Trailer Watch - Fame, The Stepfather, and 2012

The adult cast, Kelsey Grammar, Bebe Neuwirth, Charles S. Dutton, and Megan Mullally, is surprisingly promising.  Still, with that "There Is A School" opening, didn't you wish that this turned into a remake of Suspiria halfway through?

Warning, DO NOT WATCH this trailer if you have not seen the original version of The Stepfather. It gives away one of the best moments of that Terry O'Quinn classic.

The original film was more than a slasher film, it was a character driven satire of the longing for the 1950s Father Knows Best idealized patriarchal family structure (Terry O'Quinn should have gotten an Oscar nomination).  Since said nostalgia rears its head every twenty-five years or so, I suppose now is as good a time as any for an update.  Whether it not it retains the social commentary of the original, this seems like a serviceable PG-13 variation of a film that just barely earned its R-rating back in 1987.  I'm thrilled to death about this film.  Not because I think it will be any good, but rather there's a good chance that this remake will cause whomever owns the rights to the original film to put out a decent special edition DVD in order to tie into this new version.

 

If you were thrilled by Independence Day... if you were terrified by The Day After Tomorrow... then you will be scared shitless by... 2012!

Did Roland just take out the White House again?  I'm pretty sure the USS John F. Kennedy takes out the Oval Office in the closing moments of this apparent feature-film adaptation of "That's Armageddon!".   This is a rare trailer that is almost completely composed of 'money shots'.  From the narrative, I'm willing to guess that most of the worldwide carnage takes place in the first half, with the bulk of the second half comprised of whatever airplane John Cusack and his family find themselves in and/or the would-be survivors trying not to drown after said airplane crashes into the sea.

Amanda Peet appears along for the ride, and it's nice to see a Martian Child reunion with her, Cusack, and favored character actor Oliver Platt.  Heck, Mr. Cusack apparently again plays a science-fiction novelist in this one too.   Also onboard are Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, George Segaland, another beloved character actor, the unpronounceable Chiwetel Ejiofor (he apparently plays the 'empathetic minority in middle management').  Last but not least, we have Danny Glover as The President. Between The Fifth Element, Deep Impact, and now this, must the president be black every time the world is about to end?  On a related note, is it too much to ask to hope that Mr. Glover delivers his grim speeches and platitudes with the same ill-fitting dentures that he apparently used in Shooter?

I will admit that the onscreen destruction on display is quite impressive, so I suppose this is worth seeing once on a big screen (if Sony has a brain, they would have already secured at least a limited IMAX release for this).  Despite that, I'm not particularly thrilled to see this sure-to-be epically stupid Irwin Allen throwback (I love Independence Day, but I've been burned by Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, and the unwatchable 10,000 BC).   But, if you've read my blog or know me well enough by now, you know darn well that I'll be there opening night regardless.  Because, of course, this is the movie that my wife most wants to see this fall.  Sigh... I'm sure 'it'll be great!'

Scott Mendelson

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Comments

[InofTouch]

10:44 PM on 06/19/2009

Love that CNN added itself in this movie since they said no to Deep Impact

[LLNYRN]

06:56 PM on 06/19/2009

I'm there for "2012". And I'm not going to apologize for it either. I love "end of the world" flicks. I still watch a lot of the 50s ones every now and then.
Yeah. Roland Emmerich is this generation's Irwin Allen. But with a massive budget and better SFX. That's why his films though silly, are at least FUN to watch.
"2012" needs the REAL IMAX treatment PRONTO!!!

[Burnsey]

05:41 PM on 06/19/2009

with the millions of movies out there with white presidents saving the world in the movie, you have the temerity to attack that fact that there are 3 whole movies out there with a black President saving the world?

I just removed you from my favorites. I can't believe this is the drivel you produce now.

I doubt this will get through the censors here, they seem to protect you from any criticism.

[Scott Mendelson]

06:44 PM on 06/19/2009

It was a joke, based on an absurd coincidence, pure and simple.

[sisterdebmac]

02:37 PM on 06/19/2009

As stupid as it was 10,000 BC is kind of fun up till Cliff Curtis is offed. And I gotta admit, as absurd as it was, I enjoyed The Day After. But yeah, 2012 looks like overkill. Big time. I'm still on the fence.

Fame, however, sold me with the new trailer. I never saw the first trailer, which I've heard was terrible. But the one that just came out this week gave me chills.

I wasn't at all interested in the reboot of The Stepfather, until I saw the cast. It might actually be decent.

[HotheadPaisen]

05:11 PM on 06/19/2009

I'd agree. LOVED the original Stepfather, but this one has serious potential.

[Winning09]

02:25 PM on 06/19/2009

But we do have a black President, so the world must be about to end, right? :)

[Scott Mendelson]

06:46 PM on 06/19/2009

If the prophecies that this movie is based on have any merit, than yes, the world will end in 2012 with Obama at the helm. And for what it's worth, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't go into the rescue ships either.