Trailer Park (1)

I haven't had a movie post in a while, so I wanted to show the trailers of some stuff I'm looking forward to. Click on the links to view them. A few of these you may recognize from my Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies of 2008 posts back in May. Beware: this post is uber-long, so I split it into 2 parts.
Here's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button trailer, which I posted about a while back, but this one is actually in English. Also, this is a TV spot that aired during the Olympics. It's not the best quality, but it shows some scenes from the film. Both are awesome, and I can't wait for the film. It has a mysterious aura to it, which I love. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett look spectacular, and Brad has the challenge of playing Benjamin at every age in his life (he ages backwards!). And, "Aquarium" from "Carnival of the Animals" was a great music choice for the trailer. :)
Changeling is Clint Eastwood's newest film, based on a true story about a woman trying to find her kidnapped son in 1920's L.A. Angelina Jolie plays the woman, Christine Collins. When the police find a boy that resembles her son, they return him back to her, but she doesn't think the boy is really her son. This leads to a momentous battle with the LAPD and Christine being sent to an asylum for her suspected insanity. It's an intriguing topic, but the trailer was...meh. I'd like to see more out of it, or perhaps it's b/c I've just seen some really awesome trailers lately. Angelina's mother role looks rather hammy, but then again, it is a grieving mother. The film itself garnered positive reception in May, when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, so we'll see what the rest of the critics think this fall.
Another film generating a lot of awards buzz at the various film festivals is Frost/Nixon. It tells the tale of David Frost (Michael Sheen), a British journalist, and his candid interviews with Nixon (Frank Langella) at the height of the Watergate scandal. Both actors look top-notch, and Langella definitely has a great shot at the Best Actor prize, which many people have speculated for months. The 2006 play version got rave reviews, and Langella won the Tony Award for Best Actor. Maybe that will translate to Oscar gold. A little background on the two lead actors: Michael Sheen most notably played Tony Blair in 2006's The Queen, and Frank Langella is a celebrated stage actor who hasn't gotten much recognition for his film work. I didn't really know who he was until I found out about this movie. From the trailer, some have said Langella's Nixon is too much of a charicature and reminds them of an SNL impression. I don't have much of an opinion, but I did notice his voice might have been a bit too exaggerated; I don't recall Nixon's voice being that big and booming. Anyway, that is for the individual to decide.
A new film from Atonement director Joe Wright, The Soloist is about LA Times columnist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) who meets and writes about a musical prodigy Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), also based on a true story. Nathaniel, once a Julliard student, is homeless and schizophrenic. The two form a close bond and learn much about each other. It seems like an inspirational story, but I've read some comments of people saying it might be too cheesy. Yes, this kind of film has definitely been done before, or as one person stated (it made me crack up a bit), "a very Oprah-friendly flick", but The Soloist might be able to separate itself from similar films.
That's all for now. More tomorrow.