Let’s go to the movies!
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008If we hadn’t already, we are entering into the heat of Oscar season. Now, I may be completely unqualified to write this post due to my extreme biases and lack of knowledge, but I’m excited about what’s coming, so I’m talking about it. Last night I was reading a CNN article about upcoming holiday movies as well as the running for Academy Award, which I’m going to rely a lot on for this post.
First, Slumdog Millionaire, which I have not seen, but has been getting terrific reviews. It’s still new. It was deemed a possible sleeper hit by some person’s article I was reading (I’m sorry!), and it seems to have been garnering press (obviously, CNN), but I’ll be surprised if I see a trailer on tv or hear about it from a person who has no real interest in movies. This is not meant to be negative, it’s just that Slumdog Millionaire will not be your next Titanic as far as popularity goes. The film is directed by Danny Boyle. Wide release is set for November 27th.
Speaking of Titanic, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio reunite in Sam Mendes’s Revolutionary Road. This is where my partiality comes into play. I admire both of these actors greatly, and Sam Mendes has already shown his stuff with American Beauty as well as two solid pictures since then (Jarhead and Road to Perdition). Also, according to IMDB, he is working on a Rufus Wainwright documentary, which could make me love anyone, and in 2009 will apparently be releasing Middlemarch, possibly George Eliot’s greatest novel. I’m a little worried about the length, though. Back to the point. It is based on the novel by Richard Yates and is released December 25th.
Another film I am particularly excited about is The Reader. Kate Winslet stars with Ralph Fiennes, one of my favorite actors ever. I haven’t seen it around much in the press, but I think it deserves a nod. It is directed by Stephen Daldry, based on a book written by Bernhard Schlink. The release date is December 10th.
Doubt is a Pulitzer Prize-and Tony-winning play written by John Patrick Shanley, produced originally only a few years ago in 2004. It stars the usually infallible Meryl Streep, the always lovable Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis. It seems a relatively solid cast, and most definitely a noteworthy play. Shanley is directing, so obviously the writing stays in tact. It is set for limited release on December 12th.
Another movie based on a play, Frost/Nixon, will be making its way into theaters this year. It is very new, officially opening in March of 2007. It will star Michael Sheen as David Frost, and Frank Langella as Richard Nixon, from the original cast. The playwright Peter Morgan is also the screenwriter, and Ron Howard directs. The film will open for limited release December 5th.
Milk is a biopic about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected into public office in California 1977. Its cast of characters: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, James Franco, Diego Luna and Josh Brolin. It is directed by Gus Van Sant, written by Dustin Lance Black, and is set to release December 5th.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, who seem to play together as Oscar favorites. I guess I feel for the underdogs, and Cate Blanchett certainly isn’t one of them, though her talent cannot be ignored. I’m also not a huge fan of Brad Pitt, although I suppose I could give him a chance. Today I discovered that the film was directed by David Fincher and my, oh my how things change. I like Fincher a lot. He’s one of those underdog types who rarely gets credit for his work. Kids only like Fight Club because we all seem to go through that Chuck Palahnuik phase. It’s “cool.” My apologies if you actually appreciate him as a writer. It will be released on December 25th.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I haven’t seen a single one of these films, but I hope to. I hope my dates are all correct, too. Double check with imdb.com, because I was using Wikipedia half the time. And I’ll try and keep updated as the list gets a bit more honed, especially as the year comes to a close and as the nominations are handed out. Some movies may disappear, some new may emerge. I hate sort of revolving one part of my life around an award show that has almost zero impact on my life, but it usually yields spectacular rewards (i.e. the movies). If I’ve missed anything, let me know. There are some missing like Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, Clint Eastwood’s The Changeling and Gran Turino. I’ll keep updating and I’d like to hear your thoughts on this whole film business.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/11/17/holiday.movies/index.html?eref=rss_topstories