New Movies
Coming Soon
December 2
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Shame (2011)
In New York City, Brandon's carefully cultivated private life -- which allows him to indulge his sexual addiction -- is disrupted when his sister Sissy arrives unannounced for an indefinite stay.
Director:Steve McQueen |
| Watch Trailer |
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The Buzz: Like Drive before it, Steve McQueen's follow-up to Hunger has earned the strongest reviews of the year from the festival circuit, though this NC-17 foray into the world of sex addiction will be harder to market than an almost-mute Ryan Gosling action movie. Michael Fassbender, looking hollow but heaps more robust than his career launching performance in Hunger, will earn most of the headlines for his endowment, which is often on display, but the true focus should be on McQueen's artful, purposeful, and uncompromising direction. Okay, really I can't wait to see Fassbender naked.
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Outrage (2010) - [limited]
The boss of a major crime syndicate orders his lieutenant to bring a rogue gang of drug traffickers in line, a job that gets passed on to his long-suffering subordinate.
Director:Takeshi Kitano |
| Watch Trailer |
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The Buzz: It's been many years since we've been treated to a new film from the always-welcome Beat Takeshi; last time out, he directed himself to his biggest Stateside success with The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi. Can he top himself with a contemporary Yakuza tale? There's no major release set for this weekend, so one of these art-house films is poised for a breakthrough. Looks like Takeshi is developing a sequel, too.
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Kinyarwanda (2011) - [limited]- Drama | Romance
A young Tutsi woman and a young Hutu man fall in love amidst chaos; a soldier struggles to foster a greater good while absent from her family; and a priest grapples with his faith in the face of unspeakable horror.
Director:Alrick Brown |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Alrick Brown's feature debut first scored an audience award at Sundance; most recently, it picked up a similar honor at the American Film Institute Festival. A coalition of black film organizations comprise the distribution company for this multi-layered character drama.
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Sleeping Beauty (2011)
A haunting portrait of Lucy, a young university student drawn into a mysterious hidden world of unspoken desires.
Director:Julia Leigh |
| Watch Trailer |
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The Buzz: Poor Emily Browning (Sucker Punch); her breakout year turned out to be a snoozefest instead. This film's sexually-charged content divided audiences at its Cannes Film Festival premiere, but not in a good way, and wound up generating more negative reviews than controversy.
December 9
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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6.
Director:Tomas Alfredson |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Despite the presence of Colin Firth and Tom Hardy and the anticipation of director Tomas Alfredson's follow up to Let the Right One In, all indications point to this being a tour de force for Gary Oldman -- a long overdue proper starring role for one of our favorite actors. Working Title Films/Universal sorta botched their last attempt to modernize a classic BBC mini-series (remember State of Play?), but now that the studio has smartly moved the project over to Focus Features, we're thinking this thriller has serious Oscar potential now that the Best Picture race isn't so uptight.
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New Year's Eve (2011)
The lives of several couples and singles in New York intertwine over the course of New Year's Eve.
Director:Garry Marshall |
| Watch Trailer |
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The Buzz: If you must name a movie after a holiday, make it good enough to watch every year on that special day. Will you ever watch Valentine's Day again? For this sorta-sequel, Garry Marshall heads across country to NYC with a new celebrity cast -- most of whom could really use a hit. My suggestion: let the stars who have created iconic New Yorkers reprise their characters here. This way, Sarah Jessica Parker could play Carrie Bradshaw and Robert De Niro could revisit Johnny Boy.
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Young Adult (2011) - [limited]
Soon after her divorce, a fiction writer returns to her home in small-town Minnesota, looking to rekindle a romance with her ex-boyfriend, who is now happily married and has a newborn daughter.
Director:Jason Reitman |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: When Charlize Theron says she understands this character, doesn't necessarily like her, but would have a beer with her, it's the sort of moment that helps me remember that not every Hollywood actor walks into a press room with a set idea of what's to be said. Back when this project was announced, Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody's reunion created the kind of online frenzy typically reserved for comic-book movie casting; as the film neared completion, reports emerged that its particular kind of dark humor might make it a tougher sell than Reitman's previous works. I feel like we've had to endure countless man-children over the past several years, and they've enjoyed varying levels of success, so stop prognosticating and make room for an actress who can embody an unlikeable lead character and deliver feelings of satisfied ambivalence.
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The Sitter (2011)
A college student on suspension is coaxed into babysitting the kids next door, though he is fully unprepared for the wild night ahead of him.
Director:David Gordon Green |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: More than anything, this R-rated comedy will be forever known as the last Chubby Jonah Hill movie, as the now-svelte actor looks more like a stand-in for Ryan Reynolds and less like Chris Penn these days. Hill and director David Gordon Green have run in the same circles for the last few years, but this is their first time working together. Our question: can they bring anything new to this babysitting adventure aside from swearing kids and jokes about reefer?
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W.E. (2011) - [Limited awards qualifying run]
The affair between King Edward VIII and American divorcée Wallis Simpson, and a contemporary romance between a married woman and a Russian security guard.
Director:Madonna |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Sadly, it's getting progressively easier to dog on Madonna. Her directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, was as bad as many people wanted it to be, and though her sophomore effort received mixed praise initially, it's gone the way of Swept Away now that its awards-baiting quiet release was a non-starter. She'll fare better at the Super Bowl.
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I Melt with You (2011)
When four 40-something college friends meet up for their annual reunion, things start to spiral out of control, and a pact they made as young men is revisited.
Director:Mark Pellington |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Seriously, one of the worst movies I have ever seen. So bad, in fact, that I sort of cannot wait to see it again. Director Mark Pellington and his admittedly brave cast attempt to mine the adult male psyche for equal servings of truth and shock, but it's hard to feel anything for such pathetic characters aside from the notion that Melt is experimental, low budget filmmaking at its worst and most entitled. Also, when Carla Gugino's character is introduced, it's as if the main characters have become so high that they enter a completely different movie.
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We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) - [One week Oscar-qualifying run in LA/NYC]
Kevin's mother struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly vicious things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.
Director:Lynne Ramsay |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Lynne Ramsay's third film has been reviewed as an artful interpretation of Lionel Shriver's novel, a meditation on family, violence, guilt. Clearly this is the sort of role that's a custom-fit for Tilda Swinton, and we understand each member of this tragic family turns in crushing performances; John C. Reilly truly is an under-rated dramatic actor. Can't wait to see how Ms. Ramsay fits into the larger film discussion with her most high profile project to date.
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Knuckle (2011) - [limited]
An epic 12-year journey into the brutal and secretive world of Irish Traveler bare-knuckle fighting. This film follows a history of violent feuding between rival clans.
Director:Ian Palmer |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: An unsettlingly real version of pro wrestling grudge matches (right down to the videotaped rants meant to taunt one's opponent), Ian Palmer's documentary, which he shot over a 12-year period, reveals a series of truth about three Irish Traveller families, the most unexpected being the idea that the clans have essentially created their own economy, since the stakes are high at their brawls. Personally, I wish Palmer opted for keep a better distance from the story and removed himself as narrator, but this is a solid work.
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London River (2009) - Opens 12/7 in limited release]
Two strangers come to discover the fate of their respective children in the 2005 terrorist attacks on London.
Director:Rachid Bouchareb |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: A diminished level of praise precedes the U.S. release of Rachid Bouchareb's 2009 drama, which has an outsider's chances of scoring an Oscar nomination for Brenda Blethyn. Blethyn's co-star, Sotigui Kouyaté, who starred in Bouchareb's Little Senegal, passed away last year, and I understand his minimalist performance is a stark, welcome contrast to Blethyn's frantic and sheltered mum.
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Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl (2011) - [limited]
Three women hire a fourth to try and get even with a con-man.
Director:Maneesh Sharma |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Director Maneesh Sharma reunites his Wedding Planners stars for a romantic comedy that sounds like it could easily be a movie made in the States by New Line Cinema.
December 16
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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson join forces to outwit and bring down their fiercest adversary, Professor Moriarty.
Director:Guy Ritchie |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Aside from the hokey supernatural stuff and the underutilization of Rachel McAdams, I thought Guy Ritchie did a bang-up job in delivering the world of Arthur Conan Doyle to present-day fans and newbies alike (you can imagine that the presence of RDJ was a gateway into all things Holmes for many of the people that made the first movie a runaway worldwide hit). Having the Holmes Bros. and Watson chase Prof. Moriarty across Europe is a great storyline pick, and I cannot wait to see what Jared Harris from "Mad Men" brings to the sequel (he was the surprise - and quite fitting - pick to play Holmes's chief nemesis) as well as Noomi Rapace in her first major post-Lisbeth role. If a second sequel is made, doesn't that length of time qualify Holmes and Watson for a common law marriage?
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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) - [Opens 12/21]
The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.
Director:Brad Bird |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Hmm, perhaps the lengths to which Tom Cruise will go to prolong his action-star career is commeasurable with Paramount's desire to continue the M:I franchise with or without Ethan Hunt. If Jeremy Renner does in fact succeed Cruise as the focus of a fifth sequel, I wonder if audiences will follow along with hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-worth-of-enthusiasm. The movie's international opening was huge, and it finished third in the US during its IMAX-only initial release, reassuring me that many of us love/endure this entire affair because we can barely keep up with Cruise as he leaps from country to country, looking ageless. All along I figured that Brad Bird + shot-in-IMAX sequences = here's my $18.
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Carnage (2011)
Two pairs of parents hold a cordial meeting after their sons are involved in a fight, though as their time together progresses, increasingly childish behavior throws the evening into chaos.
Director:Roman Polanski |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Roman Polanski and Yasmina Reza have updated her one-act play from the version that was lengthened and translated by celebrated writer Christopher Hampton for European audiences. Polanski's son Elvis plays one of the children whose altercation puts the narrative in motion, and what follows has been referred to by many as Virginia Woolf hysterics in a tastefully appointed set, styled to indicate a New York City apartment. Sure to entice older audiences (a group to which I know belong), thus far the early reviews say there's wicked fun to be had here, though the Broadway production (which featured James Ganolfini, Marcia Gay Hardin, Jeff Daniels, and Hope Davis) might remain the preferred American version.
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Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011)
Playing around while aboard a cruise ship, the Chipmunks and Chipettes accidentally go overboard and end up marooned in a tropical paradise. They discover their new turf is not as deserted as it seems.
Director:Mike Mitchell |
| Watch Trailer |
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The Buzz: Funny how The Squeakquel made more money than The Tourist. Fox might be going to the den one too many times with Alvin, Simon, poor Jason Lee, and Theodore, but kids around the world are making this franchise increasingly popular while rival studios mine TV archives for competitors.
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Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011)
A documentary on DIY producer/director Roger Corman and his alternative approach to making movies in Hollywood.
Director:Alex Stapleton |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: The King of the Bs gets The Kid Stays in the Picture treatment from a cast of Hollywood tastemakers past and present that would make for the best sequel to New Year's Eve ever!
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Cook County (2009)
After a stint in prison, Sonny returns to his home in East Texas, determined to repair his relationship with his son. Standing in his way is his brother, who has turned the home into a crumbling meth lab.
Director:David Pomes |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Given the popularity of Anson Mount's TV show Hell on Wheels and the addiction many people have to "Breaking Bad," it's unsurprising to see Mount's 2009 indie film earning a timely release.
December 23
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) - [Opens 12/20]
Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker.
Director:David Fincher |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Has there ever been a more widely accepted remake than this? Now that the veil has been lifted and reviews indicate that David Fincher has delivered on his promise to offer the feel-bad movie of this holiday season, talk has turned to whether or not he will direct the back-to-back sequels and the fact that Rooney Mara has yet to ditch her Lisbeth look. Meanwhile, plenty of people have come out as not the biggest fans of the original trilogy; I too agree that the first is the best in the series and hope that Fincher signs on to complete the saga.
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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) - [Opens 12/21]
The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.
Director:Brad Bird |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Hmm, perhaps the lengths to which Tom Cruise will go to prolong his action-star career is commeasurable with Paramount's desire to continue the M:I franchise with or without Ethan Hunt. If Jeremy Renner does in fact succeed Cruise as the focus of a fifth sequel, I wonder if audiences will follow along with hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-worth-of-enthusiasm. The movie's international opening was huge, and it finished third in the US during its IMAX-only initial release, reassuring me that many of us love/endure this entire affair because we can barely keep up with Cruise as he leaps from country to country, looking ageless. All along I figured that Brad Bird + shot-in-IMAX sequences = here's my $18.
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The Adventures of Tintin (2011) - [Opens 12/21]
Intrepid reporter Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock's ancestor.
Director:Steven Spielberg |
| Watch Trailer |
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The Buzz: It's no surprise this is a huge hit in Europe (Tintin's home turf) and its French box office debut beat out Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean and all of the Shrek and Lord of the Rings premieres. That doesn't mean the beloved Belgian globetrotter's massive appeal will crossover to American audiences, but if Spielberg and Peter Jackson's magical CGI with a mocap'd Andy Serkis can't win 'em over, we don't know what will. Jackson's already committed to direct the first Tintin sequel when he's done with The Hobbit films, so prepare yourself for more adventures.
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We Bought a Zoo (2011) - [Opens 12/23]
Set in Southern California, a father moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and re-open a struggling zoo.
Director:Cameron Crowe |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Benjamin Mee's memoir has been reimagined by The Devil Wears Prada screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna and Cameron Crowe, who transplanted the story from the UK and set it in southern California, undoubtedly for primo soundtrack opportunities. I'm guessing that Mee's parents might not factor into this narrative as much as they did in real life? Is anyone playing his mum and dad? Meanwhile, I'm predicting a Damon vs. Clooney Depressed Dad Showdown come awards season as Crowe makes a successful comeback.
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In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011) - [Opens 12/23 in LA/NYC]
During the Bosnian War, Danijel, a soldier fighting for the Serbs, re-encounters Ajla, a Bosnian who's now a captive in his camp he oversees. Their once promising connection has become ambiguous as their motives have changed.
Director:Angelina Jolie |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: In order to shoot some of her directorial debut in Bosnia, Angelina Jolie met with the region's cultural minister to show him the script and ensure him the film has no overt political point-of-view ... really? That seems like a tough promise to keep as Jolie enters a potential new chapter of her career (she even took on an agent for future writing/directing endeavors, though she's long functioned with a talent rep for acting). Expect controversy and heaps of press coverage.
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Don 2 (2011) - [Opens 12/23]- Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller
An international gangster turns himself in, then dramatically escapes - only to face treachery and betrayal.
Director:Farhan Akhtar |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Arguably the most anticipated Bollywood release of the year has reunites the key players from the original in its fictional attempt to conquer Europe and its quite real mission to light up the worldwide box office.
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Pina (2011) - [Opens 12/23 in LA/NYC]
A tribute to the late German choreographer, Pina Bausch, as her dancers perform her most famous creations.
Director:Wim Wenders |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Debate over the use of 3D technology has found a worthwhile home in Wim Wenders's tribute to the deceased choreographer - a festival and German box-office hit that saw Wenders tour the world with a dozen of his proteges.
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Miss Minoes (2001) - [Opens 12/23]
A cat who turns into a young woman helps a journalist protect their town from a factory boss with an evil plan.
Director:Vincent Bal |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Carice van Houten made this family movie a decade ago, and now a dubbed version is being released to US audiences for the holidays, and though I'm unsure what the thinking is behind the timing, Ms. van Houten's star will rise a bit Stateside as she is a part of the cast for the second season of "Game of Thrones".
December 30
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The Iron Lady (2011) - [LA/NY]
An elderly Margaret Thatcher talks to the imagined presence of her recently deceased husband as she struggles to come to terms with his death while scenes from her past life, from girlhood to British prime minister, intervene.
Director:Phyllida Lloyd |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Seems like it was just about a year ago that Meryl Streep's reunion with Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd was the ace in Harvey Weinstein's loaded hand, but first came The Artist, then the criticisms of every aspect of Lloyd's film, save Streep's performance. Brisk pacing and sweeping historical backdrops work well for "Downton Abbey," but not here.
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Pariah (2011) - [12/28 -- LA/NYC/SF]
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Director:Dee Rees |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: With a prestigious and eye-brow raising release date, it seems as though Focus Features has complete faith in Dee Rees' Sundance winner, a feature-length expansion of her 2007 short. Ever since it kicked off Sundance 2011, the reviews here have been nearly universally strong; those some have taken its Hype Williams-style aesthetic to task, the story and performances are the focus here. And, personally, I love how stacked this month is with films directed by women...
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A Separation (2011) - [limited]
A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
Director:Asghar Farhadi |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Writer-director Asghar Farhadi's drama was a major (and surprise) winner at the Berlin Film Festival, where it scooped up 3 Golden Bears (best picture, actor, and actress) and 2 other awards; a slew of other festival wins have followed as Sony Pictures Classics gears up for Oscar season.
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El Sicario, Room 164 (2010) - [NYC]- Documentary
The story of a hitman for the drug cartels in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Director:Gianfranco Rosi |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: With a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score and festival awards aplenty, this drug-trade revelation is the first must-see documentary of the new year.
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Angels Crest (2011) - [NYC]
The disappearance of a 3-year-old boy divides a tightly knit community and culls out its secrets.
Director:Gaby Dellal |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: At one point, I thought Thomas Dekker's performance as Lance Loud in HBO's Cinema Verite was going to create his first true breakthrough, putting a larger spotlight on his starring role in Gaby Dellal's drama and leading to other projects. Kind of a bummer how that panned out.
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War Horse (2011) - [Opened 12/25]
Young Albert enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. Albert's hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on.
Director:Steven Spielberg |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: I am falling asleep while trying to write the buzz for War Horse, though kudos to Steven Spielberg for taking on the challenge of trying to one-up a play that features life-size puppets. Tony award wins for the play should help solidify older-audience interest here.
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Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011) - [Opened 12/25]
A nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile, and pacifist searches New York City for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Director:Stephen Daldry |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: No scooters this Christmas for Tom Hanks; instead, he takes a backseat to "Teen Jeopardy" champ Thomas Horn, making his film debut as the precocious pre-adolscent at the center of Jonathan Safran Foer's 9/11-set mystery/adventure. It's a fact that Stephen Daldry-directed films always earn Oscar nominations, and Warner Bros. obviously is going for a major push here. Hanks and Sandra Bullock, who play Mr. and Mrs. Schell, are destined for Supporting Actor/Actress nominations, and since this is shaping up to be the Year of Viola Davis, look for her name to be a part of the mix, too.
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The Darkest Hour (2011) - [Opened 12/25]
In Moscow, five young people lead the charge against an alien race who have attacked Earth via our power supply.
Director:Chris Gorak |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: For many of us, this will be the first chance to see Joel Kinnaman, star of the Swedish hit Easy Money, on the big screen. He's acting alongside a grab bag of young actors who should be more famous and Emile Hirsch, who seems to make a great movie, followed by a bad one, then a great one ... Director Chris Gorak has an impressive list of art director/production designer credits, and his last film, Right at Your Door, was just shy of being a low-budget triumph (the two main characters were annoying). Meanwhile, look at what a super-producer Timur Bekmambetov has become in Hollywood. We think he strives for a balance between story, action, and effects, and since he's working here with a studio looking to distinguish itself from its most-established peers, we're hoping for a unique take on the alien-invasion premise, which is admittedly a bit overworked.
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