Judging Books by Their Covers Since 2011
Don't be Afraid of the Dark:
It might just be me, but everytime I hear this film mentioned I can't help but think of that weird 90s kids television show Are You Afraid of the Dark? I'm inevitably hit with disappointment when I realise it's simply another Guillmero Del Toro produced haunted house film. It looks... OK I guess, but there's a veritable landslide of horror cliches in this two minute montage alone. Watching it I'm also reminded of that dreadful remake of The Haunting from 1999. In uninteresting trivia, that was the first ever twelves rated film I legally went to see in the cinema. It was SHIT. This probably will be too.
The Muppets / Green with Envy
It's certainly a witty trailer. We're lured into "oh, not another rom-com!" but the reveal is a pleasant one. We're in muppet town. The trailer suggests a sense of humour and playfulness, as well as a pleasantly irreverent tone and colourful production values (dig that big dance scene). Now, this one could certainly go either way - it could be too childish, or too irreverent if such a thing is possible. But Segel and Adams are a talented duo when they have a good script to work with, so cautiously I'll suggest it could be a HIT. We'll wait and see.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
It was hard to miss this trailer online when it leaked a few weeks ago. And with good cause. Watching it in higher definition reaffirms it as the finest teaser trailer of recent times. On a surface level you have the blistering Karen O / Trent Reznor Zepplin cover, and a frantic editing style to match. It's the rare trailer that is worth rewatching. Most impressively, it does what most teasers should do - tease. For those who aren't familiar with the Millennium trilogy there's a visually impressive thriller to start piquing interests, minus any sort of story spoilers. For fans, there are tantalising glimpses at familiar characters, locales and events from the novel. There's little given away to either group - and most crucially, only the briefest of looks at Rooney Mara's transformation into Lisbeth Salander. Fincher has rightfully refused to fully give away his trump card just yet. The result is the finest piece of cinema marketing since Fincher's last epic trailer for the Social Network. I had at one point written a remake of the worthy if unspectacular Swedish film off as pointless. Now I question why I ever doubted Fincher (Benjamin Button discounted, of course). Bring on the feel bad film of Christmas. It's almost a shame it will inevitably be preceded by more predictable theatrical trailers. HIT.
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