The best part of action movies (aside from the guns, explosions and some really cool, mind-bending CG effects) are the ones with original stories that manage engage audiences with genuine characters. The following trailers for two new action flicks seem to promise good action with good stories. Will the movies live up?

‘End of Watch’

It’s a good thing that I tend to enjoy Jake Gyllenhaal movies, because otherwise I’d shrug this off as just another found-footage/documentary-style action flick. Writer and director David Ayer also comes with a fairly decent résumé, which has me thinking ‘End of Watch’ might actually make a strong movie. Much of the excitement for this is also due to the preview. The stylized, gritty photography gives everything a spontaneous and unrehearsed quality that makes it very intense, as if it were one of the best ‘Cops’ episodes never shown on television. I can’t wait.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f57mlwhYD1c&feature=uploademail

‘Killer Joe’

Okay, so, I’ve lost some confidence in William Friedkin over the last couple years due to his recent comments about and treatement of his own movies. But watching this preview for ‘Killer Joe’ has me rethinking his abilities as a filmmaker once again. The same goes for Emile Hirsch as an actor. The movie looks incredibly suspenseful, with a bizarre black-comedy sense of humor beneath all the action. Going by the trailer alone, this is the sort of movie that will probably have you on edge until some crazy, unexpected twist blows your mind at the end. And Matthew McConaughey as the villain is awesome.

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