Tuesday’s Top Trailer: Wild

Welcome back 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.

Wild – Opening December 5, 2014

This buzzed-about trailer popped up on IMDB, and I figured it was definitely worth a watch. It’s most notable for many as director Jean-Marc Vallée’s follow-up to “Dallas Buyers Club,” but for me that’s less enticing since I found that film to be highly overrated. That said, it wasn’t so bad, and Vallée did manage to draw out two compelling Oscar-winning performances from actors whose work isn’t always superb. What’s most worthwhile about this, however, is Reese Witherspoon’s comeback. I’ve liked Witherspoon ever since “Legally Blonde,” where she fully embraced the comic potential of her character without selling her short. I think she very much deserved her Oscar for “Walk the Line” though many disagree, and I think she should have earned more recognition for her supporting turn in “Mud.” Now, she has the opportunity to fully own a film. While these kinds of movies can be isolating, there are plenty of success stories like “Into the Wild” and “127 Hours” where a truly magnetic lead performance commands an above-average solo journey. As long as it’s more gripping and engaging than “The Way,” which starred Martin Sheen as a man walking a long trail in memory of his late son, I think this should work well. It certainly seems like there’s plenty of meat in the backstory of Witherspoon’s Cheryl Strayed, and the supporting cast is populated by the likes of Thomas Sadoski, Gaby Hoffmann, Laura Dern, Michiel Huisman, and Brian Holt, an eclectic list sure to enhance a competent and stirring introspective drama.