It’s a fairly quiet week in the trailer world, but we still have some interesting clips for you on Player Affinity. Although not technically a trailer, Pixar has brought us over two minutes of footage from this summer’s Brave, which expands on the themes of gender equality and courage that the previous trailers promised. Prepping for its North American release, acclaimed Indonesian action film The Raid gets a new trailer and a new title: The Raid: Redemption. Popular doc filmmaker Morgan Spurlock turns his attention to Comic Con with his latest Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope, providing some insight into the minds of the self-proclaimed nerds that swarm to the yearly festival. Lastly, from director Abel Ferrera and starring Willem Dafoe comes the “anti-sci-fi thriller”4:44 Last Day on Earth about the experiences of two people on the eve of the Earth’s demise. There is only one place to spend your final minutes and its right here on Trailer Tracker.
Brave
Brave will mark the first original work from animation house Pixar since 2009’s Up, following the acclaimed three-quel Toy Story 3 and the not-so-acclaimed sequel Cars 2. For Brave, Pixar heads back to medieval Scotland finding a young princess (voiced by Boardwalk Empire’s Kelly Macdonald) fighting against tradition (and her parent’s wishes) while finding her own path in a society dominated by convention. Acting greats Billy Connolly, Kevin McKidd, Robbie Coltrane and Emma Thompson also star, making for nothing short of a stellar British and Scottish cast. Presented in a rather humorous fashion, the clip itself seems to suggest the origins of this tale, with Princess Merida interfering in an archery tournament intended to reveal a suitor, angers her mother in the process and shows her prowess behind a bow.
The animation looks as crisp and detailed as we’ve come to expect and the style of the film has been tweaked to elegantly compliment the period. Despite all the films in Pixar’s cannon, this will be their first fairy tale and is supposedly more mature and somewhat darker than their previous offerings. Another first, Princess Merida will be the first female lead in a Pixar flick so we’ll have some fresh directions to experience. The burning question however is if this film will spur a downward spiral or rise to the occasion and bring us another masterpiece that is uniquely theirs.
The Raid: Redemption
Action flick The Raid originates out of Indonesia, but comes from a Welsh director by the name of Gareth Evans. The movie is gearing up for a likely March release, boasting a new U.S. trailer and an extended title. That’s not all on the books, as an English-language remake is moving forward as is a sequel to the original. Promising amazing action and garnering rave reviews since its TIFF debut last year, this could have the makings of a sleeper hit if Sony Picture Classics plays its cards correctly. Look out for this one.
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
The love of one person’s life and the head-scratcher to another, Comic Con is the ultimate geek gathering and a singularly unique event in pop culture. Director Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) teams with filmmaker Joss Whedon, writer Harry Knowles and comic legend Stan Lee for Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope, which looks at the annual convention as a whole, and explores the lives of a number of loyal patrons. Spurlock’s films are never the most in-depth but they are some of the most entertaining and accessible around and frankly this seems like the perfect subject matter for him to tackle. At the very least this looks like a loving ode to nerd culture – with Storm Troopers.
4:44 Last Day on Earth
Apocalyptic thrillers have always been a popular choice for big-budget blockbusters, but recently we’ve gotten indie offerings such as Melancholia, Another Earth, The Road and even Take Shelter to add to the group. The oddly titled 4:44 Last Day on Earth will extend that list, from Abel Ferrera (Bad Lieutenant) and starring Willem Dafoe as an actor who connects with an artist (Shanyn Leigh) as they await the inevitable end of times for our planet. This is far from a mainstream film and the trailer makes that quite clear, but when looking back at Ferrera’s other works that should come as no shock whatsoever. 4:44 Last Day on Earth will open in limited release on Mar. 23, so if this is your thing, keep an eye on those arthouse theaters.
