Blackhat

If you’ve been to the movie theater in the last couple years — and you like to show up early — then you’ve surely noticed one of the most pervasive and tired trends in modern Hollywood: The use of depressing cover versions of famous songs in movie trailers. It started with one brilliantly innovative coming attraction, but quickly became something of an industry standard; nearly every studio tentpole’s first teaser (and sometimes the full trailer that follows) is scored by some kind of gloomy cover of a tune everyone knows. To prove just how played out this gimmick is, ScreenCrush assembled a list of fifteen examples from the last five years. Watch ’em and weep (because these trailers are so very sad):

A lot of people are going to act like they didn’t see the enormous success of ‘American Sniper’ coming, but the signs were all there. On top of the promising limited release numbers, there was the awards buzz. On top of that, there were the names of director Clint Eastwood and star Bradley Cooper. On top of that, the subject matter of the film is inherently attractive to the same category of moviegoer that makes Christian-themed films into massive hits. ‘American Sniper’ had one doozy of a weekend, but it’s not that surprising.

It's Water War! Jimmy Fallon's most bizarre and icy cold game yet! A game of chance, and um, hydration, Water War pits the 'Tonight Show' host against an especially down-for-whatever guest (after all, what sort of person would be okay with having water poured all over them on national television? a cool one, that's who!) in a battle to see who can get more soaking, sopping wet. That's the aim of the game, right? No? Then 'Blackhat' star Chris Hemsworth lost? What kind of world is this?!

On the list of uncinematic activities, computer hacking has to rank near the top, somewhere between small-business accounting and taking a nap. It’s tedious, static, and solitary work, and what little’s interesting about it is largely incomprehensible to those without advanced degrees in computer science. In a lesser filmmaker's hands, a hacker movie like ‘Blackhat’ would be terminally boring. But ‘Blackhat’ is in the hands of Michael Mann, and that means it’s also stylish, moody, and punctuated by intense action scenes.

The words “ ...The next Pearl Harbor that we confront could very well be a cyber-attack...” open the trailer for Michael Mann’s upcoming cyber-thriller ‘Blackhat.’ Somewhere, right now, a dozen Sony executives are nodding grimly in agreement.

In the current world we live in - what with the celebrity nude photo scandal - cybercrime is at the forefront of a lot of the conversation. How do we keep ourselves and our identities safe? Such is the plot of 'Blackhat,' the new Chris Hemsworth thriller that stars the 'Avengers' actor as the world's leading hacker (who also happens to be beautiful and is really good at punching people in the face).