We know that the big season for future Oscar-nominated films is supposed to start soon, but we’ve been mostly enjoying some fine schlock over the past week. Some of that schlock is from film festivals that think they’re showing quality future Oscar-nominated films. Maybe they’re right, but a lot of it still seems trashy to us. We’ve already enjoyed a look at the Christmas horror epic Krampus–but take a look at more weird sneak peeks, starting with a real action epic…
Hardcore
Let’s start with a red-band trailer that’s mostly NSFW for violence–but is also a soothing reminder that some great schlock comes out of the annual film festival circuit. Hardcore is a German production that isn’t the first movie to be told strictly via first-person point of view. That would be (at least) 1947’s Lady in the Lake–but Hardcore sure looks like a lot of fun. We’re going to pretend that’s Jason Statham behind the camera, and it’s really Cranked 3….
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv33e0TyL6M]
Demolition
Southpaw kind of fizzled for Jake Gyllenhaal, but Demolition is supposed to be his second attempt at a self-destructive Oscar-winning performance. It plays like a comedy because the distressed widower is really, really wealthy. Something tells us that’s going to be kind of problematic in having us relate to his touching tale of getting in touch with–well, whatever’s going on here. But it’s from the director of Dallas Buyers Club, so there’s some excitement for it….
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTJ1qS7KOm4]
Carol
One of the year’s most critically acclaimed dramas also just happens to be a tale of hot lesbian lust between Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. It wasn’t our idea. We’re just not going to ignore Carol, though. Actually, we’re suspecting that director Todd Hanynes has made another overly-hyped and overly-stylized drama that pays tribute to glossy 1950s dramas. It’s still nice to have something playing the art houses that’ll really hold our interest…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH3zcuRQXNo]
Girl in Woods
Did you know that Charisma Carpenter starred in a kind of dopey 50 Shades of Grey direct-to-video knockoff? Anyway, here she is in another cheap production that’s less sexy but way more interesting. There’s really a lot of stuff going on in this trailer, and we’re not sure what’s really going on, but we’re ready to find out….
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksFqgOsAWgU]
Yakuza Apocalypse
And here’s some fine WTF-fu from Japanese director Takashi Miike, who’s done some of the most baffling genre work of the past decade. We know that he can make a surprisingly straight film, but Miike seems to have really gone all-in and way-out for this martial arts extravaganza that mixes vampires and Japanese gangsters. Perfectly interesting right up to the end…..
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRgmTg6nbA0]
