DC Film Society Coming Attractions Night

Twice a year the DC Film Society puts on it's Coming Attractions Trailer Night at the Landmark E Street Cinema. I've made it a point to go every time they have it since I joined up about three years ago. John couldn't make it because of work or some other b.s. excuse(work before movies? I think not, sir!!), so it was up to me to hold down the fort and rep the Critics along with my girlfriend, Rebecca.

These events are always a lot of fun. Hosted by local critics Joe Barber and Bill Henry, who bring their...unique, senses of humor along with 'em. As usual, "humor" is a relative term with them because frankly they are annoying as all hell sometimes. I love Joe Barber's work, but when he tells a joke, no matter what the joke may be, it falls harder than two sacks o' potatoes. And John's nemesis, Bill Henry? At least he's polite enough to save his lame jokes for after the trailers when he can be ignored. To be honest he's not that bad, either, except his arrogance is even more glaring than the shine off his balding nugget. I think they forget that we are there to see trailers, not to have the Joe & Bill Show. If I have any hope for the Critics as a duo it's that one day we get a chance to host one of these things. That would be pretty sweet, actually.

As usual the trailers were broken up into some odd groups. Waltz with Bashir paired up with Bolt made no sense except that both trailers featured dogs. Other groupings were more sensible, such as Christmas films and action flicks. The crowd, which looks to be getting larger every time they hold this event, would applaud at the trailer they thought was best. Sometimes we, as in me and a handful of other sarcastic types, would applaud at upcoming flicks which look absolutely atrocious. I cheered loudly at the end of Underworld 3, with it's poor attempt to equate Rhona Mitra with Kate Beckinsale! Ha! It looks awful, but of course I'll see it. Couldn't tell if the cheers for Transporter 3 were legit or not. Bad franchise but the movies are popular and a lot of fun. The trailer for Australia wasn't very good, and I didn't know Baz Luhrman was attached. Now I'm more convinced than ever that it'll be more Pearl Harbor than an action movie.

I got a chance to check out a couple of trailers I've been most interested in lately. Another look at the trailer for Seven Pounds has only intrigued me further. The plot is more clearly in focus, and Will Smith appears to be at the top of his game yet again. My only concern is that the material seems a bit broad for a single film, but we shall see. The Day the Earth Stood Still looks both great and awful at the same time. I heard someone say that Keanu Reeves' presence equals a "top notch sci-fi movie". That guy apparently hasn't seen Johnny Mnemonic. I'm much more relieved by the presence of Jennifer Connolly. And I can say once and for all now that I'm tired of the Boy Fresh Prince already. Daddy Fresh Prince is enough, thank you.

The three films that most impressed me last night, though, are films I've been anticipating for a long time. Cadillac Records is the story of the old Chess Records and it's golden era of blues and soul music during the 1950's. It tells the tale of Leonard Chess and some of the greatest artists of any generation who were under his label: Muddy Waters, Etta James, and Little Walter. You know the soundtrack to that film is gonna be off the hook! The Curious Case of Benjamin Button looks like a new-type of Forest Gump flick. I confess to knowing precious little about the book, so if I'm off base then I apologize. With Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, and David Fincher attached this should be great. The concept is something I've never heard of before, a guy who is born old and grows up getting younger. Milk, the story of slain politician Harvey Milk, looks better every time I see it. It's prompted me to put The Life and Times of Harvey Milk at the top of my Netflix queue.

The film that was voted by everyone as their favorite of the night, however, was Defiance. Starring Daniel Craig and directed The Last Samurai's Edward Zwick, it's the story of the Bielski partisans. Three brothers who escape from the Nazis and set up their own community of Jews to fight back against them. It looks good, but the best of the night? Not hardly. I think it probably has the most potential of any of the films to be a disappointment. Just call it a hunch.

A fun night. Two hours of movie trailers can't be anything but fun, can it? And I won a copy of Atonement on DVD. I usually sell my winnings at these things but I might hold on to this one. It was a good flick, afterall. Hopefully next time the Critics can be represented in full and we can finally get the Bill Henry/John Nolan tete-a-tete we've been anticipating for so long. Watch out for his left hook, John.