Welcome to “Trailer Park,” our regular Friday feature where we collect the week’s new trailers all in one place and do a little “judging a book by its cover,” ranking them from worst to best and taking our best guess at what they may be hiding. This week, we’ve only got six new ones — perhaps due to last week’s trailer overload — but there are two very big superheroes among them. Check ‘em all out after the jump.
Paranormal Activity 3
2009’s Paranormal Activity was a a taut, nerve-jangling thriller, genuinely skillful and intelligent. But it made over $100 million, so of course no one could leave well enough alone — that’s sequel money, so we got last year’s flaccid and utterly unnecessary Paranormal Activity 2, which was like a cover version, played by a band that barely knows the chords, much less how to play them with any flair. But that one made a mint too, so here we are again with the third in the series. Now, those complaints aired, there are a couple of reasons to be intrigued by this installment. First, the directorial reins have been handed over to Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, who did last year’s controversial documentary (or is it?) Catfish; in that film, they exhibited real skill at massaging tension and uneasiness within a style that they’ll be creating from scratch here. And we must admit that the idea of going clear back to the main characters’ childhoods (nice 1988 date-and-time burn-in) has some potential. But even allowing those possibilities, this series’ playbook is getting mighty stale.
The Amazing Spider-Man
How you feel about this trailer — and about the movie in general — basically boils down to how you feel about “reboots”; more specifically, how you feel about the proper time lapse between them. Batman Begins was great; it also came out 16 years after the Burton Batman. But the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man came out a mere nine years ago, and — based on this teaser, anyway — it looks like Marc Webb’s “reboot” is basically a remake, albeit one with stronger supporting actors (nothing against Cliff Robertson, but nice work pulling Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben). It will make a mint, sure, and maybe the marketing folks are merely trying to remind us of what we like, rather than surprise us with what’s new. But there’s definitely a “seen it!” vibe to this one.
A Good Old-Fashioned Orgy
Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck’s sex comedy was an audience favorite at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, and this new trailer shows promise. The picture’s got a good ensemble cast, headed by Jason Sudeikis (who may just be turning into a movie star before our very eyes) and including such MVPs as Martin Starr, Lucy Punch, Lin Shaye, Nick Kroll, David Koechner, and Sudekis’s SNL castmate Will Forte, and there’s a free-wheeling spirit to the thing that may just transcend its giggle-giggle-naughty premise. We’re in.
Dream House
Newlyweds Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz star (alongside Naomi Watts — for God’s sake, how many achingly attractive people does one movie need?) in this domestic horror picture from director Jim Sheridan, whose distinguished filmography includes such modern classics as My Left Foot, In The Name of the Father, In America, and, er, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. (So the guy couldn’t make a good 50 Cent movie — he’s a filmmaker, not a miracle worker.) Sure, haunted house movies are a dime a dozen, and this is one of those trailers that gives you, about halfway through, the unsettling feeling that they’re showing you the whole movie. But it’s also a creepy clip, unsettling and intriguing, and you can’t beat that cast.
You Instead
This rock romance was shot during last year’s T in the Park, an annual music festival in Scotland. Director David Mackenzie (Young Adam) reportedly confined his guerilla-style shoot to the five days of the festival, and if the trailer is any indication, that manic energy appears to have translated onto film. Star Luke Treadway may very well be a man on the verge (he’s a supporting player in the upcoming Attack the Block and Killing Bono), and we already like co-star Natalia Tena, who you may recognize as Nymphadora Tonks from the Harry Potter movies.
The Dark Knight Rises
Some of the kids on the Internet were underwhelmed by this teaser for the next Batman movie, and we’ll admit that (presumably due to that fact that it’s still in production) it’s a little slim; there is almost a “What’s shot and ready to go? Um, maybe that scene of Oldman in the hospital bed?” air to it. But seriously, at this point in this series, it’s not like they have to sell us. “From Christopher Nolan” are about the three most comforting words you can put on a summer blockbuster trailer, and we’re encouraged by the finality being made apparent in the on-screen text, with all its talk of conclusions and ends — indicating that Nolan might wisely get out of this version of the series before its Batman and Robin.