Ogres and Coens.

Some stirrings on the film front: Dreamworks releases the first trailer for Shrek 2 (Looks like more of the same, but it should make for a fun afternoon.) And, speaking of fun, Latino Review posts the one-sheet for The Ladykillers. The Coens have yet to let me down, and given how amusing I found the teaser for this one, I highly doubt they’ll start now.

Starsky & Stakes.

It’s Friday, which as y’all know usually means a new batch of trailers. First up, we’ve got Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson mugging as Starsky & Hutch. Even with Snoop as Huggy Bear and that Will Ferrell cameo, I’d say the chances of me spending money on this are slim to none. Then, Kate Beckinsale continues her Underworld vamp streak in Hugh Jackman’s Van Helsing, a.k.a Raiders of the Lost Coffin. Jackman’s no Peter Cushing, but this one actually looks like goofy summer B-movie fun to me, even if some of the CGI FX here are suspect.

Ecce Filmo.

From fighting the undead to praising the risen-again, the new trailer for Mel’s Passion (referred to by the ever-emphatic Harry Knowles as a “dead language gore film about one of the greatest stories ever told”) is now online. Looks like they’ve decided to go the subtitle route.

Bring out your dead.

Speaking of Ms. Knightley, it’s come to my attention that I’ve been remiss in not blogging the trailer for King Arthur, which happened on the web during the very busy holidays. Hmm…even with the big production values, it’s still kinda got that Very Special Presentation of the History Channel feel to it. (Stellan Skarsgard’s bad hair day doesn’t help.) I fear they’ve screwed this up…they should’ve gone the Magical Merlin & Morgan Le Fey route, Lady of the Lake and all. The world is currently enraptured with Lord of the Rings, and Bruckheimer & Fuqua seem to be still thinking Gladiator. Clive Owen’s got charisma to spare, though…he may be just what the Bond franchise needs.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

creeps about this petty pace ’til Summer 2004, as three sci-fi/fantasy trailers are released in the wake of the King: Vin Diesel returns in The Chronicles of Riddick, aka Pitch Black 2. I enjoyed the first one decently enough, but this teaser doesn’t do anything for me. Meanwhile, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie fight giant robots in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, which looks like a great idea for a short film but may be hard to sustain for a full two hours. (And Jolie looks ridiculous.) Finally, Spiderman 2 gets the Quicktime treatment (I already commented on this one here.)

SERMON!! ON THE MOUNT!!!!

The official teaser for Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ is now online. Compared to the unofficial (and violent) one that made the rounds a few months ago, I have to say this one’s on the uninteresting side. In related news, I find it rather ridiculous that Gibson screened the film for the AICN guys this weekend, while denying a viewing to concerned religious groups (or, for that matter, the Pope.) For some reason, I don’t think a standard-issue Harry Knowles shill (in both literal and figurative purple prose, no less) is going to allay the fears of either the Vatican or the ADL about this film.

Hell and Thunder.

In the trailer bin this morning, a quicktime version of Hellboy (still looks intriguing but possibly LXG-ish) and a first look at Thunderbirds. Farscape is my sci-fi puppet show of choice, so I can’t say this much appeals to me…but then again, the original is way before my time.