FoW Movie Trailer Rundown

Another one from Fistful of Words:

By David Hammock and Stephan Rabbitt

Safe

Hammock: This is a must-see for fans of the "hand-Jason-Statham-a-gun-and-let-him-run-around-the-city-killing-people" genre... which is pretty much every Jason Statham movie. Speaking of which, do you follow him on twitter?

• Went to city to run around and kill people, but forgot my gun  #JasonStathamProblems

• Speeding down city street in car with gun, but no one to shoot #JasonStathamProblems

• Have gun and want revenge in the city, but lost driver's license for speeding #JasonStathamProblems

Anyway, I'll pass on this one, mainly because I think it's racist that the little girl with the photographic memory is Asian.

Rabbitt: Man, those Triads must really love their Soduko. I've actually seen a surprising number of Statham movies that I liked: Snatch, Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Revolver. Of course, this list leaves out a few more recent Statham ventures like Crank and Transporter. I find it interesting that this trailer mentions that Safe is produced by the same producer as Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds, trying to associate it with two well-respected movies. But, the fact that those titles were critically-acclaimed likely had more to do with being written and directed by Quentin Tarantino than with being produced by the producer of Safe. In a related story, there is no Academy Award for Best Producer. David, I think Bobby Cox would disagree with calling this one safe. It’s out!

Friends with Kids

Rabbitt: If you had given me fifty guesses on who would be playing Adam Scott’s love interest, none of them would have been Megan Fox. It will be interesting to see how she fares in what may be her first real chance to succeed in an acting role (Jennifer’s Body doesn’t count). She’s traded in Megatron, Optimus Prime, and Tyrese for a nice mixture of established and up and coming actors. There have been a few attempts at the loaded cast, interwoven couple story line flicks over the years. Good news: this one isn’t named after a holiday. I think it’s safe to say this one looks a lot more like Love Actually than New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day. I only saw one of the two lousy ones, but I reserve the right to make fun of both.

Hammock: Yeah, Megan Fox does seem out of place, but so would anyone who wasn't inBridesmaids. I'll bypass my thoughts on the whole hey-we're-friends-let's-have-a-kid ridiculousness and instead express how impressed I am that the two leads only need to have sex once to make a baby. This does look like a talented cast, led by personal fave Adam Scott, so I too will assume that this will be better than NYE and V-Day... though those movies can be fun with the right people. Ultimately, I think Friends With Kids hopes to play like Knocked Up: raunchy funny with genuine heart and pathos. My guess is that it will be successful with the critics, though I agree with Jon Hamm about the plot... "it's the worst idea I've ever heard."

Sassy Pants

Hammock: Oh, wow! Gay adult Haley Joel Osment. I was unprepared for that. M Night Shyamalan should have put that at the end of the Sixth Sense for an even bigger twist. I'm trying to formulate a response to the trailer, but I can't get past the sight of Forrest Gump Jr.in daisy dukes.

Rabbitt: That was definitely even more surprising than seeing Megan Fox. This trailer reminds me of one of my all-time favorite films Little Miss Sunshine (the recent standard for dysfunctional movie families). I’m still mildly upset Abigail Breslin didn’t win the beauty pageant. "SuperFreak"! Come on, judges! Sassy Pants looks like it is on the same wavelength. It will combine funny, heartwarming, and awkward moments to show us that family matters.  Because, as days go by, it’s the bigger love of the family...

Casa de mi Padre

Rabbitt: One thing our loyal reader(s) may not know about me is... I don't like to read. I avoid it whenever possible. That is one of the great things about movies. Why read Hunger Gameswhen the movie comes out in March AND Jennifer Lawrence is in it. Someone just said this to me the other day, "I finished Hunger Games in 30 hours." It won't take me nearly that long to watch it. That said, I'm torn on this one due to my half Puerto Rican heritage. I can understand enough of this movie to get the gist without reading... but I probably won't get all the jokes. (#firstworldpains!) I imagine this will be like most Will Ferrell movies: some really funny parts, some really stupid parts... but in Spanish & subtitled. Bueno.

Hammock: First of all, Stephan, I highly recommend reading the Hunger Games trilogy because it's fantastic. Of course, so is Jennifer Lawrence, so by all means see the movie too. (Sigh) Jennifer Lawrence. There's something about her... a certain mystique, if you will. Anyway, I do like reading, but I'm not sure if I want to do it at the movie theater. Sometimes it's worth it, but clearly this movie is no City of God. Maybe I'll play this one like you, Stephan, and rely on my four years of Spanish so I don't have to read, but I'm pretty sure I've forgotten too much for that to be effective. Que lastima. All in all, I'm on the fence about this one, but Nick Offerman sneaking in at the end of the trailer is definitely a plus.

Neither David Hammock nor Stephan Rabbitt are opposed to hanging out with Jennifer Lawrence. You can follow them both on Twitter @david_hammock and @itsrabbitt.