Upcoming Movies

Some Carnage to Look Forward To

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Christop Walz in his Oscar winning role in Inglorious Basterds

Roman Polanski is currently in post-production with his newest film Carnage, based on the popular comic play God of Carnage by the French playwright Yasmina Reza.   God of Carnage won the 2009 Tony for Best Play.  It is the story of two couples whose sons have tangled in a schoolboy row; the couples meet to discuss the matter, but the discussion keeps veers off into bickering and rants.

In Polanski’s movie, the couples are played by John C. Reilly and Jodie Foster and Christoph Walz and Kate Winslet.  On Broadway, the likes of Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden, James Gandolfini, Hope Davis, Christine Lahti, Jimmy Smits, Dylan Baker and Lucy Liu cycled through the roles.  Daniels has played both male roles and Harden won a Tony for Best Actress.

Polanski (Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, The Pianist) is one of the greatest living directors.  With last year’s The Ghost Writer, Polanski proved that he’s still on the top of game.  So I’m looking forward to this one, too.

And more upcoming movies

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I’ve updated the Movies I’m Looking Forward To page to add trailers and descriptions.  This month we’ll see the singer/songwriter documentary Troubadours (first aired March 2 on PBS), the tragic Cannes hit Of Gods and Men (Des Hommes et des Dieu)( releasing widely March 4) and Abbas Kiarostami’s The Certified Copy (Copie Conforme) with the luminous Juliette Binoche (releasing widely March 18).

Here’s the trailer for Carancho, which will release widely on April 8. Well, they have ambulance chasers in Argentina, too, and that seamy world is the setting for this sexy and violent noir thriller.  Stars Ricardo Darin of The Secrets of Their Eyes and Nine Queens.  Won Un Certain Regard at Cannes.

The Movies I’m Looking Forward To page also features Hanna, Potiche, Jane Eyre, Restless, The Tree of Life, Tabloid, Cold Weather, Boxing Gym and American Grindhouse.

Once again, some promising new movies in the theaters

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We’re nearing the end of that period in January and February where the theaters are filled with 1) Oscar nominees lingering from the Holidays and 2) the very worst Hollywood inventory.   Some intriguing new films are now ready to be released.  I’ve updated the Movies I’m Looking Forward To page to add trailers and descriptions.

This weekend brings us Cedar Rapids and Kaboom.  Cedar Rapids is an “aim low” comedy about a lame guy (Ed Helm) whose life is so boring that an insurance agent conference in Cedar Rapids is a revelatory experience.   It’s got John C. Reilly as the Wild and Crazy Insurance Agent and is directed by Miguel Arteta, director of the underrated The Good Girl and Youth in Revolt.  Kaboom: A trippy sex comedy from director Greg Araki, creator of the brilliant and searing Mysterious Skin.

Here’s the trailer for next weekend’s Nora’s Will, a Mexican dramedy in which a man’s mother dies and he uncovers some jarring family secrets.

The Movies I’m Looking Forward To page also features Troubadours, Certified Copy, Of Gods and Men, Carancho, Hanna, Jane Eyre, Restless, The Tree of Life, Tabloid, Cold Weather, Boxing Gym and American Grindhouse.

New trailers for a low comedy and a paranoid thriller

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Cedar Rapids is an “aim low” comedy about a lame guy (Ed Helm) whose life is so boring that an insurance agent conference in Cedar Rapids is a revelatory experience.   It’s got John C. Reilly as the Wild and Crazy Insurance Agent and is directed by Miguel Arteta, director of the underrated The Good Girl and Youth in Revolt.  Releases February 11.

Hanna is a paranoid thriller starring Saoirse Ronan as a 16-year-old raised in the Arctic Circle to be a master assassin by her rogue secret agent father (Eric Bana), and then released upon the CIA.  She is matched up against special ops wiz Cate Blanchett.  Hanna is directed by Joe Wright (Atonement, The Soloist).   Releases April 8.

Read about more upcoming movies and see more trailers at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

Movies I'm Looking Forward To: Late December Edition

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Now we’re at the time of year when the award-aspiring movies are released just in time for Oscar eligibility.  Trailers and descriptions are on my Movies I’m Looking Forward To page.

We’ll start on December 22 with  Sofia Coppola’s (Lost in Translation) semiautographical Somewhere.  On Christmas Day, the Coen Brothers open their version of True Grit.  The King’s Speech, with Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham-Carter,  will finally get its wide release.

On the 29th, I’ll be awaiting Another Year, a potential masterpiece by one of my favorite directors, Mike Leigh.  We’ll also have a flashy performance by Javier Bardem in a contemporary Job story – Biutiful. Kevin Spacey will star in a real life story of political corruption in Casino Jack.   Peter Weir (Master and Commander, Picnic at Hanging Rock) will showcase The Way Back.

The year’s final release will be the offbeat un-romance Blue Valentine, with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.  Festival critics loved and hated this film.  The trailer, which depicts the beginning of a relationship that falls apart during the movie, is quite charming.

See my Movies I’m Looking Forward To page for descriptions, image and trailers.

Here’s the trailer for True Grit.

The latest from Mike Leigh

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This month, British filmmaker Mike Leigh delivers what could be one of the best films of the year, Another Year.  Leigh has been nominated for four screenwriting Oscars and two directing Oscars, and is best known in the US for art house favorites Happy-Go-Lucky, Vera Drake, Secrets and Lies,  Topsy-Turvy and Career Girls.

Leigh is known for outlining a story, rather than writing a word-for-word script.  He then develops the scenes and dialogue with his actors in rehearsal.  He is especially notable for directing actresses to Best Actress recognition.   Sally Hawkins won a Golden Globe for Happy-Go-Lucky.  Imelda Staunton was Oscar-nominated for Vera Drake, as was Brenda Blythen for Secrets and Lies.

In my opinion, Leigh’s masterpiece is his 1999 Secrets and Lies.

Another Year was uniformly celebrated at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film observes a year in the life of a happily married couple (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen).  They and we pick up insights about themselves and their family and friends.

Marketing problem

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Let’s see if you can help a Hollywood studio with a marketing problem.  Suppose you have made a highbrow, smart, quirky film about a man who emerges from a disabling depression by communicating only through a beaver hand puppet.  And the film is titled The Beaver.

Now suppose that the guy’s wife is played by the eminently respectable, sympathetic and likable Jodie Foster, who also directs the film.  Everybody always likes Jodie Foster, right?

With me so far?  Wonder what the marketing problem is?  Well, the problem is that the audience must sympathize with the husband and root for him to learn how to express his feelings appropriately.  And that husband is played by Mel Gibson.

See the problem?

To make things worse for poor Jodie Foster, her film was already in the can and awaiting a Fall 2010 release when the tapes of Mel threatening his real life ex were splattered across the global media.

The Beaver reportedly had a $19 million budget and finished shooting in November 2009.  The release date is now the vague “2011”.  But, never fear, the trailer is here!

Movies I'm Looking Forward To: Early December Edition

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I’ve updated the Movies I’m Looking Forward To page to add trailers and descriptions of some key December releases.

This weekend brings us Black Swan with Natalie Portman and I Love You, Phillip Morris with Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor.

December 17 may be the best opening weekend for quality films all year.   I’ve already seen the exquisite drama Rabbit Hole, with Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhardt.  We can also see Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter, Julie Taymor’s version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, The Company Men and the sci fi TRON 2: Legacy.

And later in the month will come Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, the Coen Brothers’ True Grit, Javier Bardem in Biutiful and Kevin Spacey in Casino Jack.  Just in time to qualify for Oscars, Master Director Mike Leigh will release Another Year, and Peter Weir will showcase The Way Back.

The year’s final release will be the offbeat romance Blue Valentine, with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.

See my Movies I’m Looking Forward To page for descriptions, image and trailers.

Here’s the trailer for Rabbit Hole.

Movies I'm Looking Forward To: Early November Edition

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I’ve updated the Movies I’m Looking Forward To page to add trailers and descriptions of some key November releases.

November 5 brings us Fair Game and Welcome to the Rileys. Ripped from the headlines, Fair Game is the Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson story with Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. Welcome to the Rileys was a hit at Sundance hit featuring James Gandolfini as a Midwestern plumbing contractor who visits New Orleans for a conference, meets teen runaway Kristin Stewart, and decides to stay.

On November 26, we’ll see some major Oscar bait with Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter in The King’s Speech.

I’ve also listed the big December movies, including The Black Swan with Natalie Portman, The Fighter with Mark Wahlberg, Julie Taymor’s The Tempest, the Coen Brothers’ True Grit and Mike Leigh’s Another Year.

Here’s the trailer for The King’s Speech.