I can think of no better subject for an inaugural post on this new cultural blog than to celebrate the new year by looking ahead to one of my greatest earthly joys, movies. Indeed, to sink into a high-backed, upholstered seat in a dark, stadium-seating theater and be transported into another world - another story - is something I have always cherished. And the beginning of a new year is always an exciting time, as I surf the web for coming attractions. What new stories might I be indulging in this year?
To that end, I have put some overtime into my film-scouring, and have come up with several Top 5 lists categorized by genre. You will notice there are some categories not covered, such as Romantic Comedy/Love Story (I don't look forward to many of these simply because 95% of them are all the same and bore me), Foreign Films (harder to find out about), and Independent (also harder to read about a great deal in advance). But there are many others, and I hope that these lists give you some stories to which you too will look forward. Enjoy your perusal, and please visit this blog again for movie, book, music, and television reviews, as well as short articles on this beast we call Pop-Culture.
*I have left off the release date solely because many of them are still subject to change. However, most of these films are slated for a release sometime before next October.*
Top 5 Action/Adventure/Thriller:
1) 300 - What can I say about this film? The teaser trailer is almost worth the price of admission itself! Unless - and this is unlikely -it goes the way of movies such as Elizabethtown, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Sin City, whose trailers looked great but the actual films fell flat, 300 appears to be one of the most dazzling war epics in recent years. Everything about the trailer screams, "Cool!" The story in a nutshell: Inspired by Frank Miller's graphic novel, 300 tells the story of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, in which King Leonidas and 300 Spartan warriors fought valiantly to the death against Xerxes and his 10,000+ Persian horde, allowing the rest of Greece time to organize their own defenses. The theatrical trailer was also recently released as well.
2) Transformers: The Movie - It may be directed by the over-dramatic, slow-motion happy Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor, The Island, The Rock), but remember, this sucker is live-action, and hey, it could be worse. It could be a Go-Bots movie. Trailer.
3) Breach - Ryan Phillippe secretly investigates suspected government-traitor, Chris Cooper. Early reports are positive, and looks like a captivating, multi-faceted story. It just hit theaters this weekend.
4) The Last Legion - A Roman mythical epic, with Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley.
5) The Kingdom - Peter Berg (director of The Rundown and Friday Night Lights) helms this political investigation/war movie about a group of agents searching for a terrorist mastermind in the Middle East. Cast includes Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, and Jason Bateman.
Honorable Mention - Pathfinder - Mythically-charged film in which Native Americans clash with Vikings, starring Karl Urban, best known as Eomer of Rohan in The Lord of the Rings.
Top 5 Comedies
1) Fred Claus - It won't hit theaters until next Christmas, but just the idea of the sarcastic, irreverent Vince Vaughn playing the older brother of Santa Claus (Paul Giammati) is hysterical. The teaser trailer itself is hysterical and appears somewhat ad-libbed. Definitely a front runner for both comedy and holiday films.
2) Bee Movie - Jerry Seinfeld has finally decided to do a film (other than the captivating documentary Comedian of a few years ago). Though it is animated, this does not appear to be so much a family film as a scathing satire. Seinfeld voices Barry Bee Benson, a bee that escapes his life in the hive, befriends a florist in New York City, and, after discovering that humans eat honey, decides to sue the human race.
3) The Simpsons Movie - The title says it all. For those of you who weren't allowed to watch The Simpsons growing up, get over it. The show is satirical, not stupid, and irreverent in a way we desperately need. The movie, one hopes, will be just as good.
4) Blades of Glory - Will Ferrell and Jon Heder play disgraced figure skaters who find a loophole that will allow them to compete in the pairs competition.
5) Fast Track - Comedy about relationships, jealousy, and misunderstandings starring the forever-entertaining Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, and Jason Bateman.
Honorable Mention - License to Wed - It could be iffy, but this comedy about an engaged couple going through some very odd pre-marital counseling looks like it might be a winner, especially since it stars Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, and John Krasinski (The Office).
Top 5 Dramas
1) Reign Over Me - This one looks extremely promising. I've been intrigued with the few films that Adam Sandler has played dramatically, and when you add Don Cheadle into this story of two former college roommates reuniting when one (Sandler) has regressively withdrawn from social activity after his family is lost in the 9/11 attacks, I expect a very powerful film to unfold. This certainly looks like a movie to keep your eye on.
2) Rescue Dawn - A film written and directed by Werner Herzog (whose last film was the strange yet captivating documentary Grizzly Man), the story centers around a German-born U.S. fighter pilot, played by Christian Bale, who is downed over Laos and taken prisoner. He and his fellow POW's (Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies) endure torture, starvation, and illness as they patiently wait for the right time to escape. This film boasts a powerful script and a talented cast, including Bale, who, I have always posited, cannot make a bad movie (except maybe Shaft, but that really wasn't his fault).
3) Trade - A Texas law enforcement officer (Kevin Kline) joins forces with a Mexican youth to track down the boy's sister who has been abducted and forced into prostitution and sexual slavery. A gripping trailer, this fast-paced political film looks to be in the vein of Traffic, Syriana, and Babel.
4) Reservation Road - A moving drama about two fathers, played by Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo. After a terrible hit-and-run accident in which one father accidentally kills the other's son, they struggle to cope with the grief and guilt in themselves as well as their respective families. Jennifer Connolly and Mira Sorvino also star.
5) The Namesake - Born and raised in America, young Indian-American, Gogol (Kal Penn), clashes with his family's heritage and traditions, leading to complications between his Caucasian girlfriend (Jacinda Barrett), which inevitably leads Gogol into a spiritual journey in an effort to come to terms with his own identity.
Honorable Mention - Civic Duty - An American accountant, weary from the incessant reports and focus on terrorism in a post-9/11 world, becomes increasingly uneasy when an unattached Muslim graduate student moves in next door. Stars Six Feet Under's Peter Krause and The West Wing's Richard Schiff.
Top 5 Mysteries
1) First Snow - Guy Pearce (Memento, The Proposition) plays Jimmy Munson, a fast-talking salesmen with big ideas, including one that is sure to make him rich. Unfortunately for Jimmy, his car breaks down in a small desert town and, to pass the time, he visits a roadside fortune-teller. Soon, the soothsayer (J.K. Simmons) is recoiling in horror when he determines through the cards that Jimmy is to die before the first snow falls. With little time left, Jimmy plunges into a psychological nightmare as he seeks to alter the present to change his future. Piper Perabo and William Fichtner also star.
2) Zodiac - The second movie on any of these lists to come out (only a few weeks), this film by David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) sports a strong cast and an eerie atmosphere as the story of the four men who get caught up in the baffling search for the Zodiac killer, one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history. As the killer taunts police with puzzles and letters, the four men's careers are built and destroyed by the investigation. Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo star.
3) Fracture - A young attourney, Ryan Gosling, becomes tangled in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a man (Sir Anthony Hopkins) who murders his wife but is set free by mistrial.
4) The Lookout - Joseph Gordon Levitt (Brick, television's Third Rock from the Sun) and Jeff Daniels head up the cast in a story about a once promising athelete who, after a tragic accident, takes a job as a bank janitor, hoping to go about his sad life in peace and anonimity. Unfortunately, he gets caught up in a planned heist.
5) Jindabyne - A group of friends on a fishing trip make the morally-questionable decision not to report their discovery of a dead woman's body. One of the wives (Laura Linney) has difficulty understanding their decision. The movie is based on Raymond Carver's short story, "So Much Water So Close to Home," and also stars Gabriel Byrne.
Honorable Mention - The Invasion - also being called The Visiting, this looks like a promising body-snatchers premise, starring Nicole Kidman.
Top 5 Horror/Suspense Films
1) 1408 - John Cusack plays a skeptic who investigates a haunted house, based on a story by Stephen King. Now, normally such a tired premise would not tempt me, but Cusack has only done one other suspense/mystery film, Identity, and it was quite good. So, add Stephen King, and this one sounds almost as exciting as if they were making Grosse Pointe Blank 2.
2) The Number 23 - Jim Carrey has proven he can do drama (Man on the Moon, The Truman Show), but he hasn't yet ventured into the realm of suspense and mystery. However, the trailer seems to reveal a very intruiging and creepy story. I know that after I see this one, I'm going to start adding, subtracting, and dividing things, and I hate math, not to mention those pesky prime numbers. It is the first movie on this list to come out (next weekend), not counting Breach.
3) The Invisible - The young actor, Justin Chatwin, who plays the main character, Nick, in this film is a pretty good young talent. He did well in The Chumscrubber and the big-budget stinker War of the Worlds. And the story looks interesting: how do you alert people to your missing and slowly dying body when you're outside of it?
4) Vacancy - Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale have the oldest plot set-up in the horror/suspense book happen to them. Their car breaks down and they are forced to stay the night at a secluded roadside motel. While entertaining themselves with the room's television, they suddenly notice that the horror movies they are watching all contain murders that take place in their very room. Will they be next? ... Yes, it's a pretty scarce crop of suspense movies out there right now.
5) Skinwalkers - Werewolf movie. For me, enough said. My favorite movie monster, and I'm still on the lookout for a well-made one. I'm allowing this one to make the list for two reasons: blind hope that someone will finally get a werewolf movie right (Underworld, Cursed, and An American Werewolf in Paris all sucked), and because, as I mentioned, this film category looks a little scarce right now. The website has still not added a trailer, and the two pictures make it look lame, but it may still be worth watching, like the straight to video Dog Soldiers of a few years ago (the problem with that one was it was a war movie disguised as a werewolf film).
Honorable Mention - Mr. Brooks - I'm not sure what to make of this film yet. It falls best in the Suspense category (though a bit morbidly existential), and boasts a pretty interesting cast (though, seriously, Dane Cook? He better get killed off if the film wants to maintain credibility). However, it's going to either be an entertaining hit, or a laughably lame disaster.
Top 5 Family Films
1) Evan Almighty - Tom Shadyac, director of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Bruce Almighty, and professing Christian, helms this follow up to the latter film with a different look at the story of Noah. Steve Carrell reprises his character of Evan from the first Almighty film as a new congressman who is visited by God (once again played by Morgan Freeman) and asked to build an ark. *Note - for those of you biblical sticklers who want to whine about how God promised never to destroy the world again with a flood (so says the Good Book), I hear your objection, but from what I've read, this film is a reimagining of the actual flood, not suggesting a second diluge).
2) The Last Mimzy - An interesting little suburban fantasy about children with some strange magical powers. It looks well done, and, c'mon, it stars Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) among others. To be honest, it looks kind of like Donnie Darko for children.
3) Shrek the Third - The next Shrek hosts the return of the same funny voices: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, and John Cleese. But, look out, they've added Justin Timberlake to the mix. Finally the annoying, rich-boy-who-pretends-to-be-a-bad-boy-when-he's-really-just-slumming-for-money-and-more-fame animated character we've all been waiting for in the Shrek movies.
4) Enchanted - The luminous and beautiful Amy Adams (Oscar-nominee for Junebug, Talladega Nights) plays a beatiful princess who is accidentally transported to the present time and falls in love with a successful city boy. It looks like a sweet little fairy tale with a modern twist, and will probably be enjoyable where Kate and Leopold was just friggin' annoying (but then again, that's because Meg Ryan is just friggin' annoying).
5) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - I don't have to introduce this movie. Everyone's waiting on it. Hopefully, Daniel Ratcliff's (Harry) voice has fully changed after puberty. Here's the newest trailer.
Honorable Mention - Ratatouille - The very funny, if a little crude and obscene, comedian, Patton Oswalt, voices a French rat whose hijinks land him in hot water in the restaurant kitchen he calls his home. Probably will be dumb, but you never know with animated films these days. It is a Disney/Pixar release though.
Top 5 Sequels
1) Spiderman 3 - These have just been the cream of the crop when it comes to comic book hero movies, especially since Hollywood crapped out the last X-men film. Even though Spiderman 2 was a bit too melodramatic, and Kirsten Dunst looked horrible throughout (seriously, does anyone really find her that captivating?), it was still top-notch, and the third installment looks awesome and boasts a great cast, both new and returning. Oscar-nominee (for Sideways)Thomas Hadyn Church joins the cast as Sandman, as does Topher Grace (Venom) and the unbelievably beautiful Bryce Dallas Howard (seriously, Peter Parker - go for Bryce. She puts Kirsten to shame...).
2) Live Free or Die Hard - John McClane is back, and idiotic manly men everywhere simultaneously sit up and grunt. But the testosterone surge is certainly understood. The Dia Hard franchise seems to be that action movie series that just gets better with age, like fine wine ... well, fine, barefoot and bloody, exploding wine, that is. This time around, Bruce Willis is joined by a young, wise-cracking computer hacker played by the always fun Justin Long (television's Ed, Jeepers Creepers, the Mac commercials).
3) Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End - The first film was amazing. The second was amazingly awful. Allow me a few lines to explain: Hollywood sequels have become like television series season finales. They must have a cliffhanger ending that leads you into the next film. However, normally this only happens in the second film as it prepares for the third. Because of this, the first films normally are the best, mainly because they don't overdue the plot, they don't pack in too many details that are too difficult to sort out, and they don't try to ensure a captivated fan base by tacking on a cliffhanger. They are simply good stories that entertain. When will Hollywood realize that if you make a good, self-contained movie, we will come see the next one whether there is a cliffhanger or not? The first Pirates film did this, as did The Matrix and Spiderman, but the latter was the only one not to disappear up its own butt in confusion while trying to keep its audience in subsequent sequels. Let's just hope the absolute mess that was the second Pirates film will be sorted out in the third. I mean, seriously, is there anyone who is intrigued by Elizabeth (Kiera Knightley) falling for Captain Jack? Snore...
4) Ocean's 13 - It's beginning to seem like there have been 13 of these films instead of just three. Yes, the great Al Pacino is joining the cast as who I believe will be Terry Benedict's (Andy Garcia) father, and all of the team is returning as well (though they are keeping the presence of Julia and Catherine under wraps), but the heist needs to be a lot more intriguing than the one running through Ocean's Twelve, or there's going to be a theater full of bored moviegoers.
5) 28 Weeks Later - The first one was pretty freaky, and I often find my nightmares cast zombies as the stalking monster I am hardly amble to elude. However, I am interested to see how this one does, since they are moving ahead with the story of London being decimated by a disease that renders innocent citizens into flesh-eating zombies. It may turn into a shoot-'em-up, gore movie like Dawn of the Dead, which would be a disappointment when compared to the first one, but the entertaining and frightful premise may hold tough.
Honorable Mention - Bean 2 - Okay, okay, I admit it, I not only enjoyed the first Bean, I own the VHS. But really, I just threw this one in as a joke. However, Rowan Atkinson is a funny man, and this film, which of course involves some level of mistaken identity regarding Mr. Bean, will probably hold a few chuckles.
Well, that's it for now. A lot of movies didn't make the cut because they either looked crappy, didn't appear to be my cup o' tea, or there was not enough information available about them upon crafting this post. But, I hope the information contained in this inaugural blog entry will be something that can help shape your plans as you enter into 2007's movie-going experiences.
Don't forget about the Academy Awards next weekend!
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