30 Days of Night

I want to see this one, but I have low expectations. This film is based on a comic that wasn't very good to start with, though it looked gorgeous. The plot of the movie looks a little more streamlined than the jarring, jumping plot of the comic, and that should work to the film's advantage. The visual style holds pretty true to the comic, which should also be to the film's advantage. On the downside, the cast either looks flat (Josh Hartnett & Melissa George), or grossly overplayed (Ben Foster again, apparently trying to become the next Giovanni Ribisi). The always-great Danny Huston is in the cast, but I did not spot him in the trailer. Hopefully he'll remain a true professional and give a good performance even though this movie is way beneath him.

On a hopeful note, the sequels to the comic are much better than the original. If the film is successful enough to warrant sequels of its own, at least I know they'll have decent source material.

3:10 to Yuma

In the old west, Christian Bale has to escort master criminal Russell Crowe to a train (guess which one). Alone the way, Crowe's gang (now led by a dementedly over-the-top Ben Foster) tries to intervene.

It looks like a solid movie (apart from Foster), but it also lacks something. I'm not sure what. Bale seems fine, and Crowe looks like he enjoys the role. But I found myself thinking "I should download this at some point" rather than "Hey, I should pay money to see this in a theater." And I'm not sure why.

The Bourne Ultimatum

Jason Bourne rocks. That's all I need to say. "The Bourne Ultimatum" looks like more of the same, and for this franchise that is a shining compliment. Can't wait to see it.

Untitled JJ Abrams Project

This movie is that one where only the release date is given. It shows a bunch of 20-somethings celebrating someone's going-away or something. Suddenly there are loud noises and people talking about a monster. They all rush outside, see a distant explosion, then hear growling/roaring getting closer. And all of this is seen via a POV shot from a crappy digital camera.

If I had seen this trailer prior to reading about the film, I would have been very intrigued. However, I had already discovered that the entire film is shot in that shitty POV style, and will follow this group of indistinguishably attractive people as they deal with a giant monster.

I'm not going to bother with the "Blair Witch" comparisons. Others will handle that for me. What I am going to say is this: if there's a giant monster, you put down the camera. Any human hand capable of holding a camera is also capable of holding a gun, knife, steel bar, baseball bat, big stick or any other kind of weapon that might in some small way help you fend off a man-eating creature. The trailer is interesting, but I simply do not want to put up with 90 minutes of shaky-camera.

Gone Baby Gone

Ben Affleck gets a bad rap, though a good portion of it is his fault. He's a good actor when he chooses to be, but too often he prefers to mug uncontrollably to unamusing effect. I bring this up because I'm sure many people will dismiss this film outright because it is Ben's directorial debut, and they will associate his countless bad acting roles with this film. Based on the trailer, I don't think that is a wise move. "Gone Baby Gone" actually looks pretty good. Casey Affleck (Ben's underappreciated, more-talented younger brother) plays a neighborhood man who starts investigating the disappearance of a small child. Either helping or hindering him is Morgan Freeman (the trailer doesn't make it very clear if he's a protagonist or antagonist) as a local police officer. Ed Harris also stars as another officer, and his role seems more antagonistic. I think.

One of the best elements of the trailer is that it shows us a lot of footage, yet doesn't give much away about the plot. That's so refreshing to see these days. Also a surprise is the inclusion of actor John Ashton (Taggert from "Beverly Hills Cop"), who hasn't been seen much recently. Michelle Monaghan is the love interest, and she is rapidly becoming one of my favorite actresses.

All in all, I'm really looking forward to this. Hopefully the marketing department will play down Affleck's role, since his name might be more of a repellent than a draw these days.

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane

A killer obsessed with a hot teenager girl kills the girl's friends while at a party on a secluded farm.

That's the plot synopsis. Here are my notes:

1. The teenage girl is not that hot, certainly not enough to kill for.

2. No farm in the US is secluded enough that it would out of range from cell phone companies. In fact, farms are usually where the rural cell towers are located. Except for maybe in the mountains. But this movie takes place in the plains. Any of these teens could call the cops at any time. Then again, avoiding roaming charges might be worth the added risk.

3. The slasher doesn't even seem that interesting. It's like being stalked by the boring younger brother of David Boreanaz's worthless slasher from "Valentine."