Thriller movies
10 Cloverfield Lane movie trailer
Trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane, an American psychological thriller film. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, and stars John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr. It’s a spiritual sequel to the 2008 monster movie Cloverfield. In theatres in March in America, and April in Malaysia.
The film was developed from a spec script titled The Cellar. The story follows a woman who, after a car crash, wakes up in a doomsday bunker with two men who insist that a catastrophic event (from the first movie, although not originally so in the script) has left the earth surface uninhabitable.
Seems like a decent thriller film, as the woman ponders between trusting the men or escaping instead. The plot could work as a standalone movie, but the Cloverfield producers decide to pair this up with the franchise, and it could create some huge spoilers for the new movie. People who’ve watched the first instalment know what has happened, and it might take away the surprise element.
I’ve not watched the original film because of motion sickness (with found footage stuff) but I know what it’s about. I actually think that it’s a clever way to make a sequel – with seemingly unrelated story which somehow connects to the main event. The potential is limitless, they can make this into a huge franchise. The challenge though, is to keep the suspense and not making this into a spoiler fest.
Review and updates
It’s a decent movie, could have been better if it’s a standalone production instead. As suspected, the Cloverfield linkup took away the suspense especially in the second half of the film. The ending is anticlimactic too, feels like they insert the last 10-15 minutes just to make it relevant to the franchise. The final parts are unnecessary, and the execution is poor regardless.
The storytelling is good in the first half though; it’s pretty intense when there’s still element of surprise early on. The cast did well too, and John Goodman is simply amazing. Overall it’s still a good movie despite some flaws. Again, could have been better if it’s a standalone film, but I guess it won’t perform as well in the box office if that’s the case. And money speaks loudest in Hollywood.
Update 2018 – Check out the trailer and my review for the new instalment, The Cloverfield Paradox.
Cold Eyes Korean movie trailer
English-subbed teaser for Korean action thriller film Cold Eyes. Directed by Cho Ui-seok and Kim Byeong-seo, and starring Sol Kyung-gu, Jung Woo-sung, Han Hyo-joo, Jin Kyung and Lee Jun-ho.
The movie is a remake of 2007 Hong Kong film Eye in the Sky, about a police surveillance team tracking down a notorious bank robber. It opened in South Korea last week and dominating the local box office. It will make its North American premiere at the Toronto Int’l Film Festival in September.
I like the original film, hope the remake is as good. The Korean cast looks solid though, too bad I doubt it’s going to screen in Malaysian cinemas, will have to find other channels to see this.
Update – It’s a good movie, better than the original which is decent to begin with. Both films share the main plot but the Korean remake has better character developments and finer details for most parts.
Han Hyo-joo series – Previous: W Magazine – Next: Acuvue commercial
Stoker movie trailer
Official trailer for British-American psychological thriller film Stoker, starring Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode and Nicole Kidman. Written by Wentworth Miller who’s better known as an actor; and directed by acclaimed Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook as his English-language debut.
The movie tells the story of India Stoker whose father dies in a car accident on her 18th birthday. At the funeral she (and her mother) meets with her mysterious uncle who has spent his life travelling around the world. And things begin to unfold one after another as he moves in to “take care” of the family.
The teaser probably reveals a bit too much. It’s obvious that India is going to be a monster in the end. The film is just about the process, in which the uncle obviously plays a huge part. I’m guessing that the father’s death is not accidental as well, just a matter of who’s the killer.
Unknown (2011) movie trailer
Trailer for Unknown, an American-German action thriller film. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and based on a French novel by Didier Van Cauwelaert. The movie stars Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella. In cinemas in the United States in February 2011.
The movie follows Dr Harris who’s in a traffic accident in Berlin. He wakes up from his coma after four days only to find his wife with another man – who she says is her husband – and seems to have no memory about him. Harris tries to solve the mystery with the help of Gina, the taxi driver who was involved in the accident; and together they discover a twisted agenda and find themselves in deep water.
Interesting plot, and thankfully the trailer doesn’t reveal too much to spoil the suspense. I like the cast too, so I’ll probably watch this in cinema. The US release is around Chinese New Year though, I suspect Malaysia will get a later release because we usually focus on CNY themed movies during that period.
Update – Watched this in late March, we got a delayed release as expected. It’s a movie of two halves; the suspense is good at first but the story goes downhill after they solve the puzzle, it turns into just another action film after that. Overall it’s an average movie, perhaps just a bit better than average.
I also have doubts that the main character would change his belief just because of an accident. I get that there are post traumatic stress and other things but that don’t fit quite right in this case.
Live Free or Die Hard movie trailer
Trailer for American action thriller Live Free or Die Hard, the fourth instalment in the Die Hard film series. Directed by Len Wiseman, with Bruce Willis reprising his famous role as Detective John McClane, who this time fights against cyber terrorists who hacked into major networks and crippled the country.
Justin Long plays a hacker who helps McClane, and Timothy Olyphant as the leader of the terrorist group. The cast also includes Cliff Curtis, Maggie Q and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. In cinemas next month.
I’m a fan of the film series but not sure about this one. The previous instalment was back in 1995, doubt it’s a good idea to make a new movie after a decade. Will give this a go regardless for nostalgia sake; guess the producers calculated this, banking on the old fans to support the box office.
Update – My two cents after watching this, which is titled Die Head 4.0 outside of North America. It’s an entertaining movie packed with over the top actions, Die Hard fans will like this. I’m a bit disappointed with the villains’ agenda; the final goal doesn’t make sense because with their abilities they can achieve that easily via more direct methods. Nothing much to nitpick otherwise, it’s a decent action film.