‘Friends With Benefits’ & ‘Conan’ Go R-Rated In Clips Plus Extended Scene From ‘Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes’
It’s going to be that kind of week. With Comic-Con gearing up to start in about 48 hours, studio marketing departments are tossing out clips and peeks at their films — even if they’re not going to San Diego — to capture the attention of film fans who will be devouring everything than can get their hands on over the next few days. So here’s a bit of a roundup of a bunch of (official) footage that’s making the rounds.
First up, a new TV spot has landed for “Moneyball” and its swinging for the fences, delivering a “Field Of Dreams” type vibe that finds the inspirational baseball film sweet spot. Directed (eventually) by Bennett Miller, and based on the eponymous book by Michael Lewis, the film will tell the story of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and Paul De Podesta (Jonah Hill), as they try to use an analytical sabermetrics system to reinvent the Oakland A’s (and baseball) in the early ‘90s. But really, what the film is shaping up to play like is a standard story of an unlikely batch of players who beat the odds. And while that’s nothing new to the sports drama genre, if its executed as well as the trailer and this early look indicates, we’ll be ready to cheer it on. “Moneyball” hits on September 23rd just as the baseball playoff race gets interesting.
A new, foul-mouthed trailer for the fuckbuddy comedy “Friends With Benefits” has arrived and for all of its provocative pillow (okay, “Put it in” made us laugh) it’s undercut by the brassy, wholesome (and kind of inexplicable) “New York, New York” playing underneath. Anyway, you know the drill by now, the film stars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis as two friends who decide to fuck for fun which inevitably leads to feelings. Yeah, you saw this already in “No Strings Attached” and honestly, it all feels kind of tired and warmed over already. We’re hoping that “Easy A” director Will Gluck has something else up his sleeve, but right now, this is just looking like a redo of Ivan Reitman‘s film with the cast from “Easy A.” Emma Stone, Patricia Clarkson, Woody Harrelson and Andy Samberg all feature and it opens this Friday.
Wow, give us a moment here. We’re still laughing at the unintentionally hilarious red band clip from “Conan The Barbarian.” Hoo boy, where to begin. Ron Perlman‘s mega-beard! Medieval egg races as a sign of masculinity! Squirting stabbing noises! Delivered with a complete lack of awareness of how utterly ridiculous it all looks and sounds, this peek at the upcoming franchise reboot shows us a young Conan who winds up taking up a bunch of adult foes all at once who apparently for a group of savage warriors are incapable of surrounding and containing a child. It would mind-numbing if weren’t so over-the-top hysterical. Camp film of the year? Sure looks it. ‘Conan’ growls on August 19th.
Speaking of camp, ‘Conan’ may have some fierce competition for the title from “Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes” another franchise reboot that pretends James Franco is a scientist who has to deal with an army of angry apes. Andy Serkis introduces an extended scene from the film in which Caesar helps out an Alzheimer’s striken John Lithgow and later defends him from a neighbour who is a total asshole and who frankly, had it coming. Yeah, yeah apes have feelings too, we get it. STATUE OF LIBERTY CAMEO! ROTPOTA opens on August 5th.