{"id":1447,"date":"2012-02-15T13:04:53","date_gmt":"2012-02-15T19:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=1447"},"modified":"2012-02-15T13:04:53","modified_gmt":"2012-02-15T19:04:53","slug":"taking-laughable-movies-seriously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=1447","title":{"rendered":"Taking Laughable Movies Seriously"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I have to wonder if studios realize just how laughable some of their movies are.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of off-the-wall movies out there, and a good deal are enjoyable when they embrace their B-movie material. It’s when movies take themselves too seriously, though, that I think it can really put off audiences.<\/p>\n

I think that’s what happened when “Cowboys & Aliens” came out last year. It was an action blockbuster, but I imagine there were a lot of people who couldn’t get past the title or the story that combined those two genres.<\/p>\n

And I think that “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” is going to see the same results.<\/p>\n

The movie is set for a summer release (June 22), and it is based on the novel of the same name, which was written by Seth Grahame-Smith, author of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” The movie centers around Lincoln, who decides to kill vampires and “their slave-owning helpers” after his mother is killed by a supernatural creature.<\/p>\n

Despite that plot line, the recently released trailer did look fairly decent as a whole and it has a good cast (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Dominic Cooper, Alan Tudyk, Rufus Sewell, Benjamin Walker and Anthony Mackie) as well as a good director (Timur Bekmambetov). What the trailer also does, however, is pretend that this will be a huge action movie that everyone will go see.<\/p>\n

And I find it hard to take it seriously when there’s something excruciatingly funny about seeing Abe Lincoln slaying some vamps with an axe.<\/p>\n

The trailer focused on a lot of younger Lincoln, so we don’t see too much of a vampire slayer complete with Lincoln beard and stovepipe hat. But, it still ends with the scene of a full-costumed older Lincoln taking out the bad guys – and it’s not something I think people will be able to prevent themselves from laughing at.<\/p>\n

But like the first trailer for “Cowboys & Aliens,” the trailer for “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” ends with the notion that audiences won’t be chuckling in their seats or talking about how awful of an idea it was to make this into a movie. Though the book is a best-seller (from a humorist) and more people may be aware of it than they were about the “Cowboys & Aliens” comic book, I think there’s still a huge obstacle to overcome with turning a popular historical figure into an action star.<\/p>\n

The trailer is still only a teaser, and it’s hard to tell if there will be much room for comedy (though Tudyk’s presence is usually an indication of some joking around), but I think the movie is heading for another box office failure with its serious take on what really shouldn’t be that serious.<\/p>\n

What do you think of the trailer? Do you think people will see the movie or will it be a box office bomb this summer?<\/p>\n

Read more: http:\/\/cumberlink.com\/news\/opinion\/blogs\/now_showing\/movie-blog-taking-laughable-movies-seriously\/article_a74dc7de-57d9-11e1-ae6e-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1mTkBFgcf
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