Blood Diamond

Spiffae and I discussed the Blood Diamond Trailer today.

Spiffae: They should call this movie "Black Hawk Diamond"

Spiffae: No diamond left behind

AD: I don't know what accent Leonardo Dicaprio is using, but he sounds like the girl in my office who does Harry Potter LARPing

AD: Which is to say, fucking dumb.

Spiffae: What if the preview was completely misleading, and it was actually a movie about high-end LARPing?

Spiffae: I mean people who are really into LARPing.

AD: It actually all takes place in Muncie Indiana and the people are all just hell of into it.

Spiffae: Leonardo DiCaprio's character is a level 15 shithead, who rolls a 20-sided dice to see if he should say "America is bling bling. Here is bling bang."

Spiffae: You can tell that they are really into it because of the amount of shots of people with their mouths wide open.

Spiffae: It's like the whole movie takes place in that closet from The Ring.

AD: Actually, I think its just that LARPing naturally attracts mouth breathers.

Spiffae: There's a shot, when the kid is getting taken on the truck, and everyone's mouth is open.

Spiffae: That's four people in one shot.

Spiffae: They look like a 50s pop group.

AD: I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but Jesus, how does something like that “bling bang” line come to be put in a major studio film, much less be used in the trailer.

Spiffae: Dude, this trailer is ass, why are we talking about it. Every time I watch it, I hate it more.

Spiffae: This trailer is removing my Thanksgiving cheer.

Spiffae: This trailer is the opposite of Turkey.

AD: Alright. Then lets end it with an old thanksgiving saying "In America it’s Gobble Gobble, Here it’s Gobble Goebbels"

Spiffae: See, now there is a good idea.

Death of a President

Watch the trailer here.

What I like about this trailer is that it essentially does nothing. Certainly, it proposes an absurd idea that seems almost impossible nowadays - the assassination of the most guarded man in the world. This, inherently, is the attraction of such a movie in essentially the same way as 28 Days Later, The Day After Tomorrow, and Horse Feathers, but more so Horse Feathers. The impossible happens, how does society react? Other than that though, nothing happens - it entices you with absolute bullshit, and if you see it, you're a fucking idiot.

What's effective is the echoes of 9/11: "We weren't just rounding up people, we had probable cause," and the talks of a major, catastrophic security breach - both of these comments are directly tied to 9/11 for obvious reasons. In many ways, this movie plays on the gross hopes of the populace - the death of George Bush, although, of course, this is a moronic hope. Have you ever lived under martial law? That's what would happen if Laura Bush ran this country, that greedy, savage monkey. Also the news casters who talk of reports of a shooting incident, darkly reminiscent of an "accidental plane crash in downtown Manhattan."

Many critics have panned the movie. Moreso, many have loved it, including the judges of the Critics Prize at the Toronto Film Festival. However, I couldn't give two shits about such tripe. Why see this movie, what could it possibly teach me except a "What If?" that seems almost impossible. Want to give me a great "what if?" how about a movie about if NewsCorp, AlJazeera and Starbucks merged? That would be a hell of a merger. Or, what if a killer bear destroyed the Congress of the United States? Again, fascinating. But this seems ridiculous.

The Nativity Story

Watch the trailer here.

When the first images for this trailer come up, you expect an insane cougar to run through and slaughter a baby speaking gibberish - it feels like The Passion of the Christ 2, but alas, it's The Nativity Story. This was the first feature film ever to premier at the Vatican, and it makes sense, since it's about Jews. And I'm happy that it tackles the whole "immaculate conception thing," I mean, look at Mary, we all know she did just about everyone in town. Even the Angel Gabriel, played by the excellent Alexander Siddiq, claims to have tapped that ass (Matthew 10.16.Blue.42). My major issue: The girl who plays Mary might be the worst actress ever, or she's legally retarded. I mean, profoundly retarded. "I have broken no vow" comes with no passion, no sense that she really means it. Those words matter, bitch, make them sound like you're not reading them from a cue card.

When I show up at that theater this December - a day early so I can bring my donkey and get permission for an animal in the theater - I expect Mary to not be in it. Dear Director, cut that bitch out of the movie. For the good of Jesus, kill his mother. Kill Mary. She doesn't even act like a person would 2000 years ago - have you seen her press olives? Amatuer hour. Or milk goats? Minor league skank. The movie and the trailer is dotted with moments that feal supernatural - I know, three wise men, light from the heavens - it's supposed to be that way. But why couldn't Jesus have been born from two parents who actually did have sex? Why couldn't the wise men have been thieves who realized the error of their ways when they met baby JC? I would like that story better. As it stands now, I feel like Jesus was just another dude like you and I, and his parents and those around him kept building up with fabricated stories of glory. "Did you see Jesus today? He totally threw a camel a furlong!" "Did you see Jesus today? The guy has such a wonderous cock." "Did you see Jesus today? He totally walked away from me in the middle of a story about mir."

P.S. In light of The Nativity Story, check out this trailer.

Zodiac

I have a lot of trouble trying to figure David Fincher out. Is he a genius, a visionary director who sometimes falters when he lets his vision take over a script? Is he a lot of style and no substance? Do I just like him because when I saw Fight Club six-odd years ago, I thought it was the best movie ever made? I’m still not sure, and the new trailer for Zodiac doesn’t help me at all.

On one hand, it looks like a return to form (and by form, I mean the style of Seven – which, coincidentally is spelled Seven, not Se7en. I hate number letters.) – the movie has a nice ensemble cast, the story focused around a super serial killer, and it seems like at least a few people will have complete nervous breakdowns in the course of the movie. All of that sounds good so far.

The thing is, for whatever reason, I’m not convinced. Maybe I’m just wary after the disappointment that was Panic Room, but this is a really good trailer for a movie that just doesn’t seem to have that hook that makes it really great. Maybe they left something out, but after watching that very nice trailer, I have no desire to see the movie. Everything seems fine, but all together it doesn’t interest me. Is that the fault of the trailer, or the movie it’s advertising?

Watch the trailer here.

Arthur and the Invisibles

La Femme Nikita, The Professional, and The Fifth Element. Three of my top ten movies when I graduated from high school. They have since been usurped by other, slightly more intelligent fare. But I will always hold a deep and abiding love for these films, and the man who made them: Luc Besson.

Now, Mr. Besson has spent the last 8 years producing and writing what seems like hundreds of different projects, here and around the world. But he hasn’t directed anything since The Fifth Element (we’ll just ignore The Messenger, even if it has Spiffae’s girlfriend in it). And that is really a shame, as he is a truly visionary director.

Scoff if you want, but the man directed the two finest hitman films ever made! Also, I dare you to watch The Fifth Element and show me any film from the 90s that comes anywhere near the level of creativity shown even if the most throw-away shots in that film. It is just breathtaking.

So it is with great excitement that I watched the trailer for the Besson directed Arthur and the Invisibles (Arthur and the Minimoys if you are some country cooler than America). And I really like it. It is clearly different from everything else he has done, but that is what makes it so much fun! It looks bright, beautiful, and sharply animated. The design is somewhere between Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and Oddworld, the jokes are simple but effective, and most shocking, it looks like a kid’s movie that is actually made for kids. I enjoy this current crop of slyly self-referential, meta-joke making “kid’s” movies just as much as the next 20-something post-hipster, but what the hell happened to movies like Honey I Shrunk the Kids or The Neverending Story? Movies for kids that don’t care whether they entertain the grown-ups that brought them. Arthur and The Invisibles looks to be that kind of kids movie.

I am a little wary of is the rather uninspired vocal talent. I love David Bowie, but its not like he has some amazing speaking voice that needs to be showcased in some ridiculous super villain. The same goes for Madonna, not to mention that she seems to be voicing the romantic lead for a 12 year old. Does that seem inappropriate to anyone else? And Snoop Dog? Yikes.

But, you take the bad with the good.

So, watch the trailer and enjoy it for what it is. The triumphant return of one of the best directors out there.

Crispin Glover's What is it?

Watch the trailer here.

Crispin Glover, of Marty McFly fame, has had a tremendous career. What impresses me most is his "family movies," meaning films you can take the kids to - you don't need to leave them at Aunt Mildred's, you don't need to conveniently forget them in a nearby town. You can take them to see What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Back to the Future, or Bartleby. With What is it? not only has he created a family movie, he's also made something I can give my dad for Christmas.

A young man (Glover) with a dark and wild imagination is haunted by a Demi-God, also played by Glover. With only salt, a pipe, snails (although I'd wager the snail is the true Demi-God) and the dream to get home. This sounds promising - it's Caligula meets "The Odyssey" meets Crispin Glover acting like a fucking idiot. This is one of those trailers that will play before some arthouse crowd, some goatee-wearing douche will turn to me at the end and be like, "How interesting, no? One would wager..." and then I will pull down my pants and pee on his copy of "The Stranger" that he perpetually reads and quotes to bored sorority girls.

Large breasted women wearing African animal heads crawling around on all fours? Yeah, that's in there. Have you ever been really stoned and paranoid and thought your friend's mom was calling your name, but in French while tarantulas crawled all over her naked body? That's the feeling I get when Glover's voiceover says, "Good. He's dead." Oh and there's a retarded man dressed as a King and another dressed as a woman who simply moans. Not since James Joyce have I been so impressed by the imagination and artistry of a modern artist. Anyway...If this movie is watched by anyone other than Glover and his ever-encouraging mother, I will be shocked.

Swastikas, hundreds of characters with down syndrome and Glover on a throne - these images seem odd? And what's the deal with the retarded, cross-dressing leader? I mean, c'mon dude. He defended his choices of imagery in a 2005 interview: "It's really a film to help start these kinds of discussions. Why are these things taboo, and what does that mean for the culture itself? A culture will die a death of stupidity if it doesn't have different points of view." Certainly, and what a point of view to take into account Mr. Glover - it's time our culture takes into account the freaks in the forest you've filmed, all ruled by you or a snail. What a pile of shit, nice one, McFly.

Happy Feet

What is it with all the CG animated movies of penguins? I mean, penguins are kind of cool, what with their marches and all that, but two separate movies, one about surfing penguins, and one about singing-and-tap-dancing penguins? Wtf?

Even more baffling, is the fact that both of these movies have great trailers. I talked about the Surf's Up trailer a while ago, and then just recently someone pointed me to the Happy Feet trailer 2. These are ballsy trailers! Surf's up was done in a slow documentary style, and now this happy feet is just a music video of Robin Williams in penguin form singing "My Way" in Spanish?? That's it, the whole trailer: a Sinatra song, sung in Spanish, in the arctic, by a penguin. Genius!

In my heart of hearts I hope that Robin Williams can capture some of the magic of his voice work in Aladdin here. I'm not sure if that is possible, especially when playing a hispanic penguin (that is a pretty ridiculous notion, if you think about it) - but I remain optimistic.

Trailer here. (Apple)

The Number 23

I don’t particularly care for Jim Carrey. This doesn’t make me a minority. I don’t think a lot of people care for him. I don’t have anything clever or pithy to say about why I don’t like him, either. I think he is obnoxious when he tries to be funny, and I think he is overly schmaltzy when he does drama.

But I’ll be damned if I don’t like me some movies about people who go all psycho because they start to see insane patterns in their lives. This happened to me with pi once. Sorry, I meant pie. And actually, I was just eating a lot of pie for a while. So, its not really the same thing.

Also, does anyone else think that they put Virginia Madsen’s neck on upside-down?

Watch the trailer and enjoy the numb3r w0rd5.

Christmas at the Maxwell's

At first this feels like a SNL spoof of a Christmas movie - there's a chick that sorta looks like Amy Poehler, overwrought, cheesy music and images of family. The only thing that's lacking is Jimmy Fallon walking onto the scene and fucking up the skit entirely. The Christmas at the Maxwell's trailer has something that SNL lacks, however, and that is comedy. It's trying so hard to draw you into these b-level actors (the mom is from the Food Network), but it can't, because it sucks giant sentimental cock.

Watch the trailer here.

The plot continues to heighten in a way that would be acceptable for a decent movie - first, Mom has cancer, or Lupus, or something awful. Then, the empy photo album! A miscarriage and an outfit carved for "Lucy." Perhaps Lucy was born a goblinish creature and the mother, in a hysterical rage, drove Lucy to a cloud-beriddled "hospital" somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Not a day goes by that she doesn't think of Lucy, nor fears her pock-marked face appearing at the frosted window behind the television playing It's A Wonderful Life. Alas, Lucy was probably just plain and boring and died.

Also, the scene that follows the discovery of Lucy where the mom and her friend sit down. The friend says, "I see, you're taking all those - what's going on here?" Well, duh, Blanch, I have fucking cancer. You can't make this shit up.

P.S. How creepy is this Damien-esque child - he probably ate Lucy.




But, unlike the brilliant trailers of M. K. Shamalamadingdong, this trailer gives away the secret at it's heart: Christianity. "Let's pray, wendy," the little girl says to her transexual brother. Then a preist comes into the shot - no doubt having impure thoughts of dirt, smoke-filled parties and anus. I'm sorry, but even if it is a light, Christian romantic drama - make the trailer have some pace, something interesting. I mean, who is enticed by a film about a family going through cancer and a dead baby at Christmas time? Unless Mel Gibson shows up dressed in Aztec kill clothes and pins all the blame on the "Jew," I don't think I will be seeing it.

One Sentence Fridays!

Pan's Labyrinth
An R-rated fantasy tale, centering around World War 2 intrigue, a pretty girl, and really cool special effects - eyeball hands are merely a bonus!

The Messengers
We already knew kids were creepy, but here come the Pang brothers to show us that not only are kids creepy, you should never let a kid watch you make the bed.

Meet the Robinsons (trailer 5 - five?!)
The saddest Tyrannosaurus Rex ever captured on film.

Deja Vu (teaser)
A dynamite trailer comes of removing all of the audio and story from your abominable prior attempt; doesn't bode well for your film, Tony!

Hot Fuzz

I talk a lot about “perfect teasers” on this site. I believe in the past I classified the teasers for Jarhead, Princess, and a number of others as “perfect”. But hey, I am a fan of brevity. If you have an awesome three and a half minute trailer, than you also have an even more awesome sixty-second teaser. Which of course brings us to our topic of discussion: Hot Fuzz.

You get two teasers for this movie! One is Awesome the other is Even more Awesome! Of course, the Even more Awesome one depends on your having seen Shaun of the Dead to fully appreciate the joke. But if you haven’t seen Shaun of the Dead, why the hell are you sitting around reading this?! Go watch it! Sean of the Dead was my number two movie of 2004! IT IS GREAT!! I’m not kidding. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it. NOW.

If you have seen it, then you can stop watching the trailer at the point where it says: “From The Team That Brought You Shaun of the Dead”. You already know what’s coming next: PURE AWESOMENESS.

You know what? Go ahead and watch ‘em anyway. You can never have too much awesome in your life.

Reading back on this, I realize that I used the word ‘awesome’ quite a few times. That was not planned. Awesome.

Harsh Times

Watch the trailer here.

What? Did that just happen? I mean, I didn't really even like Training Day and now we have Training Day 2 starring Batman with his little Mexican ally - oh, and Eva "I literally look like shit" Longoria. What is Christian Bale thinking? He was just in the fantastic The Prestige and he poops on his resume with this tripe.

Two crooked cops - one renowned for his harsh, crazy ways and the other is a young recruit with a lot of potential. I just described Training Day, but nay, it's this new bullshit. I don't really know why I'm so mad. Also, what kind of proper trailer has the voice over say - verbatim - what the type on the screen spells out. It's redundant, and it makes it feel like a 10-year-old made the trailer. The only redeeming part is when Bale says, "Whip-Crack! I turned that Paco into a fountain of blood!" I mean, Christain Bale turning anyone into a fountain of anything, I'm down. Turn Rip Torn into a fountain of chocolate, I will definitely give you my $10.75, you studmuffin.

So, Trailer Reviews is back and what a shite movie to bring it back.

300

Watch the trailer here.

It sorta goes without saying that I'm psyched for this movie. If you're viewing The Departed like everybody else in the United States this weekend, you'll get to witness this fantastic trailer.

Why is it so good?

1. Zach Snyder, the director, also did 2004's Dawn of the Dead. While I wasn't a huge fan of that movie - although it's fun, don't get me wrong - this trailer has a certain horror, a certain darkness that makes the true story of the 300 all the more unbelievable. It's as if this superhuman historical tale - The Battle of Thermopylae - is somehow haunted. Very cool. You also know that a film poster written in blood (which this one is) is gonna blow your asshole to the moon! Yeah, I said it.

2. The shots in the first few seconds of the trailer are fantastic, awe-inspiring. As hundreds of soldiers are pushed off of a cliff to their deaths, the sun sets in the background. It may seem like overkill, but man, that's some fucking awesome overkill.

3. The arrows shot - a famous historical tale of thousands of arrows blotting out the light of the sun - and they did it! Also, the man who plays King Leonidas, Gerard Butler, is fresh off of playing a list of rolls that season him for the insane, blood-thirsty king: Beowulf (2005), The Phantom of the Opera (2004, greatest movie ever? Yup.), and my favorite, Terry Sheridan in Tomb Raider (2003).

4. An entire country binds together, a battle which some say gave birth to the first democracy. A democracy forged in blood, weird goblinish creatures, and hairy backed apes with swords and hell-hath-no fury attitudes. The trailer is like a rock video for a band I want to fuck, nay, I want to fuck me, hard.

Surf's Up

Wait a second. A Sony Pictures Animation CG movie about penguins that surf has absolutely no right to have this good of a trailer. Who just got hired at Sony who understands what a good CG animated movie (and trailer) is? Let's do the list:

• The voice actors are odball picks, but beyond that, the actor's names are not splashed across the screen when the characters are introduced. Does an immense amount to make the characters real.
• In a nod to The Incredibles' incredible (ha) trailer, it starts off with some old timey video, a brilliantly acted interview, and some fantastically animated, and perfectly done footage.
• The music is absolutely wonderful, and apparently part of the score for the movie. Nods to Phillip Glass.
• Lastly, it has the intangible that a good trailer has - the goosebumps moment. Any great trailer has a moment where the music, editing, and visuals come together and give me goosebumps. When Big Z shoots out of that wave, the camera zooms in on him, struggling to keep him in the frame, and he bows to the barrel of the wave, it gets me every time. Well done, chaps. Well done.

That said, I worry - as soon as that pop-rock comes in, and the surfing gets all ridiculous, the humor and timing are suddenly poor, and the sidekick characters seem totally stupid. I feel like the movie will probably be a lot more of that bad, and not much of the good. This feels like the work of an inspired trailer-maker, and not a trailer for an incredible movie.

p.s. This is amazing:

Watch the trailer. (Apple)

Eragon

There was a rumor that the film version of Eragon was going to be called Generic Fantasy Movie, but they thought it gave too much away.

But I kid.

I think its great that they were able to take all the unused footage from Dragonheart and Lord of the Rings, splice in Jeremy Irons’ performance from Kingdom of Heaven and make a movie out of it. But since Chris Paolini wrote the book with Tolkien and Le Guin’s leftovers and added a dash of Star Wars, they can get away with it.

The Bridge

Watch the trailer here.

There is something so dark, so eerie, about the trailer for The Bridge, which I guess is what it's going for. There is also something inherently wrong when you profit off the deaths and misery of other people - in this case 24 people who committed suicide in 2004 from jumping from the bridge. In a way it's like the people who profit off of 9/11 footage or the monkey I have taped to my wall - we make money from seeing what we think we'll never do. Suicide, bitches, a four second fall - kablamo. The Golden Gate Bridge is the single worst location for suicides in all the world. So many go there to die. So, someone decided to make a movie about it. Since the bridge's creation in 1937, over 1000 people have lept into the choppy waters and only one has survived - Sean Connery!!! Just kidding, no one can live from a jump like that. Actually, check out this tid bit I found when reading up on the bridge:

"We've talked to people who have jumped and survived the fall," said John Vidaurri of San Francisco Suicide Prevention. "And most of them have said once they leave the platform of the bridge, they've regretted jumping off." I mean, c'mon.

At first the trailer feels like a documentary about the building of the bridge, which actually I would be down to watch on TV. Then the piano-infused music gets a little bit "Fuck You too!" and it's all down hill and terribly depressing. Then the guy with the hoodie legs over and you realize exactly what this is about - pure, uncut horror. I am mesmerized that they can actually capture real people, and I'm sure much of it is reenactments, but still....this is pretty fucked up. I really want to see this, but I will only see it if I'm drunk, stoned and alone and in San Francisco, on the bridge. Peace.

All The King's Men

Watch the trailer here.

From one of the greatest, most compelling books in the history of American literature comes a remake of an old movie (1949) that promises to anally, royally entertain audiences. Even Chinese guys sitting in the third row with their translators will have to shut the fuck up – All The King’s Men is going to be awesome. The story involves a journalist, played by Jude Law, assigned to write the story of an up-and-coming politician, Sean Penn. Law becomes obsessed with the southern leader for his honesty and soon becomes one of his “researchers.” Basically, he finds dirt on anyone that threatens Sean Penn’s political ascent. The story raises many pertinent questions about the nature of duty – how far will you go to do a job well? Can you trust your boss; can you trust your heroes? Can you really trust your friends? Where do these worlds intersect and collide? Why is soup so cheap?

In a lot of ways the trailer is like a political advertisement – hyperbolic language, insanely epic music and familiar images that will tie the audience to the film – “Oh there’s that fat guy from 'The Sopranos'!” “Oh, there’s that guy that should be banging Sienna Miller, but, alas, he’s a fucking idiot!” Some of the shots in the trailer are simply breathtaking. As Penn speaks to the faceless crowd, the mill town in the background lets off lines of smoke into the overcast sky. And, for Penn: like all power earned, it soon begets the desire for power stolen. Penn begins as an honest man seeking to change the world, but once he gains that power he becomes everything he once despised. And the trailer displays this wonderfully – he looks evil. Seldom do films chance to show a 3-dimensional character.

My only major criticism of the trailer is the line of awards for the cast. Okay, we get it - your casting agent did a fucking fantastic job. But I don't care that Jude Law was nominated for Cold Mountain or The Talented Mr. Ripley, which I thought was so boring I wanted to stab my penis with a broken bottle, a lot. By recognition alone we know the cast is superb, don't rub it in. Trust that your cast is phenomenal - which it is - and then ask us to see the film. Also, pay attention to Travis Champagne in the roll as young Tom Stark - perhaps the worst actor's name in the history of time. "Hello, my name's Matt RootBeerTooth CapriSun. I'm auditioning for the roll of Willy Loman." This movie, however, is sure to be an Oscar favorite and bloody entertaining.

Man Of The Year

Well, I didn't expect this. I am no fan of Robin Williams, he has been pretty much worthless in recent years - basically ever since Patch Adams. That was the beginning of the end. He was awesome as the Genie in Aladdin, pretty good in Mrs. Doubtfire, but from there I feel like the movies just got sentimental and crappy, and I stopped wanting to see them. His new edgy stuff hasn't made me any less bored with him, and I had basically written him off until the Man of the Year trailer rolled around.

And then holy crap! Robin Williams in a role that seems to not be all about him being a douche bag. This movie, firmly in the style of Wag the Dog (another title with two proper nouns divided by some uncapitalizables!) and looking to be just as good. Watching Robin Williams play (essentially) John Stewart in this trailer, I forgot about what a ponce he has been, and I started getting excited for Man of the Year. It looks like a great concept, decent cast, good director, and possibly good script.

I do kind of wish they had skipped showing that he wins the election, only because it would have made the trailer even more of a tease, and the post-winning stuff is not particularly rich. Either way, I welcome the return of Robin Williams, and I am hoping for the Bush-era Wag the Dog.

Trailer (apple.com)

Night at the Museum

There are some bad feelings between me and Ben Stiller. I think that most of America can agree with me. He has turned out quite a string of obnoxious, embarrassing, and , at times, painful to watch comedies starting with Meet the Parents. Meet the Parents, is among my least favorite films ever made. And for Stiller to have the sheer audacity to follow up with Meet the Fockers! Well, have no trouble telling you that I wrote Ben off as a lost cause with little trouble

But then along comes Night at the Museum. I am a straight up sucker for stories where something not alive comes alive. I loved Jumanji, (book and film) and I enjoyed the Indian in the Cupboard, (the book and the film, even with the latter’s facially deformed lead). Night at the Museum is every little kid’s fantasy writ large, writ EPIC. This trailer is the first jewel to be released in anticipation of that Holiday movie season. It has a great build in pacing, plenty of jokes, and Dick Van-fucking-Dyke!!

So, Ben. Maybe I can give you one more shot to redeem yourself. As long as I don’t have to see your painfully contorted testicles again, I think we will be fine.

Tenacious D - The Pick of Destiny

Watch the trailer here.

There is something so endearing about Jack Black and Kyle Gass, and their mega-giant-tastic band, Tenacious D. They are nerdy guys, especially Black, and they make casual dorkiness mixed with bizarre behavior so fucking cool. Listen to Black’s voice when the trailer begins, his hyperbolic language and his holier than thou attitude. In many ways it’s similar to Colbert, only these guys are parodying themselves more than anything else. They recognize how much they’re dorky, yet the more they riff on themselves, the more we love them. This has been a much-anticipated movie and I can’t wait.

It seems like many of the trailer’s jokes are similar to the Tenacious D from “Mr. Show.” What makes the trailer so good – besides the instant recognition of their awesomeness – is that it feels thrown together, especially with the voice over: “Prepare yourselves for the motion picture experience of the century…from New Line Cinema comes the most important film in this history of films.” Almost like, “Hey, let’s make a movie? Yeah, let’s make a movie – pass the spliff.”

Like School of Rock, Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny seems like a similar production – just let Jack Black do whatever the fuck he wants for two hours and we’ll have a box office smash hit. Indeed, it’s not just gonna be fantastic – it’s gonna be fucktastic.