Trailer Tracker: Horrible Bosses, Straw Dogs and more

It’s a horrible week on Player Affinity, but not in the way you may think. Our featured trailer is the star-stuffed high-concept raunch fest Horrible Bosses that fits nicely into the slate of R-rated fare that peppers the summer. Two remakes follow starting with Straw Dogs as James Marsden takes on the acclaimed Dustin Hoffman role and then Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin and Christopher Mintz-Plasse assemble in Fright Night about a young man who believes his neighbour may be a vampire. Last but not least is the teaser for the ambitious motion capture adaptation of “Tintin” from director Steven Spielberg. The secret of the unicorn isn’t the only surprise you’ll find on Trailer Tracker.

New clips this week:
Horrible Bosses
Straw Dogs
Fright Night
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Horrible Bosses

Ahhh the beautiful dream we all have of murdering that Satan-of-a-boss; a wish hindered only by that pesky thing called a conscious and that even peskier thing called prison. Such is the fantasy in Horrible Bosses, where three friends played by Jason Bateman, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis conspire to off their respectively terrible overseers. Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farrell slip into the fun roles of the titular horrible bosses but even that does not fully round out a cast that also includes Jamie Foxx, Julie Bowen and Donald Sutherland. The director of Four Christmases, Seth Gordon, (I’m willing to give second chances) helms a script from two television writers so fresh talent is abound behind the camera in addition to the plethora of stars in front.

The trailer (to put in simple and blunt) is hilarious, tossing around one-liners like candy and extracting big laughs from the cast-against-type Aniston as one big rhymes-with-witch, and Farrell sporting a horrendous comb-over that recalls Tom Cruise’s Les Grossman from Tropic Thunder. Horrible Bosses has a few hints of cult classic Office Space in its work-themed revenge fantasy (though this film seems decidedly darker and cruder) crossed with Strangers on a Train. These lower-budget comedies in the vein of Role Models and I Love You, Man almost always turn out better than higher profile, pseudo-rom com fare with stars like Adam Sandler, so tack Horrible Bosses onto my list of summer films to see.

Straw Dogs

Remaking classics is nothing new in Hollywood, and though the original Straw Dogs is no favourite of mine, I stand against such undertakings on principle alone. Though, despite my better judgement, this thriller has my interest piqued thanks to a riveting trailer showcasing some solid talent including James Marsden and Kate Bosworth as the leads and a great slate of television stars such as Alexander Skarsgard, Dominic Purcell and Walton Goggins. For those unfamiliar with the general story (it is also worth knowing the original was infamously shocking for its depiction or rape and violence) Straw Dogs follows a couple who return home to the Deep South, where tensions arise between them and some locals, forcing Marsden’s David to shed his timid shell and protect what’s his. Even if this fails to live up to the level set by the 1971 film, keeping a tense tone with a nice slow burn could easily make this simply a solid fall thriller.

Fright Night

Colin Farrell is back after some time in quasi-obscurity with his second appearance on this week’s Trailer Tracker in Fright Night, a remake of the 1985 cult classic of the same name. Here, he plays the vampire next door, at least according to his neighbour Charley (Anton Yelchin) and his friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) in this Rear Window­-esque horror comedy mash-up. Oscar nominee and ex husband of Susan Sarandon, Chris, graced the low-budget original, and I greatly like the cast in this update as well. Balancing camp with actual tension and scares will be this film’s challenge to meet, but thankfully the trailer shows promise (though of course it has to be in 3D). Director Craig Gillespie is currently attached to helm another horror offering in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies so the success of this film should help to determine what to expect from that much buzzed-about adaptation.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

In spite of motion capture's seemingly quick demise thanks in no small part to what is officially the biggest money loser of all time, Mars Needs Moms, how can a combination of Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and actors Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell and Simon Pegg not make you a tad giddy. I loved the “Tintin” animated movies when I was younger, bringing the adventure an eight-year-old would love with a mature twist that included some decent shootouts and violence. We only have the teaser here with glimpses of the cast, so I will withhold full judgment until the feature debuts, but frankly there is nothing here that speaks to anything but a late year hit from the entire production.