Saturday, September 8, 2012

NEW TRAILERS FOR FANTASY FILMS "CLOUD ATLAS" WITH TOM HANKS, BEN WHISHAW, HUGH GRANT & "ATLAS SHRUGGED II" WITH SAMANTHA MATHIS

It's a dry period in movie news world, people, so today you only get two trailers, but it's interesting that they have similar titles: I don't think we've ever had any "atlas" films and now we're getting two: CLOUD ATLAS and ATLAS SHRUGGED. Both are fantasy flicks.

ATLAS SHRUGGED II
Well, this is apparently a sequel, although, I must admit, I've never before heard of the first one, but my research shows it was a major flop at the box office
(it earned less than 5 million, while the budget of this one is $10 million, go figure). Anyhow, ATLAS SHRUGGED: PART II, which is to be released sometime later this year and is based on Ayn Rand's book, is set in a world in which the global economy is on the brink of collapse. Unemployment tops 24%. Gas is $42 per gallon. Railroads are the main transportation. Brilliant creators, from artists to industrialists, are mysteriously disappearing. Dagny Taggart, COO of Taggart Transcontinental, has discovered an answer to the mounting energy crisis - a prototype of a motor that draws energy from static electricity.
But, until she finds its creator, it's useless. It's a race against time. And someone is watching. The cast includes a few forgotten stars from the previous decades - Samantha Mathis and D.B. Sweeney.

CLOUD ATLAS TRAILER
Earlier this summer I've shown you a rather long, international trailer for the new sweeping sf film CLOUD ATLAS from the creators of
MATRIX the Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer (RUN LOLA RUN) and now an official trailer is here. The expensive sf film which cost around $100 million, but has strangely had almost no marketing so far even though it's out this October, is an exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution. Everything is connected: an 1849 diary of an ocean voyage across the Pacific; letters from a composer to his friend; a thriller about a murder at a nuclear power plant; a farce about a publisher in a nursing home; a rebellious
clone in futuristic Korea; and the tale of a tribe living in post-apocalyptic Hawaii, far in the future. And if you thought the story is weird, check out the even weirder cast: Tom Hanks, always dreadful Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon,Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Hugh Grant, James D'Arcy, Jim Broadbent...

32 comments:

  1. Cloud Atlas looks interesting and that is quite a cast. Mr. regular Joe Schmo Tom Hanks paired up with Ms. genetic perfection Halle Berry? Hhhhmmmm wonder if there will be any chemistry there?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. maybe some physics when she flies off the cliff, but no chemistry methinks. They're probably the worst matched couple ever on film.
      I do love Broadbent, Whishaw, Sturgess, D'Arcy.. all lovely British gents

      Delete
  2. I've seen part of the original Atlas Shrugged on a documentary, I think. But yeah it was rubbish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. so the world says :) Don't know where they've found the money for a sequel....

      Delete
  3. Those are two of the oddest films ever. I'm not sure I know what they are about but they do look interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, it's true, I also don't know what they're about :) But I do prefer the CLOUD.

      Delete
  4. Cloud Atlas is the one I'm looking forward to, though I know I'll be terribly confused and have to get outside help to understand it all. :PP

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yep, and there's not much outside help, since I can't find the full plot of the film anywhere :)

      Delete
  5. I can't see Hollywood getting Atlas Shrugged right. The book had layers and layers of meaning. Never saw the first film and don't need to see the second.

    Now Cloud Atlas is another story. I have to see that, I just have to. There's so much food for thought in there and will spark great conversation for me and The Hhubby. Now why in the name of God they put Halle in a role that clearly requires depth, I don't know. Interesting to that there's been no pre-relasee push. Strange that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yep, we shall skip the shrugging of atlas this time :)
      It is possible that one of the Wachowski bross having a sex change operation in the meantime and becoming a sister Wachowski gave them less time for marketing, but the studio should've done it.
      It will be a meaningful story for sure, I just can't stand Tom and Halle, wimpy and empty :(

      Delete
    2. I didn't know about the sex change. That's a big deal and would require time off. But you're right, the studio should have taken care of it.

      Delete
    3. yep, Lary became Lana recently. Quite an interesting story,actually.

      Delete
  6. I have to admit, I'm really not interested in either one - the first Atlas movie seems kind of depressing with government control and all that. Cloud seems a bit confusing and I'm not a big fan of Halle, mostly because she's such a fan of herself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. there will be something cute and funny for you in Sunday's spotlight here :)

      Delete
    2. You just made my day! I'll have to make a special trip onto the blogosphere just that =)

      Delete
    3. hope you will like it, it's an animated film :)

      Delete
  7. Atlas Shrugged I believe is done before it airs but Cloud Atlas has real potential...

    ReplyDelete
  8. agree with Fran!
    I prefer the Cloud ATLAS than the Shrugged one!
    SF ok but not a real and actual story which remains us how life is NOW !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. there are parts of the story in CLOUD ATLAS which are set in distant future :) I also prefer that one, Samwise.

      Delete
  9. I do like Cloud Atlas...the premise excites me, no comment on the chemistry of the lead stars ~

    Happy weekend Dez ~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It should be a nice film, no matter the cast :)

      Delete
  10. I would like to the see this Dezz:))
    Have a nice weekend dear!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Why would they do that to Atlas Shrugged? And why if the first one tanked would they do it again? Tell me there isn't a third one on the table???

    Now, Cloud Atlas...I will be going to see that. And I have to agree with you, Tom Hanks and Halle Berry have to be the oddest couple since, I don't know, Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry? That being said, I HAVE to see this movie just to figure out what it is all about. Everything I have read about production makes me want to see it even more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought maybe they shot the films back to back, but I hear the cast is not the same, so I have no idea why they did it. Maybe it earned something on the DVD market? Who knows...

      Delete
  12. Cloud Atlas is the kind of movie I will watch simply because the cast is wonderful...full of great actors/actresses.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Don't why I did not leave a comment here. LOL I thought I did, but yesterday was pretty crazy. Cloud Atlas look interesting, but I'm not too sure on the Atlas Shrugged.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I guess things come in two in Hollywood, two 'Atlas' films back to back, ahah. Well as far as Cloud Atlas, I'm still curious to see it because of the British cast. Interesting how mixed the reaction is coming from TIFF.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear ANNA KARENINA got standing ovations at TIFF. I'm still refusing to support that film due to that horrid lead actress or an excuse for an actress...

      Delete

GIVE SOME LOVE TO YOUR DEZZY :) DON'T FORGET THAT BLOGGER'S NEW COMMENT BOX OFTEN REQUIRES FOR YOU TO DISABLE PROTECTION ON YOUR BROWSER IN ORDER TO COMMENT.