Hollywood Babylon: Welcome to Trailer Town!

From time to time, SE&L will step back and let the Tinsel Town marketing machine do what they do best – tantalize and tease us with clever coming attraction previews and trailers. The five films focused on this time around represent some highly anticipated future outings, including the latest from cinematic stalwarts like David Cronenberg, Michel Gondry and Wes Anderson. Every few weeks, we’ll take a break from casting our critical eye over the motion picture artform and let the shill do the talking. And of course, once they do open in theaters, you can guarantee we will be there, deciphering whether the come-on matches the context. In any event, enjoy:

Eastern Promises

David Cronenberg is reunited with his History of Violence star (Viggo Mortensen) for a story of “murder, deceit, and retribution” among the members of London’s Russian mafia.

Lions for Lambs

The War in Iraq gets the soapbox treatment in this multilayered narrative revolving around the people, the politicians, and the policy that serve this senseless conflict.

The Darjeeling Limited

Part mystical journey, part familial non-erotic male bonding, Wes Anderson’s latest looks like it will continue his streak of eccentric yet effective dramedies.

No Country for Old Men

All the rage at Cannes, the Coen Brothers’ new movie takes author of the moment Cormac McCarthy’s New West noir and brings it to startling life.

Be Kind, Rewind

Jack Black and Mos Def star as video store employees who decide to replace their erased VHS inventory with their own homemade versions of classic films.