Ryan McNeilI’ve had a theory for a while: Sometimes, the trailer reel you watch before a film can be indicative of the movie you’re about to watch. Get a trailer reel that plugs dumb movie after dumb movie, and you’re left asking yourself “These are the sorts of films they think I’d like?”. But if you get a great reel, you’re in for something good.
Last weekend, I knew the film to come was top notch- because I’d seen it before. Cementing its status was a trailer reel that included PINA, CAFE DE FLORE, MELANCHOLIA, and this clip – which I was seeing for the first time.
All of the watching I did for the final episode of The Film Locker turned me into a full-on Polanski fan…so suffice it to say this is a movie I am hotly anticipating.
It’s ridiculously cliched but, for obvious reasons, but I couldn’t help but wish that Mike Nichols would be the one who transferred this to the screen. But, I suppose it’s better to see what Polanski – a more surprising choice – brings to it. He delivers with The Ghost Writer, one of the best films of 2010 I think, so he’s clearly still at the top of his game.
Nichols would have been a good choice for this, but after CLOSER – another two-couple-based-on-a-play film – I feel like he’s already gone to that well recently enough.
Hopefully he comes back with something soon though – I need something to get the taste of CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR out of my mouth.
Though I’m looking forward to this too, I’m much more excited to hear that they played a trailer of Cafe De Flore, Easily the best film I saw at TIFF (and I saw some great stuff), I will not see a better film this year. I knew it was getting a theatrical release, but I’m just happy that others are getting exposed to it…
I liked The Ghost Writer, but it just didn’t completely click for me. I don’t quite get the love for it, but to be honest, I can’t quite explain what didn’t work for me either…
CAFE DE FLORE was a film I had to miss at TIFF that really stung. I’m looking forward to finally catching up with it!
As for THE GHOST WRITER…well…watch it again.
I haven’t made it a point to watch a lot of Polanski’s work beyond Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown. This looked funny though.
Dial up episode twelve of The Film Locker if you want some ideas on further Polanski watching. Or if you can’t spare the forty minutes, consider…
THE TENANT
THE PIANIST
DEATH AND THE MAIDEN
THE GHOST WRITER
THE NINTH GATE
I love Roman Polanski. I can’t wait to see this film. Mainly because I believe this will be the first actual good role Christoph Waltz has been given in a mainstream film since Inglourious Basterds.
Yeah, no kidding. If I was him I might think about firing my agent. I like what he’s doing in this clip, so here’s hoping we’re right – and hopefully he can build on this.
Water for Elephants I could understand, but Green Hornet?!
Green Hornet was sooooooo bad 🙁 And I haven’t seen it, but I can tell that The Three Musketeers wasn’t a stellar career choice either.
Funny thing though, at least in GREEN HORNET he was memorable and having fun. THREE MUSKETEERS he was kept on a leash the whole time and ultimately wasted.