Emily Leahy’s latest Talking Trailers takes in yet another Nicholas Sparks adaptaton, Matthew Goode being very bad and J-Lo getting frisky with gritty Brit Jason Statham…
1) Safe Haven
1 March
A woman is seen running away from an urban town, as the shot cuts to a policeman asking “have you seen this woman?” holding her photo up. The premise of the film comes to fruition when the woman gets off a bus in a beach town and we’re introduced to Josh Duhamel as the ridiculously handsome shopkeeper-come-widow-come-love interest. The woman is Julianne Hough. Like any other Nicholas Sparks novel adaptation it’s clear that some ill-fated romance is bound to occur. For those seeking his typical romantic style the trailer doesn’t suggest it will disappoint, even showing a sneaky rain kiss scene à la The Notebook. However, it may be a little repetitive following the very similar other nine adaptations (including Dear John and The Lucky One).
2) Stoker
1 March
Opening with deep breathing, Nicole Kidman eerily whispers how she cannot wait to see the life of her daughter “tear her apart”. Creepy. Very creepy. The stylistically gothic world of the film appears to be like a toned down Tim Burton movie, as the scenes of a funeral merge into the opulent Stoker mansion. Introduced to her uncle Charlie (Mathew Goode) by her mother (Kidman), teenage India (Mia Wasikowska) appears to be a damaged and introverted girl with sweeping black hair and expressionless black eyes. Brief indications of incest are dropped on the viewer before more violent scenes of pencil stabbing and phone-booth attacks imply the film’s thriller genre. Praised for its literary references and symbolism, Stoker has been likened to Hitchcock in its style and is surely not to be missed.
3) Parker
8 March
Standard Jason Statham plays the lovable rouge with a Robin-Hood set of ethics: “I don’t steal from those who can’t afford it, and I don’t kill those who don’t deserve it”. Bish bash bosh, you have another compelling action film with eye candy to match in the form of Jennifer Lopez. The premise seems to be following Statham’s character who, in the eyes of his enemies, should be dead. Aiming to steal from the thieves who attempted to take his life is Jason’s game and the trailer is fast paced and people pleasing- with gun fights and glass shattering violence. Probably not a Guy Ritchie Snatch standard of film, it’ll probably be more entertaining than Bruce Willis’s latest attempt at dying hard.
Emily Leahy, Senior Screen Reporter
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