It's no secret that Hollywood is sequel crazy, but it's gotten to the point where it's hard to tell at a glance if a movie is a sequel or something new all together. Here are five trailers I had to closely scrutinize before I could determine whether or not sequalization was occurring.

Fast & Furious
Yup, this one's definitely a sequel, the fourth installment in the series launched by 2001's The Fast and the Furious. First off I give the whole franchise kudos for having the originality to give each of the films its own title and not just slapping on an escalating series of numbers. Furthermore, despite never having seen any of the others in the series, this trailer piqued my interest. Vin Diesel and co-star Michelle Rodriguez are seen here hijacking a tractor trailer hauling multiple tankers of gasoline, and the action is downright spectacular. Granted, the almost subliminal lesbian make out scene doesn't hurt either, but I could get behind seeing this. Here's what William had to say on the trailer.

Sukyaki Western Django
At first glance one might think this was a belated sequel to the 1966 spaghetti western Django. In reality this is an ultra violent homage to the genre with Takashi Miike at the helm and with Quentin Tarantino appearing in a supporting role. I've seen a few of Miike's film's, but the one I remember best is the bizarre and brutal Ichi the Killer, so I'm curious to see how he does with a Western. The preview is a frenetic barrage of action scenes with plot details being of secondary concern, but there's some wild stuff here, including bullets being deflected by samurai swords much in the way a Jedi would deflect a laser blast with his light sabre. The film is shot in English, though according to Jeffrey's review of the film, the mostly Japanese cast's unfamiliarity with the language is a drawback. Still, this looks pretty cool. Sukyaki Western Django goes into limited U.S. release this weekend, so I don't imagine it will be long before it's available on DVD.

Trailers are taking to the air this week as we discuss five previews that make me think of flying.

Up
This is a real quick little teaser but it makes me smile every time I watch it, and I'm pretty certain that's Ed Asner voicing the single word used. I suspect this brief bit of film will not even end up in the final flick, but it's already sold me through its ability to be charming as hell. This is Pixar's tenth animated feature, though not having seen Wall-E yet I'm starting to fall behind. In addition to Asner the voice cast includes Christopher Plummer and Pixar mainstay John Ratzenberger, and is described as "a 'coming of old age' story," in which "a seventysomething hero, alongside his clueless wilderness ranger sidekick, travels the globe, fighting beasts and villains, and eating dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon."

Fireflies in the Garden
If Willem Defoe were my father and he was half as crazed as he looks here I'd be pretty screwed up too. This is a semi-autobiographical feature from director Dennis Lee and deals with a family trying to deal with an unexpected tragedy. Defoe plays the father and presumably the source of much of the dysfunction and Ryan Reynolds is the son publishing his memoirs and stirring up the muck. Julia Roberts is there too, along with Carrie-Anne Moss and Hayden Panetierre. The trailer comes off as fascinating but grim, so if you're looking for the feel good movie of the year you should probably look elsewhere. Here's what Eugene thought.

Music plays a vital role in nearly every film, but for these five it's of particular importance.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Michael Cera has become the go-to guy for filmmakers looking to cast a romantically befuddled teen, and I have to say he's pretty darn good at it. Whether he's mooning over the best friend that he's recently impregnated (Juno) or harboring a forbidden affection for his cousin (Arrested Development), you can't help rooting for the little perv. This time out he's playing an angst ridden kid nursing a broken heart who finds himself falling for his new acquaintance Norah as the two spend a hectic night in New York City trying to find the location of a secret gig their favorite band is playing. The story is only of moderate interest, but Cera's presence has me wanting to check out the movie. Here's William's take on the trailer.

Beer For My Horses
The eye-catching title comes from a Toby Keith song. Keith is starring in and co-writing this action comedy about a Texas deputy who has to rescue his girlfriend from a dangerous drug lord. Willie Nelson puts in an appearance, apparently as a Yoda-style adviser to our hero. At first I suspected something along the lines of a Larry the Cable Guy movie, and while this is still no Oscar contender, I can see where it might make for entertaining viewing once it hits DVD. I even found myself chuckling at the "peeing in the coffee" joke despite myself.

Once again we're bouncing around the trailer-verse, finding a preview of interest and letting word association zig us into one trailer before zagging into another. Here we go ...

The Spirit
The Spirit teaser made the movie look a bit too much like a Sin City sequel, but this full length trailer seems to give a better look at what it's all about. Tons of bizarre imagery to digest here, with a strong emphasis on The Spirit's love interests, which appears to be pretty much every woman in the cast. I've only read a few Spirit comics over the years so I wasn't sure what to expect. Still, Frank Miller is giving this a major dose of visual style which has me looking forward to the December 25 release date. Here's Elisabeth's take on it.
And speaking of all things spiritual...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Up through Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire I felt the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling's novels improved with each installment. I also liked Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but for the first time I thought too many details from the book were glossed over or left out entirely, making the movie feel more like highlights from the book than a complete adaptation. I'm hoping I don't get that feeling when the Half-Blood Prince hits theaters because I'm liking this trailer. We really get the feel of the series' increasing darkness as we see a flashback of Professor Dumbledore's first meeting with Tom Riddle, the boy who will grow up to become Lord Voldemort. I'm expecting great stuff for Harry's sixth year at Hogwart's. Here's what Erik had to say on the trailer.
And speaking of school...

For every hero, heroine, and sidekick, there's a nuisance -- that person who's there to mess things up and foil the plan. This week, we've got a bunch of men who make trouble and quickly become the thorn in someone, or someTHING's side.

Terminator Salvation
As if Christian Bale taking on Batman wasn't enough, now he's taking the shoes once filled by ol' Eddie Furlong and becoming John Connor in Terminator Salvation. That's right -- it's the future and Bale wants to bring those metallic jerks down. It's 2018, and John's understanding of the future has been changed by the appearance of a stranger named Marcus Wright. Connor and Wright head for the heart of Skynet and discover "the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind." Bale's being all breathy, there's lots of flashes and demolition, and Connor gets a bit of a surprise from one Hulk-sized machine. Erik thinks it's the perfect teaser trailer. Me, I'm not sold, but I'm not disappointed yet either.

The international trailer for Body of Lies has just arrived online, and the combo of Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio is enticing to say the least. Based on the novel by David Ignatius (and scripted by The Departed's William Monahan), Body of Lies tells of a former journalist (DiCaprio) who's hired by the CIA to track down an Al Qaeda leader in Jordan. The film was directed by Ridley Scott.

Cinematical's Eugene Novikov recently used Body of Lies as part of his From Page to Screen column, and on the book he says: "Body of Lies, the novel, is pitched as a spy thriller informed by the author's extensive experience in the field and knowledge of the way the CIA really operates. (The back cover offers a fawning quote from former CIA director George Tenet, claiming that the book is "fiction but reads like fact.") It's certainly intelligent, plausible, and sometimes exciting." The trailer seems to focus more on that "sometimes exciting" part, showing DiCaprio in all sorts of iffy situations, while his CIA boss (played by an overweight and somewhat unattractive Russell Crowe) rides his ass until something gives. Body of Lies hits theaters on October 10.

I dig it. Do you?

Sometimes I enjoy films with multi-layered stories and intricate characters, and then there are times when I just want to see people blowing sh*t up. I blame the testosterone. This week we've got five trailers that are all about the action.

Hell Ride
No, he's not directing, but Quentin Tarantino is producing this one which should turn a few heads, as will the fact that this is a red band trailer that earns its crimson hue. Three bad ass biker types played by writer/director Larry Bishop, Michael Madsen, and Eric Balfour are out for revenge against a rival gang for killing one of their bros. Dennis Hopper and David Carradine are in their too. The trailer embraces its b-movie action roots, not even caring that the shot of three figures nonchalantly walking away as a building blows up behind them has become something of a cliche. In his review of the film, Cinematical's Eric Snider makes the point that grindhouse style cinema is a niche market that appeals to a restricted number of people. True enough, though on a purely personal level, I'm a big fan of the old school grindhouse flicks and this looks like it's going to be pretty awesome.

Once again the Independence Day holiday proved successful for Will Smith. Hancock launched on Tuesday night, had a total of $103.9 million by weekend's end and provided Smith with his eighth consecutive film to open at number one. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, which went into wider release last weekend, finished in eighth place. Here's the top five:

1. Hancock $62.6 million
2. Wall-E $32.5 million
3. Wanted $20 million
4. Get Smart $11.1 million
5. Kung Fu Panda $7.3 million

Three new ones this week with (surprise) yet another superhero flick gunning for the top spot.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army
What's It All About: Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy, a demon employed by the U.S. government to do battle against the things that go bump in the night. Denizens of a mystical world of supernatural creatures are about to wage war upon humanity, and Hellboy, the scarlet skinned scourge of evil, must stop them. Also returning are Doug Jones as the aquatic Abe Sapien (voicing the character himself this time, and not being dubbed by David Hyde Pierce) and Selma Blair as the pyrokinetic Liz.
Why It Might Do Well: In a nutshell: Guillermo del Toro. The man behind the original Hellboy film is back. In addition to being rejoined by the original cast, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola collaborated on the script. Also, we're talking 90% from Rottentomatoes.com.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Who's going to go see a movie based on a comic book? Oh, wait...
Number of Theaters: 2,900
Prediction: $42 million

They say truth is stranger than fiction. To that I say "you obviously haven't seen Naked Lunch," but reality is certainly a fertile ground for film makers and today we've got five trailers for films based, to varying degrees, on real events.

The Perfect Game
I've never enjoyed watching sports so baseball movies usually leave me cold, but this one has a couple of things going for it: a true tale of a bunch of kids rising up from poverty to become world champions, and former drug culture icon Cheech Marin playing a priest. Based on true events, a former coach for the St. Louis Cardinals (Clifton Collins Jr.) takes a group of poor Mexican kids under his wing and teaches them the fine art of baseball, which ultimately leads them to the 1957 Little League World Series. There are the usual sports metaphors: "Love ain't like baseball," says Collins' character. "Yes it is," replies one of his bright eyed proteges. I'm teetering between cute and cringe-inducing on that one, but this kind of rags to riches story is pretty appealing and the period setting is pretty cool. The Perfect Game hits theaters on August 8.

I love a good horror flick, but it's rare that I can find five trailers with some kind of connection to horror worth talking about in a single week. Huzzah! This is just such a week. Take a look at these Tales to Horrify.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead

This light-hearted take on vampirism reminds me a little of Roman Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers, with the "theater of vampires" bit making me think of Interview With The Vampire. I gotta say this looks awesome. An unemployed actor played by Jake Hoffman (son of Dustin) lands a job directing a bizarre off-Broadway version of Hamlet. The play has actually been written by a Romanian vampire, and things get complicated when the lead actor suddenly becomes one of the undead as well. Ralph Macchio is in there too playing a mobster/vampire hunter and, according to Monika's post from a few months ago, Sean Lennon has written the score. This looks like a classy production all the way through.

Mirrors

Mirrors are everywhere, but there's still something inherently creepy about them. Kiefer Sutherland plays an ex-cop and some kind of malevolent force is using mirrors as a gateway into his home to threaten him and his family. There are some creepy moments here, but I'm not sure about this one. These days I see Sutherland and I can't get past his Jack Bauer character, and that kid in the trailer is trying way too hard to sound cute. This is also from the director of High Tension, which is not a score in the plus column for me. The trailer is pretty slight, so I'll have to see more. Here's what William thought.