Trailer Tracker: The Hangover Part II, Hobo with a Shotgun and more

Our featured trailer this week is of course the sequel to one of the biggest live-action comedies of all time with The Hangover: Part II. The wolfpack is back with all the principle and supporting characters returning along with some fresh faces to round out the mayhem. Rutger Hauer is a hobo with a shotgun in the movie titled Hobo with a Shotgun, spun-off from a fake trailer from pulp flick Grindhouse and Will Ferrell turns to more serious comedy with Everything Must Go. Finally, after some shaky first clips, we have the thunderous extended trailer for one of our upcoming superhero offerings with The Green Lantern. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s Trailer Tracker.

New clips this week:

The Hangover Part II
Hobo with a Shotgun
Everything Must Go
Green Lantern

The Hangover Part II

I was never so sure that the original “Hangover” was the comedic masterpiece many hailed it as, though what I am sure of is that this sequel is going to make a lot of green even though this debut clip seems to indicate the exact same movie is being made again, simply in Thailand instead of Sin City. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha all return as the four dehydrated leads, as do some lesser character which include: Ken Jeong as Mr. Chow and Mike Tyson as himself. Liam Neeson also joins the eclectic cast as a tattoo man which gives Helms’ Stu the ink you see in the trailer. Ex-president Bill Clinton was also slated to make an appearance though there seems to be little conformation as to whether that ever came to pass. 

After dumping his rhymes-with-witch of a wife in the original, Stu finds himself engaged to a new ladylove played by Jamie Chung. Headed off to Thailand to tie the knot, things go apeshit in a hurry after they down a few too many spirits and lose the younger brother of Stu’s wife-to-be. Accompanied by a monkey, they set out to put together the pieces of their wild night and set things right in time for the festivities. Todd Phillips again directs, coming off of his most recent comedic smash Due Date and has all but cemented himself as one of the most notorious comedy auteurs around. This jaded critic always holds optimism when it comes to any film, though what looks like a straight redo of the first does not bode particularly well. Hopefully Helms can again turn in a fantastic performance (which deviated so much from his character on The Office) and set this raunchy comedy sailing in the right direction.

Hobo with a Shotgun

He’s a hobo, and get this: he has a shotgun! After winning a contest created by Grindhouse directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, which allowed his fake trailer to appear in that double-feature, Canadian Jason Eisner has now birthed his own exploitation, schlock-fest with a full-length adaptation. With Blade Runner’s Rutger Hauer as the titular vagrant, how could this not be good? Early reviews have praised its blend of excessive gore with gleeful parody so this micro-budget offering could easily find an audience (though a sick one at that). This trailer is simply awesome, and the opening monologue of the clip gives me twisted chills every time. Frankly, with other directors of the many fake trailers of Grindhouse expressing interest in expanding their work (Rodriguez already did with Machete), I couldn’t be happier.

Everything Must Go

Will Ferrell’s first foray into more serious territory with the Marc Foster-directed Stranger than Fiction was by all accounts a rousing success with critics and audiences and set out to show a different side of the superstar comedian. He proved that he was possible to carry along his charms without blasting over-the-top and now he is back in similar territory with Everything Must Go. After falling off the wagon, Nick Halsey (Ferrell) ends up losing his job and wife and is relegated to his front lawn. After boozing in public and cluttering up his yard draws unwanted attention, he decides to hold a massive rummage sale, clear out all his worldly possessions and move on in the process. Rebecca Hall also stars as a potential love interest in this first time writing/directing effort by Dan Rush. I couldn’t find any info on the man, but by the looks of this clip (and this clip alone) he could be a burgeoning talent to keep a watchful eye upon.

Green Lantern

After the hate rang in following the debut trailer for Green Lantern highlighting its unfinished special effects and boasting a tongue-in-cheek tone, we now have something fans can more or less embrace with this extended look at the hero in green. The Oath, action sequences, buoyed FX and a more sombre tone are all on the table now which should satisfy the die-hards and intrigue the average Joe. Reynolds’ has always been a good fit for the Justice League enforcer-to be: cocky and confident in equal measure with athleticism and good looks to boot. Things are certainly shaping up for this tentpole release and as long as we don’t have another X-Men Origins: Wolverine, most cinema-goers should be satisfied.