Trailer Trash Tuesday

In which I talk about some of the best and worst trailers.

The Dark Knight Rises (July 20th, 2012)

I won't talk about this too much because everything in this teaser has just confirmed what I already thought, but I had to post the first trailer for 2012's biggest, most anticipated movie.  I liked the short clip at the end of Bane bearing down on an exhausted Batman.  If you look closely you can see someone dressed in white behind Batman, I wonder who that could be.

Contagion (September 7th, 2011)

Considering the level of concern about a flu outbreak, I'm actually surprised getting a big budget movie about a potential disease pandemic (that doesn't involve zombies) took this long.  Laurence Fishburne's response to the question about whether someone weaponized the bird flu ("Someone doesn't have to weaponize the bird flu, the birds are already doing it"), was a particularly chilling and memorable line.
With Steven Sodrebergh (The Ocean series and Traffic) as director and a cast that includes Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, and Gwyneth Paltrow, consider me intrigued.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (December 16th, 2011)

2009's Sherlock Holmes wasn't bad, but I can't help and think these movies are missing the point.  Wikipedia describes Holmes as famous, "for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and for his use of forensic skills to solve almost any case."  Note that it doesn't say he is famous for his ability to fight henchmen, make witty comments, or run through explosions in slow motion.  I had hoped the introduction of Sherlock's brilliant nemesis, Professor Moriarty, would make the sequel a duel between two geniuses but the trailer seems to indicate an even further slide towards mindless action.  Ultimately, Warner Brothers is just using the name "Sherlock Holmes" to sell as many tickets as possible.