This Week In Trailers: Heavy Metal Massacre, My Father, Die, Reset, Lady Macbeth, David Stratton's Stories Of Australian Cinema

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they're seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: What better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? This week we're wondering what Mondo is up to, what the spawn of Pierce Bronson is up to, what the guy who choreographed Black Swan is up to, and then wonder aloud at who David Stratton is, and we get genuinely excited about a Victorian period piece. My Father, Die Trailer

Critically acclaimed.

I don't say this lightly but this is one of the best trailer intros I've seen in some time. Director Sean Brosnan completely disarms you before you even have a chance to understand what it is you're looking at. I'm still not certain what this pastiche of discordant images and sights are supposed to tell me about his movie but I don't rightly care. It's a ride and I want on. It doesn't have to be beautiful to be great and not all great movies have to be beautiful but around the rough edges of this thing there seems be flashes of something worthy enough of our collective attention.

Lady Macbeth Trailer

Amazing.

What should be nothing more than an interestingly made movie is made wildly entertaining by some inspired direction and visceral performances. It's hard to deduce whether director William Oldroyd's ode to a woman who is trapped in a passionless marriage and finds romance in the arms of a man more to her liking is just being told with fresh perspective or whether Oldroyd wanted to do something completely unconventional with his narrative. Perhaps it's both. For what's here is just wildly satisfying on an artistic and aesthetic level. The landscape looks modern but the story, fully rooted in the past, just feels alive and relevant to those living in this century. There's oodles to admire about what's stuffed into this trailer but perhaps the most noteworthy is how engaging and alluring he makes the material.

David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema Trailer

Unless this involves the careful deconstruction of BMX Bandits I'm not interested.

One of the things that director Sally Aitken is wise to do here is not focus on David Stratton, the film critic, but, rather, the bounty of what Australia has contributed to cinema. Yeah, there's some blowhardy lines that are uttered by Stratton, resplendent in his man-scarf, about what this project intends to uncover but, wisely, we keep things focused on the real focus of the feature which is the productions themselves and what kind of impact they've had on the world who consumes movies. From a sociological perspective, this is the kind of document that is interesting simply to see how people from another country talk about the things they're most proud of and why so I'm eager to see what it is that they have to say about their own contributions to this art form.

Reset Trailer

Choreographer for Black Swan. I'm in.

Directors Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai may already know that what they have on their hands is a bit of a uphill battle when it comes to making this must-see viewing but this is about as close as you're going to get to making someone eager to rush out and consume this whole. What is so very remarkable about this trailer is that it's elegant in its presentation. Gone is any pomp or any fluff about the importance of dance in this day and age and, instead, focuses on the work that a human being is putting into his creation. It's addictive, electric and shot in a way that makes this feel alive to our eyes. I couldn't be more enthralled at the possibilities of where the narrative will go but the trailer is enough to whet the appetite and make me want to eagerly devour its contents.

Heavy Metal Massacre Trailer

I'm on Mondo's mailing list.

Being on that list means sometimes you get emails like the one I received this week, heralding the arrival of this gem. Not really sure I understand where directors Steven DeFalco and Ron Ottaviano drew their inspiration but if it was anything to do with the heavy metal scene of the late 80's I'm sure it was fueled by illicit narcotics, copious amounts Aqua Net and many yards of sparkly spandex. This is absolutely, positively not a traditional trailer but the effect is still the same: abject awe.

Nota bene: If you have any suggestions of trailers to possibly be included in this column, even have a trailer of your own to pitch, please let me know by sending me a note at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com or look me up via Twitter at @Stipp

In case you missed them, here are the other trailers we covered at /Film this week: