Sunday, November 30, 2008
A+E, In this Issue..., Movies
Naughty or nice?
SP’s 2008 Holiday Movie Guide
Courtesy of Lionsgate
“The Spirit”
Courtesy of New Line Cinema
“Four Christmases”
Courtesy of Miramax Films
“Doubt”
Courtesy of Paramount Vantage
“Revolutionary Road”
Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
“Bedtime Stories”
Courtesy of United Artists
“Valkyrie”
Courtesy of 20th Century Fox
“The Day the Earth Stood Still”
While most of us have to wait until Christmas Day to unwrap our presents, Hollywood isn’t so patient. The entertainment-industrial complex is determined to bestow as many cinematic gifts upon us as humanly possible between now and Dec. 25. In fact, like the Christmas shopping season, which technically starts on the day after Thanksgiving but has been creeping into retail establishments since summer (or so it seems), the holiday movie crush begins well before we’ve all sat down to turkey and dumplings; the first wave of offerings hit theaters last Wednesday.
To help you make an informed decision about how best to spend your discretionary dollars in the current climate, we hereby present our take on 25 upcoming releases. (They’d better be good, for goodness’ sake.) As always, release dates are subject to change; double-check with your local theater.
OUT NOW
ASHES OF TIME REDUX
Starring: Jacky Cheung, Leslie Cheung
The pitch: Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai (“Blueberry Nights”) remixes his stylized martial-arts epic “Ashes of Time,” first released in 1994.
Our take: Reedited and rescored, this slam-bang version should hold up well for fans of the original, and appeal to novices who loved Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”—
Kevin Forest Moreau
FOUR CHRISTMASES
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Vince Vaughn
The pitch: Brad (Vaughn) and Kate (Witherspoon) face spending Christmas with not one, not two, but four dysfunctional families.
Our take: Don't judge a movie by its trailer. The chemistry between the leads, along with a strong supporting cast—Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, Kristen Chenoweth, Jon Voight and Sissy Spacek—should provide a much needed boost to the usual yuletide “I hate my family but I really don’t” storyline.—
Anne Lee Dabney I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein
The pitch: Scott Thomas gives an astonishing, soul-rattling performance as Juliette, a woman newly released from prison where she spent 15 years for the murder of her 6-year-old son.
Our take: Obviously not a heartwarming blockbuster, this thoughtful and moving French import should rank among the year’s best for fans of indie or art-house fare.
—K.F.M.TRANSPORTER 3
Starring: Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova
The pitch: Statham reprises his role as Frank Martin, a tough-guy courier who doesn’t ask questions; this time he’s pressured into transporting the kidnapped daughter of a Ukranian government official.
Our take: Statham (“Crank,” “The Bank Job”) is a likeable screen presence even in dreck like the recent “Death Race” remake, and “Transporter 2” proved this franchise to be surprisingly durable.
—K.F.M. DEC. 5
A CHRISTMAS TALE
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Almaric
The pitch: Three members of the Vuillard clan conspire to cook up a holiday reunion to heal a family riddled with pain and loss.
Our take: “Crazy family” in French means physical and mental illness, estrangement and other concepts straight out of the psychiatric handbook. It all sounds a bit darker than the usual idiosyncratic-relatives-during-the-holidays fare, but this is categorized as comedy/drama, so it should provide some laughs and a little Christmas spirit. Plus, Deneuve is a living legend, and Almaric (“Quantum of Solace”) is always worth watching.
—A.L.D. CADILLAC RECORDS
Starring: Adrien Brody, Beyoncé Knowles
The pitch: A look at the influential Chicago-based Chess Records label, which helped establish the careers of many great blues and rock legends including Etta James (Knowles), Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer) and Chuck Berry (Mos Def). What’s with that name? Founder Leonard Chess (Brody) had a habit of giving his artists Cadillacs.
Our take: Looks like this year’s “Dreamgirls”—a star-studded music-industry drama, this time set in the ’50s and ’60s.
—K.F.M. FROST/NIXON
Starring: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen
The pitch: Ron Howard directs this adaptation of the hit stage play, with Langella as Richard Nixon and Sheen as the British journalist whose extensive 1977 interviews resulted in the disgraced former president’s admission of guilt in the Watergate scandal.
Our take: “Frost/Nixon” boasts a strong cast (including Kevin Bacon and Sam Rockwell), a famous director and a timely subject (what with another divisive and unpopular Republican president getting ready to leave office)—not that that did a whole lot for Oliver Stone’s “W.”
—K.F.M. NOBEL SON
Starring: Alan Rickman, Bryan Greenberg
The pitch: Barkley Michaelson has to deal with quite a bit more than finishing his Ph.D thesis—his monstrous father wins the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, setting off a string of events that results in Barkley’s kidnapping (the requested ransom? Dad’s $2 million prize money). Of course, pop refuses to pay.
Our take: In addition to making anyone feel better about their own relatives, veteran scoundrel Rickman has us eagerly looking forward to another one of his despicable portrayals. The solid supporting cast—including Mary Steenburgen, Bill Pullman, Eliza Dushku, Danny DeVito and Ted Danson—is also a plus.
—A.L.D.PUNISHER: WAR ZONE Starring: Ray Stevenson, Dominic West
The pitch: Following on the heels of “The Incredible Hulk,” another Marvel Comics character in a follow-up film no one asked for. British actor Stevenson takes over the role of the antihero vigilante engaged in a one-man war on crime.
Our take: West (so good in HBO’s “The Wire”) collects a paycheck as disfigured mob boss Jigsaw, which may make this testosterone onslaught mildly interesting—emphasis on “mildly.”
—K.F.M. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto
The pitch: India’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” proves the perfect place for impoverished Jamal to prove his love to Latika, his childhood soul mate.
Our take: Despite a slightly far-fetched story, the movie received a standing ovation at the Toronto Film Festival, and reviewers are applauding its revealing look at the slums of Mumbai. The real acclaim should go to young thespians Patel and Pinto, who make us wonder why the stars of “High School Musical” are called actors at all.
—A.L.D.DEC. 10
THE READER
Starring: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes
The pitch: Winslet takes on a dark role as Hanna, a woman accused of war crimes who hides a personal secret. Fiennes plays a man who shared a passionate affair with Hanna many years ago.
Our take: Oscar buzz already surrounds Stephen Daldry’s smart film; expect a pleasant escape from seasonal sappiness as Winslet develops surprising empathy for her character, proving once again why she’s a multiple Oscar nominee.
—A.L.D.DEC. 12
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly
The pitch: Reeves stars as the alien messenger Klaatu in this remake of the 1951 science-fiction classic.
Our take: Director Scott Derrickson’s update is said to sport an environmental theme, which carries the danger of preachiness. But bigger stars, cool special effects and favorable memories of the original should help this “Earth” avoid the fate of M. Night Shyamalan’s recent ecological fizzler “The Happening.”
—K.F.M. DELGO
Starring: Freddy Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love-Hewitt
The pitch: A computer-animated fantasy about an alien teen (Prinze) who is framed for the kidnapping of a spunky princess (Love-Hewitt). Can he escape from prison, rescue the princess and prevent all-out war between their races?
Our take: “Delgo” has suffered numerous delays (according to a 2003 Creative Loafing story, it was once scheduled for release in late 2004). But its impressive animation, which has attracted a solid voice cast, could score a hit for local Fathom Studios (a division of MacQuarium Intelligent Communications), and further Atlanta’s growing status as a burgeoning film-industry town.
—K.F.M. DOUBT
Starring: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman
The pitch: Streep is a Catholic school principal who suspects a priest (Hoffman) of molesting a young black student in this big-ticket drama. Amy Adams also stars.
Our take: The award-winning play is riveting stuff, but it remains to be seen whether John Patrick Shanley’s adaptation of his own source material survives the transition to the big screen.
—K.F.M.
NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS
Starring: Freddy Rodriguez, John Leguizamo, Debra Messing
The pitch: Mauricio (Leguizamo) is caught between guilt from his ailing Puerto Rican mother yearning for grandchildren (Elizabeth Peña) and his workaholic wife (Messing). All of this comes into play during a Christmas visit. Rodriguez plays Mauricio’s brother, newly returned from Iraq, for additional family fun.
Our take: Cultural differences and the inclusion of a controversial war promise to spice up the traditional dysfunctional-family dynamic.
—A.L.D.DEC. 19
SEVEN POUNDS
Starring: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson
The pitch: We’re gonna have to get back to you on that. What we do know: IRS agent (Smith) tries to redeem an unforgivable mistake by helping seven people. The mistake? Why these seven? The title? No idea.
Our take: If your love of the Fresh Prince takes you to the theater, prepare for complete confusion until the tear-jerking finale.
—A.L.D.
THE TALE OF DESPERAUX
Starring: Emma Watson, Dustin Hoffman
The pitch: Desperaux Tilling suffers banishment from the castle dungeon’s rat-infested darkness. A bit of an oddball to his fellow rodents, he loves light and beauty—and the castle’s princess.
Our take: Famous voices abound—Sigourney Weaver, Stanley Tucci, Christopher Lloyd, William H. Macy, Kevin Kline and Tracy Ullman among them. With a cast that talented, there has to be something good about this animated tale from writer-director Gary Ross (“Seabiscuit”).
—A.L.D.YES MAN
Starring: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel
The pitch: Lonely loan officer Carl Allen (Carrey) tries for a drastic change, vowing to say yes to every opportunity that comes his way for an entire year. Deschanel further perfects her well-honed free-spirit love-interest role.
Our take: Though “Yes Man” is an adaptation of British humorist Danny Wallace’s 2005 memoir, director Peyton Reed’s choice of Carrey makes the real-life story seem a lot like a revamped “Liar, Liar.”
—A.L.D.DEC. 25
BEDTIME STORIES
Starring: Adam Sandler
The pitch: Hotel handyman Skeeter (Sandler) is in for a surprise when the bedtime stories he narrates for his niece and nephew become reality.
Our take: Playing an immature, goofy uncle doesn’t seem much of a stretch for Sandler, but the said-to-be-amazing visual effects should add a little oomph his usual shtick.
—A.L.D.THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett
The pitch: Button (Pitt) and Kate struggle with a complex long-distance relationship of sorts: He grows younger while she continues to age.
Our take: Leave it to director David Fincher to adapt F. Scott Fitzgerald’s love story into a film predominantly occupied with mortality. It’s fortunate that the long-gestating film hasn’t surfaced until now, allowing CGI technology to mature enough to add the right note of realism to Pitt’s “de-aging.”
—A.L.D.
GRAN TORINO
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang
The pitch: Star/director Eastwood plays a Korean War vet unhappy with the influx of Asians into his neighborhood; Vang plays one of those immigrants, whose family forces him to work for the old man after he’s caught trying to steal Eastwood’s titular car.
Our take: Dirty Harry’s recent directorial efforts have been hit (“Mystic River”) and miss (“Changeling,” “Billion Dollar Baby,” “Flags of Our Fathers”). If his character’s requisite emotional growth isn’t too heavy-handed, this under-the-radar drama should fall somewhere in-between.
—K.F.M. MARLEY & ME Starring: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston
The pitch: Based on John Grogan’s best-selling 2005 memoir, “Marley” follows the timeline of a couple’s life, exploring issues of marriage, family, maturation and mortality—all anchored by the film’s namesake, a disobedient yellow Lab.
Our take: Not to be mistaken for such animal flicks as “Air Bud,” “Marley” seeks to examine “the ordinariness of life.” We're curious if the adaptation will stick close to the memoir, whose sad ending may not fare so well on the big screen. Equally as questionable—Wilson pulling off the role of a responsible family man.
—A.L.D.THE SPIRIT Starring: Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson
The pitch: Comic-book auteur Frank Miller, who co-directed the big-screen version of his own “Sin City,” helms this take on the masked crimefighter created by comic-industry legend Will Eisner.
Our take: “The Spirit” isn’t a well-known property to mainstream America—but then, neither was “Sin City.” Employing a similar visual style and smartly padding the cast with a gallery of sultry femmes fatale (Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Paz Vega, Jaime King) should help Miller score a hit.
—K.F.M. VALKYRIE Starring: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh
The pitch: Cruise headlines this historical drama (directed by Bryan Singer), based on a real-life conspiracy by several WWII German officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
Our take: Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Terence Stamp and, er, Eddie Izzard add additional weight to this obvious Oscar aspirant. The only stumbling block? Whether audiences will buy Cruise as a German.
—K.F.M.DEC. 26
DARK STREEETS Starring: Gabriel Mann, Bijou Phillips
The pitch: This “film noir musical fantasy” concerns a 1930s nightclub owner (Mann) caught in a twisty spiral of sex, deceit and murder.
Our take: Online reviews are mixed, but the premise seems intriguing. Besides, with music from Natalie Cole, Aaron Neville and Richie Sambora, and a score by B.B. King, we’d go for the soundtrack alone.
—K.F.M. SP