Quirky couples

It's been a while since I highlighted any movie trailers, so I watched about eight in a row yesterday and found two that made me laugh. They're both about rather unusual pairings - just observe the facial expressions, the dressing, the personal obsession with revenge and dogs. Animals are pretty symbolic in both movies - dog, shark, eagle.

Eagle vs. Shark, a film from New Zealand, showcases the stranger of the two couples. Sure Jarrod and Lily are peculiar and awkward, but they're also highly watchable and endearing. Lily's shy, and Jarrod's like a boy trapped in a man's body with a fringe so short it takes even more years off him.

The title of Year of the Dog made me think of Chinese New Year. Ideally, it should've opened last year instead of this year. Anyway, it seems like typical Hollywood romantic-comedy-fare, but from what I've read, the film explores singlehood and depression and animal welfare issues. Even if it fails to accomplish this, it has John C. Reilly! And Peter Sarsgaard just glows in the trailer. He's never been known for romantic roles, but he cleaned up very well for this film, and it certainly helps that he still sounds mellow and mysterious, very John-Malkovich-like. Incidentally, he played John Malkovich's son in The Man in the Iron Mask, the young musketeer who Leonardo DiCaprio - as King Louis - had off-ed so that he could lay claim to Sarsgaard's fiancee.

The dogs look great, and the eagle and shark costumes? Spectacular.