SPRING BREAKERS review

Starring Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens as bikini clad bandits and James Franco as a gangster rapping drug lord, Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers is now in cinemas.

Pineapple Express 2 Trailer

At long last, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco in the roles that defined their careers, it's the trailer for the sequel you've all been waiting for.



Poking fun at a previous film to promote a new one sounds like a strange move, but it is, of course, a joke, with today's date being the reason behind its release. Still, it's a pretty good joke that not only has me in the mood to re-watch the original Pineapple Express, it also has me further sold on the premise of the film it is really promoting, This Is The End.

Previously seeming a bit wanky (what with Rogen, Franco, Hill, McBride, etc, play themselves watching the end of the world from a celebrity party), this comedy is starting to look like the quintessential Seth Rogen film (high concept seen through a haze of smoke), and the ideal one for him to make his directorial debut with, alongside regular co-writer/producer Evan Goldberg.

Who knows whether this is purely a stand-alone joke made as a piece of viral marketing (quite expertly, I might say), or if this footage will actually feature in the film in some way. Personally, I could stand to see a bit more of Jonah Hill's Woody Harrelson impression.

This Is The End is released this summer. Sadly, Pineapple Express 2 will probably only ever exist in the hearts and minds of those too lethargic to make it.

YOUR HIGHNESS review

Now in cinemas is David Gordon Green's new Danny McBride, James Franco and Natalie Portman starring Medieval stoner comedy. There's the trailer and my review, next...

Monkey Business

With the hype surrounding the upcoming Planet of the Apes prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes just starting to build, the appropriately named new website for the film, ApesWillRise.com, has given us the first look at the film that should revolutionise Ape based cinema forever. Or maybe it'll just give mo-cap king Andy Serkis another opportunity to jump around a room wearing a ping-pong ball covered leotard. Either way, I'm in.


Are you ready for the clip? Are you sure? Okay then, here we go...

oh.


That was over quite quickly, wasn't it? It's a bit strange that they've only released four seconds of footage when, given the release date is fast approaching, you'd hope they might have got a bit more of it finished by now. Still, that's a pensive looking CGI Ape if ever I saw one. As for the rest of the film, here's hoping they show us a bit more of the people who may or may not be in it before the August 5th release date.


P.s. I know that Apes aren't actually Monkeys, but you trying coming up with a title better than Monkey Business. It's just not possible.

The Oscars - What I Meant To Say Was...

If anything was proven at last night's Academy Award ceremony it's that I've clearly got an appalling taste in movies, because virtually none of the awards I thought were 'dead certs' went to the people I thought they would. Read my recap of the ceremony, next...

YOUR HIGHNESS trailer review

Here's the new cleaner version of the recent Your Highness trailer, minus a couple of buttocks but still with a major ass in it.

I just don't know what to think of this film. As you'd expect from the follow up to Pineapple Express, it's going for the stoner comedy crowd, but also clearly has some money behind the effects and costumes. Danny McBride is certainly an acquired taste, but I've liked him in most of his big screen roles. I've not been able to see much of Eastbound and Down (his TV series where he plays a washed up ex-Major Leaguer), but I've heard good things. I'm not so sure on the role he's playing here, as McBride's cutting one liners just won't work with this type of line delivery.


There's a variety of flawed English accents on show here, with McBride's being the most distracting of all. It rivals Dick Van Dyke in awfulness, and I just don't know if I'm going to be able to sit through two hours of that. With a name like Your Highness there's probably going to be plenty of stoner sight gags from pratfalls to special effects showcases, of which this trailer hints at a few; although I've no idea what the hell that weird, squid-person thing from the end of the trailer was.


James Franco is already a fairly big name from his appearances in the Spider-Man franchise and Pineapple Express, but is about to hit super fame following the release of 127 Hours (perhaps with some award nominations attached). He's also presenting the Oscars this year, so he must be keen to keep flexing those comedic muscles of his. Natalie Portman, his co-star here, is also odds on for an Oscar nod, so who knows what kind of crowd is going to end up watching this film. I wouldn't expect it to deserve more than a niche audience, as it's basically Harold and Kumar go Medieval.


If you saw the previous version of the trailer, you may notice that this time Natalie Portman's been given a fetching pair of airbrushed on pants to protect her modesty whilst bathing. Why they'd bother doing this prudish behaviour, I don't know. If you're making a film packed with the consumption of drugs, masturbation gags and that scary squid bloke, a bit of rump's not going to do any harm.


Zooey Deschanel and Justin Theroux also make brief appearances in this trailer, but it looks like they're out of the picture for most of the story, leaving Franco, McBride and Portman to quest along nicely. I'll be honest, I'm just not sold on this idea, and it's with much trepidation that I'm going to have to say that I'm not particularly looking forward to this Zooey Deschanel, Natalie Portman starring comedy.


I never thought in a million years I'd say that.


Due June 2011
Anticipation Level

THE NATALIE PORTMAN NEWS

This nice new poster for Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan has just been released. It may not be as stylishly abstract as the previous ones, but it's still damn pretty. It's a shame we have to wait until January to see it....

There's also a new red band trailer for David Gordon Green's Your Highness. It looks pretty bad, with about as much effort put into finding laughs as there was to creating believable English accents. To be fair Portman looks like the best thing in it, maybe because for some reason Zooey Deschanel appears to be mute. I was a fan of David Gordon Green's indie films and I can understand his desire to move into comedy, but this looks more Pineapple Dance Studios than Pineapple Express.

SLACKER trailer review

Trailers are an important tool in building buzz and anticipation for films. A good trailer can sell a bad movie, a bad trailer can kill a good movie. Here we try and tell the difference between the two and pick out the most anticipated new films.

More after the jump...