Trio of Trailers: 'Endgame,' 'Old Dogs' and 'Tales from the Golden Age'
A thriller, a comedy and Mungiu
Pete Travis, director of Vantage Point, recruited William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mark Strong and Johnny Lee Miller to star in a new film called Endgame and it was finally picked up by small-time distributor Monterey Media and the first trailer has made its way online. Along with Endgame, a trailer for Tales from the Golden Age, which was helmed by an international crew of directors starting with 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days helmer Christian Mungiu along with Ioana Uricaru, Hanno Höfer, Razvan Marculescu and Constantin Popescu; and a second trailer for the John Travolta and Robin Williams comedy Old Dogs has arrived.
I have featured each trailer below along with the synopsis as well as a link for each. Enjoy.
Endgame – Trailer
November 6, 2009
South Africa, 1985. While the country is under siege, sanctions are biting, Mandela’s imprisonment is an international cause celebré, and the ANC guerrilla terrorist attacks are escalating. Every day the country is more ungovernable as it plunges towards the apocalypse of a race war. In saner moments everyone knows the vile apartheid regime is doomed but will the transition to democracy be peaceful or bloody? Working for P.W. Botha as a somewhat Machiavellian Head of Intelligence, Dr. Neil Barnard opens furtive talks with imprisoned Nelson Mandela. But lesser known are the secret talks that take place in the unlikely setting of a rural English manor house, arranged by a British businessman and sponsored by a mining company. Both sides have everything to win or to lose, including their own lives. The stakes are immense, the secrecy imperative. Botha learns of the UK talks and if the demise of apartheid is inevitable he intends to control the endgame by employing the tactics of divide and rule. Against all the odds, through volatile discussion, intrigue and breakthroughs, the unimaginable is achieved – a precious arena of frail trust between the two warring parties. (
click here for more info)
Tales from the Golden Age – Teaser Trailer
TBA 2010
An unconventional personal history of the late communist period in Romania, told through its urban myths from the perspective of ordinary people. Comic, bizarre, surprising, these myths drew on the often surreal events of everyday life under the communist regime. Humor is what kept Romanians alive, and Tales from the Golden Age aims to re-capture that mood, portraying the survival of a nation having to face every day the twisted logic of a dictatorship. (
click here for more info)
Old Dogs – Trailer #2
November 25, 2009
Two best friends—one unlucky-in-love divorcee (ROBIN WILLIAMS) and the other a fun-loving bachelor (JOHN TRAVOLTA)—have their lives turned upside down when they’re unexpectedly charged with the care of six-year-old twins while on the verge of the biggest business deal of their lives. The not-so-kidsavvy bachelors stumble in their efforts to take care of the twins (newcomers ELLA BLEU TRAVOLTA and CONNER RAYBURN), leading to one debacle after another, and perhaps to a new-found understanding of what’s really important in life. (
click here for more info)
Is it just me or does Seth Green have a clause in his contract to be carried around by an animal while in Beetle position?
God. Fucking. Damn. "Old Dogs" looks like a shitfuck stupid movie. Is it going to be 90 minutes of Robin Williams, John Travolta, and Seth Green running around through various zoo exhibits while being attacked by animals? Count me the fuck out! I'm predicting a 15% on the tomatometer.
"Endgame" doesn't look good, either. Nor some "Tales from the Golden Age." Hmm. Well, now I know what to give a miss.
I don't really understand how you can make a 90 minute movie about three grown men escaping the zoo. But I guess you can make a movie out of just about anything today.
The majority of the movie is not in the zoo I beleive thats one scene,
The movie is about Robin Williams/Travolta trying to prove that they can be a responsible dad & uncle respectively. That being said still a steaming pile turd soup served up for the masses
Re: Endgame and the fact that it's only being "shuffled into a few Carmike Theaters."
Given the fact that it debuted on PBS "Masterpiece Contemporary" on Sunday October 25th, I'm surprised that it's being released into theaters at all. It played Sundance in January to good reviews but was never given a wide release anywhere. But, your assessment that it couldn't be very good could not be further from the truth.
The cast is wonderful, particularly Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mark Strong as the suavely sinister Dr. Nial Barnard. It's by no means a happy little film but it's definitely one worth watching. I for one had no prior knowledge of the "secret" talks taking place behind the scenes in order to bring an end to apartheid and ensure a peaceful transfer of power. (Although it makes sense that it would happen this way.) Director Pete Travis, of whom I've been a fan since "The Jury", deftly manages to create tension from mere dialogue,all surrounding events of which we already know the outcome.
I can understand the limited commercial appeal of a film like this, unfortunate as it may be. Luckily we have cable outlets like IFC and The Sundance Channel, as well as PBS. And of course, there's always DVD. But don't let the lack of domestic release deter you.