Quite a few clips but not much in the way of actual trailers in the past ten days or so, thus the weekly column is running a little late. Here's the key film previews that have run since the weekend before last:
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The last of the holy trinity of late 70's/early 80's slasher film franchises gets its Platinum Dunes reboot but whereas "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" notably strayed from their originators, the first trailer for the new 'Elm' shows it sticking close to the original 1984 Wes Craven classic. Some visually striking shots and the always creepy kiddie rhyming song still work though, not too shabby but not sold on the new Krueger yet.
The Book of Eli
Denzel Washington tries some sort of "Mad Max" meets "The Road" with martial arts and western overtones thrown in. This is a complete wash of a film and trailer, redeemed only by the welcome return of Gary Oldman pulling off another "Leon"-esque evil nutter routine.
Harry Brown
Having played helpful gents and sage butlers for so long, one can almost forget Michael Caine's brilliant badass routines in the likes of "Get Carter" and the Harry Palmer movies. 'Brown' brings back that ass-kicking Caine with as an old ex-Marine fed up with the local hoods and out to get revenge. Trailer could be cut better, especially towards the end (poor backing music choice).
Me and Orson Welles
The UK trailer for the film festival sweetheart, this looks a light and forgettable but enjoyable period piece. Zac Efron blandly tries to act serious, Claire Danes doing her usual charming girl routine, and newcomer Christian McKay doing an intriguing and already acclaimed impression of the great "Citizen Kane" director.
Valentine's Day
It's not "He's Just Not That Into You" but the trailer certainly looks like it - an all-star ensemble, Garry Marshall directing, and scenes where people like Jessica Biel and Jessica Alba whine about not being in love on Valentine's Day. Short of cameos by Meg Ryan and Sandra Bullock, you have the quintessential studio chick flick that women will adore, critics will loathe and men not whipped by their significant other will run away from screaming.
