I saw "Ponyo" last Saturday - my review will come later today. Upon seeing the film, it completed my "Five Films to See This Summer" list, so I thought it only fitting to now post my "Five Films to See This Fall" list. Now, according to Entertainment Weekly, they consider December a fall month. I do not. So the following five films I will mention, in reverse order of my excitement level (but I am dying to see them all!), are all scheduled to be released in either September, October, or November. I just want to say narrowing this list down to five was really tough - there are over twenty movies that I am looking forward to seeing in the three months. And my favorite film of the year so far, "Away We Go", wasn't in my last list of five films to see for the summer, so you never know. That being said, here are the ones that really stand out at this point:
5. The Invention of Lying - 9/25
WHY I CAN'T WAIT:
If I had to order up a movie, it would pretty much be "The Invention of Lying." Some of my favorite people working in the entertainment industry today - Tina Fey, Jennifer Garner, and Ricky Gervais - are a part of this comedy about a perfectly honest world that is shaken by one man's discovery of how to lie. Producers are comparing it a comedy film meets a Twilight Zone episode, and from the trailer, it looks hilarious.
POTENTIAL PROBLEM:
September is often considered dumping ground for movies that aren't Oscar-worthy or strong enough to make money during the summer or holiday months.
4. Fantastic Mr. Fox - 11/13
WHY I CAN'T WAIT:
Anyone who knows me knows that I love stop-motion animation, with Wallace and Gromit being two of my all-time favorite characters. This new film boasts the vocal talent of Meryl Streep, George Clooney, and Bill Murray, to name a few. Based on the Roald Dahl book, this movie has classic written all over it.
POTENTIAL PROBLEM:
It has classic written all over it unless the animation is too clunky and the humor too slapstick. I think I'll like it, but the masses might think it's not that 'fantastic.'
3. Broken Embraces - 11/20
WHY I CAN'T WAIT:
Pedro Almodovar is one of the greatest working directors of our lifetime. When he releases a film, critics go crazy. His last effort, "Volver", was one of the best movies in the year it was released and earned an Oscar nomination for Penelope Cruz. This new movie, also starring Cruz, tells the tale of one actresses relationship with a director. As Almodovar and Cruz are close friends, I wonder how semiautobiographical this film will be...and I can't wait!
POTENTIAL PROBLEM:
Sometimes Almodovar's films are too crazy for their own good - but I think this will be great.
2. 9 - 9/9
WHY I CAN'T WAIT:
Produced by Tim Burton and the director of Wanted, this post-apocolyptic tale has a trailer that cannot help but excite. It's so good that I am just going to post it below instead of trying to explain.
POTENTIAL PROBLEM:
As mentioned above, September is a dumping ground. In this case though, they could just be going for the gimmick of releasing 9 on 9/9/09, so we'll see! Also, this movie might get confused with Nine, a musical that is opening just a few weeks later.
1. The Road - 10/16
WHY I CAN'T WAIT:
My favorite novel in a long time gets adapted into a feature film starring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron. I am nervous, but excited. Cormac McCarthy, the book's author, was so mad when his All the Pretty Horses was released and was terrible, that he now holds control over certain production elements when his books are adapted for the screen. His last work to hit theaters, No Country for Old Men, ended up winning the Best Picture Oscar. So fingers crossed!
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS:
Where do I begin? Well, first, the movie should have been released last year. Delays are never a good sign. Secondly, Charlize Theron gets a big billing - as the wife character? The wife is dead in the book, and only referred to briefly. I am worried that this tale of a father's love for his son will get butchered - which is sad. And the book is almost always better than the movie.
So that's that. The movies that came really close to making the list: Where the Wild Things Are, The Box, Extract, The Informant!, and Shutter Island. Happy movie watching everyone!
My friend Kayla is looking forward to Shutter Island.......one of her favorite actors is Leonardo DiCaprio, and she updated her Twitter constantly about her reading the novel the film is based on. She also watched ISAJGS and we'd keep our commentary going through Twitter as well.
ReplyDeleteOne movie I am looking forward to this fall is "New Moon", sequel to the popular movie "Twilight", both of which are based on books by Stephenie Meyer. I have read the first two books in the series, and am currently reading the third, "Eclipse", the movie of which comes out in June 2010.
Other than that, I can't think of any movies I am looking forward to seeing. I may be going to see "The Time Traveler's Wife" this week as my "last hurrah" before school starts. I will post my review on my blog after I see it!