Ten movies that look like winners for final months of the movie season
Life of Pi - Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) and a fierce Bengal tiger named Richard Parker must rely on each other to survive an epic journey.
Last week this column looked at some of the most anticipated movies that will be playing at the Toronto International Film Festival. When this story comes out I’ll be up in Toronto covering the Festival’s opening day. Check out the AC Weekly Web site and blog for my reports.
Of course, there are plenty of buzz-worthy movies that aren’t part of the film festival scene that look like sure bets for success. Here are 10 non-festival flicks that look the most promising, in order of their scheduled release date.
Trouble With the Curve — For the first time in two decades Clint Eastwood is acting for a director other than himself (Robert Lorenz, his long-time producer). He plays a gruff, old-school baseball scout losing his eyesight whose daughter (Amy Adams) goes with him on a road trip. With Justin Timberlake as a fellow scout. (Sept. 21)
Pitch Perfect — The enticing coming attraction makes this comedy about the competitive world of collage a cappella singing looks like Glee with a nastier edge, and features a star-in-the-making turn by Rebel Wilson. With Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow. (Oct. 5)
Flight — Director Robert Zemeckis returns with this drama about an airline pilot (Denzel Washingtom) who becomes a media darling and hero after he lands his badly damaged plane safely. However when it’ s revealed that he is an alcoholic, his hero status crashes and burns. With John Goodman, Don Chedle and Melissa Leo. (Nov. 2)
Lincoln — Steven Spielberg tackles the life of Lincoln without a vampire in sight. Daniel Day-Lewis has the title role with David Strathairn, Sally Field, John Hawkes and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. (Nov. 9)
Skyfall — Daniel Craig’s original reboot of James Bond, Casino Royale, was a gritty winner that brought the dark side back to 007. The next film in the series, Quantum of Solace, was a forgettable mess. Now director Sam Mendes is looking to right the ship with help from Javier Bardem as the latest Bond villain and French actress Bérénice Marlohe as the latest Bond girl. (Nov. 9)
Director Len Wiseman, best known for the Underworld series, seems determined to make his version of Total Recall as different as possible from the original.
In the end, thanks to a couple of spectacular plot twists, and several crowd-pleasing nods to his previous Batman films, Nolan delivered a finale that not only finished his participation with a elegant farewell, he also generously set up the story for the next filmmaker who takes over.
Here is my first impression of The Amazing Spider-Man. It has a terrific cast, headed by Andrew Garfield as Spidy and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, that really captures the angst of being a shy high school loner and the joy of embracing newfound abilities.
From the famous organ at Boardwalk Hall and the Atlantic City Pop Festival of 1969, to Boardwalk Empire era tales and KY & the Curb.
As the summer movie season winds down, the focus switches to the fall and the beginning of the cinematic frenzy known as the Oscar race. The traditional start of the search for Oscar worthy filmmaking begins at the Toronto International Film Festival, which I will be attending for the 25th time.
In combination with everything you want in a chase -- death defying detours, you-are-there camera angles and just the right amount of humor -- 'Premium Rush' takes the standard components of a by-the-book action flick and throws that book out the window.
The best addition to the sequel is Chuck Norris, who provides a hilarious cameo.
The Master, the latest film from Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood), might get some Oscar consideration for stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix, but it lacks an emotional connection.
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