Trailer Reviews

I just saw the trailer for Season of the Witch, and I will very likely not be watching it. First, the synopsis:

His faith broken by years of battle as a crusader, Behmen (Nicholas Cage) returns to central Europe to find his homeland decimated by the Black Plague. While searching for food and supplies at the Palace at Marburg, Behmen and his trusted companion Felson (Ron Perlman) are apprehended and ordered by the dying Cardinal to deliver a young peasant girl ¬believed to be the witch responsible for the Plague to a remote abbey where her powers can be destroyed. Behmen agrees to the assignment but only if the peasant girl is granted a fair trial. As he and five others set off on this dangerous journey, they realize with mounting dread that the cunning girl is no ordinary human, and that their mission will pit them against an evil that even in these dark times they never could have imagined.

It's wonderful that we aren't glorifying the crusades OH WAIT we totally are, because even though he's all faith-brokeny or whatever he's still the most bad-ass knight to ever kill a billion Turks and his badassedness is the basis for this movie. Second, I like that this movie basically rationalises the witch hunt. Thousands of women died because of the witch hunts in Europe at this time, and absolutely none of those deaths were justified. Accusations of witchcraft were generally levelled against practitioners of paganism (demonstrating the hegemony of the christian church at the time), particularly women, such as midwives and shaman-type advisers, who held status in their communities (women cannot hold power.) The only woman in the entire movie (certainly the entire trailer) is evil and powerful and we must strip her of her powers. Disregarding that fact that there's no way they wouldn't just kill her (because, y'know, we gotta have a movie. Just killing her right off the bat wouldn't be very entertaining) the movie implies that, again, woman + power = evil, and we must strip her power, not to mention scapegoating the ENTIRE PLAGUE on one woman. There are no other women to compare her against, "witches" or otherwise, so she is thus made to represent all women as a whole. From what I can tell, no one objects to her treatment, and she is kept in a little cage from 95% of the trailer. ZOMG! She is cunning! And extraordinary! Destroy!!!
The only redeeming aspect is the trailer features a couple seconds of Ron Perlman, and that is never a bad thing.

I also saw the trailer for The Red Baron. It has a cast of people I generally like, including Lena Headey, Til Schweiger, and Joseph Fiennes. That said, I feel a little weird about a movie whose point of view inclines the viewer to feel sympathetic towards the Axis. I realise, of course, that individuals are different than the whole, that situations are complex, there are two sides to every coin, etc. but I still find it uncomfortable, and that may prevent me from watching this movie. Plus, glorifying war is not my favourite thing to do, though the fight scenes look pretty badass and good action is an Achilles heel of mine.

Both trailers are available here.

Also, dear readers, do you like it when I review stuff? I think I will continue, when I have little else to say, unless of course you HATE IT and DISAGREE and in which case comment.