Sucker Punch is opening Friday. Not that you need to get any more stoked for a Zach Snyder movie about kick-ass girls, but you’ll want to give its soundtrack a listen.
Eventhough Marilyn Manson covered “Sweet Dreams,” Emily Browning resurrects the song on the soundtrack. Bjork rocks…natch. Plus, stick around for renditions of Where is my mind, White Rabbit and Iggy Pop’s “Forgotten Boy.” Thanks to AOL Music for streaming this.
by josh
Remember when movies were filmed on soundstages or in real -life settings, and models and rubber costumes were used to stand in for spaceships and weird lookin’ aliens? Chances are that you don’t, seeing as how even dramas are now winning visual effects Oscars, and Hollywood movies are charging faster and further into the digital world, replacing backgrounds and sometimes entire characters, using CGI. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While many movies got it incredibly wrong (Episode I: Phantom Menace, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow), some of them actually get it right, like 300’s all CGI backdrop (and possibly abs), and Sin City’s comic-book style violence and story-telling. Fitting then those directors will continue to go with what works, and Zack Snyder, the man who brought you 300, returns to theaters this spring with the highly stylized riot grrrl flick, Sucker Punch:
Set in the 1950’s, Sucker Punch tells the story of ‘Babydoll’ (played by Emily Browning), a young girl sent to live in a mental institution, after everyone she knows dies, and she goes all “Section 8” on her evil stepfather. Once locked up, she befriends other institutionalized girls (Abbie Cornish, Jenna Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung), who are fed up with the shabby treatment at the girls home (and some guy named ‘Blue’), and vow to escape into an alternate reality in their minds, to pick up weapons and items needed to escape the real world facility. A map, fire, a knife and a key – all good things to have handy when making a jailbreak, but the fifth thing’s a mystery, and we’ll just have to go along on their journey to see if they all make it out alive.
First thing that comes to mind when watching this trailer is Coooool! Hot chicks in thigh-highs, playing with guns and swords in settings ranging from WWII to a robotic future – could a fanboy ask for more? Kicking off the clip with some Led Zeppelin really sets the tone, as the depressing institution facilities, complete with forced labor and a wicked girl fight, reminds us that we’re a far cry from Little Orphan Annie, and “hard knock life” doesn’t really cover it. The girls have it pretty rough, but a dance teacher (played by the always beautiful Carla Gugino) teaches them how to escape their reality, and fight their captors in the process, which gets the ball rolling for what looks to be one kick-ass adventure.
Now the special effects we get aren’t necessarily groundbreaking, but it’s the flip-flop between the reality and fantasy worlds, and the prospect that what you do in the fantasy world will help you escape your real-life jailers, gets us all jazzed up about the plot of the movie. We got the same thing in Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, and it’s exciting to see how the real and fantasy worlds parallel each other. In Sucker Punch, there’s sure to be no lack of action or excitement to be had in either world, and if Pan’s Labyrinth was a beautiful and heartbreaking fairy tale, then Sucker Punch is going to be its amped up, psychotic first cousin.
But, will it suck?
No. There are enough movies throughout the year that play on a handful of screens and get the title of “must see” and “year’s best,” but let’s be honest, sometimes we want to break out and have a little fun at the movies. We got that last year with Kick-Ass, and the year before that with J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot; sometimes it’s better to set the brain on coast and enjoy a little eye-candy. In the post-Holiday wasteland that January and February can be for Hollywood movies, Sucker Punch is going to be that first great ride of the year, gearing us up for the summer blockbusters that lie just around the corner. Lots of action, a bit of thinking, and girls running around in skimpy clothing? Looks like our spring awakening has just begun…
To preview the Sucker Punch movie posters, click here…
Coming out next March is Zack Snyder‘s Sucker Punch, the story of a couple of girls sick of living in their government mandated home, who lash out at their evil headmasters. Sound a bit like the plot of Annie? Take a look at the just released movie posters and think again…
Emily Browning as 'Babydoll'
Abbie Cornish as 'Sweet Pea'
Jena Malone as 'Rocket'
Jamie Chung as 'Amber'
Carla Gugino as 'Madam Gorski'
Will It Suck?
Will It Suck? 