Straw Dogs

Rob Lurie remakes the 1971 film with stars James Marsden and Kate Bosworth and Screen Gems puts together a great dramatic trailer.

What Was Good

The storytelling was very good. By starting in crisis, the trailer was able to attract immediate attention before shifting back in time to set up the story and explain what was going on. The editors did a good job of not only capturing the tension between Skarsgård and his cronies attacking Marsden and Bosworth’s house, but capturing the tension between Marsden and Bosworth as well. The editing was crisp and clean and the trailer ended with a great montage supported by a good soundtrack. The use of captions added a lot to the drama of the trailer as well. Overall, it was very well done.

What Wasn’t So Good?

While the storytelling and editing were very good, it went a little long by running almost three minutes in length. This isn’t too much of a problem though because it did give a great sense of what the movie was about. The ending was gross and uncalled for, however. Sometimes is it a common theme at the end of a movie trailer to “gross out” or shock an audience such as The Human Centipede trailer did but for Straw Dogs, it was completely unnecessary. It was already established that things were going to get nasty and it would have been a much better if the trailer ended sooner or with a different clip.  

Will People Go See It?

Judging by this trailer, people should go see this movie. Straw Dogs gives Marsden the chance to display his acting chops in a role other than “Cyclops” or “the stoned guy” in Death at a Funeral by having to fill the shoes of Dustin Hoffman, who previously played the character of David Sumner in the original forty years ago. I was very impressed with Marsden’s and Bosworth’s performance in this well-executed preview and it certainly gave me a slight chill after I watched it. This first trailer definitely caught my interest and I hope the movie doesn't let me down.

Other Great Related Movie Trailers

1.) Cost of a Soul

2.) The Devil’s Double

3.) Wrecked

What Makes A Movie Trailer Good?

I have written four posts now critiquing what I believe to be examples of good and bad movie trailers. In this post, I will give the criteria needed to produce a great movie trailer.

Execution

This refers to the editing, storytelling, and flow of the trailer. It is here that I ask questions such as: Was it well put together and did it move at a good pace? Did it tell a good story without giving away the entire plot? Was I confused at any point? Was it too long or too short? Was the soundtrack relevant and exciting? Could I read all the subtitles if it was a foreign film? These are the technical factors that I look at when reviewing a trailer. The new Harry Potter trailer is a great example of a well-executed trailer.

Emotions

This refers to the feelings or emotions I get from a trailer. If it is an inspiring trailer such as “Conviction,” I ask myself: Was I emotionally moved by what I saw? If it is a horror trailer such as “Insidious,” I ask: Did I get Goosebumps or a chill? If it is a comedic trailer like “The Hangover 2,” I ask myself: Did I laugh at any point? If it is an action movie of any sort like “Die Hard,” did it make me say, “that looks gloriously awesome!”? These are all questions I keep in mind when watching a trailer and many times, I watch it two or three times to really get the feel of it.

Overall

I am not saying that a trailer must have all of these factors to be a great trailer and I am also not saying that if it is a great trailer, it is going to be a great movie. A trailer might have great execution but no emotion or visa versa, how it is put together is completely up to the editors. Sometimes all a trailer might have is some amazing special effects and partial nudity, it really doesn’t matter. What matters the most is whether it makes an audience want to see the movie or not. What I have stated previous is just a rubric to think about when reviewing a trailer and chances are, if it doesn’t have any of the things I mentioned previously, it isn’t a very good trailer.

When you are sitting in the theater watching preview after preview, a good trailer is the one that makes you say “Oh! That movie looks good!” If a trailer has done that, then it has done its job.

Page One

What Was Good

The pacing and flow of this trailer was very good. I liked how the editors established where the movie was taking place first before getting into the conflict about halfway in. The trailer lets you meet the characters early on so that they are more likable and easier to relate to later. It never slowed down or was confusing at any point due to the crisp cuts and timing. The soundtrack was great and it really emphasized the drama of the movie. I thought there were some great images too, such as the near empty printing room to emphasize the main point of the film. It was a great trailer in general, especially for a documentary.

What Wasn’t So Good

The captions next to the characters in the beginning flashed way too fast and overall, there was too much text in this trailer. If a viewer is struggling to read during a trailer, there is a good chance that they are going to lose interest. The trailer also ended a bit abruptly as well. While the screen was a bit crowded at some points, overall, it was a well-executed trailer of great quality.

Will People Go See it?

This trailer certainly caught my attention and piqued my interest. I would rent it at home but as good of a trailer as it was, documentaries just don’t have enough punch to survive for long on the big screen. Even Morgan Spurlock’s new flick “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” recently tanked at the box office. It can be incredibly hard to market and sell a product without any famous actors or special effects but this trailer sold the movie with real people, a real problem, and the hope of a conclusion. I think everyone should definitely see this movie at some point because it is of great cultural relevance.

Other Great Related Movie Trailers

1.) Buck

2.) How To Live Forever

3.) The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Road To Nowhere

This was a great movie trailer. I am a firm believer in quality over quantity and this trailer was certainly of great quality. One of the main reasons it was so good was its simplicity. With no dialogue, one song, and a few captions, the editors put together a masterpiece that told an incredible story through many brief but inspiring images. Tom Russell’s song was perfect and it matched the feeling and mood of the entire two minutes and fifteen seconds of the trailer. The timing of the music and images was spot on as well. When Russell sings “we kissed the leading ladies” as Shannyn Sossamon’s face grazes the screen was a magnificent way to introduce her character. This trailer made me want to see the movie because it intrigued me. It gave me a sense of the drama between the characters in the film without ruining the plot at all. It also moved me emotionally. It made me feel something and it connected me to the characters, even though I had only seen roughly two minutes of the entire film. The plane crash caught me off guard and yet it only intrigued me more as to what the film was going to be about and who was in that airplane. The way Tygh Runyan’s character was portrayed in the preview was interesting because it showed his character’s many different sides in just a few short images and absolutely no dialogue at all.

I didn’t like the unnecessary gunshot near the end but overall it was an incredibly well designed trailer. It held my attention and persuaded me to find out more about this movie as well as to go see it in theaters.

If you enjoyed this trailer, you should check out these other previews on Apple.com/trailers:

1.) Fly Away

2.) Buck

30 Minutes or Less

This was not a very good trailer. For one thing, it moved way too slow. One reason why is because the first 45 seconds of the two-minute trailer is one single non-sequitur scene. I understand it is a “Stoner” comedy and as a director, you don’t want to give away too many of your jokes, but I wouldn’t have minded a shorter trailer with a few more comedic bits to keep my interest. I do find Aziz Ansari and Jesse Eisenberg amusing but I think it was a huge mistake to not feature Danny McBride. While McBride has not found success as a leading actor, he is very amusing in small doses and movie trailers. The “Your Highness” trailer can attest to that. Not using McBride or mentioning the fact that an Oscar-nominated actor is in the film were the biggest misses in my opinion. A great way to sell a film is to sell the actors in it and this trailer didn’t do that.  It didn’t completely fail though either and I admit there were a few moments where it caught my attention and made me laugh. The scene with Eisenberg and Ansari in the school was very well done but overall, the entire trailer wasn’t executed well. The soundtrack was mediocre at best and while it did give an inkling of the plot, it did not make me want to see it. I am sure many people will see this movie at some point on DVD or Netflix but I know for certain that the trailer did not persuade me to see this movie in theaters, yet. Minds can be changed, however, like in the case of the “Green Lantern.” This trailer did not persuade me to go see this movie in theaters.

If you enjoyed this trailer, check out these other previews on TrailerAddict.com:

1. The Change-Up

2. Hangover 2

3. Bad Teacher

4. Everything Must Go