< I>Each week, Vern Seward takes a look at Appleis latest offerings at the QuickTime Trailer site, letting your know whatis new.
One of the nice things about Appleis QuickTime Movie Trailer site is that trailers for foreign movies seem to get exposure equal to many of Hollywoodis flicks. A few years back, one would have thought that the only movies worth seeing came from Tinsel Town, and, with a few exceptions, that may have been true. Now it looks like things have changed, thanks in part to organized film festivals that celebrate smaller movies with unfamiliar actors.
Americans, raised on epics like The Titanic and Gone with the Wind, used to turn up their noses at small movies from other lands. Like our attitude about so many things, we firmly believed in the superiority of our films to the point that we totally ignored nearly everything else. That attitude seems odd given that this country is such a huge melting pot of cultures.
In the last few years, much of that better-than-thou attitude has changed. We are beginning to see -- and more importantly, to understand -- some of the views offered in foreign movies, and we are starting to realize that though the people may look and speak differently, they are not very different from us.
This week there are several new trailers of movies from foreign studios posted at Appleis QuickTime Movie Trailer site:
A QuickTime Movie Trailer Exclusive, Lucia, Lucia is a Mexican film about a woman whose husband is kidnapped, and how her attempt to find him set her off on an unexpected journey. Celia Roth plays Lucia.
We pointed out Whale Rider before, but it bears mentioning again. A New Zealand offering, Whale Rider gives an interesting look inside the culture and customs of tribal New Zealanders.
Some of you may not know that the movie The Ring was a remake of a Japanese movie, which was actually very watchable. The Eye is a new Japanese horror movie that is billed as being creepier than The Ring. A girl gets a new set of eyes and starts seeing things normal people canit. ("I see stupid people!") The trailer seems to support the spooky claims.
Some of the Hollywood offerings look good, too:
Washington Heights looks at a young Hispanic man, Carlos Ramirez, who lives in New Yorkis Washington Heights. Played by Manny Perez, Carlos is forced to decide between the two things he hold dearest, his dream of becoming a comic book artist, and devoting his energies to his family and friends. Though the actors are not well-known, this looks like an important film in Manny Perezis acting career.
Denzel Washingtonis new movie, Out of Time, looks like a good one, too. Washington plays a police captain who has been set up to take the rap for some missing money, but the kicker is that he actually did take it, sort of. Dean Cain and Sanaa Lathan also star in this thriller. Expect nothing but top notch performances in this one.
Finally, Nicholas Cage plays a con man who suddenly gets saddled with his teen daughter in Matchstick Men. Mr. Cage has had a dry spell of late, so we hope that this one is a winner. At least the trailer looks good.
Thatis all for this week. If you havenit already, check out The Incredibles trailer. Funny stuff.