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Somehow Tsotsi director Gavin Hood was able to wrangle Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, and Peter Sarsgaard for his look at U.S.-run secret detention facilities. The new trailer looks pretty good to me.

I took the opportunity to look at the trailer provided here and I have to say that while I knew nothing about this film, it is now one which I will be seeing in the theaters when it is released. It is time that Americans be informed of the evils/horrors that our government is capable of and currently engaged in in the name of "freedom." This looks like it could have Oscar potential.

I groaned, I yawned, I guffawed. It looks ridiculous, but I'm sure it will make all the wackos out there who wear tin foil hats to keep out the government's evil radio rays real happy. All that's missing is the Cigarette Smoking Man.

CSM126 wrote:I groaned, I yawned, I guffawed.

So you're the guy sitting next to Barmy in the theater.

CSM126 wrote:It looks ridiculous, but I'm sure it will make all the wackos out there who wear tin foil hats to keep out the government's evil radio rays real happy. All that's missing is the Cigarette Smoking Man.

The stellar cast is what interested me, but I would definitely say it has a little bit of that overly-earnest, lefty hot-button political topicality, Oscar-baity vibe that can be a bit of a turn-off. I'm not sure I completely understand your dismissal of the premise though. Without turning this into a political discussion, it's not like we're talking about black helicopter stuff here. Off-the-books, U.S.-run detention and interrogation facilities in far-flung countries are not the stuff of conspiracy theorists, and they're nothing particularly new. Even the Bush administration has reluctantly admitted to using such facilities. It's fine to debate the usefulness, morality, or legality these operations, but to debate their existence is kind of silly.

I just find it a bit silly that they'd get the detainees not through background checks and amassing enough evidence to arrest them, but instead by throwing them a blanket party in a crowded airport.

The whole thing looks like it's designed to make the Daily Kos/Huffington Post crowd cream their pants. It looks sensationalized to the point that only those goofs could believe it. But I suppose I should wait until I see the darn thing (should I ever) to make that call.

But, uh, yeah...evil Meryl Streep is kind of a turn off. The woman can barely play mean let alone evil.

CSM126 wrote:I just find it a bit silly that they'd get the detainees not through background checks and amassing enough evidence to arrest them, but instead by throwing them a blanket party in a crowded airport.

Why is that hard to believe? That's pretty much how they rounded up all the "enemy combatants" that are now sitting in Guantanamo Bay.

Who cares about the plot? Is anyone else disappointed that Hood has been absorbed by Hollywood and has been immediately assigned a thriller and a comic book adaptation? Jay-sus.

Trailer in Quicktime.

Great cast but the script seems very flimsy. For me the film wavered back and forth until it lost me at the closing seconds with Witherspoon somehow managing to confront Streep and Arkin regarding her husband. Lawyers are barely able to confront politicians regarding the issue, let alone housewives.

Antoine Doinel wrote:Great cast but the script seems very flimsy.

You've already seen this?

No, no - my interest in the film wavered back and worth until the closing seconds with Witherspoon screaming at Streep to let her know how her husband is doing. Seemed entirely implausible to me.

Via_Chicago wrote:Who cares about the plot? Is anyone else disappointed that Hood has been absorbed by Hollywood and has been immediately assigned a thriller and a comic book adaptation? Jay-sus.

"Assigned"? Yeah, like this guy wasn't aching to sell out. Tsotsi wasn't exactly an auteur film.