Following our jackassed blockbuster McFranchise summer preview, we thought we’d look at the films made for less than $25 trillion dollars and no CGI that some people might want to see… or not. Some of these are out in select cities already, some are not. Behold, the real Playlist Summer Movie Preview (in no particular order), aka the summer movie guide for films that try not to insult your intelligence.
The Wendell Baker Story: Luke Wilson figures he must have learned something from appearing in Wes Anderson films. He wrote the story and his older brother Futureman (Andrew Wilson) directed the tale of a Texas con-man who gets a job in a retirement home. At the very least, his clout has scored him three superb ’70s actor, Seymour Cassell, Kris Kristofferson and Harry Dean Stanton (who apparently hated him). [trailer]
Superbad: Everybody loves Judd Apatow, everybody loves Arrested Development‘s lovable dork Michael Cera (who played the wonderfully awkward George Michael Bluth) and everybody loves the writer, “Knocked-Up” schlub, Seth Rogen. While “Knocked-Up” had some ribald humor, “Superbad” looks to be downright deliciously vulgar. [trailer]
Sicko: Michael Moore finds a new axe to grind with this heath-care harangue. He’s being investigated by the U.S. government as it is for making too many Pinko films. Dude, move to Canada already. You so know you want to. [trailer]
Smiley Face: Gregg Araki’s stoner-comedy looks pretty retarded actually, but it is the first dope movie to star a female that we can think of so that has to be worth something, right? Anna Faris stars and a bunch of TV people and that annoying indie kid from “The O.C.” are in too (PS, don’t be surprised if the release date gets bumped). [trailer]
The Hottest State: Ethan Hawke adapts his Gen-X-y coming-of-age debut novel for his sophomore directorial effort and uses actor Mark Webber as a stand in for his 20-something self. The soundtrack features indie-rockers covering songs by Starbucks-friendly Grammy winners. [trailer]
You Kill Me: John Dahl (“Red Rock West,” “The Last Seduction”) attempts a crime noir comeback with a comedy twist. The film stars Ben Kingsley as an alcoholic hitman who has to sober up, Luke Wilson as his gay, Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor and Tea Leoni as the object of Kingsley’s affection. The last decent (and notable) film Dahl did was the underappreciated, “Rounders,” so maybe he’s due. [trailer]
Fay Grim: Hal Hartley’s triumphant return from up his ass stars Parker Posey as a housemom turned international spy in the decade-later sequel to his last great film, “Henry Fool.” There’s more oblique angles in this thing then we’ve ever possibly seen in one film, but ‘Grim’ finds Hartley back to form with his oblique and mannered deadpan comedy. [trailer]
28 Weeks Later – The sequel idea to the very-excellent, “28 Days Later,” was heinous in concept, but Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo amps up the terror without betraying the raw terror of the original. Incidentally, another sequel, 28 Months Later is being planned. [trailer]
Paris Je T’aime: Practically every director and actor known to man stars in this thing. The film is 18 shorts representing 18 boroughs of Paris directed by auteurs like the Coen Brothers, Gus Van Sant and Alexander Payne and starring actors like Natalie Portman, Elijah Wood and Maggie Gyllenhaal just to name a small few. There’s hits and misses, but generally it’s incredibly charming and sweet. [trailer]
Angel-A: After a few years of silence before returning for a kids movie, French intelligent-action director Luc Besson refuses to return to his roots and tries his hand at at noir-looking romantic comedy starring a loser and a gorgeous amazonian angel on his shoulder. [trailer]
The Boss Of It All: Lars Von Trier takes a brief break from loathing humanity for an office comedy that has only marginal shades of contempt for stupid, shallow and banal people. He shot it with a computer camera called, “Automavision” and it looks super wry and dry. Think of it as the auteur wearing with his mischievous trademark smirk, but with 50% less misanthropy. [trailer]
Rescue Dawn: Werner Herzog cannibalizes his 1997 documentary, “Little Dieter Needs To Fly” and uses it as the true-story source material for a harrowing look of the experience of two POW friends captured during the Vietnam war. Leads Christian Bale and Steve Zahn lost shitloads of weight and slept in straw huts for the role. It’s a Herzog film so it should be wonderfully loony. [trailer]
The Ten: It’s like Kieslowski’s Decalogue minus the existential pathos and made by smarmy, funny American comedians. Ten commandments, ten vignettes, man-crushable Paul Rudd, “The Daily Show’s” Paul Corddry, the guys who behind “The State,” and “Wet Hot American Summer,” what more do you want? [trailer]
Away From Her: Sarah Polley’s senility love story is surely not fun for the whole family, but it did coax ’60s icon Julie Christie out of retirement and hey, it’s little Sarah Polley; no one’s going to really see this thing, but we’re sure it’s probably a solid little drama. Do the right thing and spend your money on this instead of fucking the Fantastic Snore sequel. [trailer]
Eagle Vs. Shark: Social and emotional-challenged fall in love. It stars one-half of that acutely annoying Kewie comedy duo Flight of the Conchords and it looks like the New Zealandish answer to “Napoleon Dynamite” only, inexplicably worse. [trailer]
Interview: Steve Buscemi is smarter than he looks and casts British tabloid-hottie Sienna Miller as his love interest in the “actor falls in love with the schleppy, washed-up journalist” romance. He’s from the political milieu, she’s from the soap opera world, oh my science. [trailer]
The Brothers Solomon: The comedy pedigree is high: Mr. Show’s Bob Odenkirk directs and Gob (aka Will Arnett) from “Arrested Development” stars as one-half of socially inept loser brothers on a quest to put a baby in someone so their ailing father can have a granchild before he dies. That incredibly stupid premise had us sold at “socially inept.” [trailer]