Serious Films:
Plot
Summary: Richie Furst is a poor college student who makes extra
cash playing online poker –a game he is really good at – but when he goes bust
he believes he was cheated and goes looking for the party responsible. He
discovers Ivan Block a sly and shady offshore entrepreneur, who offers him a
job. Furst takes it only to find himself in way over his head. Filmmakers: Director Brad Furman had a
breakthrough with The Lincoln
Lawyer and is looking to capitalize on its critical and
commercial success. He is working with composer Christophe Beck (The Muppets),
cinematographer Mauro Fiore (Training Day), and
production designer Charisse
Cardenas (who also designed The Lincoln Lawyer). Cast: The film stars Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck, and
features Gemma
Arterton, Anthony
Mackie, David
Constabile, and Ben Schwartz in
support. Expectations: Runner
Runner looks like a very good thriller. It is impressive that through his own
directorial efforts, Ben Affleck has also again made himself into one of
Hollywood’s great leading men. He looks to be capturing a bit of his
iconic Boiler Room performance
for this, which is fantastic. This very well could be the best film of the
month. Trailer: Here.
Plot
Summary: This is a profile of Julian Assange, the man who founded
WikiLeaks – an organization that exposes secrets (even Classified Government
documents). Filmmakers: Director Bill Condon
made a few okay dramas like Gods and
Monsters, Kinsey,
and Dreamgirls,
but then turned his eyes to the terrible franchise films of the Twilight
Saga, making Breaking
Dawn Part 1 and Part 2
(continuing the trend of making very poor films). Condon is a director who has
some talent, but continually makes mediocre films. He is working with composer Carter Burwell (True
Grit), cinematographer Tobias
Schliessler (Battleship),
and production designer Mark
Tildesley (Trance).
Cast: The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch and
features a great supporting ensemble with Daniel Bruhl, Carice van Houten, Alicia Vikander, Stanley Tucci, Laura Linney, Anthony Mackie, Dan Stevens, Peter Capaldi, David Thewlis, and Mortiz Bleibtreu. Expectations: The Fifth Estate could have been a
fantastic film. It certainly has a brilliant cast, but Bill Condon is a
director incapable of making something truly great. Thus, this will succeed on
the strength of its cast but fail as a narrative feature (which is pretty much
what critics are saying from its festival screenings). That said, it is
definitely worth renting as again the cast is great and the man/story it
profiles is very interesting. It is just disappointing that it was not handled
by more capable hands. Trailer: Here.
Plot
Summary: A man on a solo sailboat journey accidentally collides with a
shipping container. Despite his best efforts, he finds himself coping with the
very real truth that he may die alone, lost at sea. Filmmakers:
Writer-director J.C. Chandor made his feature debut with the
financial-meltdown thriller/drama Margin Call.
While it did feature some good performances, it was not completely effective as
a thriller. All Is Lost is Chandor’s follow-up. He is working with composer Alex Ebert (his first feature),
cinematographers Frank DeMarco
(he shot Margin Call as well) and Peter
Zuccarini (he is an underwater specialist), and production designer John Goldsmith (his first
feature). Cast: Robert Redford
stars as the sole actor in the film. Expectations: All
Is Lost seems like just another version of Open Water or Life
of Pi (or a combination of the two). However, the film is primarily about
how the man struggles with his own mortality completely alone, so maybe a
better comparison might be Cast Away. Critics
have praised it as a strong thriller during its festival screenings. It is
probably worth checking out. It may even be an outside contender for Best
Picture. Trailer: Here. Review: Here.
Horror:
Carrie (Kimberly Pierce) – Horror – Oct
18
Plot
Summary: A remake of the 1976 film
of the same name (and Stephen King’s
first cinematic adaptation), this tells the story of Carrie White, an outcast
who is sheltered and abused by her religious mother and tortured and teased by
her classmates. At her senior prom, she is pushed too far and she unleashes
terror upon her small town. Filmmakers: Director
Kimberly Pierce is a very interesting choice for this modern update. She made
the transgender drama Boys Don’t Cry
that fits many of the same social themes (being an outcast). She also made the
intriguing political drama Stop-Loss.
She is working with composer Marco
Beltrami (World
War Z), cinematographer Steve
Yedlin (Looper),
and production designer Carol
Spier (Pacific
Rim). Cast: The film stars Chloe Grace Moretz, and features
Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Ansel Elgort, Gabriella Wilde, Portia Doubleday, and Alex Russell in support. Expectations: Chloe Grace Moretz is probably a
perfect choice to reimagine Carrie; she has all the tools to do a great job
with the character. In all likeliness, this should dominate October’s horror
box office as it is targeted at two big movie-going audiences: young adults and
those who want to see something scary for Halloween. I am not sure if this will
be better than Brian
‘the hack’ De Palma’s original, but it looks like it may be equally as
good. Trailer: Here.
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