SEPTEMBER
Sept. 6-
RIDDICK (Sci-Fi/Action)
Directed by David Twohy
Starring Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Katee Sackhoff
R for strong violence, language and some sexual content/nudity.
Interest Level: 2/5
Vin Diesel's sci-fi super fugitive returns; after being left for dead on a desert planet, Riddick once again finds bounty hunters intent on taking his head, but when an alien threat rears its head, he becomes the best hope for his captors. Returning to an R rating, after the PG-13-rated THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, fans of the character will likely be pleased, but casual moviegoers aren't likely to heed an R-rated sci-fi horror nearly a decade after its last predecessor.
Sept. 13-
THE FAMILY (Action-Comedy)
Directed by Luc Besson
Starring Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones
R for violence, language and brief sexuality.
Interest Level: 2/5
French schlock writer/director/producer Luc Besson tries his hand at black comedy in this story of a Mafia family placed in the Witness Protection Program who find that their old habits die hard. Besson's a somewhat limited taste, and most of his movies are of the love-it-or-hate-it persuasion. I tend to hate them, myself.
INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2 (Horror/Thriller)Directed by James Wan
Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Ty Simpkins
PG-13 for intense sequences of terror and violence, and thematic elements.
Interest Level: 2/5
Horror sequels rarely, if ever, achieve the quality of the original, and the first INSIDIOUS was pretty shaky at that, but director James Wan is returning, right on the heels of his July critical-commercial hit, THE CONJURING, so there will probably be a few effective scares, but it will take nothing less than a movie miracle to have a decent story structure.
Sept. 20-
PRISONERS (Crime Drama/Thriller)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhall, Maria Bello, Paul Dano, Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis
R for disturbing violent content including torture, and language throughout.
Interest Level: 3/5
Hugh Jackman plays a Boston father whose young daughter and her best friend disappear, and when a detective (Jake Gyllenhall) releases the only suspect (Paul Dano), believing him mentally incompetent, the father kidnaps the suspects and holds him hostage, torturing him for answers to the mystery of his daughter. I'm hoping this isn't another disgusting piece of graphic vigilante porn like LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, but it does appear to be more self-aware, as Jackman's character is threatened by the dark places his desperation takes him to. The cast looks stellar and the previews ooze with intensity.
Sept. 27-
RUSH (Drama/Biopic)
Directed by Ron Howard
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara, Natalie Dormer
R for sexual content, nudity, language, some disturbing images and brief drug use.
Interest Level: 4/5
Big hit-and-big miss director Ron Howard is due for an Oscar hit about now, and word is that RUSH just might be that, starring THOR-star Chris Hemsworth as real-life Formula 1 racer James Hunt and his rivalry with Niki Lauda in the 1970s. The vibe is a sexy, party-hard, rough-riding sort, and almost definitely worth a look.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 (Animated/Family)
Directed by Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn
Featuring the voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Neil Patrick Harris
PG for mild rude humor.
Interest Level: 3/5
With next year's THE LEGO MOVIE hard at work, the first film's excellent comedy directing team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller have not returned for CLOUDY 2, which will likely mean a dint in quality from the hilarious original, but there's not much to judge the minimally experienced new directors by, which could easily be good or bad. Either way, kids don't really care anyway, and the pun-driven marketing has been moderately amusing so far. DON JON (Romantic Comedy)
Directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza
R for strong graphic sexual material and dialogue throughout, nudity, language and some drug use.
Interest Level: 5/5
This Sundance hit written/directed by and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt has the look and feel of a charming but generic boy-meets-girl, independent romantic comedy, except that up until he meet the girl, the boy, a successful womanizer, finds his greatest romantic fulfillment in internet porn (solo, you know?), while she's a chick-flick nut. It actually looks really good.
October 4-
GRAVITY (Suspense/Thriller)
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
PG-13 for intense perilous sequences, some disturbing images and brief strong language.
Interest Level: 5/5
The fact that this is Cuaron's first feature film since CHILDREN OF MEN in 2006 is reason enough to be excited, but this thriller about two astronauts who become stranded in space when a satellite collides with their space shuttle during a routine spacewalk has had some of the most ball-bustingly intense advertising in recent memory. The fact that the film is largely just Bullock and Clooney stranded in space in their spacesuits sounds potentially dreary and boring, but experience has proven time and again how auteurs blossom so brilliantly in such risky concepts. This is easily my pick for October.
MACHETE KILLS (Action/Comedy)
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Starring Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Mel Gibson, Jessica Alba, Sofia Vergara, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely R)
Interest Level: 4/5
If your in on the joke, you might just love it; if not, you'll probably hate it. Robert Rodriguez's filmmaking style is purely about fun, for better or worse, intentionally and lovingly making stinkers from juvenile children's films to ultra-violent shockers, but all with the same gleefully immature and stylized style. The original was hilariously over-the-top badass as a salute to low-run "grindhouse" fare of the 1960s and 70s, with real-life ex-convict and Rodriguez's second cousin Danny Trejo perfectly cast in the title role, a hardcore Mexican Federale. I, for one, am interested.
RUNNER RUNNER (Thriller/Crime Drama)
Directed by Brad Furman
Starring Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton, Ben Affleck
R for language and some sexual content.
Interest Level: 3/5
Justin Timberlake plays a Princeton student, Richie Furst, who pays his bills with gambling winnings, but believes he's been swindled by an online gambling tycoon, Ivan Block, played by Ben Affleck. Furst heads to Costa Rica to confront Block and gets swept up in the seedy and sexy life, but menace rears its ugly head when Block shows his brutal side and the FBI requests Furst's cooperation in bringing down the gambling empire. It's being marketed as a sexy, suspenseful crime thriller, full of the good life and the fall that follows, which isn't too far from THE LINCOLN LAWYER, director Brad Furman's last film, which was well-received.
October 11-
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (Thriller/Historical Drama)
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Max Martini
PG-13 for sustained intense sequences of menace, some violence with bloody images, and for substance use.
Interest Level: 5/5
Based on the events that filled the news in April 2009 when Somali pirates hijacked the U.S. cargo ship Maersk Alabama (the first successful pirate hijacking of an American vessel in modern times), where Captain Richard Phillips (played by Hanks) exchanged himself as hostage for the safety of his crew, this sort of material is not very far from Greengrass' excellent work on the 9/11 drama UNITED 93. As did that film, the previews for CAPTAIN PHILLIPS an in-depth, realistic and multi-faceted portrayal of a real-life terrorist situation with a strong human angle.
October 18-
CARRIE (Horror/Thriller)
Directed by Kimberly Peirce
Starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Gabriella Wilde
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely R)
Interest Level: 4/5
Originally slated for this past April, Kimberly Peirce's (BOYS DON'T CRY) remake of the 1976 Brian DePalma classic will now be just in time for Halloween. As long as you don't have strong attachments to the original, this could be pretty great, with Peirce's indie background having covered some similar ground of cultural outsiders and religious hysteria, plus Chloe Grace Moretz, in the title role, is proving to be one of the best up-and-comers in the industry, including a spectacular other supernatural performance in LET ME IN.
ESCAPE PLAN (Thriller/Action)
Directed by Mikael Hafstrom
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Amy Ryan, Sam Neill, Vinnie Jones
R for violence and language throughout.
Interest Level: 1/5
Originally titled THE TOMB, Sly and the Governator's newest attempt to revive their careers and old school action stars the former as Ray Breslin, a prison security expert who breaks out of incarceration for a living to expose design flaws, but once he's inside the most secure prison ever built, he realizes that he's been set up and left inside to rot. Together with a fellow inmate, Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger), he schemes to get out and find out who framed him. Unfortunately, such action legends seem to have lost most of their luster as they continue to turn in bland results, and this one has a script by the guy who wrote the direct-to-DVD ROAD HOUSE sequel and the guy who wrote MIRROR, MIRROR.
October 25-
THE COUNSELOR (or THE COUNSELLOR) (Crime Thriller)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz
R for graphic violence, some grisly images, strong sexual content and language.
Interest Level: 3/5
Michael Fassbender stars as a lawyer who becomes involved with drug trafficking and gets in over head with crime lords after him when money goes missing. It's the feature film screenwriting debut for Cormac McCarthy, best known as the author of No Country For Old Men, and Ridley Scott directs. Scott can sometimes be hit-and-miss, but this looks promising as he's covered this territory before with some success (AMERICAN GANGSTER), and he has a cracker-jack cast.
JACKASS PRESENTS: BAD GRANDPA (Comedy)
Directed by Jeff Tremaine
Starring Johnny Knoxville, Jackson Nicoll
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely R)
Interest Level: 2/5
This movie suddenly cropped up on the scene after Paramount had second thoughts about churning out another PARANORMAL ACTIVITY sequel, which would have been their fourth annually. Based on a character from the Jackass television/movie series, Johnny Knoxville, in old age make-up, plays 86-year old Irving Zisman on a cross-country road trip with his 8-year old grandson while they get caught up in stunts and pranks of all kinds of impropriety in the midst of real life situations. Basically, it looks like a more dumb-ass take on the BORAT formula, but there's that dumb little area in the back of the mind that thinks it looks kind of funny.
NOVEMBER
Nov.1-
ENDER'S GAME (Sci-Fi/Action)
Directed by Gavin Hood
Starring Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis
Not Yet Rated (PG-13 Most Likely)
Interest Level: 2/5
The source material, a 1985 science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card, will likely be what makes or breaks this film. Card, and ardent and acid-tongued anti-gay rights (or pro-traditional marriage) activist has alienated much of the film's potential audience, but the book is a science fiction classic with a strong reputation. I've not read the book, but I'm apprehensive, given the militaristic tone, a weird "child army" theme and the fact that writer/director Gavin Hood's last film was X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, a stinker (which might be blamed on the screenwriters though). Even still, I'm open to the possibility.
LAST VEGAS (Comedy)
Directed by Jon Turteltaub
Starring Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas, Mary Steenburgen, Kevin Kline
PG-13 on appeal for sexual content and language.
Interest Level: 3/5
An assortment of geriatric actors star in this comedy about a group of old, and in some cases, estranged, friends who reunite in Las Vegas for the bachelor party of a lifetime for one of them who's getting married to a woman who's half his age. The preview has a mild charm and there's some mildly amusing gags, but it doesn't look like any sort of potential gut-buster. The older you are, the more probable it is that you'll enjoy it, but in the end, it will probably be the prestigious cast that saves the day from director Jon Turteltaub, who has a weak reputation.
FREE BIRDS (Children's Animated/Comedy)
Directed by Jimmy Hayward
Featuring the Voices of Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely PG)
Interest Level: 1/5
Reel FX Creative Studios' animated feature film theatrical debut is this computer-animated comedy about Reggie, a president-pardoned turkey (v. Owen Wilson), and Jake (v. Woody Harrelson), leader of the Turkey's Liberation Front, who hijack a top secret government time machine to travel back to the first Thanksgiving and prevent turkeys from becoming the holiday's main course. From the director of HORTON HEARS A WHO and JONAH HEX (what a repertoire!), this looks barely a step above the animated tripe that the Weinstein Company puts in the slow seasons for some easy pocket lining, which is a shame, because there are so few actual "Thanksgiving movies." Four-year olds will probably enjoy it, but take a look at the other stuff they enjoy and consider.
Nov. 8-
THOR: THE DARK WORLD (Action-Adventure/Sci-Fi-Fantasy)Directed by Alan Taylor
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Chris Eccleston, Jaimie Alexander, Kat Dennings
(PG-13 Expected)
Interest Level: 4/5
After seven films released so far, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as they call it, has come to be a pretty safe bet. Although THOR was one of the weaker films of Marvel Studios' "Phase One" series (which culminated in THE AVENGERS), it was still a fun film with a magnetic cast, especially Hemsworth and Hiddleston, the latter who stole the show in THE AVENGERS as Loki, and the follow-up promises something grittier and more epic, which is certainly preferable. Under the direction of television director Alan Taylor (after MONSTER director Patty Jenkins, an intriguing prospect, was regrettably fired), best known for his work on Game of Thrones, the tone looks to be more LORD OF THE RINGS than the first film's Buck Rogers aesthetic.
Nov. 15-
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (Biopic/Comedy-Drama)
Directed by Martin Scorcese
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Christine Ebersole, Jean Dujardin
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely R)
Interest Level: 4/5
Scorcese remains one of the most talented filmmakers working today, so anything with his name on it is worth a look, but this zany black comedy based on the life of white collar-criminal Jordan Belfort, filled with Wall Street 1% excesses and starring Scorcese's new DeNiro, DiCaprio (their fifth collaboration), looks like an especially intriguing prospect, likely to be among the big names at the Academy Awards next year.
THE BOOK THIEF (Drama)
Directed by Brian Percival
Starring Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Sophie Nelisse
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely PG-13)
Interest Level: 1/5
Judging by the single preview to date, this looks like another syrupy would-be-inspirational drama that uses the horrors of the Third Reich as a backdrop. The director, Brian Percival, is known for his work on the highly-popular television series, Downton Abbey, and the film is adapted from an acclaimed novel of the same title about a girl's relationship with her foster parents in Nazi Germany and steals condemned books to share with those in her household, including the Jewish refugee which her family harbors.
THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY (Comedy/Drama)
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Starring Terrence Howard, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely PG-13)
Interest Level: 1/5
This looks like a cliched niche product, with a formulaic story about old friends who reunite for the first time after fifteen years for a Christmas get together, and then find old rivalries and romances bubble up. It's the same story that's been done a dozen times over, this time with African-American suburbanites, and of course, one of the women is unreasonably horny. Still, there's probably a market for it, and it doesn't look as bad as Malcolm D. Lee's last movie, SCARY MOVIE V.
Nov. 22-
THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (Action/Thriller)
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks
PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some frightening images, thematic elements, a suggestive situation and language.
Interest Level: 5/5
The single reason for any apprehension I have is that the director of the first film, Gary Ross, has been replaced by the somewhat less consistent Francis Lawrence, after Ross demanded a bigger cut, but Lawrence isn't all bad, and although I've not read the books, I hope it might get by on the strength of the source material.
DELIVERY MAN (Comedy-Drama)
Directed by Ken Scott
Starring Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders
PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, some drug material, brief violence and language.
Interest Level: 3/5
The premise of one man discovering that he inadvertently fathered 533 children as a sperm donor is a very amusing one, but Vince Vaughn has had a pretty steady string of bombs for the past few years, and here he plays what looks like his usual schtick as the put-upon underachiever. It's also a remake of a French-Canadian independent hit, STARBUCK, with the same director on board for the American version. The preview is moderately amusing, especially with Parks and Recreation's Chris Pratt as Vaughn's best bud, but it could slip into hokey melodrama. Keep an eye out for the reviews on this one.
Nov. 27-
FROZEN (Family-Animated/Adventure)
Directed by Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Featuring the Voices of Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Alan Tudyk
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely PG)
Interest Level: 4/5
Notes: Although the only trailer so far, a teaser, was a very disappointing display of rote slapstick between formulaic Disney sidekicks, I have faith in this one. With 2010's TANGLED and last year's WRECK-IT RALPH, Walt Disney Animation seems to have gotten back into their proper stride, and many of the same who worked on those films are behind this new film loosely-based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, a Disney project which has been in and out of "production hell" for decades. The story, heavily modified from the original source, involves
OLDBOY (Mystery-Thriller/Action)
Directed by Spike Lee
Starring Josh Brolin, Sharlto Copley, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson
R for strong brutal violence, disturbing images, some graphic sexuality and nudity, and language.
Interest Level: 2/5
Controversey-meister Spike Lee hasn't had a hit since 2006's INSIDE MAN, but his new film already has a certain familiarity as a remake of the 2003 Japanese thriller/shocker of the same American release title, about a man mysteriously imprisoned for fifteen years who seeks revenge after escaping. For those who've seen the original, this is a really tough sell, especially given the weight of the plot revelations, but the talent involved is otherwise promising. Expect lots of gnarly carnage and gritty modern noir.
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