Trailer Weekend: Due Date and Devil

A comedy starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis as well as a supernatural horror thriller from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan cover opposite ends of the spectrum in this edition of Trailer Weekend. Why not?

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Due Date

When you direct a comedy that makes $467 million worldwide, studios are going to let you do whatever you want (and ask that you at least use one of the stars from that previous hit). Such is the case with “The Hangover” director Todd Phillips and his latest film, “Due Date,” a typical road comedy in the exact same vein as “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” with Robert Downey Jr. in the Steve Martin “normal guy” with anger problems role and Zach Galifianakis playing the large guy with weird habits. Downey Jr. is trying to make it home in time for the birth of his son and he will certainly be impeded.

As long as audiences see Downey Jr. and Galifianakis and are starstruck into thinking this is an original film, it ought to work well for Phillips, who also has a “Hangover” sequel in the works for next year. Nothing in this trailer suggests this will be anywhere near as good, but the back-and-forth between these two “in” comedians ought to be worth the price of admission and Jamie Foxx co-starring doesn’t hurt matters. Find out on the due date of November 5.

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Devil

I’m easily duped into thinking horror movies with “social experiment” concepts could be good, so I’ve posted this trailer for a film about five strangers trapped in an elevator, one of whom we are to presume is the devil in disguise.

The nice part about this M. Night Shyamalan movie is that it’s just his story. He didn’t write the screenplay (thank goodness after the disaster of “The Last Airbender” script) and he didn’t direct. Provided it’s nice and short and get to the point without stupid dialogue such as “well what if it’s you? Or me? Or any of us?” it could be a decent start to the fall horror campaign.