The Trailer Park: Unlikely Heroes

The big news of the past week was of course the teaser trailer for the much-anticipated ‘The Avengers’, and it looks… well…. interesting. It’ll definitely be a big hit during next year’s summer season. But a couple months before ogling over some superhero action, we can revel in a dark, ghastly murder mystery with none other than Edgar Allan Poe, the first super sleuth.

‘The Raven’

Many only know the name of American literary icon Edgar Allan Poe as synonymous with ghastly tales of the macabre. Only a few know that he’s also the father of the detective story genre and a major influential figure of science fiction as well. Long before there was a Sherlock Holmes, C. Auguste Dupin cracked the case of ‘The Murders of the Rue Morgue’. So, this movie from ‘V for Vendetta’ director James McTeigue seems like a rather intriguing concept, where we imagine John Cusack as the famous Bostonian turned real-life detective. Following a series of grisly murders, the first of which is a reference to the ‘Rue Morgue’ story, the film looks like a good deal of fun and mystery, if not much else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYndpQeRQqE

‘The Avengers’

There was never any doubt that I’d see the ‘The Avengers’ movie in theaters when it’s released next year. Yet for some reason, this teaser trailer isn’t all that exciting. It leaves me wanting a bit more. The preview does pretty much everything that’s expected of it, showing our primary cast of heroes and a few glimpses of Loki as the mischievous godly villain. The problem is that the movie feels like it walks a thin line between utterly bland and excessively hyperactive. In either case, it makes the superhero flick seem quite boring, possibly even a snooze-fest. Of course, this is just the teaser, and it’s enough to whet the appetite. With Joss Whedon both directing and writing, this could be loads of fun. Hopefully.

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27 comments

  1. Jane Morgan

    I’m confused. ‘The Avengers’ is a parody of a superhero film?

    Has Joss Whedon ever been praised for his direction?

    Because this looks really television-y.

      • Jane Morgan

        ‘The Avengers’ trailer has more posing than a Twilight film.

        I keep waiting for them to break into song.

  2. joss is one of the best storytellers out there.i’m looking forward to this one. if you love the pitty party that is the dark knight you’ll probally wont like this one. i havent looked forward to a superhero movie in a long time.

    • Drew

      ‘The Dark Knight’ is not a pitty party, just so you know.

      I wouldn’t want you to believe something that is factually incorrect.

      With that said, there’s no reason why people can’t or won’t love both ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘The Avengers’.

      Now that you understand that ‘The Dark Knight’ is not a pitty party, tell us what your favorite superhero films are, and how they are even less of a pitty party than ‘The Dark Knight’ is.

      From your description of why you’re looking forward to ‘The Avengers’, I’m guessing that you absolutely loved ‘Iron Man 2’. 🙂 Because it was the opposite of a pitty party, of course. Right?

      • the dark knight was a 2 1/2 hour pity party. i cant get the joker. boo hoo. harvey dent is better than me. boo hoo. i’m going to stop being batman boo hoo. pity party. as josh would say your mileage may vary. 🙂

        • Jane Morgan

          ‘The Dark Knight’ was a bait and switch.

          In ‘Batman Begins,’ Batman was the protagonist.

          In ‘The Dark Knight,’ The Joker was the protagonist.

          As a fan of anarchy, I love ‘The Dark Knight’ a thousand times more than ‘Batman Begins,’ but I understand why Batman fans feel the opposite.

      • Drew

        I’m glad Josh caught on to what I was saying! haha! It’s factually impossible that ‘The Dark Knight’ is a “pitty party.”

        Do you get it now, Dail?

        If you meant that it was a “pity party.” We can have begin the argument anew.

        “I can’t get the Joker, boo hoo.” Really? Apparently I missed that part. So did millions of other people.

        “Harvey Dent is better than me, boo hoo.” Hmm another part of the film that myself and millions of others missed. When exactly was this said? Who exactly said it?

        ‘The Dark Knight’ that myself and millions of others watched featured a Batman that was proud and grateful that Harvey Dent was better than him.

        “I’m going to stop being Batman, boo hoo.” Once again, apparently you saw a completely different movie than other people. I know I didn’t see that part in ‘The Dark Knight’.

        In the authentic ‘Dark Knight’ Bruce is not one bit sad or upset about ceasing to be Batman. He suggests doing so out of nobility, and because of the fact that Gotham can be better served without the “Batman.”

        I feel bad for you. ‘The Dark Knight’ that you watched must have sucked. Was it a Japanese bootleg version? Or did you just take some good hallucinative narcotics prior to watching the authentic film?

        • the i cant get the joker boo hoo i’m refering to is the way he captured the joker. batman has always used his wits to get the joker. i feel that nolan cheapend batman and made him lazy , whinny.

          harvy dent was a total dickwad and nolan had to make bruce bow to him. total horse crap.

          granted this last one is not a boo hoo i shouldnt of put it in the original post but i had a huge problem with them putting the i’m quitting batman scene. and the asian subplot and gordon running around like a chicken with it head cutoff. besides that it was a well made movie. 🙂

          • Drew

            Bruce never bowed to Dent. Seriously, what film were you watching? It’s mind boggling. Dent and Bruce had great working relationship, and their interactions were both mutually respectful and engaging. Bruce benefited greatly from Dent, and Dent likewise from Bruce. There was no cowtowing whatsoever.

            Bruce tries to build Dent up because he knows that Dent will always have the potential to have a bigger impact on Gotham than he ever will.

            The way that Batman captured the Joker was superb. It wasn’t lazy. It was inventive and controversial. It was a great commentary on the state of our government’s surveillance practices and their potentially invasive nature. It brought the wit and genius of Batman into modern society and times. It transported the technical wizardry of our beloved Batman into a culturally relevant concept.

            Gordon never runs around like a chicken with his head cut off. It’s like you missed the entire concept of his act. I can’t even get into it. There’s no point in addressing it. Gordon’s behavior is calculated. That’s all I will say.

  3. Drew

    ‘The Avengers’ trailer looks just like every other Marvel teaser trailer.

    That doesn’t say anything about whether the film will be good or not.

    It’s clearly going to be one of the best films of it’s genre ever made.

    Like the hyperbole? 😉

    The Raven looks very intriguing. Possibly a little too ‘Sherlock Holmes’ but a worthy effort nonetheless.

    • Jane Morgan

      The best Marvel trailer is ‘Iron Man.’

      Runner-up is ‘Hulk.’

      And special mention to the ‘Captain America’ Fuck Yeah! trailer.

      • Drew

        Yes, ‘Iron Man’ was, hands down, the best Marvel trailer. To me, it is the only one that stands completely apart from the rest of them.

        Other than ‘Iron Man’ the initial teaser trailer for every recent Marvel film, has been eerily similar. Some corny humor, some vague display of the threat/villain, topped of with a quick cut montage of multiple action sequences.

        Nobody should be judging these Marvel films by the initial teaser trailer.

        When you say that the runner-up is ‘Hulk’, are you referring to the Edward Norton one, or the Eric Bana one?

        • Jane Morgan

          The Ang Lee ‘Hulk’ trailer.

          The first half was origin story bullshit. The second half was rage on tap.

          It’s too bad the movie couldn’t live up to the promise of that emotion.

  4. Re: Avengers:

    I loved that we didn’t see any shots of the “bad guys” who were shooting those lasers (I’ll not mention their names to keep this post spoiler-free).

    I’ve always wanted to see Super-Hero films marketed with 30 second clips that have NOTHING to do with the film itself! Little “mini-stories”, perhaps of the good guys foiling a robbery or saving a kid from a burning building or rescuing a helicopter falling off a skyscraper. Something like that that doesn’t give away the plot of the movie and has us chomping at the bit to see the movie on opening night.