Trailer Tuesday: Dredd

Alright, to kick off my now free Summer, we're going back to the classic Dude Meister Blogs fashion of getting all Trailerly on a Tuesday. This week it was a toss up between the bad-ass looking 2000AD, Judge Dredd adaptation, Dredd or the flesh-fuelled abs-athon of Channing Tatum in Magic Mike. Despite how much we probably would all love to breakdown and dissect every single HD frame of that trailer, I've got to stick to what I know with this one. So without further ado, the synopsis (Of DREDD, just so we're sure):

"The story of Dredd takes place on an Earth ravaged by the Atomic Wars. Survivors of this world live within megacities, gargantuan urban sprawls which protect its citizens from the Cursed Earth, a radioactive desert environment populated by mutants. The main story takes place in Mega-City One, where its police force, known as judges have the power of judge, jury and executioner to thwart crime. One man, Judge Dredd (Karl Urban), a senior Judge, teams up with cadet Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) to stop drug dealer Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her traffic of the reality-altering drug Slo-Mo." - Wikipedia (Hence the mega-linkage)

 And the trailer itself (brace for grittiness):

• 0:10-0:18 -  Dystopian future, rioting people, District 9 etc, etc.
• 0:21 - Aha, the SloMo drug. Sounds pretty intriguing, especially with the vivid visual style applied, and of course, the La Roux track. 
• 0:38 - Why yes, that evil looking lady there does look particularly evil, perhaps because she (Lena Headey) also plays the cold Cersei Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones. Expect this crime-queen to be a little more hands-on in her approach to opposition.  
• 0:52 - The Judge himself, Karl Urban (Star Trek) as Dredd.

• 0:55-1:01 - Gritty definitely seems to be on the menu, steering away from the big sci-fi feel of the 2000AD Comics (upon which this comes from) and sticking with a realism mode, as is the trend these days. 

• 1:03 - The Dark Knight seems to spring to mind...
• 1:26-1:35 - A lot of online comments have said this is too similar to recent action flick, The Raid, and whilst I can see where they're coming from, let's keep in mind that this was written sometime before that, just bad timing is all.
• 1:40 - Now this is the only thing that bothers me about this trailer, and it may be because it's all taken out of context, but the dialogue just seems bland. Predictable, action-cliche lines that you wouldn't expect from writer Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Never Let Me Go). Although some of these are obviously justified ("I am the law", "Negotiation's over") as they're kind of embedded in the 2000AD lore. So we'll see...
• 2:07-2:16 - One of the most exciting things here for sure, demonstrated perfectly in these clips is the visual/directional take on the action and cinematography. The vibrant colours juxtaposed to Dredd's leather, Black 'n' Red, visor toting uniform works harmoniously in showing the two sides of this battle; the law is in the right, but it's certainly a darker task to undertake: grimmer, lonelier and harder than the lives of those colourful criminals. Add on top that strikingly high-res visor reflection image, the gracefulness of the violent Slow-Mo shots and then the sudden visceral onslaught of a dust-covered shoot-up, and you've got yourself some skilful technique. Hats off to director Pete Travis, it seems. 
• 2:20 - Simple title, simple font. 3D - maybe a decent use of it for once? 
• 2:24 - I sure do hope this clip didn't just spoil the ending; Dredd throwing what looks like the evil Ma Ma out a high window, which they may have just spent the rest of the film trying to get to by ascending and assaulting this tower block? 
• 2:26 - Guess we're just going to have to find out September 7th. 

                                                                                                                                              

Final Thoughts? Intriguing, but it could still go either way despite the aesthetic and directional attributes on display. It's a tricky balance to keep: being grittily bare-bones for the sake of having a punctual setting and theme or just looking plain cheap. Let's hope it leans toward the former. 
Story? Within the hands of Garland, I have some faith in that at least, even if the dialogue is sub par. From the varied locations of shots here, it seems like the pacing could be tight and the set-pieces a splendid feast. Only qualm with that would be whether the characters will be able to keep up and develop. 
Performances? The actors aren't exactly shown greatly here, so that's still up in the air, although their action abilities seem to be stretched well and Urban's gruff voice in full grunty mode. 
Music? The trailer featured an array, from some trippy future pop that worked okay, to standard bassy-action tropes and surprisingly some emotional melodies heard now and again which gives extra hope for perhaps not an entire action-fest. Perhaps even some of the social commentary that 2000AD often dips into?


Anyway, however this turns out, I think we can guarantee it'll be an improvement on the 1995 Stallone Judge Dredd. Or so help us all. 


ATR

Trailer Tuesday: Ted

From Family Guy creator and American comedian, Seth MacFarlane, comes his first feature film in the shape of Ted. Naturally, with Seth writing/directing/starring/producing, there will be a very FG-esque feel to it, which thankfully looks to be refreshing and funny in the shape of a cinematic production. Let's get to synopsisising:

Mark Wahlberg plays John, a perfectly normal Boston native whose childhood wish for his teddy bear to come to life comes true. The bear (Ted) — voiced by MacFarlane himself — remains his best friend well into his adult years. Conflict emerges when Ted's irresponsible and vulgar slacker lifestyle comes in the way of John's attempt to embrace his adulthood and the woman of his dreams, Lori (Mila Kunis). - Wikipedia.

And now for the trailer, which briefly boasts Universal's brand new logo update! Ah, it's the little things. Anyway, there be plenty o' cussin' in this trailer, just so y'know:

Fun Facts/Observations:

• Stars Mila Kunis, who also voices Meg in Family Guy: yep, kinda a different in real life, huh? 
• Total Seth set-up going on, with a random character who shouldn't be talking doing just that and no-one giving a hoot, a la Brian the dog, or Roger the alien. And of course, lots of inappropriate profanity, drug use and obnoxiousness. But this time, in live-action form!
• Sounds a lot like You, Me and Dupree crossed with Pegg 'n' Frost's Paul, which seems like a good combo on paper, and plays out fairly well here. 
• Community's Joel McHale will be making an appearance at some point in the movie as a guy called Rex. Here's hoping for some doucheness from his performance.
• First time directing on a feature for Seth, so it'll be interesting to see how his award-winning Family Guy formula will transition from animated 2D TV, to a fully realised live action movie. 
• Release date is 13th July in the States, with an apparent 3rd August launch in the UK.  

ATR

 

More F*$%£#g Trailers!? 

RE:View: Limitless

Sex, Drugs and De Niro.

 As far as charismatic actors go, I think Bradley Cooper takes the cake. Characters such as "Face" in The A-Team and Phil in The Hangover have served him well in this aspect so far, and his starring role in the new Limitless movie is no different.

Cooper is Eddie Morra, a dead-beat NY writer struggling to make ends meet. But when a chance meeting with an ex-brother in law introduces him to a new drug called NZT-48, Eddie's life is transformed overnight. Now able to access the full 100% of his brain (as opposed to the supposed 20% the rest of us do), Eddie becomes an established author, bi-lingual master and stock-market legend in just a few money-and-sex-fueled weeks. But with all this power comes a price and Eddie's going to find that out the hard way: Enter haunting blackouts and some ticked off bad guys...

 The plot's certainly interesting enough, and it's a very original idea that looks at the themes of drugs, corporate corruption and paranoia. Unfortunately however, the script is less impressive. It's bumpy at times (especially towards the second half) and feels like it can't decide what plot device to stick with, constantly switching between different narrative directions and leaving some gaping plot-holes in it's wake.

 Luckily, the lopsided script is patched over by some genuinely innovative visuals; there's a great difference in cinematography between the times our protagonist is using the drug and when he isn't. For instance, once the pill's been popped, colours become vibrant and alive, and some great uses of technical shots are creatively deployed with dizzying zooms and POV-style fish-eye. When Eddie's sober however, things take on a dingy grey look that really sets the mood for the distressing "cold-turkey" scenes.

 Performances are solid, with Cooper dominating the piece from start to finish with his aforementioned charisma and suave style. And although his thought narration can occasionally sound a little flat, it adds humour to the package, and his transition from grungy hobo to super-smooth genius is just stunning. Even though her role fells a little "on/off" in terms of narrative, Abbie Cornish pulls through nicely as Eddie's girlfriend, Lindy, and Robert De Niro is on usual form as powerful businessman Carl Van Loon, despite the disappointingly dolled-down  appearance he has.

The plot does hold its own towards the end though, and delivers an unpredictable conclusion that shouldn't really work, but does. The blending of tension, drama and humour succeeds amongst this distinct tale, granting audiences with a pleasingly smart experience for those who are tired of all out explosion filled action movies.

 Limitless is by no means a bad film, and sustains the techno-thriller vibe it's aiming for. It's visuals and audio are well matched and innovative, the actors do not disappoint and there are some genuinely commendably clever moments in there. The fun and brashness of a decent story is blatantly present, but it's just a shame that the script doesn't quite coincide with the intelligence of it's premise.

3.75/5 Stars

Charlie Sheen: An Honorary Douche

The face of a loser

Charlie Sheen -  America's (ex) highest paid actor -  has been all over the news recently, in relation to his drug scandals, porn-star problems and wife-beating, but what is it that people really think of him? Well, in a recent investigation, I found out...

 Now, the past few years seemed to have been quite the struggle for the Two and a Half Men star, as the effects of drugs, booze and sex have landed him in rehab/prison more than a few times. Countless marriages and children have been and gone for this obviously deeply troubled man, and with the ridiculous amounts of money he's paid, it's no wonder he's constantly hitting the coke.

 So surely, every good and decent person must hate the man, right? He's possibly the worst example ever of a successful actor and the best example ever of a class A knob-head, making him instantly despicable by the general public. But, strangely enough, that's not the case.

  Some people believe that this drugged-up girl-basher is cool, that the man is an inspiration. Of course, these kind of ideas have sprouted from this recent interview, where Sheen sits there, cigarette and beer in hand, casting off all criticisms as "passion" or "winning", even making up his own crazy little catchphrases like "Can't is the cancer of happen" and "I'm bi-winning". Describing his parties as "epic" and likening Frank Sinatra to, get this, a "droopy-eyed armless child", Sheen casually owns the interview with, dare I say, some sort of style. It's easy to tell that Sheen really does not give a shit, and from that aspect I can understand people admiring this kind of quality. But isn't this just sheer ignorance rather than apathetic attitude?

  Another word that came up when asking peoples opinions on Sheen was "courage", and this is something I can understand. You can't deny the man of his humongous balls, especially when he goes up onto roofs and shakes a machete around like he's freaking Danny Trejo. I certainly wouldn't have the kahunas to declare myself as a "winner" after all that stuff, although maybe that's also just a matter of ignorance and lack of a properly functioning brain.

 Thankfully, the majority that I spoke to regarded Charlie simply as "an idiot" and that "it's about time he got his comeuppance". His consequent firing from Warner Bros over his "moral turpitude" serves the smack-head right, and it's about goddamn time he stopped getting $1.8 million a week, just so that he could blow it all on his precious tardust and pot. But, naturally, Sheen claims he "never liked that show anyway". Yeah, just like how you got "bored" of drugs...

  In my opinion Charlie Sheen is a douchebag that can't handle the fact that all the terrible things he's done have finally caught up with him. All the domestic abuse, the drug addiction and everything else has pulled his world down around him, and fortunately he's suffered as a result, and I for one am happy to watch this over-paid bastard crumble to the ground.

 So Charlie, are you still "Winning"?