Preview Review II (Family Film Edition)

We went to see Where The Wild Things Are. It's debatable if it's suitable as a kid's movie, but any question of what the studio thinks was most definitely answered in the previews. It was decidedly family friendly fare. A quick revision to the scoring system. Trailers get scored out of ten for their ability to not given away the entire movie (Secret Score, or SS) and for how good the movie looks like it's going to be (Upside Score, or US).

Despicable Me -- The preview is mainly just one long scene. At first I actually thought it was maybe a short feature they were showing. Hadn't heard of this movie, but the voice cast is pretty impressive (in terms of people I find funny). The preview itself was kinda boring tho. SS: 8. Gave away very little. US: 5. Definitely could be good, but not much of a spark in the trailer. Would score lower if not for the cast.

Fantastic Mr Fox -- An even more impressive voice cast, a little heavier on thespians as opposed to comedians, but some pretty funny people in there too. SS: 5. Fair amount of plot given away, but nothing too major. US: 6. Looks kinda good, but it's hard to get excited about animated movies.

The Blind Side -- Did you know Sandra Bullock is 45? Someone just told me that. She doesn't seem 45. SS: 2. Most of the movie is given away in the preview, and for the parts that aren't? While, you can pick about a half-dozen cliched plot twists from movies of this ilk and presume this movie will utilize three or four of them. Sure, there might be a twist in there. But it'll be a familiar twist. US: 7. I dunno. I know it'll be cheesy, but I still think this will be good.

A Christmas Carol -- Robert Zemeckis gives the Scrooge story the Polar Express treatment, with a sure to be over-the-top star turn from Jim Carrey. Peter Travers or somebody will undoubtedly call this "visually stunning", a quote you'll see on the TV ads, and in the print ads, and in the ads for the DVD. SS: 1. It's a Christmas Carol, only done different. They show you how it's done in the preview, and we already know the story. What's left? US: 2. Bah humbug, indeed. Why this was made, and why anyone would care to see it, are both beyond me.