and total immersion into one's memory of who was Andy Kaufman. Cue up the requisite REM song and listen how the words if one did hap-hazardly pay attention too when first a hit, are all of a sudden visually realized as "Andy Kaufman in the wrestling match yeah yeah yeah yeah" or " Andy are you goofin on Elvis" etc. As obvious a ploy as that may seem, it drives most convincingly the interest and desire to unlock the key into this talent all the while conveying a sense of melancholy but certainly an interest in the man, his life and his relationships. Danny de Vito is identified as his manager, George Shapiro which is a terrific bit of inspired casting considering TAXI, and Courtney Love has a few intimate scenes as Lynn his girlfriend. With all of that, and a reminder that the Milos Foreman directed ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS NEST and AMADEUS, the trailer still may not convince some to go out of sheer indifference. But it does the best possible selling of this biography with a dignity Andy Kaufman finally deserves. Kudos.
