I’ve missed three days this week and thankfully, the backlog isn’t too bad. Here’s what’s new this week: New Trailers: I Am Number Four, Real Steel, Rio, The Rite and Transformers: Dark of the Moon; New Posters: Arthur Christmas, Barney’s Version, Black Swan, Cowboys & Aliens, Gnomeo & Juliet and Sanctum.

RIO, trailer #2 & poster #4

	Plot Summary: Raised in the wilds of small-town Minnesota, a nerdy macaw finds himself out of his element when he finds himself lost in Rio. Release Date: April 8, 2011
	Trailer	Poster
	Previous Preview: Rio Rating: B- Commentary: An improvement over the teaser. With a bit of an idea of the plot, it doesn’t look nearly as bad, though everything does seem a bit formulaic and Jesse Eisenberg’s voice is clearly going to be a distraction.	Rating: B- Commentary: This is a significantly improved poster over the prior. It has all the fun and amusement required to draw young audiences.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: See Previous Preview

I AM NUMBER FOUR, trailer #2

	Plot Summary: An alien teenager, hoping to settle down, but forced to flee from one town after another as he’s pursued by another alien race bent on killing him, finds love in his latest home and must fight to protect it. Release Date: February 18, 2011
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: C+ Commentary: This should be enough to make it a modest hit. More informative and action oriented, though it does beg the question: why is number four more powerful than the rest and why would his fall mean the rest are guaranteed to fall? Logic isn’t going to be this film’s strong suit, I’m beginning to think.	Previous Preview: I Am Number Four
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: See Previous Preview

THE RITE, trailer #2

	Plot Summary: A skeptical Catholic priest is brought into the world of exorcism to discover there’s more truth there than he ever expected. Release Date: January 28, 2011
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: C+ Commentary: This trailer is sure to attract fans of the religious horror genre, yet it looks painfully similar to every one that’s come before it. And using the Bram Stoker’s Dracula score, while a good choice, does not make me want to see the film.	Previous Preview: The Rite
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: See Previous Preview

REAL STEEL

	Plot Summary: A quasi-futuristic society where boxing has moved from health-harming physical combat to electronic combat pitting one human-controlled robot against another. Release Date: October 7, 2011
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: C Commentary: It’s sad when the first thought while watching a preview is how far Hugh Jackman has gone away from complex role acceptance and moved towards money-making trash. This doesn’t look even remotely interesting.	Rating: None Commentary: I don’t review placeholders.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: It releases late enough in the year that it could be remembered in the tech categories. I would say Sound Editing is it’s best shot, though an appearance on the Visual Effects short list would not be surprising.

TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON

	Plot Summary: Transformers have landed on the moon and America’s greatest achievement is not the landing on the moon, but what is discovered when they do. Release Date: July 1, 2011
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: C- Commentary: This is your standard Michael Bay wet dream. Plenty of mechanical/fancy sound effects, pulsing music, raped childhoods and so forth. After the destruction of the series that was the second film, this doesn’t even look remotely interesting.	Rating: None Commentary: I don’t review placeholders.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: Never underestimate a tech giant’s film placing in several tech categories, though even the second film only managed a Sound Mixing nomination and nothing more.

BLACK SWAN, Poster #7

	Plot Summary: Struggling to become Prima Ballerina in the New York City Ballet Company, Nina must move beyond the role of White Swan in Swan Lake and learn how to embrace her Black Swan without being consumed by it. Release Date: December 3, 2010
	Trailer	Poster
	Previous Preview: Black Swan	Rating: B- Commentary: The cracked facade is a nice touch, but nothing is better than the art deco set previously reviewed.
	Trailer Link: See Previous Preview Oscar Chances: See Previous Preview

COWBOYS & ALIENS, poster #2

	Plot Summary: A mysterious stranger is wanted for crimes he doesn’t know he committed, but in the Old West, extra-terrestrials aren’t to be expected. Release Date: July 29, 2011
	Trailer	Poster
	Previous Preview: Cowboys & Aliens	Rating: C+ Commentary: The colors are nowhere near as nice as the first poster and everything after will be compared.
	Trailer Link: See Previous Preview Oscar Chances: See Previous Preview

ARTHUR CHRISTMAS, poster

	Plot Summary: The high tech world of Santa Clause finds his son knee deep in his own troubles in this animated adventure. Release Date: November 23, 2011
	Trailer	Poster
	Previous Preview: Arthur Christmas	Rating: C Commentary: Such a terrible array of colors. There is so much more that could have been done. On top of all of that, it’s not very kid friendly for an animated kid’s film.
	Trailer Link: See Previous Preview Oscar Chances: See Previous Preview

GNOMEO & JULIET, poster #2

	Plot Summary: William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy re-written for warring families of garden gnomes. Release Date: February 11, 2011
	Trailer	Poster
	Previous Preview: Gnomeo & Juliet	Rating: C Commentary: The terrible puns aren’t likely to let up and it’s probably not going to get better.
	Trailer Link: See Previous Preview Oscar Chances: See Previous Preview

SANCTUM, poster #3

	Plot Summary: A group of cave explorers find themselves trapped as a massive storm threatens to flood the cave. Release Date: February 4, 2011
	Trailer	Poster
	Previous Preview: Sanctum	Rating: C Commentary: The posters for this film are getting worse. This looks more like a cheesy ’70s horror flick.
	Trailer Link: See Previous Preview Oscar Chances: See Previous Preview

BARNEY’S VERSION, poster

	Plot Summary: In his own words and images, Barney tells his sordid life’s story. Release Date: January 14, 2011
	Trailer	Poster
	Previous Preview: Barney’s Version	Rating: C- Commentary: Generic, boring and uneventful. You don’t get a real understanding about the film’s subject. Plus, the fact that Dustin Hoffman is speaking, yet this is Barney’s version (Paul Giamatti), it’s further misleading.
	Trailer Link: See Previous Preview Oscar Chances: See Previous Preview