Caffeinated Clint
Several new trailers have emerged online over the next 24 hours :
Shrek Forever After
The whole gang’s – Myers, Diaz, Murphy, er, Katzenberg – back to rob ya’ green with this fourth and final (that’s what they’re saying today, anyway) instalment in the money-spinning “Shrek” series. Shrek is feeling over-domesticated. He has lost his roar. It used to send villagers running away in terror. Now they run to him and ask him to sign their pitchforks and torches. To regain his ogre mojo, he strikes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin. The pact goes awry and Shrek must confront what life would be like in Far Far Away if he had never existed. That translates into Donkey being forced into cart-pulling duty, fat and lazy Puss in Boots trading his sword for a pink bow and the underhanded Rumpelstiltskin ruling the kingdom. Hopefully this one’s a bit of a corker than “Shrek the Third” was.
The Runaways
“New Moon” buddies Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning team up for the rockin’ (well, hopefully) bio of a pre-Blackhearts Joan Jett. Stewart, complete with decaying black mop, plays the legendary rocker Jett, with Fanning as ‘The Runaways” lead vocalist/keyboardist Cherie Currie, and Scout ‘Laurie Strode 2.0’ Taylor-Compton as guitarist Lita Ford. The film traces the all-girl band as they navigate a rocky road of touring and record label woes under the malevolent eye of an abusive manager during their teen years.
Hot Tub Time Machine
Read the script for this a while back – and it’s fantastic! Lots of pop-culture references, some very funny moments, and a tone that’s not dissimilar to some of the early Savage Steve Holland films that John Cusack, who headlines “Hot Tub”, starred in – like “Better Off Dead” and “One Crazy Summer”. The only thing that actually worries me about the film – and this has nothing to do with the guy himself, he’s actually a very sweet bloke – is Steve Pink, I just know that he’s the right guy to bring this rather imaginative, and slightly crude comedy to the screen.
Iron Man 2
Now this looks cooler than a esky-chilled coke! Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, the wealthy playboy whose exploits as Iron Man are now public knowledge after his admission at the close of the first film. In the follow-up, Stark is pitted against his Russian arch nemesis, Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), and corporate rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). Also making their Marvel debuts are Scarlett Johansson as the sexy Russian spy Black Widow, and Don Cheadle, who takes over the role of Colonel James Rhodes from Terrence Howard. Haven’t read the script, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that this one’s going to pack as much action, charm and laughs into two-hours as the first did.
Alice in Wonderland
The longer, funkier (though I’ve noticed many don’t seem to be that impressed by it), more revealing pre-main attraction preview for Tim Burton’s upcoming understandably-warped take on “Alice in Wonderland” is here. Alice, 17, attends a party at a Victorian estate only to find she is about to be proposed to in front of hundreds of snooty society types. Off she runs, following a white rabbit into a hole and ending up in Wonderland, a place she visited 10 years before yet doesn’t remember. With a cast including Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway (phwoar!!), Helena Bonham-Carter (why, of course) and Australia’s own Mia Wasikowska, this one’s sure to pack ’em in come April 2010.
