Film Fatale

Check out Devin Gordon's Newsweek/MSNBC show and tell piece about movie trailers, good and bad--the ones that tell you all but the very ending (hello there, Kevin Costner in THE GUARDIAN) and those that intrigue (LITTLE CHILDREN) without dropping in a line of dialogue. THE GUARDIAN reveals every plot twist in this waterborne TOP GUN actioner -- and maybe that's how TOP GUN nostalgists want it.

The highbrow literary adaptation LITTLE CHILDREN has but little dialogue, yet it conveys a powerful mood. With attractive leads eyeing each other up--with desire, with suspicion--and the sound of an oncoming train, this picture perfect suburban setting seems strangely ominious. Interesting what else is suggested: anxiety over the innocence and safety of children (the implicit neglect of the solitary little girl pictured toward the beginning of the trailer--that entire unsavory plotline, a big one, is not mentioned. Probably because it's disgusting. Perhaps it's enough to tag LITTLE CHILDREN as the work of "the director of IN THE BEDROOM -- aka "Granola DEATH WISH -- to indicate that somebody's going to end up in the casualty ward. Or worse.

Most creepy, in this season of scary movies, is the preview for THE GRUDGE 2. Yes, it's a sequel to a remake of a Japanese chiller: Familiar stuff. But this clip from Trailer Park manages to unsettle with unpredictable sound effects and an offbeat rhythm. As Gordon writes, all the expected shocks arrive -- but they're half a beat before or after you expect them.