Great Gatsby!: Trailer Time

The trailer for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby was released tonight-on Entertainment Tonight of all places -and I have to say I was slightly underwhelmed. I know airing the trailer on television probably gained it more attention than just solely putting it online and hoping the word got out, but did Nancy O'Dell really have to feel the need to talk over some parts? I am more of an Access Hollywood girl myself anyway.
I wanted chills. I wanted squeals. Instead I got contemplation and nervousness. Will this movie be as good as I want it to be? I have seen the trailer five times and I still cannot say.
Check out the trailer on Cinemablend (one of my go to movie sites) below:
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Great-Gatsby-Trailer-Arrives-Online-31058.html
The problem I had with the trailer is just one: Tobey Maguire. His voice over narration reminded me too much of Spider-Man (2002). What he is saying is different, but the inflection is all the same. Don't believe me? Watch the other trailer and compare.

Personally, I think Tom Hiddleson would make a fantastic Nick Carraway especially after his turn as F. Scott Fitzgerald in Midnight in Paris. I always saw Carraway as Fitzgerald himself, a man on the outside, always looking in and wanting to be a part of a world he did not quite understand. It is part of the reason why I could not take Hiddleson seriously in The Avengers; he seems too much like a snide English gentleman than a real villain.
Another problem I have with the trailer is the music. It's so modern. I hear auto-tune. The 1920's were all about jazz. How can you make a movie about the 1920's and not use jazz music? The second song snippet I liked a bit better because of the lyrics about love being madness, but the opening song I did not feel fit at all. Someone on twitter said it seems a bit modern and I tend to agree. At least for now.
The best part of the trailer is Leonardo DiCaprio. I could think of no one better than him to play the infamous Gatsby, a man of infinite charm, wealth, and loneliness. Sounds a bit like Leo himself. Leo is shown in the trailer as an almost Kane-esq figure: looming above the party, but not joining in on the action. A man everyone seems to know about, but no one actually seems to know. He even looks a little bit like Orson Wells.
For me the jury is still out on Carey Mulligan. I wanted Michelle Williams to play Daisy because I think she encompasses the vulnerably and passion that makes up that character. Although, I do love Mulligan so I think once I see more of her performance I will grow to like her more. I am not sure what other female character is in the trailer, I believe it was Jordan, but I really liked her energy and look.
The 1920's is one of my favorite decades so I hope the costumes and sets will be as fantastic as the little the trailer showed. I want it to be like Boardwalk Empire, but better. No one does over-the-top quite like Baz so I think it will be good. I hope he pulls out all the stops, just like in Moulin Rogue! 
This is one of my favorite books of all time so I just hope that it comes out right. Only time will tell. I cannot wait until Christmas, for more than one reason now.

Scott Pilgrim: Movie vs. the Book

The graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Brian Lee O'Malley is one of the few books that I can separate from the film. That's the goal of any director who translates a book to the screen, they want their vision to be able to stand apart from the original one. I can honestly say that Edgar Wright managed to do that with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010).
The thing I liked about the books that I feel the film captured well is the visual aspect. So much of a graphic novel is the characters' facial expressions and what is going on around them. I loved how Wright captured the comic book feel and unique style of O'Malley's books.
The thing that the movie brought to the next level was the incorporation of music. Since it is a series about a band and O'Malley has numerous and varying musical interests it only makes sense that the film had an awesome soundtrack.

I also thought the casting was perfect. I loved everyone, Michael Cera playing his normal "I'm-socially-awkward-but-at-the-same-time-kind-of-a-jerk-don't-call-me-Jesse-Eisenberg" role and Mary Elizabeth Winstead playing to all facets of Ramona's personality from her complexity, vulnerability, and toughness. My personal favorites were Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells and Ellen Wong as Knives Chang even if her character lacked the emotional depth and growth that her book counterpart had. I just thought that Wong was adorable and just desperate enough.
The one thing that I did not like about the film was the ending. I thought the book's ending (#6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour) was very well done and provided a full amount of closure and understanding about the characters' personal journeys that the film lacked. I thought especially Ramona's motives became more clear and her character more likable.
Overall, I loved both experiences on their own. I need to see the movie again now that I have read the book so I can compare them more thoroughly.
Movie review: No milk needed 
Book review: Needs milk 

Great Gatsby!

This. 

I just saw some images from the new The Great Gatsby film directed by Baz Luhrmann (2012) and I needed more than the 140 characters given to me by twitter to express my emotions. I have been following this film since I first heard about it since involves some of my all time favorite people. I cannot think of anyone better to direct than Baz who is all about the spectacle and (disregarding Australia) has made some great films such as Romeo + Juliet and one of my all time favorites, Moulin Rouge. I think  he can throw a party in the way that would make Gatsby proud and he is really going all out in creating the feeling of the 1920's. ($150 million production? Purchasing 1920's cars? Building a recreation of Long Island in the 1920's? All yes.)

And can I just say that I would like to kiss the feet of whomever cast this film. Leo DiCaprio as Gatsby is not inspired, it's perfection. Leo *is* Gatsby; charming and dapper with an undertone of vulnerability and a core of romanticism. 

Having not seen Carey Mulligan in anything (shame on me), I cannot say one way or another how I feel about her as Daisy. I dare say she looks the part though.   

Yes, I just went there

The only one I'm slightly worried about is  Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway. I see Nick as aloof and detached but very much apart of the East Egg scene. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I see his character as a kind of Dan Humphrey ala Gossip Girl; a person critical of the world around him but also deeply invested in the people and the world itself. I hope that Tobey can pull all this off while still showing his friendship with Leo because their chemistry will be central to the film. I had hoped the role would go to Joseph Gordon-Levitt not only because I love him, but because of the excellent chemistry he and Leo had in Inception.

I have an entire year to speculate, get excited, and obsessively re-read the novel but let me just say, I'm excited to see what this film will look like. I take book to movie translations very seriously and especially with a book I love so much it will be interesting to see how I feel once it hits the big screen.

To look at more of the pictures from the film check out the link here: http://pagetopremiere.com/2011/12/leonardo-dicaprio-carey-mulligan-and-tobey-maguire-on-the-great-gatsby-set-122/