Tuesday’s Top Trailer: The Great Gatsby

Welcome to a weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recently seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

The Great Gatsby – Opening December 25, 2012

This trailer has been buzzing around the Internet for the past week. I’m not a devotee of the F. Scott Fitzgerald work on which this is based, so I’ll come at it strictly as a filmgoer and Oscar predictor. This film, more than anything, looks visually astonishing, decorated with costumes and colors and just about the most gorgeous scenery ever conceived of for film. Its story looks exceptionally intriguing as well, with Leonardo DiCaprio once again taking on the role of a mystery man with a whole lot of power and a lack of social grace to know how best to handle it. I’m thrilled to see Carey Mulligan get a role like this after her standout performances in “An Education” and “Shame,” and she seems to fit right into the 1920s, as does Tobey Maguire. Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke (“The Chicago Code”), and Joel Edgerton (“Warrior”) also appear in the supporting cast, all dressed for the part in this period piece. Director Baz Luhrmann, as it happens, has only ever made four feature-length films. “Australia” and “Romeo + Juliet” earned Oscar nominations for costume design and art direction, respectively, while “Moulin Rouge” won both those awards and also received a handful of other nominations, including Best Picture. This will be Luhrmann’s best shot at recapturing the excitement and creativity of that film, and this is sure to be one of the most anticipated movies of awards season. I think it looks dazzling and magnificent, and I can only hope that the experience of the film is as grand and majestic as the trailer.