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Trailer Review: The Adventures of Tintin - Danger in a Blue Sweater

I own Tintin plates, coffee cups, watches, figurines, and even a calendar so you can say I'm a fan of the Belgian with a dog who has a knack for getting himself into adventures around the globe.

I was excited when I heard Steven Spielberg was directing a movie produced by Peter Jackson. He's perfect for the job because so many of his movies are inspired from Herge's books. Indiana Jones is basically a grown-up version of Tintin. Someone in constant movement, riding cars, motorcycles, ships and running on his own feet as he chases and gets chased to solve mysteries around the world.

But Spielberg has his work cut out. What fans love about Tintin is not just the stories, but the unique look. In bright colors, every panel is an exquisite design of graphic beauty. Tintin has been done before, from early stop motion to live action and still was missing the colorful excitement of the books. But now technology offers a chance to capture that elusive spirit.

The biggest question for fans is what will Tintin look like and it's obvious the filmmakers knows this by avoiding his appearance. I can't think of a recent trailer where the main character is not revealed. That strategy is usually reserved for villains or monsters, but this trailer only shows his face at the end and it's a brief shot, but the most important. It's a motion captured realistic face which is a shock, because it fails to uphold the graphic beauty of Tintin's iconic features. The look of the film is closer to Robert Zemeckis's animation projects like "Polar Express".

I'm nervously on the fence for this. There's a wonderful clip where Tintin is running out the door, chasing a car and he fires a few rounds from a gun as it drives away. With his blue sweater and blonde hair, and the charcoal grey of night, the scene captures the excitement from the books. But his face at the end drains the enthusiasm by looking like another run of the mill tech demo of computer mimicry. Please don't screw this up.

Opening December 23, 2011, Verdict: Wait for the Critics

Trailer Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - Now With Mermaids

I'm surprised to see another Pirates of the Caribbean movie. I thought captain Jack Sparrow's adventures ended with a trilogy, but this new version called "On Stranger Tides" suggests a new cocktail mixed by your bartender who wants you to taste for free. I don't think this movie is on the house. But I have to say, this series is kind of fun because it's never taken itself too seriously. Even the last one, that pushed a ridiculous climax in a whirlpool between battling ships in the ocean, like the whole thing was being flushed down the toilet, saw pirates still throwing jokes between swordplay.

I think actors love to be pirates. It brings them back to their first encounters with imagination when they were kids dressing up like it's halloween and crossing cardboard or plastic swords. It's why these movies are so well cast. This one has managed to star the great Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane without losing Johnny Depp or Geoffrey Rush and other crew. It's the fourth movie and there's no burn-out.

The story is no different from the others. Sparrow is now looking for the Fountain of Youth which means everyone is following along across oceans, onto islands and into jungles to the same thumping score. Directed by Rob Marshall instead of the series regular Gore Verbinski, the change of guard doesn't make this film look any different. "It is not the destination, so much as the journey," Sparrow advises at one point in the trailer. Just like the ride at Disney World.

Opening May 20, 2011, Verdict: Wait for the Critics

Trailer Review: Cowboys and Aliens - Showdown with Saucers

It's all about the title. That B-movie mash-up makes anyone think this would be a cheap flick made with no money starring unknown extras. Instead, we have high-concept being co-produced by Steven Spielberg with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer starring Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig with Jon Favreau directing. That's a lot of wattage for a comic book created over a decade ago to bookmark that title for the big screen. It's been through development hell and multiple owners to finally come out this summer to a theater near you.

The trailer starts like a western and ends like a sci-fi invasion. Craig wakes up in the desert not knowing how he got there or who he is. He still wears a hat and has a gun, but there's also a strange bracelet around his arm. Walking into the nearest town, he comes across a sheriff, Harrison Ford, and a pretty girl, Olivia Wilde, all scared of some strange lights in the sky and folks vanishing. Big moment comes in a showdown at night with aliens flying into town and Craig learns that his bracelet can shoot them saucers down with lasers. Now it's a fight, with the concept in full execution showing cowboys riding across the plains chasing down spaceships.

Daniel Craig is an actor who makes me nervous. He's cool like a tea kettle slowly heating to a boil which is why he's well cast to play the silent stranger coming to town and saving it. Ford and Wilde are nice support. The actors are important, because the plot, surprisingly looks predictable. I have a soft spot for "The Valley of Gwangi" but putting two genres together may not be a better mix. It's neat to show a cowboy lasso a flying saucer, but I didn't see anything new that I wouldn't miss watching a double-bill of "Magnificent Seven" and "Independence Day."

Opening July 29, 2011, Verdict: Wait for the Critics

Trailer Review: Super 8 - Keeping A Secret

Kids on bikes. Something visiting from outer space. Adults that don't believe. "Super 8" is a dedication to its producer Steven Spielberg. Especially to the type of storytelling that made his career: "Jaws," "E.T." and especially "Close Encounters." That last movie is a huge shadow over this. The accident at the train crossing is a direct rip from that movie. The government evacuating a town so no one will know about visitors from other worlds is also the last third of "Close Encounters". But the biggest influence are the group of kids about the age of twelve that know something no one else does. It's a point of view Spielberg was so good at telling in the late seventies through the mid-eghties.

Director J.J. Abrams and his creative team have shown a knack for rebooting the best of past sci-fi and fantasy from TV's "Fringe" to movies like "Cloverfield" and "Star Trek." He's got a good eye and knows how to tell a story. Which is why "Super 8" looks reverential, but also original. The scary is what's fun about this trailer. An E.T. with teeth. These kids are keeping a secret, but could it also be dangerous enough to threaten them as well. This trailer gives me the same excitement of watching the trailer for "E.T." I couldn't wait to see the movie and find out what they were hiding.

Opening June 10, 2011, Verdict: Must See

Trailer Review: Dylan Dog - It's a Man's Job

There's nothing special about the trailer for "Dylan Dog," the story of a private investigator who is commissioned by the undead to solve their crimes. Based on a comic, the clips look derivative of any weeknight promos for TV shows like "Supernatural" to "Fringe". The closest this comes to is a male version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

But it's the male that makes this interesting. Brandon Routh started as the man of steel in "Superman Returns." He played that role perfectly with the muscular cut of a superhero, but also catching the vulnerability of the former Christopher Reeve who played in the original movie. When that movie disappeared I expected he would also, but he showed up as a hip rockstar with vegan powers in "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" as one of the more challenging exes to beat. He's interesting to watch because he's built like an action star, but with big expressive eyes and a deep sandy voice you don't forget him. "Dylan Dog" seems to be an opportunity to show his range. If this movie is going to be fun to watch it will because of him.

Opening April 29, 2011, Verdict: Wait for the Critics

Trailer Review: Black Death - The Devil Made Me Do It

Give a sword and shield to the actor Sean Bean and my pulse quickens. Since his great performance in "The Fellowship of the Ring" as fallen prince Boromir, I've seen him in many supporting roles but now he has his chance to lead with "Black Death," an intriguing mystery in the middle ages. The plague is spreading across Europe and Bean is a knight tasked with ridding the world of heretics who practice the devil's work. But there is a village free of pestilence and it's citizens are proud of not believing in God.

"Black Death" has a grimy attention to rural life in mud and shadow. This atmosphere is perfect for telling a human story combining horror and drama. "Wicker Man" meets Bergman. The trailer leans more towards scares with creepy children running from the corners to cult like sacrifices. These shots go from cheap to shocking, but it looks well acted with a searching purpose that the answer may not be obvious. I also love the poster. That skull looks dangerous instead of cute.

Opening March 11, 2011, Verdict: Must See

Trailer Review: Red Riding Hood - Into the Woods

You can't have a supernatural tale these days without it being about teenage girls and their desires. To lose or save your virginity is what's really at stake and all the monsters and special powers are at the service of defending or threatening a girl's sexuality. The "Twilight" series has made vampirism a warning to not sink your teeth too deep or suffer the consequences of the undead. So it's not surprising that the director of that film has been recruited to update one of the oldest fairy tales that stars the darling of the moment, Amanda Seyfried, wearing the red cape to Grandmother's house.

This trailer shows her being courted by two men while the village she lives in is being terrorized by a werewolf. Hiring Gary Oldman to hunt the creature down is the best part. He brings back his Transylvanian accent from "Dracula" and sweeps around like a regal hunter. The werewolf is stalking the town in disguise and suspicions run to one of Seyfried's suitors. All she can do is bite her lip then skip town for Grandma's.

The symbolism of the red cape still has power. Its sacrificial quality has always stirred sexual loss and opportunity. "Red Riding Hood" doesn't look to plunge too deep into the meaning of one of Europe's oldest legends. This movie rests on action and the cape is an armor against the forces of evil. Seyfried wears it like a superhero. I don't think the wolf has a chance.

Opening March 11, 2011, Verdict: Skip

Trailer Review: Season of the Witch - More Holy Water

The trailer for "Season of the Witch" has been saturating holiday television and it rushes by in such a blur of cliched fantasy action scenes that I had to pause to recall the most memorable thing which is the casting. Nicholas Cage brings up mediocre to strange prospects for a good movie, but paired with Ron Perlman and you get B-movie possibilities of enjoyment. The plot is lifted from "Serenity" which lifted it from countless quests where a rogue escorts a valuable prisoner who many would like to see dead. The witch is a young girl with magical powers and Cage figures out she's more an asset than liability and worth saving. Lots is at stake as judged by crusading armies in the desert with their bows drawn.

I've been revisiting "The Lord of the Rings" this holiday and "Season of the Witch" looks like a cheap copy of that classic. But with lines like "We're gonna need more holy water," that are clearly lifted to inject a sense of fun into a genre that's become overly self-serious, this movie could find an appreciative audience.

Opening January 7, 2011, Verdict: Wait for the Critics

Trailer Review: Robin Hood - Bows and Arrows

I happened to stumble on a commercial interrupted version of "Thelma & Louise" on TV a couple weeks ago and was surprised how enjoyable it was. After it was over, I remembered it was done by Ridley Scott. He's always been known for directing the future or the past in vivid detail. But watching "Thelma" reminded me again that he enjoys directing people. If you watch "Blade Runner" now, you'll be amazed at all the close-ups and screen time devoted to human interaction.

What's disappointing about the trailer for "Robin Hood" is it's selling the detail and not the story or the actors. Starring Russell Crowe as the legendary thief, the trailer is reliving the famous first moments from "Gladiator" where a Roman general fought the barbarians in a German forest. Crowe is on horseback with sword and is hacking and slashing away at everyone that challenges him. This is all done in Scott's stark contrast cinematography. The audience knows the last movie version, Kevin Costner's "Prince of Thieves," so this trailer takes the "prince" out of the legend. It leaves little telling of the story or the fact that it stars Cate Blanchett, William Hurt and Max von Sydow.

With a cast like that, I'm hoping (and betting) Scott has a lot more in this film. "Gladiator" was impressive for being a good drama that mixed with action. Crowe is always a good brooding action figure. He plays revenge well. This could be one of the better big-budget movies worth seeing this summer, but the trailer looks like a tired sequel.

Opening May 14, 2010, Verdict: Wait for the Critics

Trailer Review: Iron Man 2 - Superhero 2.0

The best thing about "Iron Man" was Robert Downey Jr. playing millionaire scientist Tony Stark. The second best thing was Gwyneth Paltrow as Stark's secretary, Pepper Potts. Their chemistry was fun because they needed each other. Paltrow handled his public affairs and kept his ego in check while she gave the lonely Stark the only person he could really trust. A sexual burn glowed underneath like a warm blanket.

So the best thing in the trailer of "Iron Man 2" is the part where Stark says good-bye to Potts in the back of an airplane as he's dressed in his super-armor. "Wish me luck" he says to her. She picks up his helmet, kisses it with full passion and tosses it out the door. "Go get'em boss." As he falls out after it, "You complete me." That put a smile to my face. That light touch is what made the first movie so successful. Downey was someone who enjoyed being a superhero. It was an enlightened form of philanthropy.

But that wit evaporates as the trailer introduces Mickey Rourke building a suit to exact his revenge on Stark. His entrance is an action figure with electrical whips (God of War?). Then Scarlett Johansson appears in a dark suit knocking down guards like a catwoman copy. Lastly, we see Iron Man battling many iron men with guns and explosions. Busy? As only a sequel could deliver.

This trailer showcases the inherent conflict between what really made the original a hit and the demands of delivering a bigger hit at the box office. The pressure is inherent in sequels and "Iron Man 2" has the impression it may have sold-out it's unique appeal. Like Potts, I'm wishing Stark luck too.

Opening May 7, 2010, Verdict: Must See