Saw V teaser trailer

Beware if you are a Gilmore Girls fan and don't want to be horribly traumatized right now like am.



I like the Saw series. I grew up watching the Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween movies and I respect that Saw is the current generation's horror franchise. Saw was great. Saw 2 was not that good. Saw 3 was better than 2. And Saw 4 was rather impressive storytelling wise.

That being said: I don't like this teaser. I hate the biblical aspect of it and then of course SPOILERS Agent Strahm's head in a box. But not like Gwyneth Paltrow's head in a box. His head in a box in a Saw way. DAMNIT! I like Agent Strahm and Scott Patterson! If they put the incredibly adorable Julie Benz in one of those traps this will probably be the most unwatchable movie for me.

Saw V hits this Halloween!

Review: Mamma Mia!

Despite the super cheesiness of the trailer, I went to see Mamma Mia! a week before it officially opened here. How I suddenly got so excited to see this movie.. I don't know. But let me tell you this now, it's great!

Sophie (the luminous Amanda Seyfried) is getting married and dreams of finding her father. She invites her three potential dads (Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard and Colin Firth) to the wedding without informing her mother Donna (Meryl Streep). Singing, dancing, ABBA songs and hilarity ensues.

When I first heard about Mamma Mia! the movie and the cast was announced, I was really looking forward to it. Then I saw the trailer and I got a little scared. It just looked like this big cheese-fest. Since I was still recovering from last year's overly quirky Hairspray that left me with a toothache and in a vomit induced state, I was planning on avoiding this in theaters. But somehow I did end up watching it and I am pretty damn sure this movie will end up on my favorites of 2008 list at the end of the year.

I was hooked from the moment Amanda Seyfried starting singing "I have a dream..." She really impressed me. Sure she was fab as the ditzy blond in Mean Girls, but here she showed a lot of range. It was an endearing and brave performance. How could you not fall in love with her? Her voice was amazing as well. While Meryl Streep seems a bit old play Sophie's mother (if Sophie is 20, she should have given birth to her in her late 30s - so why wouldn't she be allowed to come home. She's an adult; old enough to make her own decisions), she IS Meryl "f*ckin" Streep and she can play whatever the hell she wants to play. And she was excellent and her singing was amazing too! I smell a Golden Globe. Supporting turns by Julie Walters and Christine Baranski as Donna's friends were great too. Both are funny ladies and Baranski especially impressed. Pierce Brosnan seemed a bit bland, but Stellan Skarsgard and Colin Firth seemed to have a good time and did the best they could do with their roles. Now that I think about it, all the male roles were a bit underwritten. Hmmm.. that probably explains why Dominic Cooper barely left an impression.

The writer did a good job including all those ABBA songs into the story. There's only one sequence that I thought was truly awful: the "Money Money Money" dream sequence. Yikes! The movie quickly recovered after that, but seriously, they could have left that part out. Overall, I really liked Mamma Mia! and my fellow audience members as well. If this movie doesn't want to make you sing and dance, you're dead inside. Probably the most enjoyable movie out there this summer. STAY FOR THE CREDITS! A 4/5.

Trailer Park: Mamma Mia!

I don't watch a lot of trailers online, so this feature will mostly feature (hee!) trailers that were attached to movies I've recently seen. Keep in mind that I live in The Netherlands, and that the trailers attached wont necessarily be the same as the ones in your country. In this post I'll review the trailers that were attached to Mamma Mia!

Bride Flight
I have no idea whether or not this movie is in Dutch. I see Dutch actors, but the title is in English. There's no talking in the trailer, but the official site is in Dutch. Either way, I don't like Dutch productions so I'll pass. Waldemar Torenstra is pretty though.
To be viewed: never

Australia
And I thought Bride Flight was an odd choice for a trailer to attach to Mamma Mia! Here was have Baz Luhrmann's latest effort, which reteams him with Nicole Kidman. Hugh Jackman's in it too and that's pretty much all I can recall about this trailer. Okay, the cinematography is pretty breathtaking, but other than that, I really have no interest in this at all.
To be viewed: never

The Children of Huang Shi
Who picked these trailers? Seriously?! Still no comedy trailer? I was starting to wonder if I was sitting in the right theater. This trailer looked familiar and I think I've seen it attached to Sex & the City. For some reason I didn't mention it in that trailer park, so I must've blocked it out or something. I can tell you that Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Radha Mitchell are in it.
To be viewed: never

The Accidental Husband
This looks cute. Uma Thurman plays a talk radio host and advises a listener to break up with her boyfriend. The now ex-boyfriend (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) wants revenge and through certain circumstances, he ends up as Uma's husband. Colin Firth's in it too and who doesn't love Colin Firth. *fans self* Hopefully this won't turn out as another generic comedy.
To be viewed: probably on DVD

Review: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I was thinking the other day that I still needed to write a review of Getting Over Allison. It's weird, because I never even thought about that movie when I was watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall so how could I have mixed them up? Now that I've thought about it a bit, the movies are somewhat similar. The males leads in both movies (played by Ben Foster and Jason Segel, respectively) are regular, somewhat nerdy guys who are dumped by their popular exes (Melissa Sagemiller and Kristen Bell, respectively). Both girls start dating musicians (Shane West, Russell Brand, respectively) with uhm.. interesting accents. Both movies feature musical sequences and Mila Kunis. However, she is not Ben Foster's love interest in Get Over It (Getting Over Allison was the movie's working title).

It is rather unfair to Jason Segel to compare the two though. While Get Over It is a teen movie and a bit over the top, FSM is a comedy with a heart. I felt Segel's pain, both thanks to his well written script and sensitive performance. If this guy isn't on his way to become a big star, I give up on Hollywood. He deserves a Golden Globe nod for this. However, it was Russell Brand who was the star of this movie. He stole every scene he was in. Supporting roles from Mila Kunis, Bill Hader, Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd were great too. It's interesting to note that Sarah Marshall herself, Kristen Bell, was actually the weakest link here. I've never seen Bell be so bland before. I wonder if she's actually capable of carrying a movie (I've blocked the awful Pulse from my memory, thank you very much).

One thing I really liked about the movie is that it shows two sides of the relationship. While mostly the focus is on Segel's character Peter, you also get to find out why things didn't work out for Sarah and her motivation isn't as shallow as you might expect. Overall, FSM is an enjoyable movie. If you liked Knocked Up, I'm sure you will like this movie as well.

Well played, Mr. Segel! A 4/5.