Welcome to a brand new weekly feature here at WorcesterMovies.com, “Trailer Stash.” As a remedy to Monday morning, we will offer up a quintet of trailers for your information, entertainment and misappropriation of company time while at work. We will do our best to theme them appropriately, though if we’re really tired from watching movies all weekend, they might be just five trailers that we want to share.Make sure you have QuickTime installed, as most of the trailers we share with you will be in that format (yes, we are Mac loyalists).
[WINDOWS XP/VISTA DOWNLOAD] [MACINTOSH DOWNLOAD]
SHARKWATER [In Limited Release] - Filmmaker Rob Stewart fills part of the void left by the passing of Steve “The Crocodile Hunter” Irwin as he takes on the myths surrounding sharks. He suggests that a major extinction will upset the ecological balance of the entire planet, which is why he is so outspoken regarding the 100 million sharks that are needlessly killed every year to satisfy Asia’s demand for shark fin soup, which is a status symbol more than it is a delicacy (the essentially flavorless fin serves mainly as a flavor sponge). What starts out as an informational film turns out to be an intriguing adventure as Stewart and company encounter and illegal finning operation and corrupt foreign governments that have it in for them.
I AM LEGEND [December 14] - Will Smith plays Robert Neville, a scientist and survivor of a worldwide plague that has eliminated most of the world’s population. He soon finds himself in a race to find a cure from his own immune blood as his three years of solitude in Manhattan come to an end when “The Infected” – mutant plague survivors – descend upon his position. Originally, Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) was to adapt this in the lat ’90s, with Arnold Schwarzenegger to star, but the budget spiraled out of control and it was scrapped. This is the fourth adaptation of Richard Matheson’s novel, the first being the fun Vincent Price cheapie The Last Man On Earth (1964) and the second being the trippy Charlton Heston flick, The Omega Man (1973) and the most recent being the unauthorized lawsuit waiting to happen, I Am Omega (just out on DVD). Also opening in IMAX.
ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM [December 25] - Not that the holiday season needs another violent xeno-cat-and-mouse game, but Fox is delivering one, anyway. A sequel to 2004’s murky dud, Alien vs. Predator, this one has the residents of a small town running for cover when the two aliens land and use their hamlet as a hunting ground (which sounds a bit like Invaders From Mars to us). Age verification is required to view this way-bloody “red band” trailer (meaning that the trailer is R-rated). For another “shared universe” concept, check out the quickie Batman: Dead End.
THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP [December 25] - 12-year-old Alex Etel, who starred in Danny Boyle’s lovely 2005 family film, Millions, plays a Scottish boy who finds a mysterious egg which hatches a “sea horse,” a creature so rare that only one of them can exist at a time. It looks very cutesy, with a lot of broad daylight CGI (like The Host, only no one gets eaten) and family friendly action. It brings to mind John Sayles’ The Secret of Roan Inish, which is good, as well as the Mark Harmon flounder, Magic in the Water, which is not-so-good.
CLOVERFIELD [January 18, 2008] - Before J.J. Abrams lands his Star Trek prequel in theatres next Christmas, he’s producing this mega-monster movie, which has been shrouded in secrecy (and up until recently, it didn’t even have an official title). The trailer looks pretty kick-ass, with a group of partygoers’ revelry interrupted by explosions on the New York skyline, followed by some major league mayhem (the headless Statue of Liberty on the poster will give you some idea as to how large scale the destruction is). Look for this one to end the annual January post-holiday drought.
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