Another One Bites the Dust

 

With the tragic events in Aurora, Colorado last week, it's pretty safe to assume that violence in movies is getting picked apart by the media. And we've already seen some fallout from this. Gangster Squad has gotten moved back into 2013 because they had to re-shoot some scenes. If you watched the latest trailer (which has been pretty much pulled from the internet), you'll see a scene where the mob opens up fire from behind the movie screen in a crowded theater. It's completely understandable why they had to re-shoot. On the other hand, part of me just shakes my head thinking how absurd it is that the studio has to completely bail on what may be a very horrific scene but which may also provide insight into this idea of glorified violence. We'll never really know how that scene was going to play out, but it's too bad that we won't be able to see the true version of the movie. It reminded me of when Spider-Man first came out - there was a shot of the Twin Towers at the end of the teaser. But obviously 9/11 happened and at the time the teaser trailer showing the towers was a big deal, but I don't think too many people remember. Hopefully that's what will happen with Gangster Squad.

But in the meantime, I've had to dig through the trenches to find another movie to add to my list. It wasn't that hard, because just a couple of days ago, they released a five minute trailer for Cloud Atlas.  I purposefully avoided putting this movie on my most anticipated because A) I didn't know too much about the film except that it was a sweeping, fantasy/sci-fi epic and B) It was co-directed and co-written by the Wachowski brothers (of The Matrix fame). Now don't get me wrong, those two guys have certainly made/written some great movies (The Matrix, V for Vendetta) but they've also crashed and burned pretty stupendously with the two Matrix sequels and Speed Racer. So I've been hesitant to mention this movie at all, but I'm a sucker for well-put together trailers and I will tell you this trailer lasts more than five minutes, but it only felt like two. Plus any trailer that uses an M83 song is instantly one of the best trailers ever.

43. Cloud Atlas

Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving

Director: Tim Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

Release Date: October 26

I'll be damned if I know what's going on, but I think stories like these are hard to tell and hard to sell. The Fountain is one of those types of movies and honestly it's the best comparison I can think of for Cloud Atlas. I loved The Fountain a lot, so I'm hoping I'll fall in love with this movie. I'm actually anxious to read the book it's based on now that I'm pretty sure the subject falls under my wheelhouse of multi-storylines and sci-fi. The cast looks great too - there's so many great big names (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant) and a solid cast of character actors (Hugo Weaving, Jim Broadbent, Keith David). I'm pretty stoked about this movie, but my expectations are a bit low because this could turn out to be a real big mess. Either way, I'll be punching my ticket for this movie in October.