Hola Friends! This is a little section of my blog I am calling Random Rant of the Day (hear on out it will simply be known as R.R.). Basically, I'm just gonna go off on whatever the hell is cheezing me at this particular moment in the world. Be forewarned kids...this could get PG-13.
My big beef this week? the trailer for Vantage Point. Even if you live in a cave you've probably seen the preview for this movie by now, as it seems to play on an endless loop at most theaters. I myself have probably seen it a good thirty times and can recite almost every Denis Quaid line verbatim. The movie itself is about a "successful" assassination on the U.S. president, but that's just the first twenty seconds of the preview. From there we are led on a twisting road of murder, deception and really bad accents. The movie stars the aforementioned DQ (aka The Comeback Kid), Forest Whitaker and Matthew "get back on that island" Fox. The two and a half minute trailer is a white-knuckle thrill ride with at least two huge twists!
Which is the problem....
Why do movie studios feel the need to give away so much of a movie's plot in their trailers?! I realize it's important to know a little something about the movie you're going to be watching, but you don't want to know everything (and let's face it, you don't need a huge preview to tell you if your gonna spend the money on Michael Bay robotics or Keria Knightley in another corset). How often have you gone to a movie only to realize you're seeing nothing more then a bloated version of the trailer? There's no surprise at the theater anymore. What's the point of paying ten bucks to see a movie if you already know the beginning, middle and end? I like to call these "soup films." You see a trailer which is basically the equivalent to a can of condensed soup (let's go with cream of asparagus). It's not the complete meal, but you know exactly what it will taste like from first bite to last. You add water to the pot and you get the full meal or full-length feature but your not really enriching the meal, just deluding the good stuff. And lets face it, the trailer is the good stuff, especially, when you give away every important facet of the film. A movie should be a four-course feast with fresh new flavors surfacing throughout, not the left-over scraps!
With Vantage Point I feel almost no reason to try the entire entree if I've already eaten the tenderest parts. Which really sucks, because I actually think Vantage Point could be a top notch thriller - had they not already given the entire plot away. Of course, it could be that they still have a few humdingers saved up for the actual film, but how often does that pan out?
And, no, I don't think I could do a better job at promoting a movie then the studios, but there are plenty of cases where less turned out to be more. Cloverfield proved this just last week with its nameless trailer with a lack of monster. Alfred Hitchcock himself was the master of showing trailers that often gave no real clue to the actual plot of his films and yet people came in droves to watch what he had cooked up for them. Humans are curious beings by nature, who would much rather solve the mystery behind a film themselves then have it force fed to them by a lazy studio.
Listen, it's not like I'm looking to change the face of the industry here; I just think it's time people realize what the studios are taking away from us by showing these trailers. Most important is that sense of wonder that comes from the unknown. When I open up a new book the lack of knowledge that I have about the new world I'm about to delve into causes me to tingle with anticipation. When's the last time you had that sensation at the theater? Maybe it's time to stop spoiling the meal and let the movie speak for itself!
p.s. You know how you always hear that a comedy was bad, because all the best jokes were in the trailer? Well, trailer or no trailer isn't a comedy bad anyway if there are only two minutes of hilarity in its ninety-five minute running time?
p.s.s. SEXYMIKE69.......you're a Douche-Chill!!!!!
My big beef this week? the trailer for Vantage Point. Even if you live in a cave you've probably seen the preview for this movie by now, as it seems to play on an endless loop at most theaters. I myself have probably seen it a good thirty times and can recite almost every Denis Quaid line verbatim. The movie itself is about a "successful" assassination on the U.S. president, but that's just the first twenty seconds of the preview. From there we are led on a twisting road of murder, deception and really bad accents. The movie stars the aforementioned DQ (aka The Comeback Kid), Forest Whitaker and Matthew "get back on that island" Fox. The two and a half minute trailer is a white-knuckle thrill ride with at least two huge twists!
Which is the problem....
Why do movie studios feel the need to give away so much of a movie's plot in their trailers?! I realize it's important to know a little something about the movie you're going to be watching, but you don't want to know everything (and let's face it, you don't need a huge preview to tell you if your gonna spend the money on Michael Bay robotics or Keria Knightley in another corset). How often have you gone to a movie only to realize you're seeing nothing more then a bloated version of the trailer? There's no surprise at the theater anymore. What's the point of paying ten bucks to see a movie if you already know the beginning, middle and end? I like to call these "soup films." You see a trailer which is basically the equivalent to a can of condensed soup (let's go with cream of asparagus). It's not the complete meal, but you know exactly what it will taste like from first bite to last. You add water to the pot and you get the full meal or full-length feature but your not really enriching the meal, just deluding the good stuff. And lets face it, the trailer is the good stuff, especially, when you give away every important facet of the film. A movie should be a four-course feast with fresh new flavors surfacing throughout, not the left-over scraps!
With Vantage Point I feel almost no reason to try the entire entree if I've already eaten the tenderest parts. Which really sucks, because I actually think Vantage Point could be a top notch thriller - had they not already given the entire plot away. Of course, it could be that they still have a few humdingers saved up for the actual film, but how often does that pan out?
And, no, I don't think I could do a better job at promoting a movie then the studios, but there are plenty of cases where less turned out to be more. Cloverfield proved this just last week with its nameless trailer with a lack of monster. Alfred Hitchcock himself was the master of showing trailers that often gave no real clue to the actual plot of his films and yet people came in droves to watch what he had cooked up for them. Humans are curious beings by nature, who would much rather solve the mystery behind a film themselves then have it force fed to them by a lazy studio.
Listen, it's not like I'm looking to change the face of the industry here; I just think it's time people realize what the studios are taking away from us by showing these trailers. Most important is that sense of wonder that comes from the unknown. When I open up a new book the lack of knowledge that I have about the new world I'm about to delve into causes me to tingle with anticipation. When's the last time you had that sensation at the theater? Maybe it's time to stop spoiling the meal and let the movie speak for itself!
p.s. You know how you always hear that a comedy was bad, because all the best jokes were in the trailer? Well, trailer or no trailer isn't a comedy bad anyway if there are only two minutes of hilarity in its ninety-five minute running time?
p.s.s. SEXYMIKE69.......you're a Douche-Chill!!!!!
1 comment:
man this is like then longest day ever. i agree with you by the way though. I think that its completely rediculus that in a preview we get what will most likely amount to what, 50-75%ish of the twists in the movie i mean for the love of sweet potato french fries how many more twists can there be in the fricken thing. i mean we see the "president" get shot, and the actual president get kidnapped not to mention all the cool fast actiony look at how cool we are scenes in this preview. to wrap it up i think that this is a indicator of a disturbing trend where hollywood cares less about a quality cinematic experience and more about putting butts in seats at $11.00 a head.
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