Liam Neeson's Memory gets Taken in the Trailer for Unknown

Unknown looks exactly like the type of the absurd action/conspiracy thriller you'd expect to see during the dregs of early January. The trailer recalls Roman Polanski's Frantic , except with memory loss, explosions and a dozen more car crashes thrown into the mix. But as with Taken, Liam Neeson seems to be anchoring the absurd material with impressive commitment, and the supporting cast, including Frank Langella, Diane Kruger and January Jones, is surprisingly solid as well. That said, there's actually another reason that I'll be seeing this movie opening weekend, trailer aside.

I am convinced that director Jaume Collet-Serra is quietly making some of the best genre work out there these days. When horror filmmakers like Eli Roth were being heralded as auteurs, Collet-Serra's House of Wax remake (yep, the one with Paris Hilton) actually delivered more suspense, visual inventiveness, and demented humor than all of the "torture-porn" entries combined.

Then he upped the ante with last year's Orphan, again working with an extremely talented cast to deliver one of the sickest, most stylish straight-forward pulp-horror films I've seen in years. Coullet pushes every scene as far as it can go in terms of style and content, but never makes the mistake of winking at the audience or trying to transcend the genre.

So, based on the cast and Coullet's involvement, I'm giving this one the benefit of the doubt, despite the trailer, which admittedly looks totally convoluted, cliche, and silly. Fingers crossed.

Verdict: Sold, with a large tub of popcorn.