Now that August only has like 1 day left, I figured it's about time I not only wrote a blog post of sorts since I've been really lazy about it lately but also let you all know what you should be excited for. That's assuming you'll have time to see movies at the beginning of the school year between your grueling papers and being generally busy aka hungover for those of you in college (Pullman, WA). K, here we go:
"The American" - September 3rd (that's this Wednesday)
I like to think of this as the end to the Michael Clayton trilogy beginning with the said film "Michael Clayton", the sequel "Up in the Air", and now "The American" where George Clooney is a spy and/or an assassin. Director Anton Corbijn received lots of praise for his first film "Control" about the lead singer of Joy Division (which I still intend on seeing soon) so I have hope that this will be great. I think it looks great, but most people are skeptical since the majority of spy thrillers are all the same and try to copy the Bourne movies. But come on, it's George Clooney, everyone loves him. And he has tattoos.
"Machete" - September 3rd (also Wednesday)
I'm sure you've all seen this trailer many times by now, but it doesn't hurt to see it again. Robert Rodriguez reunites with old friends Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin and new ones including Robert De Niro, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, etc, for a rip roaring, bloodbath of ridiculous action. After seeing "Desperado", I'm definitely a fan of Rodriguez's style of ludicrous violence, characters, and action. And believe me, after seeing the restricted trailer for this, it's gonna be brutal beyond belief. At least for an R rating.
"Never Let Me Go" - September 15th (limited release)
Over summer break I decided to start reading books that have been (or will be) adapted into movies and Kazuo Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go" was one of them. It's a beautifully written, tragic story (as you can see from the screaming), and will definitely be a contender for best adapted screenplay and a number of acting nominations in next years' Oscars. Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley are fine young actresses and Andrew Garfield is really becoming quite famous with "The Social Network" and being cast as the new Spider-Man. It'll be a really sad movie if they do it right, but should have some powerful, complex characters since the book delves into the personalities of each so thoroughly. I really enjoyed direcor Mark Romanek's other film "One Hour Photo" with Robin Williams as well and is a great movie to check out in the meantime.
"The Town" - September 17th
Even though it has a terrible title (might as well have called it "the place"), a terrible trailer, and a ho-hum premise, I still have some hope that Ben Affleck who has found a new talent as a director may be able to pull it off. "Gone Baby Gone", Affleck's debut as a director, was a gripping, dark crime/drama that surprised everyone who knew Affleck was involved. However, now he's decided to star in his own movie. Not so good. Yet, we still have Jeremy Renner ("The Hurt Locker") and Rebecca Hall ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona") to back him up. I just have a hard time accepting the idea that these bank robbers live in a "1 mile radius" neighborhood or something like that and the cops somehow still can't catch them? Strange....still, definitely one worth watch rottentomatoes for.
"Catfish" - September 17th (limited release)
Almost everyone who's seen this movie refuses to say anything about it because they insist it's better if you know "as little as possible" about it before going into the theatre. The movie premiered at Sundance where it got a lot of positive feedback. And though it may look like a "documentary", it's NOT (duh). Basically this guy meets some girl on Myspace who's really good at art or something so he becomes her friend and starts talking to her and finally gets to meet her.....and apparently that's where the crazy stuff starts. It has definitely sparked my interest, I just hope it doesn't turn out to be some sort of cult that captures the guys and offers them to satan or something like that. Whatever it is, it better be original.
"Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" - September 24th
(I refuse to post this trailer cuz I know I've seen it a million times so you probably have too)
I'm probably one of the only people in the world who actually wants to see this. That's probably because I'm probably one of the only people under the age of 40 who's seen the first "Wall Street" movie with Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas. The first one is actually quite good, intense and interesting and Douglas does a great job. But now director Oliver Stone just HAD to go and bring Shia Labeouf into it. GAH. Does anyone out there like this guy? Why do people think he's a good actor? I have no clue. But besides that, it's got a great cast of Carey Mulligan (she's in every movie now), Josh Brolin, and Frank Langella. I just hope someone will be willing to go see this with me....
"Waiting for Superman" - September 24th
Although documentaries aren't very popular with the general public outside of groups of people who like to learn about interesting (depressing) things, I think this is one we all need to pay attention to. First off, Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth") is a well respected documentary director and seems to have created something that will be entertaining, but most of all, informing. The education system in the U.S. is unarguably one of the most important systems in the country, and arguably one with the most failures. Hopefully if enough people see this, we can have a repercussion as strong as the environmental/"green" craze we have had thanks to creations like "An Inconvenient Truth".
"The Social Network" - October 1st
(again, I refuse this trailer with it's creepy remix of Radiohead)
As annoying as his voice may be, Jesse Eisenberg ("Zombieland") looks like he may have at last found the role that will show everyone he's a good actor. Not to mention Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake who look just as good. I still find it strange David Fincher ("Fight Club") decided to direct this film about Facebook. I think we can expect some possible acting nominations to come from this and maybe some other technical stuff since Fincher's movies usually do things like cinematography and lighting really well.
"Let Me In" - October 1st
Don't let the presence of vampires in this trailer turn you off. I have a lot of hope for this remake of the Swedish instant cult favorite "Let the Right One In" about a little girl vampire who moves in next to a little boy and they become friends. And then people die. It's a really creepy story and I hope they do they original justice. It should be pretty gory if they do, and I think Richard Jenkins ("Burn After Reading") looks great as the girl's dad. Who knows, maybe even Kodi Smit-McPhee ("The Road") and/or Chloe Moretz ("Kick-Ass") will get some nomination buzz.
"It's Kind of a Funny Story" - October 8th
Yes, this may look just like another "indie" movie trying to ride the wave of "indie" popularity stemming from stuff like "Juno" and "(500) Days of Summer", but I think it looks just quirky and unique enough to be good. Of course, the presence of Zack Galifianakis helps a lot, but the main guy played by Keir Gilchrist looks pretty good too. I think it'll just be sweet and charming enough to forget about the stereotypical "indie" trademarks and just be an enjoyable film.
That's it for now, tune in soon for some more exciting upcoming movies when I feel like typing some more!
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