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I>Every week, Vern Seward takes a look at Appleis latest offerings at the QuickTime Trailer site, letting your know whatis new.
A good story has a way of hanging around for a very long time. The really good ones always manage to find a way to resurface, sometimes with a new twist, often with a fresh face, but the underlying tale never changes. Why screw up something that works? You may be asking yourself that question when you take a look at some of the offerings in this weekis Quick Picks.
First up we have The Hunted. Those of you who remember Sly Stalloneis First Blood may think this movie should be titled Rambo: Part 10. Still, you shouldnit discount this movie just yet; Tommy Lee Jones plays a retired (from the looks of him weid say heis been retired for quite a while) covert-ops agent who wrote the book on all the ways one can kill with a knife. One of his trainees, played by Benicio Del Toro (cool name), has gone rogue. When the bodies start to pile up, Tommy Lee gets called back to take out his prodigy. Tommy may be too old to play Stalloneis part, and Del Toro is not as ripped as Sly use to be, but the movie doesnit look bad if the trailer is any indication.
Next up, Treasure Planet. This is Disneyis latest effort at an animated feature, and, while the name makes you wonder if even your 4 year old will want to watch it, the trailer makes up for it. This is pure fantasy, folks. While there are space ships and aliens, donit go looking for any science; if the trailer is any indication, you wonit find any.
The space ships look like the tall sailing ships youid find in any pirate movie, but updated with rocket engines. Space flight is done with the isailorsi on deck without space suits, but since this is a fantasy, how and why that is should make no difference to you. In a fantasy you are suppose to pay attention to the story and this story is a retelling of Robert Louis Stevensonis classic tale of adventure on the high seas. It does look like a fun time and the animation is impressive, which is what youid expect from a Disney movie. Disney could use a hit, and with their track record in animation, Treasure Planet will likely be one.
There are, of course, new stories too. Pixaris Finding Nemo is one of them. You have got to see this trailer! The water looks great, the creatures look great, the jokes are funny; itis another hit! We are ready to buy a ticket to see this movie now. Itis a shame it wonit open until next May.
A movie we can wait to plop down our hard earned ducats for is House of 1000 Corpses. From the looks of the trailer, the producers are trying to capture the campy feel of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Did they succeed? Your guess is as good as ours.
There are a lot of other stories to show you and every one of the new QuickTime Movie trailers are fresh tales, with the possible exception of Hot Chick, but weill let you decide. So, here are the rest of the new QuickTime Trailers:
- Ararat: From 1915 to 1917 more than 1 million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Ararat is a movie about a movie made to tell the story of the Armenian Holocaust by a young film maker played by David Alpay. This looks like an engrossing movie set against a backdrop of a little known, but horrifying event.
- El Crimen Del Padre Amaro: According to the advertisements, this movie has caused a stir because of its depiction of a Catholic priest who succumbs to his love and lust of a young female parishioner. It may not cause quite the same reaction here in the States, but it is no less relevant considering some of the recent news headlines. This is a subtitled Spanish film and the photography is beautiful.
- 25th Hour: Edward Norton plays a man sentence to 7 years in prison. He spends his last 25 hours of freedom trying to understand the choices he made in life. Ed Norton has played some interesting characters in some very odd films, and heis been successful at it. 25th Hour should be another success.
- Darkness Falls: A little late for Halloween but then, thereis always time for a good ghost story. In Darkness Falls, Kyle Walsh, played by Chaney Kley, does battle with iThe Tooth Fairyi, a 150 year old ghost bent on revenge. Itis spoooookey!
- The Recruit: The best of the best get hand picked to be government agents, the better you are at certain skills the deeper you can go into the strange world of espionage. Al Pacino plays a CIA agent who scouts out and take personal interest in a young recruit played by Colin Farrell. He convinces Farrell to help him find a double agent. Mind games abound as the young agent must figure out what is real and what isnit. This could be a lot of fun.
- They: If Darkness Falls wasnit spooky enough fer ya then you are bound to like this one. The trailer is creepy so the movie should be a knuckle biter. Remember when you were a kid and you thought that something waited in the dark closet in you bedroom to get you? What if it was true and what was on the other side of the closet door looks nothing like Mike and Sully of Monsters, Inc. fame? And what if whatever it was that came creepy in the night when you were a kid decided 53to pay you another visit, tonight? Yeah, creepy.
- Personal Velocity: Three women, three different stories about how life can change and renew itself. Starring Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, and Fairuza Balk, this one looks really interesting.
- Hot Chick: If Darkness Falls and They wasnit creepy enough then this will surely freak you out. Rob Schneider may have a good movie on his hands! Scary, we know, but the trailer for Hot Chick is actually funny and the movie has taken a twist thatis been done in Steve Martin and Lily Tomlinis All of Me, a popular but bratty cheerleader gets cursed and changes into Rob Schneider. Schneider is no Martin but, if thereis more to the movie than whatis shown in the trailer, he may be able to finally put The Animal to rest.
- Roger Dodger: Speaking of hot chicks, learning how to pick them up can be intimidating, but if you had an uncle who is a ladyis man, maybe you could pick up a few pointer from him. Such is the premise of Roger Dodger and this comedy just might surprise people.
Thatis gonna do it for this week. One last trailer we should mention is Shanghai Ghetto. Itis not what you might think but we wonit tell you more. Check it out.