A huge bundle of trailers was dropped today (11 in all) including an Oscar contender and a bunch of bland. The new trailers are: Casino Jack, Douchebag, The Fighter, It’s a Wonderful Afterlife (trailer #2), King of Paper Chasin’, The Last Day of Summer, 9th Company, The Nutcracker in 3D, The Two Escobars, Unstoppable, and Who Is Harry Nilsson?. (update: 9/17/10, 1:45p – added poster for King of Paper Chasin’ because the system wouldn’t let me access the poster last night)

WHO IS HARRY NILSSON?

	Plot Summary: A documentary about influential songwriter Harry Nilsson. Release Date: September 10, 2010
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: B Commentary: The name was familiar to me, but not really that well known, but after hearing a few of the songs in the trailer, I picked up on who he was rather quickly. He was a talented songwriter and this is the kind of trailer that should influence more people to check out the film than otherwise would have, if they had no idea who he was to begin with.	Rating: B- Commentary: It’s as fitting as any biopic poster you could imagine and thankfully the usage of red with the black-and-white isn’t as overbearing as it has been in the last few years.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: None.

CASINO JACK

	Plot Summary: A film about the rise to power and legal collapse of lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Release Date: December 2010
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: B Commentary: What would have made this a slam dunk is if you had felt absolute anger at watching the lobbyist at work. That’s what should be felt toward such a figure, but the trailer doesn’t do well at conveying that anger and almost glorifies the figure.	Rating: None Commentary: I don’t review placeholders.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: I’m sure this is Kevin Spacey’s vain attempt to get Oscar consideration again, but it looks a bit too outlandish to really do well with Oscar voters.

THE TWO ESCOBARS

	Plot Summary: A documentary about a soccer star and a leader of the criminal underworld whose paths cross on the path to the World Cup. Release Date: August 27, 2010
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: B Commentary: The trailer feels a bit strange. The pacing is off, the overlaid lettering didn’t fit right. Yet, the potential is good for a stirring documentary.	Rating: C+ Commentary: Not a fan of the “split screen” style. It’s not a terrible design, just not one that inspires attendance.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: Despite the critical plaudits on display, it just doesn’t seem to be a film the Academy likes to recognize.

THE NUTCRACKER IN 3D

	Plot Summary: A live action rendition of the Tchaikovsky classic The Nutcracker. Release Date: Niovember 24, 2010
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: B- Commentary: It is clear from the outset that this film is targeted squarely at children and because of that, most of the trailer succeeds. It’s not a very compelling narrative and a good deal of the plot is revealed in the trailer, but it should appeal to the demographic it most desires.	Rating: B Commentary: It’s a richly detailed poster that doesn’t overstay its visual welcome, delighting the eyes with its simplicity and elegance. A few minor quibbles about the images in the corners, but not many.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: It’s a bit too childish for the Oscars in most categories, but Art Direction and Costume Design could be key contenders in a film not many of us had seen coming.

9TH COMPANY

	Plot Summary: A company of men fight for Russia in Afghanistan and desire to become the first to win there. Release Date: September 3, 2010
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: B- Commentary: It’s as impressive as most standard-issue war film trailers I’ve seen, but it’s not that much more special. One caveat is where it mentions the film was an Academy Award selection. While semi-technically true, the Academy does not grant selections on films, they are submitted by their home countries, so since the film was not nominated for the Oscar it is very misleading.	Rating: B Commentary: The poster isn’t bad. A nice color set and strong image selection make for a poster worth looking at, but questionable in its ability to draw an audience.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: Having been submitted for the 2006 Academy Awards Foreign Film competition, it is too far out of that release to be eligible.

THE FIGHTER

	Plot Summary: A down-on-his-luck fighter struggles to bring himself and his family prosperity and when the opportunity presents itself he has to decide if he really wants to go all the way. Release Date: December 2010
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: B- Commentary: Despite having all the elements of an Oscar contender, the trailer is hopelessly unoriginal. Using every visual, aural and literal queue to elicit strong emotion from the audience, the trailer fails to do more than shore up support it would have had either way.	Rating: None Commentary: I don’t review placeholders.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: This is one of the year’s Oscar contenders and although I don’t love the trailer as much as I should, I can see a lot of potential in this underdog story. It also helps that the Academy has a fascination with boxing pics.

DOUCHEBAG

	Plot Summary: Before his wedding, a concerned brother tries to help his sibling track down the girl that may have gotten away. Release Date: October 1, 2010
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: C+ Commentary: An esoteric, vanilla indie flick. The penchant for picking non-traditional leads is admirable, but doesn’t always fit a story.	Rating: C- Commentary: While I applaud the use of colors that aren’t on every other poster, this entire design is displeasing to the eye. It screams tries-too-hard.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: None.

UNSTOPPABLE

	Plot Summary: A runaway train threatens a major metropolitan area when it becomes unstoppable. Release Date: November 12, 2010
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: C Commentary: Typical chase thriller with no really new twists on the genre and plenty of tedious mechanical twists.	Rating: C+ Commentary: The color scheme is the only thing that saves this mediocre, limited poster with no real design panache or excellence.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: None.

IT’S A WONDERFUL AFTERLIFE, trailer #2

	Plot Summary: In revenge for so many men dumping her unattractive daughter, a mother goes on a serial killing spree that leaves her haunted by her victims and pushes her daughter into a romantic affair with the young police officer investigating the case. Release Date: April 21, 2010
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: C Commentary: There really is no improvement here over the prior trailer. It still feels like a thinly plotted Bollywood comedy.	Previous Preview: It’s a Wonderful Afterlife
	Trailer Link: See Previous Preview Oscar Chances: See Previous Preview

THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER

	Plot Summary: He hates everything about his life, but a rash decision is put on hold after he falls for a woman who doesn’t even like him. Release Date: September 17, 2010
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: C Commentary: Another semi-indie hoping to win over critics with a slightly quirky premise delivered by a non-traditional leading man. It has all the earmarks of a tedious experience.	Rating: C Commentary: Not the worst poster ever, but not an epic masterpiece. It’s not overbearing or excessive, but it is a bit too traditional.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: None.

KING OF PAPER CHASIN’

	Plot Summary: The story of a drug-dealing gangster trying to lead a normal life. Release Date: October 15, 2010
	Trailer	Poster
	Rating: D+ Commentary: Slow. Plodding. Expressionless. It would be like a roller coaster if you took out all the dips, turns and loops. But that’s just describing the trailer, not the film, so I don’t know who would actually see this after that.	Rating: C Commentary: Not a terribly effective poster, but compared to the trailer, it’s pretty darned good. Still, it’s a bit too dark for its own good as unless the theater puts this up in their lobby and people pay attention to it (they probably won’t), an exterior placement will render night-time viewing virtually pointless as the eye won’t be drawn to it.
	Trailer Link: Apple Trailers Oscar Chances: None.