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December 16
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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson join forces to outwit and bring down their fiercest adversary, Professor Moriarty.
Director:Guy Ritchie |
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The Buzz: Aside from the hokey supernatural stuff and the underutilization of Rachel McAdams, I thought Guy Ritchie did a bang-up job in delivering the world of Arthur Conan Doyle to present-day fans and newbies alike (you can imagine that the presence of RDJ was a gateway into all things Holmes for many of the people that made the first movie a runaway worldwide hit). Reportedly the story will involve the Holmes Bros. and Watson chasing Prof. Moriarty across Europe; I cann't wait to see what "Mad Men"'s Jared Harris brings to the sequel (he was the surprise - and quite fitting - pick to play Holmes's chief nemesis) as well as Noomi Rapace in her first major post-Lisbeth role.
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Carnage (2011)
Tells the story of two sets of parents who decide to have a cordial meeting after their sons are involved in a schoolyard brawl.
Director:Roman Polanski |
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The Buzz: Roman Polanski and Yasmina Reza have updated her one-act play from the version that was lengthened and translated by celebrated writer Christopher Hampton for European audiences. Polanski's son Elvis plays one of the children whose altercation puts the narrative in motion, and what follows has been referred to by many as Virginia Woolf hysterics in a tastefully appointed set, styled to indicate a New York City apartment. Sure to entice older audiences (a group to which I know belong), thus far the early reviews say there's wicked fun to be had here, though the Broadway production (which featured James Ganolfini, Marcia Gay Hardin, Jeff Daniels, and Hope Davis) might remain the preferred American version.
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Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked (2011)
Playing around while aboard a cruise ship, the Chipmunks and Chipettes accidentally go overboard and end up marooned in a tropical paradise. They discover their new turf is not as deserted as it seems.
Director:Mike Mitchell |
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The Buzz: Funny how The Squeakquel made more money than The Tourist. Fox might be going to the den one too many times with Alvin, Simon, poor Jason Lee, and Theodore, but kids around the world are making this franchise increasingly popular while rival studios mine TV archives for competitors.
December 23
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) - [12/21]
Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander (Mara), a young computer hacker.
Director:David Fincher |
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The Buzz: Has there ever been a more widely accepted remake than this? What excites me most, other than how amazing Rooney Mara looks as Lisbeth, is the fact that David Fincher is releasing two films in as many years, since we all know how meticulous the director has been with his other, earlier films. And, okay, Fincher and Mara (and others) have made it clear their adaptation of Stieg Larsson's novel differs from Niels Arden Oplev's international smash. I love the original film trilogy -- although I feel like the first is the best in the series -- but is it rude to indicate that it's Fincher's version that makes me want to (finally) read the novels ahead of time?
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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) - [12/16 -- IMAX only]
The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.
Director:Brad Bird |
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The Buzz: Hmm, perhaps the lengths to which Tom Cruise will go to prolong his action-star career is commeasurable with Paramount's desire to continue the M:I franchise with or without Ethan Hunt. If Jeremy Renner does in fact succeed Cruise as the focus of a fifth sequel, I wonder if audiences will follow along with hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-worth-of-enthusiasm. Don't we all love/endure this entire affair because it can barely keep up with Cruise as he leaps from country to country, looking ageless? All I know at this point is: Brad Bird + shot-in-IMAX sequences = here's my $18.
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The Adventures of Tintin (2011) - [12/21]
Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock's ancestor. But someone else is in search of the ship.
Director:Steven Spielberg |
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The Buzz: It's no surprise this is a huge hit in Europe (Tintin's home turf) and itss French box office debut beat out Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean and all of the Shrek and Lord of the Rings premieres. That doesn't mean the beloved Belgian globetrotter's massive appeal will crossover to American audiences, but if Spielberg and Peter Jackson's magical CGI with a mocap'd Andy Serkis can't win 'em over, we don't know what will. Jackson's already committed to direct the next The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun when he's done with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey films, so prepare yourself for more adventures.
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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011) - [12/25]
A nine-year-old amateur inventor, jewelry designer, astrophysicist, tambourine player, and pacifist searches New York for the lock that matches a mysterious key left by his father when he was killed in the September 11 attacks.
Director:Stephen Daldry |
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The Buzz: No scooters this Christmas for Tom Hanks; instead, he takes a backseat to "Teen Jeopardy" champ Thomas Horn, making his film debut as the precocious pre-adolscent at the center of Jonathan Safran Foer's 9/11-set mystery/adventure. It's a fact that Stephen Daldry-directed films always earn Oscar nominations, and Warner Bros. obviously is going for a major push here. Hanks and Sandra Bullock, who play Mr. and Mrs. Schell, are destined for Supporting Actor/Actress nominations, and since this is shaping up to be the Year of Viola Davis, look for her name to be a part of the mix, too.
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The Darkest Hour (2011) - [12/25]
In Moscow, five young people lead the charge against an alien race who have attacked Earth via our power supply.
Director:Chris Gorak |
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The Buzz: For many of us, this will be the first chance to see Joel Kinnaman, star of the Swedish hit Snabba Cash, on the big screen. He's acting alongside a grab bag of young actors who should be more famous and Emile Hirsch, who seems to make a great movie, followed by a bad one, then a great one ... Director Chris Gorak has an impressive list of art director/production designer credits, and his last film, Right at Your Door, was just shy of being a low-budget triumph (the two main characters were annoying). Meanwhile, look at what a super-producer Timur Bekmambetov has become in Hollywood. We think he strives for a balance between story, action, and effects, and since he's working here with a studio looking to distinguish itself from its most-established peers, we're hoping for a unique take on the alien-invasion premise, which is admittedly a bit overworked.
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We Bought a Zoo (2011)
Set in Southern California, a father moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and re-open a struggling zoo.
Director:Cameron Crowe |
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The Buzz: Benjamin Mee's memoir has been reimagined by The Devil Wears Prada screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna and Cameron Crowe, who transplanted the story from the UK and set it in southern California, undoubtedly for primo soundtrack opportunities. I'm guessing that Mee's parents might not factor into this narrative as much as they did in real life? Is anyone playing his mum and dad? Meanwhile, I'm predicting a Damon vs. Clooney Depressed Dad Showdown come awards season as Crowe makes a successful comeback.
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In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011) - [LA/NYC]
During the Bosnian War, Danijel, a soldier fighting for the Serbs, re-encounters Ajla, a Bosnian who's now a captive in his camp he oversees. Their once promising connection has become ambiguous as their motives have changed.
Director:Angelina Jolie |
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The Buzz: In order to shoot some of her directorial debut in Bosnia, Angelina Jolie met with the region's cultural minister to show him the script and ensure him the film has no overt political point-of-view ... really? That seems like a tough promise to keep as Jolie enters a potential new chapter of her career (she even took on an agent for future writing/directing endeavors, though she's long functioned with a talent rep for acting). Expect controversy and heaps of press coverage.
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Pina (2011) - [LA/NYC]
A tribute to choreographer Pina Bausch.
Director:Wim Wenders |
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The Buzz: Debate over the use of 3D technology has found a worthwhile home in Wim Wenders's tribute to the deceased choreographer - a festival and German box-office hit that saw Wenders tour the world with a dozen of his proteges.
December 30
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War Horse (2011) - [12/25]
Follows a young man named Albert and his horse, Joey, and how their bond is broken when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert heads to France to save his friend.
Director:Steven Spielberg |
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The Buzz: I am falling asleep while trying to write the buzz for War Horse, though kudos to Steven Spielberg for taking on the challenge of trying to one-up a play that features life-size puppets. Tony award wins for the play should help solidify older-audience interest here.
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Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (2011) - [LA/NYC]
Director:Asghar Farhadi |
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The Buzz: Writer-director Asghar Farhadi's drama was a major (and surprise) winner at the Berlin Film Festival, where it scooped up 3 Golden Bears (best picture, actor, and actress) and 2 other awards; a slew of other festival wins have followed as Sony Pictures Classics gears up for Oscar season.
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Pariah (2011) - [12/28 -- LA/NYC/SF]
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Director:Dee Rees |
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The Buzz: With a prestigious and eye-brow raising release date, it seems as though Focus Features has complete faith in Dee Rees' Sundance winner, a feature-length expansion of her 2007 short. Ever since it kicked off Sundance 2011, the reviews here have been nearly universally strong; those some have taken its Hype Williams-style aesthetic to task, the story and performances are the focus here. And, personally, I love how stacked this month is with films directed by women...
company.