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This
summer was a good one for movies. Just when it was starting to look like
theatre movie going was dead, this summer saw a dearth of hits and unexpected
highlights as studio bosses smartened up to the fact that audiences had a
hunger for smarter stories and characters. Smart comedies like Knocked Up, and action films such as The Bourne Ultimatum, went on to wide
attention, while flimsy comedies (Norbit), and
flat action drivel (Rush Hour 3), got
their just desserts.
As fall season
begins, and Oscar approaches, the big studios saddle up for eager movie going
fans to spend their summer savings. This
is also the time of the quirky independents and foreign fare that seek to capitalize
on the film festival season for a stab at Oscar.
This season seems to be the
perfect bookend for the summer that yielded hits (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), original, unexpected
gems (Knocked up, Superbad), disappointments (Evan Almighty),
and out and out box office, 50 megaton bombs (Underdog).
If the final wave of
movies this year can be summed up in any fashion, it’s as an eclectic mix of
high expectations from assuredly original independents, grandiose studio
sequels and a few delightful fantasy films that might deliver next year's hotly
anticipated sequel, and the next big movie franchise.
 December Boys
Cast: Christian
Byers, Daniel Radcliffe, Jack Thompson, James Fraser, Kris McQuade, Lee Cormie,
Sullivan Stapleton, Suzie Wilks, Teresa Palmer, Victoria Hill
Rating: PG-13
Official Site: DecemberBoys.com
What’s it all about:
December boys is a movie adaptation of Michael Noonan’s beloved novel about
four young orphans (Maps, Sparks,
Misty and Spit) growing up in the Australian outback during the 1960s. While
anxiously awaiting adoption, the orphans are sent to a seaside resort one
summer where they meet a young couple who cannot have children of their own.
The oldest orphan, Maps (Radcliffe), finds romance with a beautiful local girl
(Palmer), while tensions and rivalries mount between the younger boys as they
desperately compete for the attention of a potential mother and father. In the end they learn the true meaning of
friendship and family.
The forecast: Things
look promising for Daniel Radcliffe’s first non Harry Potter feature, as positive
word-of-mouth from previews flow in. The word on the street is Radcliffe’s
Aussie accent is fairly spot-on, and the press is giving it some really good
attention — especially to what may turn out to be the most hysterically funny
and honest young romance scene ever seen in a coming-of-age movie. With advance previews generating good buzz,
and Radcliffe’s ardently devoted fan base behind him, December Boys not only looks to see audiences leave the theatre smiling,
but could possibly fuel the international attention that modern Australian
cinema finally deserves. The film opens September 14th in New York and LA, with a wider release throughout September and October.
 The Golden Compass
Cast: Adam
Godley, Ben Walker, Clare Higgins, Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Eva
Green, Ian McShane, Jack Shepherd, Jim Carter, Magda Szubanski, Nicole Kidman,
Nonso Anozie, Sam Elliott, Simon McBurney, Tom Courtenay
Rating: PG-13
Official Site: GoldenCompassmovie.com
What it’s all about: Philip
Pullman’s bestselling trilogy “His Dark Materials” gets its first shot at the
big screen with The Golden Compass.
Set in an alternative world where human souls manifest themselves as animals, The Golden Compass tells the story of a
12 year-old girl Lyra (Richards), and her battle with a mysterious
organization known as the Gobblers. Upon learning that a good friend has been
kidnapped, she sets out on a heroic mission to not only save her world, but ours
as well.
North or South? In the wake of a string of popular fantasy movies,
expect The Golden Compass to come out
ahead of the pack thanks to a first-rate star cast, dedicated readership and
glorious visual effects. The film opens December 7th.
 Resident Evil: Extinction
Cast: Ali Larter,
Ashanti,
Chris Egan, Iain Glen, Jason O'Mara, Mike Epps, Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr,
Spencer Locke
Rating: R
Official Site: SonyPictures.com
What it’s about:
Milla Jovovich gets her third chance to battle zombies in this second sequel to
the popular video game adaptation Resident
Evil. Now with super human strength and dexterity, she teams up with fellow
survivors Claire (Ali Larter), K-Mart (Locke) and Nurse Betty (Ashanti) in the Las Vegas desert to finally eliminate the
deadly virus that could make living dead zombies of the planet’s last human
survivors.
The forecast: The
mere presence of this movie is an indication that this series, much like the
zombies that strut mindlessly about in it, doesn’t die like it’s supposed to.
The presence of Heroes’ double-sided
heroine Larter may draw some additional fans. The trailer has larger explosions
and slicker visual effects than the former movies, and action fans might even join
the party, but that might not be enough to breathe life into this series if
terrible reviews and bad word-of-mouth snuff it at the box office. Otherwise, it’s just another post apocalyptic
cheese fest that will die painfully at the box office as fans of the series
decide to wait for DVD. The movie opens September 21st.
 The Darjeeling Limited
Cast: Owen
Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Amara Karan, Camilla Rutherford, Irfan
Khan, Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston
Rating: R
Official Site: www.foxsearchlight.com/thedarjeelinglimited/
What’s it about: Wilson,
Brody and Schwartzman play three estranged brothers who set out on a train
across India
(of all places) to renew their familiar bonds after the death of their father.
Their quest goes off the rails due to countless cultural misunderstandings (the
kind you get on most vacations), and comically bad decisions from offbeat,
misfit characters (the kind you only get in a Wes Anderson film). As a result
of poor behavior, they get kicked off the train and find themselves stranded in
the middle of a desert with eleven suitcases, a printer and a laminating
machine. That’s just the start of an adventure in which they discover more
about India
and themselves than they ever thought possible.
The forecast: Quirky
indie film-maker Wes Anderson had a tough time out with his last film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which
didn’t make it’s money back. He’s built a dedicated acting ensemble, and a small
fan base, but when comedic quirkiness loses its charm, it stops working
altogether. Anderson’s
films generally do work because he doesn’t expect you to believe Owen Wilson,
Adrien Brody and Jason Schwarzman could be brothers. He dares you to. The big
question is whether audiences will care enough in the first place. Early
notices from critics have come down to ‘love it’ or ‘hate it’, but Anderson and
Wilson’s momentum might just put this one over the top, albeit with a much
smaller audience. The film opens September 29th in a limited run.
 The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising
Cast: Alexander
Ludwig, Amelia Warner, Christopher Eccleston, Edmond Entin, Emma Lockhart, Frances Conroy,
Gary Entin, Gregory Smith, Ian McShane, John Benjamin Hickey, Jonathan Jackson,
Wendy Crewson
Rating: Not yet
rated
Official Site: SeektheSigns.com
The story: Add
this one to the increasingly growing heap of fantasy films spawned from best
selling fantasy books. This time out it’s a more
Americanized adaptation of Susan Cooper’s The
Seeker: The Dark is Rising, and it’s the first in her The Dark is Rising sequence. This is the story of Will Stanton, an
ordinary kid who discovers he’s the last in the line of immortal warriors
dedicated to fighting evil. He travels back and forth through time looking for
clues that will help him defeat the forces of the dark. Not bad for a kid who
can’t even talk to girls.
Found or forgotten?
Dr. Who fans might take note of Eccleston’s appearance, but otherwise, it’s
pretty much up to reviews and the book’s fan base who’ve been up in arms about
the saccharine treatment and multiple plot changes in Cooper’s original novel.
This should do well anyway as it will appeal to a younger crowd, and an audience
hungry for more family friendly fare. The film opens October 5th.
 The Heartbreak Kid
Cast: Ben
Stiller, Carlos Mencia, Danny McBride, Jerry Stiller, Malin Akerman, Michelle
Monaghan, Polly Holliday, Rob Corddry, Roy Jenkins, Scott Wilson, Stephanie
Courtney
Rating: R
Official Site: HeartbreakKidmovie.com
What happens: Oh
the things you learn on a honeymoon in Mexico. Once again, Stiller plays a
lovable loser who struggles with romance. Taunted by friends and family for
being the only single guy, he ends up meeting the perfect woman and proposes
marriage. He discovers on his honeymoon
that the dream girl come true is a complete nightmare. That’s when he ends up meeting the real girl
of his dreams. Can Eddie keep his new bride at bay while wooing the girl he
should have married instead? It’s a remake of the classic 70s Neil Simon
comedy.
Marriage or divorce:
The Farrelly brothers haven’t had anything resembling a box office hit since Shallow Hal, but the trailer’s a hoot,
Stiller’s in fine form, and they have a reliable story. Here’s hoping it’s the
next There’s Something About Mary, and
not the next Deuce Bigalow. Let’s call
this one a nice wedding with a serious pre-nup. The film opens October 5th.
The Signal
Cast: AJ Bowen, Anessa Ramsey, Chad McKnight, Cheri Christian,
Christopher Thomas, Justin Welborn, Lindsey Garrett, Matt Stanton, Sahr
Nguajah, Scott Poythress, Suehyla El-Attar
Rating: R
Official Site: DoYouHavetheCrazy.com
What’s the frequency?:
The cast list really says it all: “Random Body”, “Deranged
People”, “Screaming Man”, “Man on Fire”, “Severed Woman” and the list goes on. All is peaceful on
New Year’s Eve in the city of Terminus until a mysterious jamming signal comes through phones, radios
and televisions, sending the population on murderous rampages, not unlike
Stephen King’s The Cell. This story
is told in three parts, from three perspectives, by three different directors.
Ben (Welborn) must save the woman he loves from her crazed husband and a
population driven to the brink of insanity. He must try to uncover the true nature
of the signal in order to save civilization, while not knowing who to trust in the process.
Clear or Static: Star
cast, schmar cast. Though it’s doubtful the film will generate the runaway
buzz that made a hit out of the similarly low budget The Blair Witch Project, horror fans will be sure to get the dose
of unrelentingly violent gore they’ve been craving all summer. Good advance
notices from Sundance, and a trailer that doesn’t try to conceal it’s low budget
status (though it gets additional points for excellent use of Lou Reed’s
“Perfect Day”), and it just might end up being the kind of cult hit that made 28 Days Later a hit or Primer a must see on DVD. The film opens
October 26th.
 Beowulf
Friends and Foes:
Alison Lohman, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Brendan Gleeson, Dominic
Keating, John Malkovich, Ray Winstone, Robin Wright Penn, Crispin Glover
Thy branded mark:
Not yet rated
Thy dwelling-place:
Beowulfmovie.com , MySpace.com/Beowulfmovie
Thy tale ye tell: This classic staple of undergrad college English
courses gets the same swanky motion capture animation treatment director Robert Zemeckis gave to
his previous The Polar Express. This time out he’s upping the high-tech ante
with far more realistic cutting edge character design and technology. This
ancient Anglo-Saxon story of a mighty warrior called Beowulf, who slays the
demon Grendel (Glover) and then deals with
Grendel’s seductive and murderously vengeful mother (Jolie).
What thou might
decree? “Just don't take any course where they make you read Beowulf,” says
Woody Allen to Diane Keaton in Annie Hall.
That’s advice I heeded in college, but that won’t keep me and audiences away from seeing this
visually stunning flick. A great cast and story, but will the animation be too
over the top or every bit as über-creepy as The
Polar Express? Written by Pulp Fiction scribe Roger Avery and graphic novel
demigod Neil Gaiman, this film is certain to draw the same crowd that made 300 a huge smash hit. The film opens
November 16th.
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium
Action Figures:
Dustin Hoffman, Jason Bateman, Natalie Portman
Rating: Not yet
rated.
Official Site:
Magorium.com
The Toy Story: A
243 year-old toy shop owner (Hoffman) bequeaths his shop to his
depressed store
manager when he decides it’s time to retire. This
leads to an ominous turn of events that overcomes the once unique store
where everything comes to life to those who believe in magic. Things
are not helped by the stuffy, over eager accountant (Bateman) who
complicates things further.
Barbie doll or
Cabbage Patch Kid? Written and directed by Zach Helm, who wrote the Will Ferrell smash hit Stranger Than Fiction, but
not much else is known about the story - that's not always a good
sign. The teaser gives very little away. While obviously
derivative of the Roald Dahl’s "Wonka World", Big and other
toy stories, it could
prove to be a hit for families who are starved for a little magic and
effects. Without a compelling and original plot, however, this could
perform similar to Barry Levinson's Toys. Perhaps the scented
ink they're using on the ads will put audiences under its spell. The movie opens November 16th.
Cassandra’s Dream
Cast: Colin Farrell, Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Sally
Hawkins, Tom Wilkinson
Rating: PG-13
Official Site: not
available
What it’s all about:
Writer-director Woody Allen moves further away from his New York Oeuvre with another
London based
story. The
story concerns two brothers who are embroiled in mystery and
intrigue. One is a compulsive gambler who’s in over his head in debt
and the
other a born romantic in love with a beautiful actress. Their brotherly
bonds are threatened when they meet a young woman who wooes them into a
life of crime.
The forecast: After
a string of uninspired disappointments in the early part of the
decade, it looked like London may have become Allen’s muse, especially
after the well received Match Point. The stories are more edgy, the characters and
setting richer, but perhaps a bit too dark for mainstream audiences. Two big
stars may help this time out with Farrell and McGregor playing the respective
brothers, and Wilkinson is always a welcome sight in any movie, but it might not
be enough as Allen's success hangs on critical opinion which so far has not been positive. The film opens November 30th
in limited release and wider on December 21st.
Atonement
Lovies: Brenda
Blethyn, James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Romola Garai, Vanessa Redgrave
Rating: R
Official Site: www.atonementthemovie.co.uk/site/site.html
Story: Keira
Knightly stars in this much anticipated period British romance adaptation of
Ian McEwan’s acclaimed novel. A young writer tells the story of how her 13 year-old self accused her older sister’s lover (McAvoy) of a crime he did not commit. This
has a cascading effect on the course of many lives that leads to a compelling
revelation. Oscar winner Christopher
Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) wrote the screenplay.
The forecast: Oscar
watchers take note: this could be at the front of the line for awards, if by
awards you mean art direction and costume design. So
far reviews have been positive, and
considering the momentous task of bringing McEwan’s un-cinematic text
to the
big screen, it’s hard to say if this literary hat trick will see six
figures at the
box office. It has been getting a good reception from critics
on its home turf in the UK, and at the Toronto Film festival. It’s got a
shot at Oscar, and an audience hungry for period romance. It
opens in North America December 7th.
 National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Cast: Bruce
Greenwood, Diane Kruger, Ed Harris, Harvey Keitel, Helen Mirren, Jon Voight,
Justin Bartha, Nicolas Cage
Rating: Not yet
rated
Official Site: disney.go.com/disneypictures/nationaltreasure/
What
it's about: Treasure hunter Ben Gates (Cage) is back once again in
another thrill-ride movie. Ben’s great-great grandfather is implicated by
historians as a conspirator in Abraham Lincoln’s death after a missing page
from the diary of John Wilkes Booth comes of light. The chase is on once again
as Gates seeks to exonerate his ancestor in this thrilling international adventure
sequel that takes us from Paris to London
and back to America.
Open book or closed:
Action. Suspense. Visual effects. Big Stars. Unapologetically silly plot.
Critic-proof. Hit. The film opens nationwide December 21st.
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