Wouldn't Know Chiaroscuro from Chicken Giblets

Reviews of Wes Anderson's gorgeous Academy Ratio live action plus a little stop-motion latest The Grand Budapest Hotel (a film I consider a magnificent culmination of his filmmaking process and style [and possibly his best yet]) are embargoed until opening day. Since I can't write a review and remain in accordance with an arcane social contract that wouldn't apply had I physically seen a movie in Berlin instead of Austin, I have to settle for merely posting and commenting on its trailer, which is full of hints of the delightful, laser-precise performances (especially that of Tony Revolori) found throughout the film.

I suppose that I did get spoiled in recording the fully Andersonian podcast that I posted on Monday.

Today, I received an email about the Zubrowka Film Commission. If they made shirts, I would wear one, and proudly. My allegiance is hereby pledged to film-friendly (and nonexistent post-WWII) Zubrowka.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY trailer

This trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy makes me feel like they really got it right, even though as a piece of marketing, it is aimed at the lowest possible common denominator. They're one of my favorite comic book teams, and this looks like James Gunn has nailed it.

ROMEO&JULIET&OMG&LOL

I dislike the trailer for the Julian Fellowes-scripted ROMEO&JULIET  (that's how they're writing it on the poster).

From the director of The Last Legion , Shakespeare's iconic romantic tragedy appears to have no need for decent line readings. Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis are fine for the moments we see, and their Tybalt sure is growly and handsome and was on Gossip Girl

 ...but the "greatest hits" rattling-off we get of some of the best-known lines sounds like half-asleep high schoolers cold reading in English class.

Live-Action GATCHAMAN Trailer

The cartoon that Americans may know as Battle of the Planets  or G-Force  is getting a live-action reboot in Japan this August. The trailer has no subtitles, and I'm honestly not sure what "Bump of Chicken" means (you'll know what I mean), but the tone looks extremely...earnest, even when the antagonist shows up in a suit with a bunny-eared helmet. Are they going for Gatchaman of Steel ?

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Trailer

The red-band teaser trailer for the new Coen Brothers movie has me wishing I were in France this week to see it at Cannes.

Steven Spielberg's OBAMA

This is better than most of these faux trailers usually are at political events.

THE GRANDMASTER Trailer

The Hong Kong cut of Wong Kar-wai's newest movie runs 130 minutes. The original title is The Grandmasters. This "international" version is 115 minutes and only drops the "s" at the end of the title.

I have an import Blu-ray on its way so that I can watch the intended edit first.

This feels like the good old days, when Harvey Weinstein was re-editing and re-titling Asian martial arts movies for no real good reason, not to mention putting extremely didactic english voiceover on top of the trailer. This newest telling of the Ip Man story starring Tony Leung hits US cinemas on 23 August.

THOR: THE DARK WORLD Trailer

They have done a great job nailing this character on-screen. This looks to go heavier on the epic scale than in the first standalone movie, which is a very, very good thing. I like seeing them folding in more elements of the core Thor mythos, like the unhappy teaming of Thor and Loki, as well as more of a focus on the Nine Realms that include Asgard.

"Behind the Candelabra" Teaser

A 30-second glimpse at the decadent and glittery "final feature-length movie" by Steven Soderbergh, aka @bitchuation on Twitter.