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Friday, August 29, 2008

Fall Preview

The best time of the year for movies is quickly approaching - but the news isn't all good. Looking over the slate of fall releases I've picked out the five movies I'm most anticipating, the five movies I'm least anticipating, and one movie about which I remain firmly on the fence.

5 Least Anticipated Movies of the Fall


5. Nights In Rodanthe (September 26): Everything about this movie screams “overwrought.” From the kissing during the storm to the horses running free on the beach to Richard Gere’s angry assertion that he’s a good doctor, damnit! and that doesn’t leave much time to be a good husband and father; the trailer looks more like a parody of a movie than an actual movie.

4. Ghost Town (September 19): Was this really the best vehicle they could find for Ricky Gervais? Every time I see this trailer it makes me sad because he should know better than this.

3. W. (October 29): Too soon. Too soon.

2. My Best Friend's Girl (September 19): I don’t think I could dislike Dane Cook more if he ran over my dog, which naturally makes me predisposed to avoiding his films. And I know that Kate Hudson isn’t the biggest actress in the world, but she’s certainly bigger than starring in a movie where her romantic options are Dane Cook and Jason Biggs, isn't she?

1. Beverly Hills Chihuahua (October 3): My brother has a friend who has a Chihuaha and one time she was telling him a story and gesturing emphatically with her hands and she accidentally poked the Chihuahua in the eye and it didn’t even blink. Chihuahas are creepy. A bunch of them singing and dancing? I just... don't even want to think about it any more.

5 Most Anticipated Movies of the Fall


5. Happy-Go-Lucky (October 10): This looks so completely unlike any Mike Leigh movie I've ever seen that I am absolutely intrigued by it and can't wait to see it.

4. Blindness (September 26): After City of God and The Constant Gardener, Fernando Meirelles pretty much has me in the palm of his hand. Add in Julianne Moore and we’re good to go.

3. Doubt (December 12): I’m tempted to say that this will be Oscar number three for Meryl Streep, but if past Oscar seasons have taught me anything, it’s that you just never know. So I’ll just say that this many great actors in one film will definitely be worth a look.

2. The Road (November 26): I don't know that much about the plot other than that the term "post-apocalyptic" factors into it, but the stills from the movie alone are enough to shoot this to the top of my list.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (December 25): F. Scott Fitzgerald + David Fincher + Brad Pitt + Cate Blanchett + score by Alexandre Desplat = win

On The Fence:


The Women (September 12): I’m not really a huge fan of the original version of The Women - which I realize is sacrilege to some people, but there it is. As far as the original goes, I like the actresses in it and I like parts of it, but on the whole I think the plot depends upon some of the worst stereotypes about women and the ending drives me batty with the whole punish the other woman and forgive the poor defenceless husband who, really, is just as much a victim as his wife thing. Please.

I have reason to believe that the updated version will be different given that it’s being helmed by Diane English, of Murphy Brown fame, but neither the trailer nor the cast inspires that much confidence in me. Although I do give the film points for the economy demonstrated in combining the “sassy black friend” and the “sassy gay friend” into one character.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey ... what about "Synechdoche, New York"?

Norma Desmond said...

That one is definitely on my radar, along with a few others, but I was limiting myself to five.