Coming September 15th
MOTHER!
(HORROR/THRILLER)
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Screenplay by Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kristen Wiig, Domhnall Gleeson, Brian Gleeson, Jovan Adepo, Stephen McHattie
Rated R for strong disturbing violent content, some sexuality, nudity and language.
115 minutes
Synopsis: A young woman's tranquil life with her husband at their remote country home is challenged by a mysterious and uninvited couple who arrive to lodge with them.
There's a slight possibility that MOTHER! is the kind of movie that will just piss people off in the end, including myself, but that's a risk with a Darren Aronofsky film. Personally, I think it's a worthwhile risk. Aronofsky's most uplifting film so far and by far was NOAH, and that pissed a lot of people off (I thought it was wonderful; imperfect, but wonderful), and he's made a lot of really beautiful but deeply sad films like BLACK SWAN, THE WRESTLER and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (some people really love THE FOUNTAIN, but that's a movie that's interesting without being particularly engaging), but MOTHER! looks more aggressive. Jennifer Lawrence is reliable and this promises to be an actor's showcase for her, and she's playing opposite 20-years older Javier Bardem as half of a romantic couple, which is...interesting. They've kept the basic plot largely under wraps, and I wonder if it's sort of a WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? or ROSEMARY'S BABY sort of thing, but my curiosity is piqued. Plus, Jennifer Lawrence...woof.
Coming September 22
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
(ACTION-COMEDY)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Screenplay by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn
Based on The Secret Service comic by Mark Millar & Dave Gibbons
Rated R for sequences of strong violence, drug content, language throughout and some sexual material.
135 minutes
Synopsis: When the Kingsman headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, their journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the United States called Statesman, dating back to the day they were both founded. In a new adventure that tests their agents' strength and wits to the limit, these two elite secret organizations band together to defeat a ruthless common enemy, in order to save the world.
More than a little rough in some spots and occasionally off-putting, but surprisingly entertaining, the first KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE was a lot of fun, and with director Matthew Vaughn returning with his regular creative collaborator Jane Goldman, THE GOLDEN CIRCLE returns to the kinetic, progressively absurd if occasionally problematic world of the Kingman with a promising and fresh new culture clash twist that introduces the United States' Kingsman equivalent, the Statesman, with Channing Tatum and Jeff Bridges as cowboy-style secret agents, in an English-American culture clash from a distinctly European but heavily stylized perspective. If nothing else, it's atypically fun, frothy and action-packed fare for September, and Vaughn and Goldman usually know what they're doing.
Coming September 29
AMERICAN MADE
(ACTION-COMEDY/THRILLER)
Directed by Doug Liman
Screenplay by Gary Spinelli
Starring: Tom Cruise, Sarah Wright, Domhnall Gleeson, Jayma Mays, Jesse Plemons, Lola Kirke, Lara Grice, Frank Licari, Alex Quarles, Jay Jablonski, Jed Rees, Caleb Landry Jones
Rated R for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity.
117 minutes
Synopsis: The true story of Barry Seal, a commercial airline pilot who is recruited by the CIA in the 1970s and '80s to fly increasingly perilous and legally questionable missions running drugs and weapons between warlords and cartels from South America.
Doug Liman's second directorial feature of the year (following the low-budget war thriller THE WALL, released with little notice back in May) reunites him with his EDGE OF TOMORROW star Tom Cruise in a truth-based story about an American pilot for TWA who gets a taste for luxury and dangerous living as an undercover informant and smuggler for the CIA and various South American governments and cartels whilst also being investigated by the DEA and attaining a $1 million price on his head. Cruise stars as the pilot, Barry Seal, a role that could give him the opportunity to stretch his acting legs more than he has been recently (THE MUMMY, what the hell?), and Liman, who's usually a bit more hit than miss, appears to be drawing from THE WOLF OF WALL STREET and other Scorsese films for his approach. Although it doesn't open in theaters nationwide until September 29, it has been released in many other international markets and been reviewed by critics who have had a largely positive opinion so far.
Coming November 3
THOR: RAGNAROK
(ACTION-ADVENTURE/FANTASY)
Directed by Taika Waititi
Screenplay by Eric Pearson
Story by Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost and Eric Pearson
Based on characters created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Idris Elba, Mark Ruffalo, Karl Urban, Tessa Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch, Taika Waititi, Rachel House
Not Yet Rated
Synopsis: Thor is imprisoned as a gladiator on the other side of the universe and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok, the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization, at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela.
Despite the first two Thor films being a couple of the weakest installments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (even while it's not totally terrible, THOR: THE DARK WORLD just might be the worst in the franchise so far, and if not, it's close), THOR: RAGNAROK is probably my most anticipated movie for the rest of the year, at least from what things are looking like right now. Eccentric Flight of the Conchords director Taika Waititi (also director of the hilarious mockumentary WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS and the funny, more varied HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE) has been let loose on Thor's third "stand-alone" film, and if the previews are any indication (to be fair, SUICIDE SQUAD had great trailers but sucked butts), he's brought his colorful, kinetic and irreverent style in full force. The Hulk is along for the ride in what appears to be a significantly character-expanding role, and Cate Blanchett looks fantastic as the big-bad Hela, who will hopefully carry on into later films and is rumored to be an unrequited love interest for the Avengers villain, Thanos. CREED actress Tessa Thompson is also joining in as a "hard-drinking" Asgardian warrior who may become a new love interest with Thor (Natalie Portman having apparently fallen out with the folks at Marvel), which sounds amazing. I find myself lately more wanting movies that are just eccentric and weird as balls but familiar in the fundamentals (you know, like how MAD MAX: FURY ROAD is all-out insanity on its uppermost layers, but the plot is fairly traditional), and, I'm hoping, THOR: RAGNAROK looks like it might be exactly what I'm looking for.
Coming November 22
COCO
(ANIMATION/FANTASY-ADVENTURE)
Directed by Lee Unkrich
Co-directed by Adrian Molina
Screenplay by Matthew Aldrich and Adrian Molina
Story by Lee Unkrich
Featuring the Voices of: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renee Victor, Edward James Olmos, Jaime Camil, Sofia Espinosa, Luis Valdez, Lombardo Boyar, Alanna Ubach, Selene Luna, Alfonso Arau, Gabriel Iglesias, Cheech Marin
Not Yet Rated
Synopsis: Despite his family's baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.
Pixar's not what they used to be, but every once in a while, they still come up with something that can stand along side their 1995-2010 modern classics, INSIDE OUT, for example, and COCO could be one of those. It's director Lee Unkrich's long-awaited follow-up to TOY STORY 3 (the last of the studio's epic 15-year winning streak), and Jorge Gutierrez's Guillermo del Toro-produced THE BOOK OF LIFE didn't turn out to be a Dia de los Muertos classic, so that slot is still open. COCO resembles something of a blend between my personal favorite Pixar film, RATATOUILLE (despite his family's disapproval, the main character aspires to be a great musician and idolizes a celebrity musician from television), and SPIRITED AWAY in the story of a character trapped in fantastical foreign realm where they have a coming of age, and the visual panache of the studio has never faltered, appearing in full force here. Most of Pixar's most recent stumbles have involved the passing of the torch from their original generation of creative minds to new ones, but Unkrich is the proven goods.
Coming November 22
MOLLY'S GAME
(DRAMA)
Directed by Aaron Sorkin
Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
Based on Molly's Game: From Hollywood's Elite to Wall Street's Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker by Molly Bloom
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Brian d'Arcy James, Chris O'Dowd, Michael Cera, J.C. MacKenzie, Bill Camp, Graham Greene, Jeremy Strong, Samantha Isler
Not Yet Rated
Synopsis: The story of Molly Bloom, a beautiful, young, Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only known ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe.
Ever since THE SOCIAL NETWORK, I'll try just about anything written by Aaron Sorkin, and MOLLY'S GAME has an additional point of interest in that he's also the director. It's unclear whether that's a good thing or not, but the script will probably be sharp as can be, and you can't make a totally bad movie with Jessica Chastain in the lead.
THE SHAPE OF WATER
(DRAMA/FANTASY)
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor
Story by Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Lauren Lee Smith, Nick Searcy, David Hewlitt
Rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence and language.
120 minutes
Synopsis: An otherworldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War America circa 1962, in which lonely Elisa, the mute janitor in a hidden high-security government laboratory finds her life changed when she and a co-worker discover and befriend a top-secret amphibious creature experiment subject.
Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorite filmmakers. His films have an incredible grace, romance and eclectic, esoteric love for the Gothic, the weird and wonderful, and the man is an undeniable master of monsters. If you've seen his two Hellboy movies though, THE SHAPE OF WATER looks weirdly like an awards-friendly origin story of the amphibious "fish-man" Abe Sapien, who was played by Doug Jones in those films, and Jones plays a similar-looking creature here. If Abe Sapien weren't original to the Hellboy comics and had instead been a creation of del Toro's from one of his famous creative journals, it might make sense that he'd just be reusing one of his creature ideas over again in a different context, but as it is, I'm not sure what to make of the similarity. Particularly interesting about this film though is the idea of a del Toro film set in the Cold War, and it looks shamelessly weird, branching out into something that's almost an erotic romance between a human woman and an amphibious man with gills. Whatever it is, it's Guillermo del Toro, and that counts for a lot.
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
(ACTION-ADVENTURE/FANTASY)
Directed by Rian Johnson
Screenplay by Rian Johnson
Based on characters created by George Lucas
Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Peter Mayhew, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong'o, Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran
Not Yet Rated
Synopsis: Having taken her first steps into a larger world in STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, Rey continues her epic journey with Finn, Poe and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the saga.
So, I mean, it's Star Wars, so of course it's one of the most anticipated movies of the year, although, personally, the excitement is not uninhibited. It's the third year in a row with a Star Wars movie, and the trend doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon, but the new iteration of Lucasfilm is off to a strangely bumpy is thoroughly competent start. I'm sure it's a controversial opinion in some circles, but while George Lucas's prequels were weighed down in bad dialogue, clumsily-drawn characters, misguided casting, wooden acting and an overwhelming abundance of blue-screen environments, the stories were ambitious, insightful and full of sincere emotions, and those two sides were swapped in THE FORCE AWAKENS, giving us good dialogue, solid characters, great casting, good acting and a lot more in the way of practical effects and on-location filming, but the story was an uninspired retread of the original STAR WARS and most of its emotional impact didn't expand past simple nostalgia. Don't get me wrong, it's a really fun movie once you get past the hangups and just ride with it, and the characters and casting of the main heroes goes a long way, but the only reason it landed on so many critics best movies lists of 2015 is because the hype was still in full effect when they went to print. Then, ROGUE ONE went through reshoots and wound up being weirdly dull until the last 15 minutes when it became such an adrenaline rush for about 15 minutes that I about messed my pants, and now the brilliant Phil Lord and Chris Miller have gotten fired from the upcoming "Young Han Solo" movie and been replaced by the dreadfully safe choice of Ron Howard, and the new direction of the Star Wars franchise is becoming increasingly frustrating. That said, Rian Johnson is a competent and clever storyteller, and maybe now that the foundations have been reset by J.J. Abrams, maybe Kathleen Kennedy and Disney have given him a little more creative leash. It's going to be good, I'm fairly certain, but I'd really, really like it to be more than that. I mean, come on, guys, it's Star Wars!
THE POST
(DRAMA)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Screenplay by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer
Starring: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bradley Whitford, Zach Woods, Pat Healy
Not Yet Rated
Synopsis: A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between journalist and government in publishing the Pentagon Papers. Inspired by true events.
Before his next big-budget action blockbuster, READY PLAYER ONE, crashes into theaters next March, master filmmaker Steven Spielberg has found time to throw together one of his stripped-down awards dramas, and besides the fact that it's a Spielberg film and demands a trip to the cinema, THE POST (only just recently changed from its original title, The Papers) is relevant as hell right now. It's the story of how the "Pentagon Papers" were leaked to the press in 1971, exposing the hidden truths behind the history of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War under the administrations of Richard M. Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower, including lies to the public and Congress. "Miss Oscar" herself, Meryl Streep, stars as the first woman newspaper publisher, Kay Graham at The Washington Post, with repeat Speilberg collaborator, Tom Hanks as the paper's editor Ben Bradlee, both using the power of the press to keep the corruption of a world power in check. It's prime material with an all-star cast, directed by Steven-freaking-Spielberg, one of the greatest filmmakers ever, and he's still churning them out.
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