LiC 2008 Fall Forecast: December
Merry Christmas movie fans
I know winter technically begins in December, but as far as LiC is concerned, the year is broken up into three general movie-going seasons. January to April is Movie Limbo where studios dump films they don’t believe in or don’t know how to handle. Luckily, there is also usually a crop of indie and foreign titles that hope to thrive amid little competition. May to August is Summer Season with all the tent pole flicks and franchises and big budget spectaculars that I’m so bored of I could vomit. September to December is Fall Season, typically our favorite part of the mainstream movie-going year with all the prestige pictures and Oscar wannabes and things for adults in general. That’s it - three seasons - so before you come crying to me about the LiC 2008 Fall Forecast bleeding into winter, there’s your explanation.
Once again, the farther we forecast from today, the greater the likelihood there will be changes. Don’t hold me accountable if things move around.
Click to read September, October or November if you missed them. Otherwise, read on.
December 5
Frost/Nixon (Limited). A battle of wits between two giant egos is the stuff that would make a good stage play. And it did. Frank Langella won a Tony for his portrayal of disgraced president Richard M. Nixon in Peter (The Last King of Scotland, The Queen) Morgan’s Frost/Nixon. Now Ron Howard, the crown prince of average, is bringing the story of the legendary 1977 interview between Nixon and David Frost to the big screen with Langella and Michael Sheen (The Queen) reprising their roles. Can Opie make that translation? I’m doubtful, but I’m interested in seeing Langella’s performance.
Extreme Movie. From the halfwits who brought you the relentlessly unfunny Not Another Teen Movie, it’s another spoof of teen movies. I think if I just start blacklisting all movies with the word “movie” in the title, I’d automatically reduce the amount of crap I see each year. Comedy black hole Andy Samberg (Saturday Night Live) is one of the half dozen or so writers.
Punisher: War Zone. Marvel Comics’ antihero vigilante Frank Castle is given a third try. This time, Ray Stevenson (HBO’s Rome) takes the lead and Dominic West (HBO’s The Wire) plays the villain Jigsaw. Besides curiosity over whether the studio will have the stones to make this one R-rated like the first two (rumors are going both ways), the length of time it took me to write this blurb represents the sum total interest I have in the movie.
December 12
The Day the Earth Stood Still. Fox remakes it’s 1951 classic about an alien who lands on Earth to save us from ourselves. The good news is that Jennifer Connelly is in it. The bad news is that so is Keanu Reeves. Though he’s wretched in the wrong thing (Dangerous Liaisons), he’s fine in the right thing (Matrix) so maybe he’ll be OK as Klaatu the spaceman. I’m not holding my breath, however.
Defiance. Well meaning but sometimes obtuse director Ed Zwick returns to the Oscar race with this story of Jews in WWII who fight back. The interesting cast includes Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell.
*Doubt. Playwright and screenwriter John Patrick Shanley (Moonstruck) directs his own play for the big screen. Meryl Streep stars as a school principle who levels a pedophelia charge against priest Philip Seymour Hoffman of pedophilia. Amy Adams is the nun caught in the middle. The story doesn’t push any buttons for me, but the cast does.
December 19
*The Brothers Bloom. [Moved from October] Rian (Brick) Johnson’s sophomore feature stars Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo as two con artist brothers. When one of them decides to go straight, he’s sucked back in when the other hatches a plan to scam wealthy and beautiful Rachel Weisz. Rinko Kikuchi and Robbie Coltrane also star. What’s not to like about that? Trailer
Nothing but the Truth. Writer/director Rod Lurie assembles a great cast including Kate Beckinsale, Vera Farmiga, Matt Dillon and Alan Alda for this story of a reporter (Beckinsale) who is sent to jail for refusing to reveal her source in outing a CIA agent (Farmiga). Inspired by the Valerie Plame affair, word on the street is that Beckinsale and Farmiga are terrific.
Seven Pounds. Will Smith reunites with the director of The Pursuit of Happyness for another crack at an Oscar. Details are sketchy at this point, but from what I can tell he plays a man responsible for the deaths of seven people who hopes to redeem himself by helping seven strangers. Rosario Dawson also starzzZzzzZZZZzzzZZZz… ZZzzzzzZZzZzz… ZZzzZZZzZzZZZ.
The Tale of Despereaux. Animated adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s Newberry Medal-winning storybook about a big-eared chivalrous mouse who proves an unlikely hero when he tries to restore a magical kingdom fallen on hard times to its former glory. The voice cast includes Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, Christopher Lloyd, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Tracey Ullman, Emma Watson and Sigourney Weaver.
Yes Man. Jim Carrey returns to high-concept comedy as a cynical naysayer who turns his life around after a self-help program teaches him to say “yes” to everything. Of course, this new lifestyle leads to consequences of it’s own and I’ll bet the producers hope they’re of a hi-larious nature. Also with Terence Stamp and Zooey Deschanel. I can’t wait for the inevitable sequel, Yes Ma’am.
December 25
Bedtime Stories. In this family adventure from Disney, Adam Sandler plays hotel handyman Skeeter Bronson. When the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew begin coming true, he tries to turn the situation to his advantage. Sandler has made a career of movies that appeal to children and now it looks like he’s finally making one intended for them.
*The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. David Fincher directs Brad Pitt in the F. Scott Fitzgerald story about a man who ages backwards. Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond and Tilda Swinton also star in this, LiC’s most anticipated movie of the season. Needless to say, this one is under a full LiC blackout and I have no further details.
Hurricane Season. Here’s another inspirational sports story. This one from a screenply by Robert Eisele (The Great Debaters) inspired by real life invents. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a Louisiana high school basketball team is cobbled together from five different schools and they make their way to the state championships. Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, Crying Game, Ghost Dog) plays coach Al Collins.
Marley & Me. I’m just going to copy and paste the official blurb so we can all chuckle about it and I can save myself a lot of trouble over a movie I’m never going to see: “The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family in the making and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life.” Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston star in this comedy drama. It’s not a dramedy, it’s a coma.
*The Spirit. Frank (Sin City) Miller’s adaptation of Will Eisner’s Golden Age comic got kicked to the curb by fanboys when the first trailer premiered and it received a serious beating when clips played at Comic-Con. What does that mean? Nada. You see, the average fanboy has the aesthetic sophistication of a clip-on tie. I’m still hopeful this will be something interesting though I’m fully prepared to be wrong. Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jaime King, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Eva Mendes and Paz Vega star.
December 26
*Revolutionary Road. Sam Mendes directs wife Kate Winslet and her Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio in a story based on the novel by Richard Yates about a young couple in 1950s Connecticut experiencing suburban American ennui. It could be good drama or it could be literarily pretentious twaddle. Either way it’s got Kate Winslet and literarily pretentious twaddle with Kate is better than literarily pretentious twaddle without her.
*Valkyrie. Here’s another movie that has been repeatedly kicked to the curb sight unseen, but this time by entertainment journalists instead of fanboys. Aesthetically, it is as my father used to say: “six one, half dozen the other.” A clip-on tie is still a clip-on tie, right? Continually pegged as a troubled project and shuttled back and forth across the release calendar, Valkyrie is Bryan (The Usual Suspects) Singer’s thriller about a true-life Nazi plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler. Tom Cruise heads a great cast that also includes Eddie Izzard, Bill Nighy, Terence Stamp, Carice van Houten, Tom Wilkinson and Patrick Wilson.
December TBA
Here’s a list of films scheduled for December with no specific date as of this writing.
*Good. Based upon the play by CP Taylor, Good stars Viggo Mortensen as a man whose pro-euthanasia (who doesn’t like youths in Asia?) novel is taken up by the Nazis and used to justify their atrocities. He too is seduced by the means to advance his career.
*Gran Torino. Clint Eastwood directs himself as an aging veteran who is forced to confront his life-long prejudices when immigrants move in next door. Clint Eastwood movies that star Clint Eastwood are automatically more interesting so this gets a small leg up over Changeling in my book. I’m still not 100% convinced this one will come out in 2008, but we’ll see.
*The Reader. This recent addition to the December release calendar pits Kate Winslet against herself in another movie with a literary pedigree. So much the better for us. Director Stephen Daldry returns to the screen for his first film since 2002’s The Hours. Winslet and Ralph Fiennes star in this romantic drama about a passionate affair in post-war Germany. I thought Daldry’s The Hours was kind of overwrought, but I like Winslet and Fiennes. The Reader is based upon the novel by Bernhard Schlink.
Up next: Odds, ends and recaps.
Filed under: Previews
Related Posts: - The Golden Globe Nominations
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- The Watercooler: 12/8/08
- Critics Choice Nominations
- Harvey Has His Way: ‘The Reader’ to Open December 12
Seriously, this is the best month you guys have this year, in my opinion.
This is more like it.
There are a lot of films there that I know so little about that I’m very much looking forward to.
That first week looks hideous, though.
Is that really what Seven Pounds is about? I figured all this time it was about a baby.
“The good news is that Jennifer Connelly is in it. The bad news is that so is Keanu Reeves.” Hahahaha…
Looking forward to Benjamin Button the most out of the December offerings, but like I say, there’s a wealth of potentially strong films here, finally.
It felt a little shakey to me if not for the TBA additions. I mean, any month that has a new David Fincher movie brings happy happy joy joy, but the first couple of weeks weren’t doing much for me.
I don’t want to sound too cynical, especially after making such a big deal in the comments about not being as cynical as I used to be, but Seven Pounds sounds abysmal.
Yes, if you take Doubt away from December 12, I’d dismiss both of the first two weeks of the December… Actually, December 19 is not anything to write home about, either, but with Benjamin Button, The Spirit, Good, The Reader, Revolutionary Road (which I’m looking sort of looking forward to for some reason despite not caring much for Mendes–oh, I know why, DiCaprio’s not going to play yet another testosterone-fueled tough guy to prove he, too, can kick ass) and maybe Valkyrie (gulp) all coming out either at the end of the year or TBA, that helps December out.
I don’t think Fall 2008 is going to even nearly match Fall 2007, but I thought there were bigger and more numerous winners in Movie Limbo Season and Summer Season this year, on the whole, than last year, so maybe it will almost even out…? Unlikely, though.
Yes, Seven Pounds, which I thought was going to be about Will Smith running around a city with a baby in his arms and giving his baby Good Advice rather than running around a city looking for a job and giving his kid Good Advice, sounds worse than I imagined.
Revolutionary Road has a big star by it for me, since I just finished the book and it was fantastic. It could be a big pedigree-laden let-down, but I’m still excited.
I wasn’t that taken with The Reader when I read it, but with Winslet and hot man-taco Ralph Fiennes, I’m there. It’s one of those high-drama stories, subtly told.
I’m not going to mount too much defense of Marley and Me the movie, but being a big softie myself, the book got me hook, line and sinker by being terribly funny and making me care about its intelligent narrator and his family. It was much better than it sounds. Unless the reviews are just awful, I’ll see it.
Can’t muster any interest in The Spirit. It just looks bad. Expensive and bad and like it’s trying way too hard to be cool.
Hadn’t even heard of Nothing but the Truth, but it sounds promising, and I keep hoping Beckinsale will find a role to prove her chops. I wouldn’t have thought of putting her opposite Farmiga, but I’m intrigued.
Of course, most of these won’t get here until March or April (I feel your pain, Nick).
Alexander, as much as I mock summer and trumpet fall, this was a pretty damn good summer (and yeah, Fall as you’ve noted doesn’t quite stack up). Still, there’s plenty to see here.
JB “hot man-taco Ralph Fiennes” hahahha.
I almost gave Revolutionary Road a star for the cast alone…maybe I should go back and give it one. I’m shocked you’re looking forward to it Alexander.
As for Marley, the teaster trailer was a complete head scratcher. Perhaps it will mean more to people who’ve read the book. Hopefully my snark is misplaced.
As for The Spirit, I have no doubt you (and the fanboys) will end up being right JB, but the 15 year old inside me hopes you’re not.
I’m with Craig on Button. Easily my most anticipated of the fall/winter/Oscar season.
I still hope Che squeezes in somewhere this year. Thankfully I get to see it at NYFF. Too bad for you LA suckers. Mwahahahaha.
Well, I’m probably just hoping DiCaprio can still play a character who isn’t shooting anyone for more than fifteen minutes. The trailers for Body of Lies have the nimbus of familiarity in many different ways, but the one that sticks out the most is DiCaprio doing his “See, I can play hard” shtick probably one time too many.
I’m deeply jealous Ari, though I haven’t ruled out coming to NY myself… :)
Agreed Alexander. DiCaprio has put his Titanic reputation to rest. He can go back to acting again.
BENJAMIN BUTTON is my most anticipated film of the year. I’m looking forward to REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, but feel that I should be more excited about it than I actually am. I love Sam Mendes but think each subsequent film of his has been weaker than the last. AMERICAN BEAUTY is one of my all time favorites…but this has too much of an “Oscar-y” feel to me, if you know what I mean.
Now…THE READER on the other hand, I’m very glad is coming out in December. THE HOURS was my top film of 2002 and I’ve been eagerly awaiting Daldry’s follow-up. Add that to DOUBT and you have my December trifecta.
I agree about Ron Howard’s “averageness,” but liked A BEAUTIFUL MIND (not enough to have nominated it for Best Picture though), and was pleasantly surprised by CINDERELLA MAN, so I’m hoping he pulls through with FROST/NIXON. I love the trailer, so here’s hoping.
My most anticipated films are:
1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - If this film delivers on the promise of the trailer, it might just be the film of the year. I cannot wait.
2. Revolutionary Road - Kate and Leo.
3. The Reader - Kate. Based on a great book. And…Kate.
4. Frost/Nixon - The preview totally sold me on it.
5. Doubt - Compelling story and La Streep? Yes, please.
6. The Secret Life of Bees - I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff.
“I can’t wait for the inevitable sequel, Yes Ma’am.”
. . . or the gender-neutral dinner-theater production, Yes Person.
That’s all I got.
Ya know, Valkyrie could go either way. Some troubled productions actually turn out well. Casablanca was chaotic, with GWTW being the quintessential troubled production. Who knows? The cultural timing might be right for a film about military men with a conscience going after the meanie at the top. I’m not expecting miracles, but it conceivably could do well.
That Benjamin Button still is priceless — if that doesn’t sell tickets, I’m “resigning from the Academy. . . .”
“…..oh, I know why, DiCaprio’s not going to play yet another testosterone-fueled tough guy to prove he, too, can kick ass)”
Thank you Alexander. My thoughts exactly. And I don’t like Mendes either, actually I kind of hate his movies.
“Yes Person” ahhahah.
Pierre, the thing about Valkyrie is that I question how troubled the production really has been in the first place. True, the studio has moved it around, but just because they have no faith in it, doesn’t mean it’s going to be bad. These are bean counting stooges we’re talking about, not artists. Having said that, it could blow. My only point is that we just don’t know and based on the talent involved, I’m willing ot lend the benefit of a doubt.
Matthew, when it comes to Ron Howard, I think what bugs me is all the Oscar love that has been heaped upon him undeservedly (in my book). I guess I’m admitting to a degree of backlash.
Of course there’s the whole issue of him raping my childhood with the Grinch and boring the piss out of me with Da Vinci Code…
Yeah, GRINCH and DA VINCI CODE are kinda lame.
Still love WILLOW though.
How lame is it that they turned The Day the Earth Stood Still into War of the Atmospheric Fog Worlds? Complete with the lens flare-saturated, milky white cinematography and thunderous sound effects. I know this is what Hollywood does, but seriously, what the fuck?
I already commented about Frost/Nixon somewhere here, but I don’t completely buy Langella as Nixon and the whole thing feels rote. Just like Howard’s adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, come to think of it. The play was a monster hit and the film had to be made, so let’s make the film as ho-hum as humanly possible. I don’t mind Howard as a director (Apollo 13, Ransom, and a few others were good), but he doesn’t have the distinctive style or sensibility of a Coen, Anderson or Meirelles. Vanilla all the way.
Finally, I had to go and read Fitzgerald’s Benjamin Button this week and end up disappointed. I’ll keep the faith, though, because it’s Fincher and I’m sure he used the concept as little more than a diving board into a more interesting story with fully developed themes. And since there was no Taraji P. Henson adoptive mother character in the original story, that seems to lend some credence to that assumption.
Craig and Pierre, your astounding respective wits get to me. Every time.
Ah, December. After the summer stretch, this is my favourite month of the year.
With Christmas and my birthday hitting within days of each other, I get a never ending sensuous paradise of gifts and worship - which is my absolute right as a girl.
As for the movies…
FROST/NIXON and DOUBT appear to be unavoidable awards magnets. I shall have to check them out. Though I don’t feel that I would if they weren’t supposedly so rich with prestige.
KATE WINSLET is a fine actor but I avoid her whenever I can. There’s just nothing about her that appeals to me personally. But that may not be possible with the releases of REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and THE READER. She may very well be nominated for one. I’d pass up either rather easily. But whichever she gets awards buzz for is the one I’ll end up going to.
(Sorry, Dorothy…)
Despite being a softy for dogs (and liking JENNIFER ANISTON and OWEN WILSON as well) MARLEY & ME doesn’t appear especially appealing. THE TALE OF DESPERAUX DOES look adorable. But I never go to flicks like that.
I hadn’t heard of NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH before now. Mr. Lurie is politically aware. That may actually be something worthwhile.
Other than that, who knows? Bet there is still some unannounced product that will blow this lot right out of the water.
nothing here to combat my sure to hit holiday depression…
I’ll send you a fruitcake, glim.
Uh, my year may peak early as my most anticipated movie of the year is Burn After Reading. I don’t care if it doesn’t live up to my expectations, dammit, I just want to see it.
I suppose after that Benjamin Button is probably my second most anticipated film followed closely by Synecdoche, New York.
I have to admit that after reading through this, December is fraught with the same potential artist peril as November. On paper, any of these (especially if one chooses to give “buzz” merit) could be disasters or gems. I’m hoping for a plethora of diamonds but prepared for diamondelles.
Good looks interesting (if only for Viggo) and I admit to thinking the Earth Stood Still trailer looked better than I expected, but I still have little enthusiasm for it. I hope Revolutionary Road and The Reader are more than the Oscar bait they appear to be. And I really want Valkyrie to be great. It would be nice to see Singer do something good again.
“It’s not a dramedy, it’s a coma.”
*wipes tears from eyes*
Count me in for Defiance. I don’t mind a nice Edward Zwick every now and then. I liked The Last Samurai quite a lot, in fact. I’m in for Punisher as well, but ONLY because Dominic West is in it, and now that The Wire is over, I’m officially jonesing. Ok, perhaps that’s not enough of a reason to see Punisher. We’ll see as the day draws nearer.
Otherwise, I’m in for everything you’re in for Craig, except I would remove that star next to The Spirit. This one burned me out when it was called Sin City (I know, I know, a cheap jab, but the teaser or whatever that thing was really rubbed me wrong).
Yeah, we may differ (vividly) on Zwick and Last Samurai specifically, but I agree Evan that The Spirit teaser was not my cuppa tea either. It may be Miller’s ultimate artistic statement in moving pictures, but that doesn’t mean it will be good. When Miller is on, he’s one of the great creative minds of the last 100 years. When Miller is over the top, he delivers some serious clunkers (cough, 300 cough cough). We shall see.
I have to say Evan, if it weren’t for Dominic West, I might’ve left Punisher off the list altogether.
As for the collective opinion of The Spirit, I agree that prospects are dim, but idea is sound and I like seeing people swing for the fences even if they strike out.
thanks m.
your immortal !!!!! :)
I’m glad you think so, honey.
Sigh …
At least Button is there.
I’m gonna sic the SPCCOT (the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Clip On Ties) on LiC for it’s very un-PC trashing of those little rayon lovelies. Next thing you know, Ben Stiller’s going to make a movie in which he’s accused of never going the full clip-on . . .
Anyway, I have just one thing to say about the December flicks: why in the name of all that is holy are they remaking “The Day the Earth Stood Still?”
Full disclosure: My dad wore a clip-on every day.
as for your last question…because avarice in Hollywood is inversely proportional to originality.
What can I say? I’m looking forward to all of these, as usual.
Tell me there’s not room for my “offseason” somewhere in your three part breakdown, Craig. I’m telling you, Oscar weekend through some agreed-upon spring weekend = no new releases. It has to work…
Depending on how long you’re talking about, I could handle an off season in between each of the three. One right now and one in January for sure.
We don’t really need one before summer since the first 4 months are pretty laid back.
Lots of films coming out right on top of each other…
Benjamin Button
Valkyrie
Revolutionary Road
Defiance
The Reader
i’ll hold off on Frost/Nixon til reviews come out. Doubt and Nothing but the Truth sound promising, but I’ll hold off for now.
Whether or not it reaches the peaks of last year, it’s going to be a busy and interesting season.