Even though the heat may not have dissipated from many of these fine states of ours, Fall is fast approaching. The month of September in particular heralds the very beginnings of the award season. Hurray! Cue the trumpets, confetti, and champagne! To welcome my absolute favorite time of year, some of us here at VeryAware have decided to put together our top ten lists of films we are looking forward to seeing in theaters. And this year is a veritable buffet for cinephiles!
We’ve already been treated to Brandon’s and Manny’s lists, now feast your eyes on my collection of films I’m personally anticipating, and think you should be super excited about too. Let me just tell you, this was no easy task to pair this list down to just ten entrants. Somehow I managed and the following is what remained.
Disclaimer: Release dates are subject to change. These dates are based on what was listed in the Fall Movie Preview issue of Entertainment Weekly.
And away we go!
DRIVE – September 16
Those of you paying close attention are asking, “Didn’t you already see that movie?” Yeah, I did. So what?! I LOVED it. So much so, I’m eagerly awaiting it’s theatrical release so y’all can experience the adrenaline rush for yourselves. DRIVE tells the story of Driver (Ryan “hey girl” Gosling) – a stunt car driver by day, getaway car driver by night. Things get complicated when he falls for a neighbor (Carey Mulligan) in his building and Driver finds it hard to find his normal balance between chaos and control. Nicolas Winding Refn has created a masterpiece that I know you will all treasure and talk about for years to come.
IDES OF MARCH – October 7
Duck, Duck, BABY GOOSE! As proven by my first selection, I’m a huge Ryan Gosling fan mainly for his body…of work! While I usually tend to never seek out – let alone look forward to seeing – a political themed drama, this film stands out for the cast alone. George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman co-star in the film based on the play FARRAGUT NORTH which was loosely based on Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign. Manny has been raving about the play when he saw it last year with Chris Pine in Gosling’s role. I hope the tone of the play remains in tact and it doesn’t try too hard to please both left and right wingers, so much so, that the material becomes a watered down messy bore.
IN TIME – October 28
Who doesn’t love a high concept sci-fi film starring an American pop superstar? If you are raising your hand, stop reading this and move along to my next choice. In fact, beat it! I’ve got zero tolerance policy when it comes to Justin Timberlake hatred. He brought sexy back for Christ’s sake! Anyways, the film is set in a future in which humans are genetically engineered to expire at the ripe old age of 25 (reminder: this is Hollywood!) unless they can earn or steal more time. Being a huge fan of Andrew Niccol after seeing his brilliant GATTACA in theaters years ago, his name alone will put me into a seat. Let’s just hope IN TIME winds up being more like GATTACA and less like SIMONE.
THE ARTIST – November 23
I’ve been looking forward to this black-and-white, high concept, silent film (yup, you read that right!) since it’s debut at Cannes in May. Starring one of my favorite French actors, Jean Dujardin (OSS 117) picked up the fest’s Best Actor prize for his debonair turn as a 1920’s silent film star whose career takes a hit when “talkies” become all the rage. Art house fanatics will gravitate in droves to this film, but I’m hoping it’s appeal will extend beyond that. Mainstream audiences are a fickle bunch (ahem, stupid), see the recent success of TRANSFORMERS 3 as proof. There is no telling – but only hope – that a silent film with virtually no dialogue, just intermittent subtitles and a musical score, will appeal to the mass market.
MELANCHOLIA – November 11
Are you starting to see a pattern emerge? This is the third film on my list that made its debut at Cannes this year. Enfant terrible, Lars von Trier is back and has created a lovely, stirring, and thought-provoking film about a woman on her wedding night, whose world is both literally and figuratively coming to an end. As most of you know, Von Trier got himself banned from the fest by saying some abhorant and controversial words during a press conference, however, I’m willing to separate his poor remarks from his work.
GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – December 21
Those of you who know me personally, know that I’m a David Fincher fanatic. While other girls at my college had hunky Hollywood hearthrobs plastered on their dorm room walls, I had Fincher’s picture on mine. His predilection for pushing cinema’s boundaries is uncompromising, as is his talent. I’m very intrigued how his remake will differ from the original Swedish version. My prayer is it will be more than just the cinematic version of a cover song. As the tagline says, “It’s the feel bad movie of Christmas,” and I’m ready to feel terrible. Start the projection!
WAR HORSE – December 28
Someone better have a box Kleenex at the ready when this gallops into cinemas (and our hearts). The story about a Brittish farm boy (Jeremy Irvine) and his horse named Joey is sure to make us shed buckets of tears. In fact, I didn’t even make it through the trailer without getting a lump in my throat. This film adaptation of the young-adult novel by Michael Morpurgo and highly successful stage play comes courtesy of Steven Spielberg whose a master at the art of manipulation By the looks of this, he will more than likely take home a few Oscar nominations for this.
YOUNG ADULT – December 9
I’ve always been a fan of the “unrepentant bad girl,” even though I am nothing like that character myself. I adored this Summer’s BAD TEACHER and YOUNG ADULT looks to be in the similar vein. The successful team of Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman reunite for this dark comedy about a successful young adult novelist (Charlize Theron) who flips out when her high school boyfriend (Patrick “the prom king” Wilson) sends a birth announcement. She sets out for Minnesota to break up his marriage, win him back and recreate her popular girl status. This doesn’t sound crazy at all! Who amongst you hasn’t once thought about returning back to your previous glory years as the more fabulous version of you?! Oh, it’s just me then? I guess I am more of a “bad girl” than I thought.
THE SKIN I LIVE IN – October 14
Can you believe it? Yet another Cannes selection makes my list. One name sells this to this film school grad: Pedro Almodovar. You add in Antonio Banderas – who hasn’t worked with the iconic Spanish director since TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN!- and you have a fleet of cinephiles just salivating to see the film about a demented plastic surgeon (Banderas) who conducts an artificial skin experiment on a strong woman being held captive in his creepy- fabulous manse. I’ve heard from those who’ve seen it that it’s wickedly delicious and bizarre. In other words, it’s Almodovar at his best!
A DANGEROUS METHOD – December 9
Here’s how I imagine the pitch went for this film: Executive: “Ok. So we’ve got Michael Fassbender as Carl Jung spanking Kiera Knightley.” Studio: “Sold!” I mean, what more can you ask for in a film, let alone a David Cronenberg one?! As for the plot, METHOD examines the friendship between Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and psychiatrist Jung (the aforementioned hottie Fassbender), which ultimately dissolved after Jung had an affair with a patient (Knightley). Scandal! Intrigue! Sign me up.
So there you have it, folks! Did I miss anything? Have I fallen off my rocker including something you think looks terrible? Let me know your thoughts on my list and what YOU are looking forward to seeing this Fall season below. Be sure to check out Mel and Britt’s lists once they are posted as well.
