Avatar premieres Dec. 18.

There will never be another Hitchcock. He knew how to market his movies, and out of his entire repertoire, this is my favorite, ah, “lecture.”

Evident here, but perhaps lesser known, is Hitchcock’s sense of humor. Hitch loved practical jokes, and working one into a trailer was just a natural extension of his (disturbed?) playfulness. You wonder why no one does this anymore.

You can find scads of material on Peter Jackson’s trilogy; odds are if you own the extended edition DVDs, you already possess an intimate knowledge of this treasure already.  So let me point you in the direction of Steven D. Greydanus’s essay “The Lord of the Rings: Faith and Fantasy, Tolkien the Catholic and Peter Jackson’s films.” 

I can imagine myself back in 1979, lucky enough to catch this at the theater. I’d’ve gone bananas. Using only a montage of Ralph McQuarrie’s production paintings, the teaser returns you to a galaxy far, far away better than any piece of actual footage. 

The genius of this trailer is that it places you right inside the world of the film, reintroducing you to characters you love without trying to sell you with stars or directors.  It just makes a promise; one it delivered with stunning surprise. 

Written by Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Empire remains the richest and strongest entry in the Star Wars Saga.  Would that Lucas could have fully delivered on the monumental potential laid down by this film.

Be back soon.

Age and maturity have changed my perception.

Cut together as a narrative tease, the trailer succeeds in providing a strong look at its scope as well the film’s pervasive look at class differences, one of its central and strongest manipulated themes…

The trailer itself bears significance if only for its length, running just over four minutes, a detail that incurred a fine in 1997 for overshooting the two-and-a-half-minute rule.  Cameron pieced it together himself (a chore directors usually outsource). 

The film works on many levels, and fails on just as many (Steven Greydanus has an excellent write up on this).  Visually, even after 12 years, it’s still a stunner.  Taken on its technical merits alone, it is unmatched — the effort undertaken to bring the RMS Titanic to life required significant innovations developed due to the inability to create certain effects digitally, a hurdle today’s CGI could clear with ease.

America’s Christless Christianity – Evangelical Outpost
Violence Flares Again in Tehran – CNN 
A Parting of the Ways – Evangelical Outpost

Ah, you thought I was going to say The Joker, didn’t you. 

The Dark Knight dared enter a realm most filmmakers lately will circle with wary sensitivity.  Many things elevate this film above its comic book peers, but dir. Christopher Nolan’s best choice was to create a contemporary parable that speaks to a very real threat looming over the world. 

The reality of The Joker is not a costumed psychopath, it’s the belief that a world without rules only leads to one inevitable end, and it takes a certain kind of hero to stop that speeding locomotive. 

“He’s the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him, because he can take it.  Because he’s not our hero.  He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector.  A dark knight.”

When I know enough to write more, you’ll have it.

Like most Pixar teasers, the trailer only hints at what the film will deliver:

The first Pixar film not created by one of its founding members achieved a successful combination of humor and action, plus a weighty look at heroism, and a scathing indictment against the culture of entitlement.   

Every inch of the film works, from thematic development, voice characterization, pacing and editing (not to mention turning decades of comic book mythos on its ear) and remains on the top tier of Pixar’s strongest efforts.  Throw in Michael Giaccino’s bombastic score, and this film is pure magic.