Fall Movie Preview ‘11 August 31st, 2011 | Cory Everett
September is almost here which means (amongst other things) that Summer Movie Season has ended and Fall Movie Season is about to begin. There will be a flood of new movies released between now and the end of the year, many of them Oscar hopefuls and though it seems like awards season just wrapped up, it’s about to begin again in full force starting with the Toronto Film Festival next week. This will be my first trip to TIFF and I will also be attending the New York Film Festival in October (as usual), so I’ll be checking out quite a few films a bit early. Here are the films that I’m most looking forward to for the remainder of 2011.
1. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (Dec 21) Anyone who’s been in a theatre while this trailer played knows exactly why it’s at the top of this list. The propulsive, wordless teaser for David Fincher’s latest is all sound and fury and is nearly impossible to watch without getting the chills. While it doesn’t explain much of the story, about a journalist (Daniel Craig) aided by a goth punk computer hacker (Rooney Mara) in search of a missing woman, it’s hard to imagine anyone watching it without thinking, “I have to see this. Right. Away.”
2. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (Dec 9) From the director of the Swedish vampire coming-of-age tale (and one of the best horror films of the past decade) “Let The Right One In” comes this adaptation of the John Le Carre espionage thriller set during the Cold War with the most impressive British cast this side of a Harry Potter film including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Mark Strong and more. The trailers for the film have been all atmosphere and intrigue and that’s enough to get me to the theatre opening day.
3. THE MUPPETS (Nov 23) After Jim Henson passed away, the Muppets seemed to lose their magic for a decade or two, so credit “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” co-writers Jason Segel and Nicolas Stoller for reviving the excitement again around these characters. The excellent, witty trailers should have both kids and nostalgia-prone adults both eagerly anticipating this one. “Flight of the Conchords” director James Bobin rounds up a cast including Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper and a ton of cameos but all you really need to know is that Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and Animal will all be there, too.
4. THE DESCENDANTS (Nov 23) It’s been 7 years since writer/director Alexander Payne released his last film; only a year less time than it took him to release his first 4 films “Citizen Ruth,” “Election,” “About Schmidt” and “Sideways” which made him one of the most promising filmmakers to come out of the late 90s/early 00s. Well after a hiatus Payne is back with his latest dramedy with George Clooney as a man trying to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident. It’s also playing TIFF and NYFF so expect it to be a major awards contender.
5. WE BOUGHT A ZOO (Dec 23) Speaking of hiatuses, it’s also been 7 years since the world has seen a Cameron Crowe film. The writer/director behind classics like “Say Anything,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Almost Famous” hit a snag with his last effort “Elizabethtown,” which ironically was about a man dealing with a colossal failure in his career. His comeback effort is based on the bestselling non-fiction book about a father (Matt Damon) who moves his family to the countryside to re-open a struggling zoo. If this isn’t enough to get his career back on track, the notorious music fan also has the doc “Pearl Jam Twenty” out in September.
6. THE SKIN I LIVE IN (Oct 14) Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar has been making films for international audiences for decades but has yet to be lured to Hollywood. The same can’t be said of his muses like Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas who have both gone onto successful careers in English language films. It’s been 20 years since Banderas and Almodóvar have worked together which makes their latest collaboration, about a mad surgeon and his female captive, especially intriguing. Word from Cannes was mixed but that’s been the case for the director’s last few efforts as well.
7. YOUNG ADULT (Dec 9) This dark comedy about a teen lit author (Charlize Theron) who returns to her hometown to try to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson), is the 2nd collaboration between director Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody. Their first film together “Juno” was a divisive effort, racking up awards and backlash in equal measure. I thought Reitman did a good job of grounding Cody’s stylized dialogue in some real emotion but was disappointed in both their follow-up efforts (“Up In The Air” and “Jennifer’s Body”), so hope that their latest can strike the right balance.
8. CARNAGE (Dec 16) Based on the acclaimed play “God Of Carnage,” about two sets of parents who gather to discuss a fight between their children, Roman Polanski’s film adaptation swaps it’s original Broadway cast for John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster and Christoph Waltz. It’s one of the few high profile films this film skipping out on TIFF because it secured the prestigious Opening Night slot at this year’s NYFF (occupied last year by “The Social Network.”) Sometimes movies based on plays can feel a bit contained and claustrophobic (not in a good way) but the trailer looks good, so here’s hoping the director can turn it into something worthy of his filmography.
9. A DANGEROUS METHOD (Nov 23) Career transformations don’t get much more impressive than David Cronenberg’s, which makes complete sense for a filmmaker obsessed with metamorphosis. “The Fly” director may have started his career doing low-budget (but no less strange) horror films but with 2005’s Viggo Mortensen starring “A History Of Violence” managed to transform himself into an unlikely awards magnet. Their follow-up “Eastern Promises” came and went quietly but their upcoming collaboration, about the relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) and featuring some kinky spanking with Keira Knightley is definitely not going to go unnoticed.
10. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL (Dec 21) I would be exhausted of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise by now too if it weren’t for the fact that unlike James Bond or Jason Bourne, there really isn’t much continuity between installments. Instead, each film is basically a springboard for the director to do his take on whatever he thinks a M:I movie should be and so far that has paid off 2 out of 3 times (sorry John Woo). The latest installment is especially exciting as it’s the first live action film from “The Incredibles”/”The Iron Giant”/”Ratatouille” writer/director Brad Bird. And it looks really cool.
11. WAR HORSE (Dec 28)
12. THE IDES OF MARCH (Oct 7)
13. THE ARTIST (Nov 23)
14. CONTAGION (Sept 9)
15. 50/50 (Sept 30)
16. WANDERLUST (Oct 7)
17. MONEYBALL (Sept 23)
18. THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (Dec 23)
19. THE SITTER (Dec 9)
20. HUGO (Nov 23)
Additionally there are a few notable movies I already saw at Sundance: Take Shelter (Sept 30), Martha Marcy May Marlene (Oct 21) and Like Crazy (Oct 28). Additionally I already caught an early screening of what has been the best movie I’ve seen so far this year, Drive (Sept 16) which is not to be missed.
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