Trailer Tuesday: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

Keanu Reeves’ latest role is… an alien! No lie. It’s like a bad joke. Reeves finally gets the role he was destined to play — a non-human. Watch the trailer and you’ll see how his famed wooden acting really fits the role.

The Day the Earth Stood Still, directed by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose), is a remake of Robert Wise’s classic 1951 film (below) — currently #198 on the IMDb Top 250 — which acted as a political soapbox to speak out against The Cold War and nuclear weapons. The alien, British actor Michael Rennie, chastises the world, saying violence won’t be tolerated if it will affect the rest of the universe.

The Day the Earth Stood Still — 1951
This updated version seems to have focused that fraternal warning into blowing up football stadiums. And Derrickson says a new warning is about how badly people are treating nature (Happening say what?) and each other. That’s it? Nothing about our very current potential to blow up everything to kingdom come?

Oh well, I don’t think there will be too many diehard fans of the 1951 original protesting the changes. And like most, I’m up for any alien-destroying-the-Earth nonsense.

Also Starring: Jennifer Connelly (Dark Water, House of Sand and Fog), Kathy Bates, John Cleese, Jon Hamm (Mad Men), and Jaden Smith (offspring of Hollywood’s previous alien hunter, Will Smith).

Release Date: December 12, 2008

P.S. Check out the trailer for the original film. My favorite scene is when the group of doctors remark that the alien’s 130-year-life span must be due to advanced medical technology…then they all light up cigarettes.

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July 8th, 2008
Categories: Trailers, Science Fiction . Author: Allison

3 Comments

  1. Comment by Scott on July 10, 2008 11:08 am

    Keanu? Meh. Although I can’t think of who would be good in the role Mortenson? Hopkins? Crispin Glover? Heh. It will be hard to top Jeff Bridges. Or Kevin Spacey in K-Pax. Well, at least they didn’t cast Adam Sandler.

  2. Comment by Norm Schrager on July 10, 2008 1:48 pm

    Wait let me get this straight from Mr. Reeves’ closing dialogue there… If the Earth dies, I die. If I die, the Earth survives. Hmm. This sounds circular. What if we die at the same time?! What if the Earth is just sort of sick, and I feel great for a little while, but then I don’t feel so good, but the Earth feels better?

  3. Pingback by » THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL... Stale? :: Meet In the Lobby: Movie News, Views, Reviews on November 5, 2008 2:50 pm

    […] plot? Well, there’s always the environmental angle, a far more evergreen (hah!) approach. (See Allison’s Day the Earth Stood Still preview for more details.) And, when in doubt, it’s easy to just detonate many buildings, conjure many special […]

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