ENTERTAINMENT TODAY’S 2007 MOVIE PREVIEW GUIDE
BY JONATHAN W. HICKMAN, TONY SULLIVAN, STAN FURLEY, AND PETER SOBCZYNSKI
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3:10 TO YUMA
This remake seems like an odd choice for Walk the Line director James Mangold, but if you’re familiar with the original 3:10, perhaps, this genre is where Mangold is most comfortable—see his Identity that could have easily been a Western. Russell Crowe takes on the role of Ben Wade previously played perfectly by the late, great Glenn Ford back in 1957. Wade is an outlaw that’s held by rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) who hopes of proving himself by putting Wade on the 3:10 train to prison. (October 12)
12:08 EAST OF BUCHAREST
Romanian comedy that takes place 16 years after the revolution from Communism has won awards including the Golden Camera at Cannes last year. In the days before Christmas, three people from different walks of life who attempt to determine whether their country’s revolution started in their city. Apparently, this is funny. (June 7)
30 DAYS OF NIGHT
Director David Slade follows up his indie hit thriller, Hard Candy, with a vampire pic that aims for a wider audience spectrum and boasts a much bigger budget. Story sounds like something only John Carpenter could pull off—see Assault on Precinct 13. In 30 Days, Josh Hartnett and Melissa George find themselves besieged by a blood-thirsty gang of vampires when their Alaskan town is plunged into darkness for a month. (October 19)
300
Sin City writer/director Frank Miller doesn’t share director’s credit on this adaptation of his graphic novel. No, this time he permits Zack Snyder to solely direct and try to capture Miller’s take on of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. Snyder’s set a high bar by surprising everyone with his 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. Expect lots of eye-popping effects with this live action and computer-generated production. (March 9)
1408
Eric Lurio has seen this and claims it’s pretty good. Based on a Stephen King story, 1408 is a room in a NYC hotel that’s know for supernatural occurrences. And supernatural writer Mike Enslin (John Cusack) checks into the room to debunk the rumors of the dangers therein. Of course, weird things happen. (July 13)
28 WEEKS LATER
Fans of the first film, 28 Days Later, will rejoice, a sequel promises to extend the story. This time the Rage virus that decimated Brittan’s population has run its course and people have been cleared to return. Of course, it’s too soon and things go horribly wrong. Danny Boyle is involved but Intacto’s Juan Carlos Fresnadillo takes over directing duties. One wonders whether the indigent inspired filmmaking that made the first film so special will be preserved. (May 11)
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
Okay, this is interesting, Director Julie Taymor (probably best known for Frida) brings us a musical set in the 1960s. Using the music of the Beatles as a jumping off point and starring Evan Rachel Wood (who’s making good career choices), Across the Universe might be another Moulin Rouge! My thought is that Taymor’s track record makes the film worth a look. (September 28)
ADAM’S APPLE
Taken directly from IMDB (everything else is not in English): A neo-nazi sentenced to community service at a church clashes with the blindly devotional priest. (TBD)
AFTER THE WEDDING
Taken directly from IMDB (everything else not in English): A manager of an orphanage (Mikkelsen) in Denmark is sent to Copenhagen, where he discovers a life-altering family secret. (TBD)
AIR GUITAR NATION
Here’s a documentary for the everyman. Who knew that there was a World Air Guitar championship? Well Air Guitar Nation is our insiders look at that competition and the phenomenon that is air guitar. (Spring 2007)
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: AVP2
The exploitation continues as two series descend deeper into the muck. If we weren’t assaulted enough by the uninspired pairing the first time, we now get round two as humans are caught in the crossfire as Aliens and Predators due battle. (December 21)
ALONE WITH HER
Tom Hanks son, Colin, is doing interesting work. This time, he plays a Peeping Tom, who utilizes tiny cameras to spy on his neighbor. The question is whether the production can stay within the voyeuristic visual scope that it establishes early on. (January 17)
THE AMATEURS (title may have been changed to The Moguls)
Jeff Bridges stars as a small town guy who brings together a group of losers to make an adult film. This film appears to have been sitting around for a little while. (TBD)
AN AMERICAN CRIME
Screened at Sundance this year, I found the narrative structure too tedious and even dampening on the emotional impact of the story. Finely acted and produced, the story involves the true crime story of a woman who keeps a girl locked away in her basement for a period of time. The ever so talented Ellen Page is the girl and the always-dependable Catherine Keener is the evil woman. (August 17)
AMAZING GRACE
Michael Apted’s take on the 18th century British politician William Wilberforce who makes his way through parliament in an effort to end slavery in the empire. Albert Finney plays a significant role. (February 23)
AMERICAN GANGSTER
Ridley Scott reteams with Russell Crowe this time tackling drug smuggling in the 1970s. Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Josh Brolin are also in the cast. Story has to do with a drug lord in Harlem that smuggles heroin into the country in the coffins of American soldiers returning from Vietnam. (November 4)
AND WHERE DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER?
Shopgirl and Hilary and Jackie director Anand Tucker tackles Blake Morrison’s memoir about the week’s leading up to his father’s death. This title is ironically of Harry Potter length, ironically because Tucker is reportedly in talks to direct the Half-Blood Prince due out in 2008. (TBD)
ANGEL-A
Luc Besson is back in the director’s chair in complete live-action mode (technically, his return was Arthur and the Invisibles). This film has to do with a beautiful woman helping out a scam-artist. (TBD)
AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE
My thought is that the advertising for this film will be kept to a minimum. In case you missed the hoopla, this is the movie version of the television show that shut down Boston recently with guerilla advertising. (March 23)
ARE WE DONE YET?
Ice Cube teams again with director Steve Carr, the two worked together on Next Friday back in 2000. This film is about a couple of newlyweds who move to the burbs only to be tormented by a contractor. (April 6)
THE ASTRONAUT FARMER
This is the Polish brothers (see Northfork and Twin Falls Idaho) foray into family entertainment. Certainly, this is their most accessible film to date, part quirky Polish and part Disney. The story is about a rancher (Billy Bob Thornton) who builds a rocket in his barn and then threatens to use it to send him to outer space. (February 23)
ATONEMENT
Interesting casting here, with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy (the doctor in Last King of Scotland) headlining. Set in 1935, the story here has to do a thirteen-year-old girl bringing allegations of a terrible crime against McAvoy’s character. But the girl’s older sister (Knightley) disputes her sister’s claims. Based on a novel by Ian McEwan. (August 31)
AVENUE MONTAIGNE
A waitress, an actress, a piano prodigy, and an art collector meet at a café and discuss their various life lessons and regrets as relating to the presence of art in their lives. (TBD)
AWAY FROM HER
Sarah Polley takes to the director’s chair with this film about a woman who is institutionalized because of the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Julie Christie stars. (TBD)
BALLS OF FURY
This comedy actioner takes place in the world of professional ping pong. Former champion Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler) gets a second chance when he’s recruited by an FBI agent (George Lopez) for a special mission. Christopher Walken is in the cast. (April 27)
MR. BEAN’S HOLIDAY
Mr. Bean’s back and this time he’s vacationing in the south of France. Rowan Atkinson takes another turn as his most popular creation, Bean. (September 28)
BECOMING JANE
Anne Hathaway takes on the role of pre-fame Jane Austen. This biographical portrait covers Austen’s romance with a young Irishman. James McAvoy is in the cast. (August 3)
BEE MOVIE
Jerry Seinfeld stars as a bee who’s graduated from college and has become disillusioned with his career, that of making honey. But when he discovers that human’s eat honey, he decides to sue. (November 2)
BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON
Funny mockumentary that adds a new dimension to the slasher genre. Set in the world where Jason, Freddy, and the like are real, a documentary camera crew interviews and follows a young man who has chosen the dark path to infamy—he’s training to be the next great slasher killer. (March 16)
BELIEVE IN ME
A baskeTBDll coach moves to Oklahoma intending to coach the boy’s team, but ends up the coach of the girl’s team. The film follows the coach’s efforts to develop a team and to gain support in a town that has never supported a girl’s team before. (March 9)
BEOWULF
All-star cast here with Robert Zemeckis back in the director’s seat after a layoff from live-action since 2000’s Cast Away (he last directed The Polar Express in 2004). This is a new take on the classic story with Ray Winstone as Beowulf and Crispin Glover as the monster Grendel. Roger Avary has a screenwriting credit. (November 16)
BEYOND THE GATES
Based on a true story of a Catholic priest (John Hurt) and an English teacher caught in 1994 Rwandan genocide. Michael Caton-Jones directs. (March 9)
BLACK BOOK
Director Paul Verhoeven returns with his first feature film since 2000’s Hollow Man. Black Book is a World War II epic about a Jewish singer who joins the Resistance. (March 9)
BLACK SNAKE MOAN
Director Craig Brewer follows up his 2005 hit Hustle & Flow with another gritty racially charged picture. This time he’s got Samuel L. Jackson playing a man named Lazarus who imprisons a girl named Rae (a very thin Christina Ricci) in his home for her own good. (February 23)
BLADES OF GLORY
Comedy with inspired casting (Will Ferrell and Jon Heder) set in the world of professional and Olympic ice-skating. Story deals with the return of two ice-skaters, former rivals, who compete together as a pairs team. (March 30)
BLIND DATING
Comedy about romance fraught with cultural differences, a young blind man falls in love with an Indian woman. (March 30)
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
Director Paul Greengrass joins Matt Damon for another Jason Bourne spy actioner. Bourne’s on the run again after a shootout in Moscow. This is the third in the critically heralded and popular adaptation of the Robert Ludlum novel series. (August 3)
BOY CULTURE
Through a series of confessions, a male escort describes his relationships with his roommates and one of his clients. Winner of the LA Outfest Grand Jury Award in 2006. (March 23)
BRATZ
Animated feature based on the best-selling dolls. Story follows the exciting and glamorous lives of Cloe, Jade, Sasha, and Yasmin, four teenage girls with a “passion for fashion!” (TBD)
THE BRAVE ONE
Neil Jordan directs Jodie Foster in a film about a woman who struggling to recover from a brutal attack and setting out to exact revenge. Cast boasts Lost’s Naveen Andrews and Terrence Howard. (September 28)
BREACH
Inspired by one of the greatest security breaches in US history. Young FBI agent Eric O’Neill (Ryan Phillippe) plays a cat and mouse game with his boss, Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper), who is ultimately convicted of selling secrets to Russia. (February 16)
BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA
Based on the Katherine Paterson children’s book, this Walden Media and Disney production aims to capture the same audience that made The Chronicles of Narnia such an enormous hit. Story follows the adventures of Jesse and Leslie who discover a magical kingdom in the forest. (February 16)
BROKEN ENGLISH
Comedy/Drama/Romance starring Parker Posey as a NYC thirty-something who is perpetually unlucky at love. Watch for a hilarious turn by Justin Theroux in a crazy mohawk. (TBD)
THE BROTHERS SOLOMON
A father’s dying wish to have a grandson causes comic problems for his two sons who have no experience with women. Saturday Night Live alumni Will Forte and Will Arnett are Dumb & Dumber and a baby. Bob Odenkirk, he of the unfairly maligned Let’s Go to Prison, directs. (August 31)
BUG
Ashley Judd and Harry Connick jr. team up for this claustrophobic tale of creepy crawlies that may or may not be the product of Michael Shannon’s paranoia. The title is a potential drawback, as this is NOT a remake of the 70s fire-starting cockroach movie. Horrormeister William “Exorcist” Freidkin directs.
(TBA 2007)
CAN MR. SMITH GET TO WASHINGTON ANYMORE?
Autopsy of a Missouri Democratic primary election, so you thought your country was a true democracy, eh? Scathing documentary look at the US political system.
(TBA 2007)
EL CANTANTE
Autobiographical account of Henry Lavoe, successful 70s Spanish-language singer until drugs wreak havoc with his life. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony give their all in this dynamic drama-musical. (July 27)
CLOSE TO HOME
Neama Shendar and Smadar Sayar are two young women in the Israeli Border patrol. Film examines their initially hostile relationship and daily lives in the flashpoint that is modern day Jerusalem. Naturalistic and endearing performances from the leads.(February 14)
COLOR ME KUBRICK
The story of a fellow who passed himself off as reclusive director Stanley Kubrick while that worthy was working on his last film, Eyes Wide Shut. John Malkovich plays the doppelganger. Quirky comedy that plays as an art house movie version of Borat. (March 23)
THE COMEBACKS
A failure of a football coach has one last shot at glory with a dodgy roster of new recruits. Tired formula is trotted out one more time, but I suppose there is a new generation that hasn’t seen Major League or The Bad News Bears. Directed by Tom Brady of The Hot Chick fame if that helps. (August 24)
THE CONDEMNED
Testosterone laden action-thriller featuring wrestling star Stone Cold Steve Austin as a prisoner who has to fight for survival on a reality TV show. WWE meets Battle Royale anyone? Probably not a serious contender for an Oscar. (April 27)
CUT SLEEVE BOYS
A comic look into the lives of some gay Chinese fellows in London who decide they need to put a little zing into their lifestyles. Film now has the distinction of being banned in Singapore, and is picking up prizes on the gay and lesbian film circuit. Ashley Wang and Melvyn Shu star. (March)
DAN IN REAL LIFE
Steve Carell, the best thing to hit comedy films since Steve Martin, stars as parental advice columnist who falls for a woman while unaware she is his brother’s girlfriend. Moral complications ensue. Co-starring the charming Juliette Binoche and directed by About a Boy scribe, Peter Hedges, this should be a sure-fire comedy hit. (September 21)
THE DARJEELING LIMITED
The tale of three brothers journeying through India following the death of their father. Film reunites Owen Wilson and director Wes Anderson from The Life Aquatic and most of the director’s movies come to that. Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman are the other siblings. Quirky character driven comedy will be just what the doctor ordered. (TBA)
THE DARK IS RISING
Another venture into film production for Waldenbooks after The Chronicles of Narnia. This is an adaptation of Susan Cooper’s novel concerning an everyday lad who finds out he is, in fact, an immortal warrior and destined to fight the forces of darkness. (September 28)
DAY WATCH
Mammoth follow up to Night Watch, the Russian action-vampire movie. This one follows Anton as he tries to restore the glory of Moscow. Bigger is definitely better in this ambitious sequel. Konstantin Khablensky stars again as Anton. (August)
DEAD SILENCE
Director James Wan takes a break from the Saw series to helm this dark tale of vengeful animated ventriloquist dummies. Visually sumptuous horror nastiness from a director who knows the power of creepy dolls. Donnie Wahberg and Amber Valleta star. (March 23)
DEATH AT A FUNERAL
Gallows humor abounds when the family patriarch expires bringing a blackmailer to his funeral causing problems for the two sons (Matthew Macfadyen and Rupert Graves). Directed by genre vet and Miss Piggy manipulator extraordinaire, Frank Oz. (June 29)
DELTA FARCE
What seems like a good idea, sending three gun happy rednecks to Iraq, backfires when they are accidentally dropped into Mexico, but still manage to find an adversary. Broad comedy in blissfully bad taste gives Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy a chance to do their thing. (May 11)
DIGGERS
The clam digging workforce of Long Island becomes the unlikely setting for this coming-of-age tale of four friends. Lauren Ambrose and Maura Tierney star. Expect bitter-sweetness. (April)
DISTURBIA
A teen (Shia LaBeouf) under house arrest becomes obsessed that a neighbor (David Morse) is up to evil deeds. He enlists the help of his friends to seek out the truth. What starts off like a teen comedy soon turns dark in this interesting cross-breed of The ‘burbs and Rear Window. Always great to see to see David Morse doing the bad-guy thing. (April 13)
DYNAMITE WARRIOR (Kon fai bin)
Gonzo martial arts spectacular channeling the ghost of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns. Set in the 1890’s the plot concerns a rocket savvy warrior righting wrongs against cattle rustlers. Made in Thailand by the delightfully named Baa Ram Ewe company. (TBA)
EAGLE VS. SHARK
Romance among the nerdy as a young lady impresses the local game nerd by beating him at his own game. The two then set out to right some wrongs. Popular hit at Sundance, could be this year’s Napoleon Dynamite. Loren Horsley plays Lily, the Shark, to Jemaine Clement’s Eagle. Filmed in New Zealand. (June 1)
EASTERN PROMISES
David Cronenberg who is becoming one of the most interesting directors in the medium brings us another UK based movie after Spider. This one concerns gangland violence among Eastern European émigrés. (September 14)
ELEVEN MEN OUT
When an Icelandic soccer player comes out to his team mates he finds himself ostracized and has to make some career changes. Who’d have thought that the sexual politics of this chilly island could be so warm? (TBA)
ENCHANTED
Ambitious fusion of live-action and animation as an animated princess finds herself flesh in a very real NYC! Good to see Disney taking a chance again. Includes songs by Hunchback of Notre Dame team Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. The beguiling Amy Adams stars with Grey’s Anatomy charmer, Patrick Dempsey as her mortal love. (November 21)
EVAN ALMIGHTY
The hapless Evan Baxter (the increasingly delightful Steve Carell) moves to center stage in this sequel to the Jim Carrey vehicle, Bruce Almighty. This one has God, in the form of Morgan Freeman, charge Evan with doing the Noah’s ark thing. The laughs will be here, let’s hope this one can avoid the glutinous sentiment of its predecessor. (June 22)
EVENING
A dying woman reflects on her past to her two daughters. Delicious pairings of Meryl Streep and Glenn Close and Vanessa Redgrave and her daughter Natasha Richardson would be enough to make this romantic drama worth a look, but then there’s the always superb Toni Collette too. Based on a novel by Susan Minot. (June 15)
EXILED (Fong juk)
Tale of Macau and Hong Kong gangsters set as the two colonies are repatriated with mainland China. Tense action-thriller surely destined for a US remake. Which might mean this doesn’t see the light of day here. (June)
THE EX (Fast Track)
Complications ensue when Tom Reilly (Zach Braff) begins working with the wheelchair bound Chip Sanders (Jason Bateman) who may have been the previous love interest of his girlfriend, Sofia (Amanda Peet). Politically incorrect comedy from music video director, Jesse Peretz. (March 9)
THE EXTERMINATING ANGELS
A French film director encourages his actresses to lose their inhibitions while filming an erotic scene, with unexpected consequences. Erotic tension makes this the hottest screen ticket since the halcyon days of Emanuelle. This won’t play well in the Bible Belt. (March 28)
THE EYE
Much delayed remake of the Hong Kong horror film, Jian Gui, this concerns the blind recipient of some eye surgery which enables her to see with the bonus of some extra things she really would have preferred not to see. If the shocks follow the original this should be a creepy hit. Jessica Alba took over from Renee Zellweger during the delay. Keep an eye out for it. (TBA)
FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER
It looks as though director Tim Story has sorted out the problems that marred the first film, and it looks as if this will be a superb comic book adaptation. The original cast return including Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and the wonderful Michael Chiklis as grumpy Ben Grimm aka The Thing. It’s clobberin’ time! (June 15)
FAY GRIM
Comedic espionage thriller follow up to Henry Fool from indie darling Hal Hartley. Clever and silly by turns. Mostly for Hartley fans. Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum and Saffron Burrows head up an impressive cast including Thomas Jay Ryan back as Henry Fool. (May)
FIRED!
Annabelle Gurwitch conducts a meditation on the painful subject of getting fired, triggered by her own dismissal by no less than Woody Allen. Many famous faces such as Tim Allen, Fred Willard and Ben Stein offer their own take on the subject. (TBA)
FIREHOUSE DOG
A misplaced Hollywood trained pooch winds up adopted by an inept fire department and the son of one of the firefighters in particular. Broad, Disneyesque comedy that looks to be strictly for the kids. Bruce Greenwood and Josh Hutcherson head the cast as father and son respectively. (April 4)
FIRST SNOW
Intense little thriller concerning an average guy (Guy Pearce) who gets his fortune told. His future is rather dark it seems, but this doesn’t upset our hero until the predictions come to pass. Terrifically atmospheric.(March 27)
FIVE DAYS IN SEPTEMBER: THE REBIRTH OF AN ORCHESTRA
The orchestra under consideration is the Toronto Symphony, and its rebirth is when new musical director Peter Oundjian arrives. Documentary enlivened by the charismatic presence of Oundjian and some great music. (TBA)
THE FLOCK
The director of the original Internal Affairs, Wai Keung Lau, which became the Martin Scorsese picture, The Departed, gets to make his own gritty investigative drama involving a missing girl. Troubled production stars Richard Gere (who also made a film called Internal Affairs!) and Claire Danes. (TBA)
FOODFIGHT!
Taking the premise of Toy Story one step further, suppose your everyday grocery store came to life, once the customers had gone and the lights were out… The plot revolves around evil Brand X attempting a grocery store coup. Charlie Sheen, Christopher Lloyd, Hilary Duff and Eva Longoria voice some of the products. (November 16)
FRACTURE
A battle of wills commences when Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) is acquitted of trying to murder his wife, but Assistant DA Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) is highly suspicious. Thriller from the reliable Gregory Hoblit, he of Fallen and Primal Fear, should provoke serious nervousness. (April 27)
FRED CLAUS
Apparently Santa has a less well known brother, Fred, in this comic tale of sibling rivalry as Santa has to rehabilitate his older ne’er do well brother at the North Pole. Irresistible casting of Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti as the brothers Claus makes this a must see Christmas movie. (November 11)
FULL OF IT
In an effort to be popular, newbie high schooler, Sam (Ryan Pinkston), has to tell more and more elaborate lies. Things take a turn for the strange when his lies seem to be becoming true! Winning cast in a fool proof teen comedy. (March 2)
THE GAME PLAN
The Rock plays an NFL quarterback who suddenly finds he has a 7 year old daughter to look after which seriously puts a crimp in his style in this Disney family comedy.
Is it me, or does an illegitimate child sound very un-Disney like? (October 5)
GEORGIA RULE
Things change when wild child, Rachel (Lindsay Lohan) is unceremoniously dumped into the care of her grandmother, Georgia (Jane Fonda), for the summer. Expect angst, laughs and family bonding. (May 11)
GHOST RIDER
Marvel comic’s skeletal vigilante biker rides onto the screen personified by Nicolas Cage. Comic book fans are drooling, but the trailer is just awful. Even comic books need one foot in reality. (February 16)
THE GOLDEN AGE
In this follow up to Elizabeth, Cate Blanchett reprises her role as the British monarch in her later years, dealing with the roguish Sir Walter Raleigh and the machinations of Mary Queen of Scots to usurp the throne. Geoffrey Rush is back as Walsingham and Samantha Morton plays Mary. Can’t wait! (October 5)
THE GOLDEN COMPASS
Philip Pullman’s classy fantasy novel reaches the big screen with impeccable credentials. Newcomer Dakota Blue Richards stars as heroine Lyra Belacqua and she’s ably supported by Nicole Kidman as well as hot Casino Royale alumni, Daniel Craig and Eva Green. Deserves to be a big hit. (December 7)
GOLDEN DOOR (NUOVOMONDO)
The story of Sicilian émigrés as they journey to America at the turn of the century. Lavish exploration of the hopes and dreams of simple folk embarking on the unknown. Lush photography and a sweeping score add to the ambience. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Vincenzo Amato star and watch for Vincent Schiavelli in his last role. (May 11)
GONE, BABY, GONE
Ben Affleck steps back behind the camera to direct this story of two private detectives (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) investigating the kidnap of a young girl. Gritty adaptation of the Dennis Lahane novel, also starring Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris. (October 5)
GRACIE
In this pet project for siblings Andrew and Elisabeth Shue (loosely based on the real-life experiences of the latter and directed by her husband, An Inconvenient Truth helmer Davis Guggenheim), a teenage girl (Carly Schroeder) fights the powers that be in order to be allowed to play competitive soccer. (June)
GRAY MATTERS
In a story that sounds somewhat similar to last year’s Imagine Me and You, Heather Graham plays a woman who finds herself flirting with sexual ambiguity (among other things) when she finds herself crushing on her brother’s fiancee (Bridget Moynahan). (February 23)
GRBAVICA: THE LAND OF MY DREAMS
In this debut feature from director Jasmila Zbanic, set during the aftermath of the Balkan War, a woman struggles to find the way to come up with the money to pay the full price for her 12-year-old daughter’s school trip. (February 16)
GRINDHOUSE
In one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the year, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino pay tribute to their gloriously misspent youth with a instant double-feature (including fake trailers from Edgar Wright, Eli Roth, Rob Zombie and Rodriguez) in which each directs a original example of the trashy films they grew up on. Rodriguez’s Planet Terror finds Rose McGowan (whose amputated right leg has been replaced with a machine gun) fending of a wave of zombies attacking a small town. In Tarantino’s slasher homage Death Proof, Kurt Russell plays a psycho who stalks and kills a group of sexy stuntwomen (including Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Zoe Ball and McGowan) with his souped-up car. (April 6)
HALLOWEEN
The recent trend towards unnecessary remakes of classic horror films now extends to John Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece, now in the hands of writer-director Rob Zombie with Malcolm McDowell playing Donald Pleasance, Scout Taylor-Compton as Jamie Lee Curtis and wrestler Tyler Mane as Michael Myers. However, after the screenplay for Zombie’s radically revised take (with Michael now the victim of an abusive trailer-trash upbringing for starters) was roundly pasted, he has apparently decided to do rewrites so who knows when this will come out. (August 31)
HAIRSPRAY
The big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical adaptation of John Waters’ 1988 comedy about hair-hoppers and race relations hits the big screen with newcomer Nicole Blonsky (in the role originated by Ricki Lake) surrounded by the likes of Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes and John Travolta, the latter stepping into the shoes and dress of the late, great Divine to play Blonsky’s mother. (July 20)
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
Fresh from blinding horses on stage in Equus, Daniel Radcliffe returns for the fifth installment of the insanely popular fantasy films. The other regulars are back as well and the newcomers joining them include Helena Bonham Carter (as Bellatrix Lestrange) and David Yates (a British TV director that Warner Brothers has entrusted with one of their most valuable properties as his feature debut). (July 13)
THE HAWK IS DYING
In an adaptation of the Harry Crewes novel, which premiered at last year’s Sundance festival, Paul Giamatti portrays a ordinary guy who tries to break out of his rut by taming and training a red-tailed hawk. (TBD)
THE HEARTBREAK KID
Goofball romantic comedy from the Farrelly Brothers starring Ben and Jerry Stiller. Also stars Rob Corddry and Carlos Mencia. Story about a man (Stiller) who realizes he’s married the wrong woman…while on his honeymoon. (October 5)
THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2
In this loose sequel to last year’s ultra-gory and ultra-pointless remake of the Wes Craven cult semi-classic (co-written by Craven and son Jonathan), a gaggle of National Guard trainees on their last day of desert training are besieged by more members of a family of mutant cannibals. (Please let there be another dog flashback!) (March 23)
THE HOAX
Originally scheduled for last fall, this Lasse Hallstrom film tells the bizarre story of writer Clifford Irving (Richard Gere) and the furor that erupted after the publication of what would later turn out to be a fake biography of Howard Hughes in the early 1970’s. (April 6)
THE HOST
When a giant mutant monster arises from the banks of Seoul’s Han River and carries off a young girl, the other members of her slightly dysfunctional extended family band together to rescue her from its clutches in this bizarre mixture of humor and ickiness that actually lives up to the hype it has generated among the fanboy set. (March 9)
HOSTEL: PART II
This time around, it is a group of American girls—Laura German, Heather Matarazzo, and Bijou Phillips—who pay the price for spending time outside of their home country by getting chopped to pieces by torture freaks in Eli Roth’s sequel to his surprise horror hit. Although Jay Fernandez, the lone survivor from the original, is said to make a cameo, exploitation fans may be more intrigued by the fact that Roth managed to lure cult film queen Edwige Fenech out of retirement to make an appearance as well. (June 8)
HOT FUZZ
Having affectionately and hilariously sent up zombie films in the wonderful Shaun of the Dead, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg set their sights on 1980’s action films with a tale of a two-fisted London cop (Pegg) who is reassigned to a crime-free village and partnered with an overeager goof (Nick Frost) only to discover that there may be more to a recent string of “accidents” than meets the eye. The trailer for this film alone has more solid laughs than most recent comedies. (April 13)
HOT ROD
As yet another generation of SNL performers tries to make the leap to the silver screen, Andy Samberg stars as a klutzy daredevil who decides to jump the Snake River Canyon (on a moped, no less) in order to impress stepfather Ian McShane. If this succeeds, maybe the big-screen version of Laser Cats will finally become a reality. (June 1)
I AM LEGEND
After decades in development hell, this is the third attempt to bring Richard Matheson’s classic novel of the last human being trying to survive while being under constant attack from hordes of mutated zombies (previously filmed as 1964’s The Last Man on Earth and 1973’s The Omega Man). This time around, Will Smith steps into the survivalist shoes previously worn by Vincent Price and Charlton Heston under the direction of Constantine helmer Francis Lawrence. (December 14)
I COULD NEVER BE YOUR WOMAN
Originally scheduled for release last summer (and recently postponed from February to June), this romantic comedy from Amy Heckerling features Michelle Pfeiffer as the producer of a Saved By the Bell-type show who finds herself falling for a younger man (Paul Rudd) who is one of the program’s stars. (June)
I DON’T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE
In this latest work from acclaimed Asian filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang, a Malaysian man whose life changes after he is rescued after a mugging and nursed back to health by a group of homeless men. (TBD)
I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY
Adam Sandler and Kevin James play a pair of straight firemen who decide to pretend to be a couple in order to receive domestic partner benefits. Wackiness is presumably certain to follow, along with all-but-inevitable cameos from Rob Schneider and Nick Swardson. Intriguingly, Sideways scribes Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor are among the writers currently credited with the screenplay. (July 20)
I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE
Good news if you drew “Remake of Eric Rohmer classic” in your office pool regarding Chris Rock’s directorial follow-up to the less-than-immortal Head of State. This film is indeed a reworking of Rohmer’s Chloe in the Afternoon in which he plays a married man who finds himself tempted to stray by a friend’s former mistress. (March 16)
ILLEGAL TENDER
Writer-director Franc Reyes returns to the screen for the first time since 2002’s Empire for this story of a young Hispanic man and his mom on the run from the people who killed his father. (TBD)
IN THE LAND OF WOMEN
After a painful breakup, TV writer Adam Brody returns home to care for his grandmother and becomes involved with the women living in the house across the street—as they include Meg Ryan, Ginnifer Goodwin and Kristen Stewart, I doubt too many people are going to weep for him. (April 20)
IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH
On the one hand, this drama about a career military officer searching for his AWOL son has the kind of powerhouse cast—including Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon, James Franco and Jason Patric—that would raise the hopes of most sensible moviegoers. On the other hand, the presence of Paul Crash Haggis as writer and director is enough to dash those hopes in a flash. (TBD)
INTO GREAT SILENCE
A three-hour long examination of life within the walls of the central monastery of France’s Carthusian Order. Enjoy. (February 28)
INTO THE WILD
Returning to the director’s chair for the first time since 2001’s brilliant and overlooked The Pledge, Sean Penn adapts the Jon Krakauer best-seller, the true story of a young man whose decision to shun contemporary life by living in the Alaskan wilderness has tragic consequences, with a cast including Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt. (September 21)
THE INVASION
This is yet another remake of the warhorse Invasion of the Body Snatchers in which Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig find themselves doing battle against what appears to be an alien invasion. Originally scheduled to be released last August, the allegedly troubled production is now undergoing reshoots (which became public knowledge after a well-publicized stunt-car crash involving Kidman made the news) and is now supposed to appear this coming August. (August 17)
THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB
Even those who bristle at the phrase “chick flick” are unlikely to object too strenuously to having it applied to this romantic drama about a group of people who form a book club devoted to the works of Jane Austen and find parallels between the books and their own relationship travails. Among the members of the group are Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman and Emily Blunt, the hilariously high-strung assistant from The Devil Wears Prada. (TBD)
JINDABYNE
When a woman (Laura Linney) discovers that her husband (Gabriel Byrne) discovered the body of a murdered woman with some friends while on a fishing trip and didn’t report it until they were done, she becomes consumed with the desire to reach out to the victim’s family in an effort to make things right. If the plot of Ray Lawrence’s drama sounds a little familiar, it is because it is based on the same Raymond Carver short story that inspired one of the subplots of Robert Altman’s Short Cuts. (April 27)
KICKIN’ IT OLD SKOOL
Apparently under the impression that Malibu’s Most Wanted did not allow him to fully explore the comedic possibilities of dopey white guys cluelessly appropriating hip-hop culture, Jamie Kennedy stars in a film about a kid who falls into a coma after a break-dancing accident and wakes up 20 years later with the desire to pick up where he left off. Wackiness no doubt ensues. (April 20)
KING AND THE CLOWN
In this film, Korea’s official entry for this year’s Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar, a pair of actors arrested for performing a play mocking the king are offered a reprieve from their imminent executions if they can somehow make the monarch laugh. (TBD)
THE KINGDOM
After an attack on an American military base in the Middle East, a team of FBI experts (including Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) try to overcome suspicious locals and government bureaucracy to identify the bombers before they strike again. Although Michael Mann co-wrote the story, the directorial chores went to Peter Berg. (April 20)
KLIMT
Famed filmmaker Raoul Ruiz reteams with John Malkovich for a biopic on the life and work of the controversial Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. (TBD)
KNOCKED UP
A one-night stand between a would-be porn maven (Seth Rogan) and a driven career woman (Katherine Heigl) has life-changing consequences for both when she discovers that she is pregnant. Although it may sound like a Lifetime drama, it is actually the eagerly awaited new raunchy comedy from Judd Apatow, his first since the 2005 hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin. (June 1)
THE LAST MIMZY
In this adaptation of the famous sci-fi short story “Mimsy Were the Borogoves,” a pair of young children play with some mysterious toys that they have found, not realizing that they have been sent from the future as part of a time-travel experiment, and begin to develop strange powers as a result. Among the grown-ups caught up in the goings-on are Timothy Hutton, Joley Richardson and Rainn Wilson.
LICENSE TO WED
Mandy Moore and John Krasinski star as a about-to-be-married couple who find themselves put through the wringer when they enter an especially strange marriage preparation course. The bad news is that the teacher putting them through their paces is none other than Robin Williams in what will presumably be his full-out manic mode. The good news is that several of Krasinski’s fellow castmates from The Office make appearances as well. (July 4)
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD
Twelve years after the release of Die Hard With a Vengeance, this long-in-development sequel has Bruce Willis once again saving the world, this time from hi-tech terrorists threatening to destroy America’s entire technological infrastructure. Of course, since the young hacker he is partnered with is played by Justin Long, star of those unbelievably annoying Mac commercials, some of you may find yourselves rooting for the terrorists. Action junkies should be satisfied, although the presence of Len Wiseman (the hack behind the Underworld films) as the director isn’t exactly the most encouraging sign. (July 4)
LOOKING FOR CHEYENNE
No, this is neither a western adventure nor a wacky Wyoming-based road trip comedy. Instead, it is a French drama about a journalist named Cheyenne who loses her job and decides to abruptly pack up and move to the middle of nowhere—the trouble is that she leaves behind a devoted girlfriend who struggles to go on with life without her beloved. (May)
THE LOOKOUT
In what appears to be an action-oriented riff on Memento (at least judging from the trailer), a brain-damaged janitor finds himself sucked into a plot to rob the bank where he works. That said, the cast (including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Isla Fisher, Carla Gugino and Jeff Daniels) is strong and it marks the directorial debut of Scott Frank, the screenwriter whose adaptation of Out of Sight makes anything with his name on it worth checking out. (March 23)
LUCKY YOU
Ordinarily, a drama directed and co-written by Curtis Hanson and starring Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore and Robert Duvall would probably make it to the top of the “to-see” list of any self-respecting cineaste. However, the release date for this film, in which Bana plays a top poker player struggling with his personal life during a high-stakes tournament in Vegas, has shifted so many times over the last year or so that it now has all the earmarks of a troubled project. (May 4)
LUST, CAUTION
In what is sure to be one of the bigger pieces of Oscar bait this fall, this Shanghai-based espionage drama marks Ang Lee’s first film since Brokeback Mountain. Based on a short story by Eileen Chang, the film stars Tony Leung, Joan Chen and newcomer Tang Wei. (September 28)
ENTERTAINMENT TODAY’S 2007 MOVIE PREVIEW GUIDE
BY JONATHAN W. HICKMAN, TONY SULLIVAN, STAN FURLEY, AND PETER SOBCZYNSKI
Page 2
MAFIOSO
Originally released in 1962, this acclaimed Italian film from Alberto Lattuada starts off as a light comedy in which a successful auto executive (Alberto Sordi) takes his wife and children to the small Sicilian village where he grew up and grows progressively darker as he is reunited with the local Mafia don, who may have been instrumental in getting him his job and who may now want a favor in return. (TBD)
MAMA’S BOY
In a bold stretch of his acting talents, Napoleon Dynamite star Jon Heder plays yet another socially maladjusted nerd—in this case, a 29-year-old man whose comfy life living at home with mom Diane Keaton is threatened by her upcoming remarriage to Jeff Daniels. Since both Anna Faris and Sarah Chalke appear in the cast as well, I suspect that he will get a happy ending after all. (April)
MARGARET
For his follow-up to his acclaimed directorial debut, “You Can Count on Me,” Kenneth Lonergan brings together Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno for a story about a young woman (Paquin) whose life is turned upside-down when she feels that she may have been partially responsible for a fatal traffic accident. (TBD)
MARGOT AT THE WEDDING
The latest from writer-director Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale) promises to be another story of people coming to terms with things. Since the people in this case include Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack Black, the results could be interesting indeed. (October 12)
MARTIAN CHILD
Reeling from the sudden death of his fiancee, John Cusack tries to get his life back on track by adopting a six-year-old boy. As it turns out, the kid has a few issues of his own—the chief one being his belief that he is actually from Mars. (October 12)
MAXED OUT
This documentary from James D. Scurlock is an expose of credit-card companies and the methods that they use to ensure ever-increasing profits by doing everything in their power to keep Americans drowning in credit debt.
MEET THE ROBINSONS
The latest animated family film from Disney features a brilliant young inventor who travels into the future in order to find both his latest invention, which has been stolen by the nefarious Bowler Hat Guy, and his real family. The voices this time are supplied by the likes of Tom Selleck, Angela Bassett, Laurie Metcalf and the inevitable Adam West. (March 30)
MICHAEL CLAYTON
George Clooney stars as a high-priced lawyer whose ability to get rid of the problems of his well-known clients winds up coming back to haunt him over the course of his last days of work. (September 14)
A MIGHTY HEART
In what looks to be the meatiest and most promising role that she has undertaken in quite a while, Angelina Jolie portrays Marianne Pearl in the true-life story of her search for her husband, the late journalist Daniel Pearl, when he goes missing while on assignment in Pakistan. Although this would seem like a perfect bit of Oscar bait to release during the fall, the film, directed by the seemingly inexhaustible Michael Winterbottom, is currently scheduled to come out at the height of summer. (June 22)
MONGOL
Following in the less-than-immortal shoes of John Wayne’s The Conqueror, Russian director Sergei Bodrov offers us a lavish biopic on the early years of Temudjin, a slave who would eventually go on to conquer half the world as Genghis Khan. (June)
MR. BROOKS
Bruce A. Evans returns to the director’s chair for the first time since the 1992 masterpiece Kuffs (hey—any movie featuring both Milla Jovovich and Ashley Judd deserves that appellation in my books) for a film in which a mild-mannered man (Kevin Costner) with a homicidal alter-ego (William Hurt) is pursued by an obsessed detective (Demi Moore). With a cast like that, it is entirely possible that Evans shot it right after finishing Kuffs and just never got around to releasing it until now. (June 1)
MR. MAGORIUM’S WONDER EMPORIUM
A comic fantasy about the world’s most magical toy shop and the mysterious changes that occur when the store’s ancient owner decides to bequeath it to the neurotic young woman who manages the place. The premise sounds gooey and the fact that it was written and directed by Zach Helm, the author of the overly precious Stranger Than Fiction, doesn’t exactly fill my heart with anticipation either. However, the presence of Dustin Hoffman as the old man and Natalie Portman as the young woman should make it at least somewhat bearable. (November 16)
MR. WOODCOCK
This long-delayed comedy stars Sean William Scott as a young man who is horrified to discover that his mother (Susan Sarandon) is about to marry the mean high school gym teacher (Billy Bob Thornton) who made his life hell years earlier and while I can’t say for sure, I suspect that wackiness will most likely ensue. (October 26)
MUSIC AND LYRICS
In a meeting of contemporary romantic comedy titans, Hugh Grant plays a washed-up 80’s pop star who gets a last chance at a comeback with an offer to write a new tune for a Britneyesque pop diva and Drew Barrymore is the quirky girl with a flair for lyrics that he meets by chance. As predictable as they come but still fairly winning and often very funny thanks to the charisma and comic timing of the two leads. (February 14)
MY BEST FRIEND
French superstar Daniel Auteuil plays a successful-but-unlikable businessman who enlists charming cab driver Dany Boon to pose as his best friend in order to win a bet with a colleague in this dark comedy from acclaimed filmmaker Patrice Leconte (whose The Girl on the Bridge remains one of the best films of recent years that still has not made an appearance on DVD). (TBD)
THE NAMESAKE
Rebounding from the box-office failure of her odd take on Vanity Fair, Mira Nair returns to more familiar territory with this adaptation of the Jhumpa Lahiri novel about a young American-born Indian man (Kal Epic Movie Penn) who is torn between fitting in with his friends and colleagues and respecting the traditions of his parents. (March 9)
NANCY DREW
Although you wouldn’t know it from the trailer, which seems to be positioning it as a junior-high-aimed cross between Mean Girls and The Devil Wears Prada, this is the latest attempt to bring the beloved teen sleuth to life on the screen, this time in the form of Emma Roberts. Based on the preview, the results don’t look that promising but I would be willing to forgive most potential flaws if director Andrew Fleming somehow works in a cameo appearance from Pamela Sue Martin. (June 15)
THE NANNY DIARIES
The best-selling bit of chick-lit fluff about a college student working as a nanny for a wildly dysfunctional Manhattan family comes to the big screen with Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti and Alicia Keys in front of the camera and American Splendor co-directors Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini behind it. (April 20)
THE NEXT GIRL I SEE
After an elaborate marriage proposal to his girlfriend ends in the worst possible way, Jason Biggs despairs of ever falling in love again until he accepts a dare and proposes to a waitress he hardly knows. This may sound a bit implausible until you realize that the waitress in question is being played by Wedding Crashers cutie Isla Fisher. (April 6)
NOMAD
Now that Kazakhstan is all the rage thanks to Borat, The Weinstein Company has apparently decided to cash in by releasing this 2005 historical epic, co-directed by Sergei Bodrov, Ivan Passer and Talgat Temenov, in which a young man rises from anonymity to lead his countrymen in revolt against their evil monarch. (March 9)
THE NUMBER 23
Joel Schumacher directs a bizarre blend of Pi and The Da Vinci Code in which Jim Carrey plays an ordinary man who begins reading a book that has uncanny parallels with his own life, only to discover that the character based on him becomes involved with a murder that has something to do with the alleged mystical powers of the title figure. (February 23)
OCEANS’S THIRTEEN
Practically the entire gang—including George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and director Steven Soderbergh—return for another exercise in self-reflexive caper comedy. Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones are not supposed to appear this time around, so Soderbergh has been forced to compensate for their absence by bringing in newcomers Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin to pick up the slack. (June 8)
OFFSIDE
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi (the director of such acclaimed works as Crimson Gold, The Circle and The White Balloon) returns with a film in which a group of girls are arrested after dressing up like boys in an effort to enter a stadium to watch a soccer game in defiance of Islamic law. Although the subject matter may sound serious (and has led to the film being banned in Iran), the tone is said to lean more towards the comedic. (April 6)
ONE MISSED CALL
Although the films of Japanese director Takashi Miike would seem to be far too bizarre and extreme for Hollywood to even attempt remaking (can you imagine an Americanized version of Ichi the Killer?), that hasn’t stopped Warners from doing a Westernized version of his 2003 riff on the Ring films in which ordinary people begin receiving voice messages from their future selves informing them of when they will die. (August 24)
THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL
Proving that it is indeed good to be the king, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson portray Anne and Mary Boleyn in this historical drama that follows them as they compete for the favors of Henry VIII (Eric Bana). (October 26)
OUT OF HAND
In this 2005 Italian drama, a pair of disaffected teenage boys decide to get revenge on the woman who busted them for shoplifting by abducting her and imprisoning her in an abandoned factory building. Once they do that, however, they realize that they have no idea of what to do with her next. (TBD)
THE PAGE TURNER
After having her dreams of being admitted into an exclusive music conservatory dashed because of the inattentiveness of the famous pianist heading the selection jury, a young woman gets her chance for revenge when she is unknowingly hired to serve as the woman’s page turner for an important comeback concert. (March 23)
PAPRIKA
In the latest work from acclaimed anime director Satoshi Kon (whose previous works include Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers), a machine is developed that will allow people to enter the dreams of others and record them for later playback. When the machine is stolen and used to infiltrate the dreams of others with deadly results, the search is on to track it down before the borderline between dreams and reality is eliminated forever. (May 25)
PARIS JE T’AIME
A collection of 20 short films from some of the world’s best-known filmmakers (including the Coen Brothers, Wes Craven, Tom Tykwer, Alfonso Cuaron, Alexander Payne, Gus Van Sant and Olivier Assayas), each one set in a different neighborhood of Paris and dealing with the subject of love. Among the actors who pop up are Natalie Portman, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, Gerard Depardieu, Elijah Wood, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ludivine Sagnier, Nick Nolte, Willem Dafoe, Juliette Binoche and Steve Buscemi. (May 4)
PATHFINDER
For those of you who have been waiting patiently since The 13th Warrior for the release of a new Viking film, your prayers have been answered with this blood-and-thunder epic about a Viking boy who is left behind when his countrymen attack an Indian colony. Years later, they return for a second attack and the now-grown boy leads his adoptive tribe into battle against them. Co-starring Moon Bloodgood—a fact I mention only because I never pass up an opportunity to mention the name “Moon Bloodgood” if I can help it. (April 20)
PENELOPE
In this modern-day fable, Christina Ricci plays a young woman trying to find a way to break a family curse that has left her with the nose of a pig. Co-produced by Reese Witherspoon, who appears in a supporting role along with Catherine O’Hara, Richard E. Grant, Peter Dinklage and the always-welcome Nick Frost. (April 6)
PERFECT STRANGER
In what looks like an expensive version of those early-1990’s Shannon Tweed direct-to-video exercises in soft-core silliness, Halle Berry plays an investigative reporter who tries to solve the murder of her friend by going undercover to meet the successful and married businessman (Bruce Willis) she met via online dating. (April 13)
PERSEPOLIS
In one of the more intriguing-sounding project to come along this year, this is an animated film from France that tells the story of an Iranian girl coming of age right at the time of the Islamic Revolution. Among those contributing their vocal talents are the legendary Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni (Deneuve’s real-life daughter), Danielle Darrieux and Gena Rowlands. (TBD)
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END
I assume that this conclusion to the swashbuckling trilogy needs no further lucubration on my part, other than to mention that Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Geoffrey Rush all reappear and are joined this time by none other than Chow Yun-Fat and Keith Richards. (May 25)
PREMONITION
Sandra Bullock plays an ordinary housewife who has a vivid vision of her husband dying in a mysterious auto accident and tries to find a way to prevent it. Too bad she didn’t have these powers of pre-recognition when the script for Miss Congeniality 2 came along. (March 16)
PRIDE
Yet another inspirational true-life sports melodrama, this one featuring Terrence Howard as the coach of a swim team made up of troubled teens and Bernie Mac, Kimberly Elise and Tom Arnold along for the ride as well. (March 23)
PRIDE & GLORY
An impressive cast (including Edward Norton, Colin Farrell and Jon Voight) seems to be the main attraction of this drama about a family of New York City police officers whose lives are undone by a corruption scandal (TBD)
PUCCINI FOR BEGINNERS
In her first feature film since 1995’s The Incredibly Strange Adventures of 2 Girls In Love, writer-director Maria Maggenti returns with a screwball comedy about a neurotic lesbian (Elisabeth Reaser) who rebounds from a bad break-up by simultaneously dating a man (Justin Kirk) and his ex-girlfriend (Gretchen Mol). (February 2)
RACE YOU TO THE BOTTOM
If Puccini For Beginners is unable to quench your thirst for omnisexual romances, you might want to check out this tale of a bisexual travel writer (Cole Williams) who finds himself falling for a female friend (Amber Benson) while the two are on assignment in California’s wine country. (TBD)
THE REAPING
After losing her faith following the loss of her family, a former missionary (Hilary Swank) investigates a series of mysterious goings-on in a small Louisiana town that appear to be a replay of the ten plagues found in the Bible. (March 30).
RED ROAD
A closed-circuit camera observer in Glasgow begins to obsessively follow around a man that she spots on her monitor for reasons that only eventually become clear in this festival hit from writer-director Andrea Arnold. (April13)
REIGN OVER ME
In his latest attempt to court a more serious screen image (following the brilliant Punch Drunk Love and the fairly disastrous Spanglish), Adam Sandler stars as a grieving man who rekindles a friendship with his old college roommate (Don Cheadle) as a way of getting over the 9/11-related loss of his family. (March 23)
RENDITION
Having made a splash with his debut feature, the Oscar-winning drama Tsotsi, director Gavin Hood returns with a contemporary political drama starring Reese Witherspoon as an American woman looking for her missing Egyptian-born husband and Jake Gyllenhaal as a CIA analyst with knowledge of the missing man’s illegal detention and brutal interrogation. (November 30)
RENO 911!: MIAMI
Basic cable’s favorite bumbling small-town cops find themselves policing Miami when a chemical attack forces the quarantine of the entire police force in this big-screen adaptation of the Comedy Central series. (February 23)
RESCUE DAWN
Having previously explored the story of Dieter Dengler, a U.S. fighter pilot who struggled to survive after being shot down over the jungles of Laos during the Vietnam war, in the astounding documentary Little Dieter Needs To Fly, acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog revisits it in a fictionalized version starring Christian Bale as Dengler. (March 30)
RESERVATION ROAD
Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino star in this dark drama about two families that are brought together and torn apart when the father from one kills the son from the other in a hit-and-run accident. Directed by Terry George, his follow-up to the equally cheerful Hotel Rwanda. (November 9).
RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION
In the follow-up to the 2002 action-horror hit and its equally popular 2004 sequel , genetically-enhanced megababe Milla Jovovich leads a group of survivors across the Nevada desert to the presumed safety of the Alaska wilderness. Presumably, Jovovich will kick much mutant ass along the way and look fabulous while doing it. (September 21)
RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR
After a dirty bomb is set off in Los Angeles, paranoid house-husband Rory Cochrane quickly seals up his entire house to prevent any toxic material from getting inside. Alas, his wife (Mary McCormack) was out when the blast occurred and when she returns home, he doesn’t want to let her inside either. (TBD)
RUSH HOUR 3
Okay, I understand why Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker and director Brett Ratner would all return for another sequel to their 1998 action comedy hit—the prospect of a major payday and a free trip to France (where this instalments hijinks are set) for the three of them. However, what I can’t understand is what could have possibly possessed the great Roman Polanski to agree to sign on for a supporting role as a Paris detective who presumably fumes while Chan and Tucker do their schtick. (August 10)
NO RESERVATIONS
Scott Hicks may have directed Shine, but he also directed Hearts of Atlantis. So, who knows what to make of this new one that gives us Catherine Zeta-Jones (uh oh) as a top chef who, in perfect Baby Boom style, must completely alter her life when she is forced to adopt her niece. As though top women chefs (?) never have kids. Whatever! Also stars Aaron Eckhart and Patricia Clarkson. (July 27)
THE SAVAGES
Tamara Jenkins, the woman behind Slums of Beverly Hills, brings us Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney in another dysfunctional family dramedy about adult siblings dealing with the failing health of their father. (TBD)
SAW IV
The fourth installment of the successful horror franchise. (October 26)
SEVERANCE
This British horror-comedy gives us a group of upright businessmen and women who go off to a mountain retreat as a vacation reward for their hard work, and once there, things turn very Lord of the Flies. (April 6)
SHOOT ‘EM UP
Wow. Somehow Michael Davis, the filmmaker behind the absolutely reprehensible Eight Days a Week and 100 Girls (not to mention Prehysteria! 2 and 3) is now back with, well, a shoot ‘em up film that stars Clive Owen, Monica Bellucci, and Paul Giametti in which Owen plays a man who delivers a baby during a shootout, then is called upon to protect the newborn from baddies later on. (September 7)
SHOOTER
Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) directs this political thriller in which Mark Wahlberg plays a retired sniper who is brought back to the line of duty after hearing of a possible assassination attempt on the President in works. When he’s framed for the attempt, he must find out what the hell’s going on Bourne Identity style. (March 16)
SHOW BUSINESS
Documentary that shows one of the more controversial Broadway shows of all time, involving Rosie O’Donnell, Alan Cumming, and, of course, Boy George. (May 11)
SHREK THE THIRD
Third installment of the series in which Shrek (Mike Myers) is pronounced king of the land after his father-in-law (John Cleese) is declared too sick to rule. (May 18)
SICKO
Michael Moore’s latest; involving an investigation of America’s healthcare system, namely our mental health institutions. (June)
SILK
From François Girard, the director of Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould and The Red Violin, this romantic drama gives us Keira Knightley, Michael Pitt, and Alfred Molina who are embroiled in the story of a French silkworm merchant who goes to Japan and begins having an affair with a nobleman’s odalisque. (August 3)
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE
Director David Silverman (Monsters, Inc.) gives us what is probably the most anticipated movie of the year (and perhaps of the last ten years). Yes, it’s at long last time for The Simpsons Movie. And, indeed, it’s been in the works for so long that Fox actually registered the domain name for Simpsonsmovie.com nine years ago. Well, here’s to it, in the story that, supposedly, has Homer destroying Springfield and having to search with the rest of the community for a new Springfield. But, who knows what it’s really about, eh? (July 27)
SLOW BURN
Film is directorial debut of action-film screenwriter Wayne Beach, starring Ray Liotta, LL Cool J, Mekhi Phifer, Taye Diggs, and Bruce McGill in a story about a district attorney (Liotta) involved with a 24-hour showdown with a notorious gang leader (LL Cool J). This one’s been in the can for a few years, so don’t expect much. (June 22)
SMILEY FACE
Guru of gay cinema Gregg Araki directs Scary Movie’s Anna Faris and Harold & Kumar’s John Cho in this high-concept stoner comedy about a young actress (Faris) who accidentally eats her friend’s pot brownies and has a crazed trip through the rest of her day. (April 20)
SPIDER-MAN 3
The gang’s all here with the third installment of the bafflingly successful series in which Peter Parker bonds with a strange black entity from another world (Venom) and, as his arachnid alter-ego, must contend with both inner turmoil and a whole new slew of villains. (May 4)
SPRING BREAKDOWN
It’s an SNL mini-reunion of sorts in this comedy based on a story by Rachel Dratch (who also stars) in which three “sexy” co-eds (a very Night at the Roxbury version of Parker Posey, Dratch, and Amy Poehler) take a Spring Break trip they’ll never forget. Also stars Will Arnett and Seth Meyers. (April 13)
STARDUST
Layer Cake helmer Matthew Vaughn directs this adaptation of the Neil Gaiman novel in which a young man goes on a quest to fetch a falling star from a nearby magical land. Stars Sienna Miller, Robert De Niro, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Peter O’Toole, Rupert Everett, and Ian McKellan.
STARTER FOR 10
Story of a young man coping with his first year at Bristol University in 1985. Written by David Nicholls, and based on his novel. (March 9)
STEPHANIE DALEY
Tilda Swinton and Timothy Hutton star in this Sundance Lab project in which a pregnant forensics investigator must determine the mystery behind a 16-year-old woman and her possible self-induced abortion. (April)
STOP-LOSS
Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry) returns with this tale of a Texan soldier who, upon returning home from Iraq, is informed that he must return to battle, and he subsequently refuses. Stars Ryan Phillippe, Timothy Olyphant, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jay Hernandez, Abbie Cornish, and Anthony Mackie. (TBD)
SUNSHINE
Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) returns with another Alex Garland script (28 Days Later, The Beach) in this sci-fi tale involving a team of astronauts who are sent into Outer Space with the mission of igniting a new star to be our Sun, 50 years from now. (March 16)
SUPER BAD
Teen comedy in which two high school buddies deal with the embarrassment of a party they set up going terribly awry. From Da Ali G Show writers Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen. (August 17)
SURF’S UP
Another animated penguin movie, this time directed by Toy Story 2 writer/helmer Ash Brannon. Involves a Penguin World Surfing Championship, and utilizes the voice talents of: Zooey Deschanel, Shia “Even Stevens” LaBeouf, Jon “Napoleon Dynamite” Heder, James Woods, Jeff Bridges, and Michael McKean.
SWEENEY TODD
Tim Burton’s rendition of the cherished Grand Guignol style Broadway musical in which a sadistic barber hacks up his clients and engages in a torrid romance with a female tenant of his building. Stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, and Sacha Baron Cohen. Written by The Aviator’s John Logan. (December)
TALK TO ME
Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou, The Caveman’s Valentine) directs Don Cheadle in this true story of Ralph “Petey” Greene, an ex-con in Washington DC 1960’s who became a popular radio show host and political activist. Also stars: Martin Sheen, Cedric the Entertainer, and Mike Epps. (July 20)
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
First-time feature film director Kevin Munroe writes and helms this story that is basically a continuation of the film saga that took place in TMNT 1-2 (and 3?). The Turtles have grown apart as a team after the defeat of their arch-nemesis The Shredder, and now Master Splinter must bring the radical dudes back to their senses when strange, ancient monsters begin to inhabit NYC. Frankly, the animation looks pretty crappy, and Sarah Michelle Gellar voices April O’Neil. Patrick Stewart as the voice of mad scientist Max Winters, and—surprise/surprise—enter Kevin Smith as the voice of “the greasy chef.” Yawn. (March 23)
THERE WILL BE BLOOD PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON’S NEW MOVIE.
Based on the novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair, film gives us the interweaving tales of a group of turn-of-the-century citizens of a Texas town. Dealing with oil, religion, big business, and—obvy—family dynamics. Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano.
THESE FOOLISH THINGS
Anjelica Huston, Terence Stamp, and Lauren Bacall star in this romantic drama about a young actress who wants to follow in the footsteps of her famous mother. (TBD)
THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE
Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny, and Alison Lohman star in this drama about a widow who invites her late husband’s troubled best friend to live with her family. The friend subsequently helps the family cope with their familial loss. (November 2)
THIS CHRISTMAS (I)
The first of the two movies called This Christmas coming out on November 30th (wow, that’s going to be an interesting marketing situation) with an all Afro-American cast about a family who spends Christmas together with comedic/dramatic results. This one stars Queen Latifah, Terrence Howard, Charlie Murphy, Morris Chestnut, and Rachel True. (November 30)
*ARE PEOPLE IN HOLLYWOOD EVEN TRYING ANYMORE?!
(Maybe the real question is: Just what are they trying to do?)…
THIS CHRISTMAS (II)
This is the second movie called This Christmas coming out on November 30th involving an Afro-American cast embroiled in the consequences of spending Christmas together with dramedy-esque results. This one stars: Nia Long, Delroy Lindo, Regina King, and Mekhi Pheifer. (November 30)
‘TIS AUTUMN:
THE SEARCH FOR JACKIE PARIS
This slipshod documentary about jazz vocalist Jackie Perry attempts to investigate the necessity of knowing of the context of an artist’s life in order to truly enjoy his art. Features interviews with: Frank Whaley, Peter Bogdanovich, and Perry himself. (TBD)
TORTILLA HEAVEN
The story of the best restaurant in the world…but one in which the owner makes almost no money. Why? Because said restaurant resides in a sleepy town in the middle of nowhere, Population 73. But, when the face of Jesus Christ appears on one of the restaurant’s tortillas, all hell breaks loose. (March 9)
TRADE
Based on a New York Times cover story about sex slaves, and penned by The Motorcycle Diaries (as well as the upcoming On the Road adaptation) writer Jose Rivera, movie gives us Kevin Kline in a story about the brother of a 13-year-old girl who is kidnapped by sex traffickers, and his ultimate quest to try to find her with the help of Kline. (April 13)
TRANSFORMERS
Directed by Michael Bay (seriously), this “second installment” of the Transformers movie series gives us Shia “Even Stevens” LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson (tee hee!), Jon Voight, Anthony Anderson, John Turturro, and Bernie Mac. Don’t ask why there’s such an odd choice of cast members in this way: Michael Bay’s in charge here. Story is that of the Decepticons and the Autobots coming to Earth to continue their nefarious battle. Should be good for a laugh, and will hopefully be the final nail in Bay’s coffin. At least someone was paying attention, and there’s no Affleck in this one. (July 4)
TRIAD ELECTION
Hong Kong crime drama involving corruption in the world of big business and politics. (April 25)
TRICK ‘R TREAT
One half of the Bryan Singer Love Bunch, scribe Michael Dougherty (X2, Superman Returns) pens and helms this ham-fisted series of four frightening vignettes involving Halloween. Stars: Dylan Baker, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox. What, no Dan Harris on this one? Lover’s quarrel? Oh, no, wait: he’s “executive producer.” How charming. Oh, and Bryan’s producer on this one! Haaaaay! (October 5)
TYLER PERRY’S DADDY’S LITTLE GIRLS
No Madea in this one, folks. Instead, what we have is a “reverse Cinderella story” of a romantic comedy in which a rich female attorney falls in love with a manual laborer who has three kids. Things get nutty when the father’s ex-wife returns and wants her three kids back. Stars Louis Gossett Jr. and Gabrielle Union. (February 14)
UNDERDOG
Jason Lee lends his voice talents to the big-screen adaptation of the classic 60’s cartoon series. (August 3)
VACANCY
A young married couple have to escape from a motel in which they realize they’re being videotaped. If they do not escape, they’ll be the next victims of a snuff film. This horror/thriller film stars Luke Wilson, Kate Beckinsale, and Frank Whaley. (April 20)
THE VALET
One of France’s greatest comedic geniuses of all time, Francis Veber (The Closet, The Dinner Game, The Bird Cage, The Toy, Three Fugitives, My Father the Hero) triumphantly returns with this hilarious tale of a bumbling porter and a beautiful model who must pretend to be married in order to save a CEO’s fledgling marriage. (April 20)
VANTAGE POINT
The assassination of the President is told from five different POV’s. Stars Forrest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, and Dennis Quaid. (October 5)
THE WATERHORSE
Jay Russell (Ladder 49) directs this family story about a young boy who discovers an egg that hatches into an infamous monster of Scottish legend. Stars Emily Watson and Ben Chaplin. (September 21)
WE OWN THE NIGHT
James Gray (The Yards) writes and directs this sordid tale of a New York nightclub owner who tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hit men. Stars Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Robert Duvall, and Eva Mendes. (TBD)
WHITE PALMS
Award-winning sports drama from Hungary. (TBD)
WHOLE NEW THING
After being homeschooled by hippie parents his whole life, a young man is suddenly enrolled in a normal high school where his smarts and epicene appearance startles everyone and draws the attention of his male teacher (who also happens to be a co-writer of this film…hmmmm…). (April 6)
WILD HOGS
Van Wilder director Walt Becker helms this one about a coterie of older gents suffering from a bit of Mid-Life Crisis when, in perfect City Slickers fashion, they decide to rekindle their rebellious youth and become a biker gang. All goes swimmingly until, in perfect Simpsons fashion, they run into an actual biker gang in New Mexico. And hilarity ensues! (Or so they hope.) Stars John Travolta, John C. McGinley, Ray Liotta, Martin Lawrence, Ray Liotta, Marisa Tomei, and Tim Allen. Funnily enough, the original biker gang our boys run afoul of was the Hell’s Angels…that is until the HA sued Disney, who subsequently changed the name of the gang to a fictious group. Now, that’s funny. (March 2)
WILD TIGERS I HAVE KNOWN
Coming-to-age story of a 13-year-old boy who comes to terms with his sexuality and his lust for the cool kid in school. (TBD)
THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY
The inimitable Ken Loach directs this story of two brothers in 20th century Ireland (what a stretch!) who are torn apart by the anti-Brit rebellion. Loach won the Golden Palm at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival for this one. (March 16)
YEAR OF THE DOG
Directorial debut of the truly freakish Mike White (writer of Chuck & Buck, Orange County, School of Rock, and The Good Girl). A secretary’s life completely changes after the death of her dog. Starring: Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, and Regina King. Somehow, this one is listed as a “drama.” Hmmm… (April 13)
YOU KILL ME
Luke Wilson, Bill Pullman, Ben Kingsley, Tea Leoni, Dennis Farina, and Philip Baker Hall star in this one helmed by John Dahl (Joy Ride, Rounders) about a retired mafia hit man who gets a job at a mortuary where he meets up with a relatiev of one of the men he killed. (June 29)
ZODIAC
David Fincher directs this story of the Zodiac Killer starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Chloe Sevigny, Brian Cox, Dermot Mulroney, Clea DuVall, Donal Logue, Adam Goldberg, and Ione Skye. (March 2)
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