Two Tickets For... Trailer Talk (Week of March 23, 2014)

Andrew: Hello readers! Today we have a very special treat for you - a new feature! And we're actually going to try and make this a regular feature, as in once a week! We know!

We're simply calling it Trailer Talk because we're super original. In this feature we'll take a look at a few new trailers that have been recently released and give some fresh takes on them - what we liked, what we didn't like, what we saw, etc. And then we'll grade each of them old-school style with actual grades. Pretty simple, but we're looking forward to doing it on a weekly basis. Let's get started with the big trailer that came out this week. 

X-Men: Days of Future Past

A: Okay Sarah, I'll kick things off. First and foremost SENTINELS! The big antagonistic conflict in the film is that a military scientist named Bolivar Trask creates these robots called Sentinels for the express purpose of hunting down mutants. We didn't really see them in the teaser trailer but they're all over the place in this one. Heck, it looks like Halle Berry's Storm might get killed by one right from the get-go!

S: Yeah this trailer was awesome sauce. When the first trailer came out, I was excited but there wasn't anything new, It really just felt like a logical, methodic step to follow First Class. BUT, then this second one aired. And, WOWZA! Totally new and exciting! I mean, it opens with a totally destroyed NYC and a very sci-fi feel.

A: Here are some things I liked about it: the early transitions/fades from young Xavier and young Magneto as played by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender to old Xavier and old Magneto as played by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan; multiple shots of the Sentinels; quick cut looks at mutants from the earlier X-Men films; that interaction between young Xavier and Magneto ("You took the things that mean the most to me." "Maybe you should've fought harder for them." BURN!); Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask; and how this trailer actually showed the conflict of the film and the stakes at hand. What did you like about it?

S: I liked how it really seems to bring the mutants of the past to interact with the mutants of the future. I felt like it was the final stroke to really bring all the movies together in one universe. Before, it kind of felt like they were all separate and and that these new ones were kind of like a reboot. This trailer changes all that. And it has really raised my expectations!

A: I see actually didn't get that from this trailer. It seemed to me like Wolverine is the only one who will be interacting with the past and present X-Men. Kinda looked like all the ones from the original films - Storm, Kitty Pryde, etc. - will be in the beginning and maybe even get killed or close to it, hence Wolverine going back to the past to save the future. Regardless, I'm very psyched for this film after this trailer. That said, not so psyched about how Quicksilver looks in this film. Just what the hell, Bryan Singer?

Okay, what grade do you give this one?

S: I'm going to give this one an A-. It got me pumped and ready to see some new Marvel characters. 

A: I'm gonna give it an A-, too. Some small knocks on it (too quick of cuts early on), but did well to get us pumped for the film.


Hercules

A: Alright, Sarah. Why don't you take lead here the Hercules trailer, starring Dwayne Johnson?

S: So, I follow The Rock on Twitter. Have been for about a year now. What? You want to fight about it? Anyway, he's been pimping his workout for this film for about the past 6 months. He's jacked, so I was pretty interested to see what the movie was going to be like? Just saw the trailer…and OH MY GOD! This one just looks awful. Actually it looks like it's a movie made by WWE. This is not a compliment.

A: All due respect to WWE because we have a friend who works for them, but yeah, I see what you mean. This looks horrible. For one thing, it doesn't look like it concerns the son of a Greek god AT ALL. It has some sort of Asian/Indian feel to it in the beginning, and there's only a brief shot of what looks like a Trojan or Spartan soldier at one point. Granted this is a teaser trailer but it doesn't do a good job whatsoever. It's cheesy, it has bad CGI animals of all sorts, and Johnson just looks miscast in my opinion. Not good.

S: Yeah, I just don't even know what to say. It looks horrendous. Johnson can be a pretty good actor when he wants to be! Maybe they shouldn't mix the pumping iron with the acting. At first, I was like, maybe the CGI isn't all that bad. But then the lion and three headed dog appeared. Yep, still not good. 

A: Suffice it to say, this trailer does not make me want to see this movie whatsoever. What grade do you give it?

S: I'm going to give it a D-. Mainly because, at least Johnson did the work to get ridiculously large and in charge for a film that is going to flop like a wrestler in the ring.  

A: I'm gonna give it a D, just so that we both don't give it a D-. Poor thing.


Edge of Tomorrow

A: Alright, last one for today. This is the second trailer for Tom Cruise's upcoming film Edge of Tomorrow. It's not too terribly different from the teaser trailer that came out a few months ago, but this one does improve on the first one in that it starts to spell out the actual plot of the film. It's still rather ambiguous in what the antagonists are in the film, but perhaps that's because the film itself will make that a bit of a mystery, too. Who knows. What do you think of this one?

S: So, I don't think this one looks great. Well let me clarify. The trailer looks great, but I don't think it will be great. The music and the special effects make this trailer a feast for the eyes, and with Tom Cruise looking a little older to say the least. I liked how this trailer really made the movie look more raw and dangerous with the "resetting" of the characters. That part also seems to provide some comic relief for the plot as well. And can we just point out that Emily Blunt kicks some ass? She's kinda hard core. 

A: Mrs. John Krasinski definitely looks like she's gonna kick ass and take names. But I think the thing this trailer does best is it showcases Tom Cruise, because at the end of the day that's what the audience is gonna want. Tom Cruise is one of the last true movie stars from when being a "movie star" meant people went and saw your movie for YOU. And it looks like even at the age of 51 that he's still going hardcore with stunts and action. So this trailer did well to pump it full of action and Cruise. All that said, does this trailer make you want to see it at all? 

S: It's very true,the people are going to flock to the theaters to see this because of Cruise. I'm a little curious about this one, and I think that I will give that credit to the trailer. So what would you give this one?

A: I'm giving this one a solid B. It didn't give me chills, it's not making me itch to see it in theatres, but I'm legitimately intrigued. It did the job it's supposed to and nothing more.

S: I think I'll go with a B-. I'm all about the minuses today but I'm looking for that trailer that's going to rock my world. 

FINAL TRAILER GRADES
X-Men: Days of Future Past  -  Andrew: A-   Sarah: A- 
Hercules  -  Andrew: D   Sarah: D- 
Edge of Tomorrow  -  Andrew: B   Sarah: B-