I am Legend, Dec. 14
While browsing Apple's latest previews, I saw this movie's tagline: "The last man on earth is not alone." Surely, there is some mistake. I mean, I'm no logician, but if he's the last man on earth, he must be alone, no? But wait for the preview's conclusion, my friends: Judging by the startled look on Will Smith's face, the quick cut, and the instrumental swell, something is amiss. A-
There Will Be Blood, Dec. 26
It's pretty simple to be sarcastic in this column (see above) because previews, by and large, are formulaic and stupid. But when previews are good, they get you excited. There Will Be Blood has a good preview, with a slow buildup, a taste of an exciting plot, and an already intriguing performance by Daniel Day Lewis. This one should be good. A+
Jumper, Feb. 14
A lot of times when I hear of an especially strange concept for a movie, I think of those bizarre and bogus projects Ari will spout at random moments in Entourage. This feels like one of them. Boy has strange power to disappear and reappear where he wants. Conflict emerges: a gray-haired (and apparent anti-"jumper") Samuel Jackson tells him, "you think you can just do this without consequences?" and suddenly this "jumper" is in a war between jumpers and whomever it is that doesn't like jumpers. C
Starting out in the Evening, Nov. 23
This one has a lot of common problems: many abrupt changes of mood, music, and scene, ridiculous voice-over ("Now, a young student…") combined with written summary ("The world had forgotten…") and epiphanic moments that are impossible to understand out of context ("You're secondary to his dreams and you always will be!" someone yells at someone else). The summary of this movie makes it seem interesting, but the preview does not. B-
Spring Break
