Let’s face it: aside from gems like Inception and Toy Story 3, we haven’t had much to be happy about in the cinematic world this year. I wrote a note earlier this year containing 10 films to watch in 2010. Suffice to say, four of those films were disappointments and one has been pushed back to 2011. That list was written lacking something crucial: perspective. All but one of the movies on this list have trailers released, and trailers are very useful tools for providing perspective.
Now that we’re in August, I think it’s time to look ahead to the rest of the year. Oscar season is upon us, and there are some amazing-looking movies to get excited for. I’m being honest when I tell you I’ve never been more excited for an Awards season.
Here they are, in alphabetical order (like they should be)…
127 HoursWatch the first few seconds of the trailer for 127 Hours, and you’ll immediately know who directed it. Danny Boyle, winner of 2008’s Best Director Oscar for his work on the wonderful Slumdog Millionaire, is back, this time telling the story of mountain climber Aron Ralston, played by James Franco.
127 Hours recounts Ralston’s harrowing 2003 ordeal in which he famously amputated his own arm after becoming trapped under a boulder near Moab, Utah. Slumdog screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and composer A.R. Rahman are rejoining Boyle this time around, and Franco is reportedly amazing as Ralston. I hear there’s an entire hour that’s just Franco by himself, completely devoid of dialogue. A risky move, to be sure, but the fact that people are still raving about this one makes me very, very excited to see it.
Black Swan
Darren Aronofsky (Requiem For a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler) makes weird films. It just so happens, they’re also consistently good, gut-wrenching and powerful.
In Black Swan, Aronofsky’s next film foray, Natalie Portman plays Nina, a ballerina chosen by her mentor (Vincent Cassel) for the lead role in Swan Lake. The role apparently requires a versatile lead who can portray both the White Swan and Black Swan. When another dancer (Mila Kunis) proves herself a better fit for the Black Swan, the two develop a rivalry that (as evidenced in the trailer) begins to drive Nina insane.
The trailer for Black Swan grabbed me by the collar and hooked me right away. I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t when I watched it, but I’m guessing that’s the point. Black Swan looks simultaneously horrifying and beautiful, and it’s a journey I can’t wait to take.
Darren Aronofsky (Requiem For a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler) makes weird films. It just so happens, they’re also consistently good, gut-wrenching and powerful.
In Black Swan, Aronofsky’s next film foray, Natalie Portman plays Nina, a ballerina chosen by her mentor (Vincent Cassel) for the lead role in Swan Lake. The role apparently requires a versatile lead who can portray both the White Swan and Black Swan. When another dancer (Mila Kunis) proves herself a better fit for the Black Swan, the two develop a rivalry that (as evidenced in the trailer) begins to drive Nina insane.
The trailer for Black Swan grabbed me by the collar and hooked me right away. I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t when I watched it, but I’m guessing that’s the point. Black Swan looks simultaneously horrifying and beautiful, and it’s a journey I can’t wait to take.
Buried
Taking 127 Hours’ one-man show theme a step further, Buried stars Ryan Reynolds as Paul Conroy, a U.S. contractor working in Iraq who wakes up inside a coffin with just a lighter, a cell phone and 90 minutes of oxygen.
This movie interests me on a mostly conceptual basis. There’s a certain challenge that comes with making a film that’s set mostly within a small coffin. I’m excited to see how director Rodrigo Cortés pulls it off. Reynolds reportedly declined the opportunity to rehearse inside the coffin, and opted to jump in and start filming to enhance his performance. I like Reynolds’ past work, and I’m curious to see if he can continue to break out of his rom-com roots.
Taking 127 Hours’ one-man show theme a step further, Buried stars Ryan Reynolds as Paul Conroy, a U.S. contractor working in Iraq who wakes up inside a coffin with just a lighter, a cell phone and 90 minutes of oxygen.
This movie interests me on a mostly conceptual basis. There’s a certain challenge that comes with making a film that’s set mostly within a small coffin. I’m excited to see how director Rodrigo Cortés pulls it off. Reynolds reportedly declined the opportunity to rehearse inside the coffin, and opted to jump in and start filming to enhance his performance. I like Reynolds’ past work, and I’m curious to see if he can continue to break out of his rom-com roots.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
This movie needs no introduction. I do find it a bit hokey that the filmmakers opted to do a two-parter for the Harry Potter finale, as they’re obviously trying to maximize the incoming cash flow (see: Breaking Dawn). But, if both parts are good, I won’t argue.
I was one of the few Harry Potter fans who disliked the sixth movie, so I’m definitely hoping director David Yates can pull off a better film this time around. Deathly Hallows is an amazing book, so bad source material is no excuse.
This movie needs no introduction. I do find it a bit hokey that the filmmakers opted to do a two-parter for the Harry Potter finale, as they’re obviously trying to maximize the incoming cash flow (see: Breaking Dawn). But, if both parts are good, I won’t argue.
I was one of the few Harry Potter fans who disliked the sixth movie, so I’m definitely hoping director David Yates can pull off a better film this time around. Deathly Hallows is an amazing book, so bad source material is no excuse.
Let Me In
I had to convince myself to give this movie a chance. I’m no friend of remakes, and the Swedish film Let The Right One In is one of the best vampire movies of all time. Cloverfield director Matt Reeves gets to try his hand at the American version of this child vampire tale, and I was understandably skeptical at that announcement. Cloverfield is good, sure, but it’s no Let The Right One In.
The trailer, however, has me optimistic. Chloe Grace Moretz, whose roles in (500) Days of Summer and Kick-Ass have earned her some cred, seems like the right choice to play Eli (named Abby in the American version). Kodi Smith-McPhee gave a good performance in The Road, enough to earn him a shot at playing Oskar (Owen this time around). Richard Jenkins is always good, so I have no worries there. John Ajvide-Lindqvist, who wrote the book and penned the Swedish screenplay, is back to write the script this time around, too.
All that adds up to a pretty good movie, right? It’s still a remake, so I’ll still be skeptical, but I feel like the filmmakers have played their cards right thus far. We’ll just have to wait and see.
I had to convince myself to give this movie a chance. I’m no friend of remakes, and the Swedish film Let The Right One In is one of the best vampire movies of all time. Cloverfield director Matt Reeves gets to try his hand at the American version of this child vampire tale, and I was understandably skeptical at that announcement. Cloverfield is good, sure, but it’s no Let The Right One In.
The trailer, however, has me optimistic. Chloe Grace Moretz, whose roles in (500) Days of Summer and Kick-Ass have earned her some cred, seems like the right choice to play Eli (named Abby in the American version). Kodi Smith-McPhee gave a good performance in The Road, enough to earn him a shot at playing Oskar (Owen this time around). Richard Jenkins is always good, so I have no worries there. John Ajvide-Lindqvist, who wrote the book and penned the Swedish screenplay, is back to write the script this time around, too.
All that adds up to a pretty good movie, right? It’s still a remake, so I’ll still be skeptical, but I feel like the filmmakers have played their cards right thus far. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Monsters
Fun fact: Up until recently, I was trying my hand at screenwriting, and had an idea involving a couple battling their way across a quarantined “Infected Zone.” The announcement of Gareth Edwards’ Monsters and my subsequent viewing of The Crazies put the kabash on that idea, but I’m still extremely excited to see what comes of this movie.
Monsters takes place six years after a NASA probe carrying alien life forms crash-lands over Central America. A journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist across the Infected Zone in Mexico to the U.S. border.
Again, this movie gets points for a very innovative concept. The trailer for Monsters has some strong elements of District 9 present in it. That’s a good thing, in case you didn’t see District 9.
Fun fact: Up until recently, I was trying my hand at screenwriting, and had an idea involving a couple battling their way across a quarantined “Infected Zone.” The announcement of Gareth Edwards’ Monsters and my subsequent viewing of The Crazies put the kabash on that idea, but I’m still extremely excited to see what comes of this movie.
Monsters takes place six years after a NASA probe carrying alien life forms crash-lands over Central America. A journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist across the Infected Zone in Mexico to the U.S. border.
Again, this movie gets points for a very innovative concept. The trailer for Monsters has some strong elements of District 9 present in it. That’s a good thing, in case you didn’t see District 9.
Never Let Me Go
I didn’t know this movie existed until Chelsea showed me the trailer a little while ago. I have no idea what it’s about, but I still want to be first in line to see it. That’s the mark of a good trailer (Inception anyone?). TIME Magazine called the source literature the “best novel of the decade,” so that’s a bit of high praise. It stars Oscar sweetheart Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and soon-to-be Spider-Man Andrew Garfield, so we can expect some great performances out of the leads. Check out the trailer for more.
I didn’t know this movie existed until Chelsea showed me the trailer a little while ago. I have no idea what it’s about, but I still want to be first in line to see it. That’s the mark of a good trailer (Inception anyone?). TIME Magazine called the source literature the “best novel of the decade,” so that’s a bit of high praise. It stars Oscar sweetheart Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and soon-to-be Spider-Man Andrew Garfield, so we can expect some great performances out of the leads. Check out the trailer for more.
The Social Network
I really like David Fincher’s films. Seven, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac; all good. It’s the nature of those films that makes The Social Network an odd choice for the director.
Based on the book by Ben Mezrich, author of the book on which 21 was based, The Social Network stars Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. It’s a controversial story full of deceit and broken friendship, and the book isn’t exactly popular with a lot of people (see: Zuckerberg’s thoughts and Amazon.com reader reviews).
Whether what transpires on film is 100 percent true or not, this movie looks like an immensely entertaining story of a soon-to-be-billionaire, and reports from those who’ve seen the film seem to uphold this notion. I’m particularly excited to see Justin Timberlake’s turn as Napster co-founder Sean Parker.
I really like David Fincher’s films. Seven, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac; all good. It’s the nature of those films that makes The Social Network an odd choice for the director.
Based on the book by Ben Mezrich, author of the book on which 21 was based, The Social Network stars Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. It’s a controversial story full of deceit and broken friendship, and the book isn’t exactly popular with a lot of people (see: Zuckerberg’s thoughts and Amazon.com reader reviews).
Whether what transpires on film is 100 percent true or not, this movie looks like an immensely entertaining story of a soon-to-be-billionaire, and reports from those who’ve seen the film seem to uphold this notion. I’m particularly excited to see Justin Timberlake’s turn as Napster co-founder Sean Parker.
The Town
As he proved with Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck is a damn good director. His next undertaking is The Town, which looks to be a hearty mix of Heat and Point Break. The big draw here for me is Mad Men’s Jon Hamm in the Al Pacino role of the FBI agents looking for the gang of Boston thieves led by Doug MacRay, played by Affleck.
It’s the cast that has me pumped for The Town. Look for The Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner, Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively, The Prestige’s Rebecca Hall, and the wonderful Chris Cooper in addition to Affleck and Hamm.
Affleck has said that his movie provides a good balance of action, story and character development. Sounds like the recipe for a great heist movie to me.
As he proved with Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck is a damn good director. His next undertaking is The Town, which looks to be a hearty mix of Heat and Point Break. The big draw here for me is Mad Men’s Jon Hamm in the Al Pacino role of the FBI agents looking for the gang of Boston thieves led by Doug MacRay, played by Affleck.
It’s the cast that has me pumped for The Town. Look for The Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner, Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively, The Prestige’s Rebecca Hall, and the wonderful Chris Cooper in addition to Affleck and Hamm.
Affleck has said that his movie provides a good balance of action, story and character development. Sounds like the recipe for a great heist movie to me.
True Grit
This is the only movie on my list without a trailer to back it up. I put it on here because it’s also perhaps the closest thing to a safe bet. It’s directed by the Coen Brothers, for one, who re-team with The Big Lebowski’s Jeff Bridges and No Country for Old Men’s Josh Brolin. Matt Damon also stars. So the cast is pretty good.
It’s also based on the classic Western novel of the same name. Notable true Westerns are scarce these days, but when they do pop onto the radar, they’re usually damn good (see: 3:10 to Yuma, The Proposition). A Western from the Coens is tough to deny. Hopefully we’ll see a trailer soon.
This is the only movie on my list without a trailer to back it up. I put it on here because it’s also perhaps the closest thing to a safe bet. It’s directed by the Coen Brothers, for one, who re-team with The Big Lebowski’s Jeff Bridges and No Country for Old Men’s Josh Brolin. Matt Damon also stars. So the cast is pretty good.
It’s also based on the classic Western novel of the same name. Notable true Westerns are scarce these days, but when they do pop onto the radar, they’re usually damn good (see: 3:10 to Yuma, The Proposition). A Western from the Coens is tough to deny. Hopefully we’ll see a trailer soon.
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