Movies Spotlight – Upcoming 2015 Films (Fall & Winter) – July 2015

Now that summer is winding down, let’s look at all the great films scheduled to be released this fall and winter – and there are a lot. I think 2015 will be remembered for its prestige films, looking back, even though, so far, it has been a year of blockbusters like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Jurassic World and Inside Out.

September

Starting with September, Gavin O’Connor’s new western is finally coming to theaters (after a very troubled production, including losing directors and multiple actors). The film stars Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor and is about a woman who asks her ex-lover to help her save her outlaw husband from a lethal gang out to kill him. I’m looking forward to the film for a few reasons: I love westerns, it will be nice to see Portman is films again, and O’Connor’s last film was the excellent sports-drama Warrior.

Director Scott Cooper is known for his character driven dramas (Crazy Heart and Out of the Furnace). His new film, Black Mass, takes on the notorious South Boston criminal Whitey Bulger (an infamously violent man who became an FBI informant to stop the mob from infiltrating his territory). Cooper has assembled a fantastic cast, including: Johnny Depp (as Whitey Bulger), Dakota Johnson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, and Corey Stoll. Here is the trailer.

The film I’m most looking forward to in September is Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario, a mystery crime-drama starring Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin. It debuted at Cannes to critical acclaim and lots of positive buzz. Sicario looks like a brilliant, exciting and raw thriller. Here is the trailer.

A potentially fun comedy in September is Nancy Meyers’s The Intern. It is about a 70-year-old widower who is bored in retirement and looks to get back to work, joining an online fashion site as an intern. The film stars Robert De Niro as the Intern and Anne Hathaway as his boss (and founder of the company). Here is the trailer.

Closing out the month is Baltasar Kormakur’s action thriller Everest. The film looks intense and Kormakur has put together a strong cast, including: Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, KeiraKnightley, Robin Wright, and John Hawkes. While Kormakur is known for making action films (like Contraband and 2 Guns), the great cast should bring a dramatic, character-driven dynamic to this thriller. Here is the trailer.

October

September features some potentially very good films, October has even better films, starting with Ridley Scott’s The Martian. Scott excels at creating epic and visually astounding space-set narratives and sci-fi imagery. The Martian tells the story of astronaut Mark Watney, who is abandoned on Mars after his crew believes him killed in a massive storm that pushed them off the planet. Now, Mark has to use his intellect and practical know-how to survive, while his crew races back to save him. The film sounds a little like Interstellar, and Matt Damon again plays the man left for dead alone on an alien planet, but thematically the films are completely different. In addition to Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, and Kate Mara also star. It’s among the five films I’m most looking forward to seeing. Here is the trailer.

Another film I cannot wait to see is Justin Kurzel’s William Shakespeare adaptation Macbeth, especially after playing well at Cannes. Kurzel’s film looks aesthetically phenomenal and boasts a super cast, including: Michael Fassbender (as Macbeth), Marion Cotilard (as Lady Macbeth), David Thewlis, Elizabeth Debicki, and Sean Harris. The play (and film) are about Macbeth, a duke of Scotland, who receives a prophecy that he will one day be King. Consumed by this ambition, he murders the King and takes the throne for himself. Here is the trailer.

I really like the work of British director Joe Wright. He helms a new version of the Peter Pan story, a prequel of sorts called Pan. On one hand, it looks great with astounding aesthetics and a strong cast, but on the other hand I'm a little worried that it might be too much of a kid's movie (something that has plagued many past Peter Pan films). I'm willing to give it a chance. Here is the trailer.

A film that I cannot quite pin down is Robert Zemeckis’s The Walk, which tells the story of Philippe Petit’s high-wire walk from the roof of one World Trade Center Twin Tower to the other. It is an incredible story, but it is already told wonderfully in James Marsh’s documentary Man on Wire. Zemeckis is a great filmmaker (Back to the Future, Cast Away, and recently Flight), but his film does not feel right thematically and how can he top Man on Wire? His film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, and Charlotte Le Bon. Here is the trailer.

Yet another highly anticipated film to be released in October is Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs. The film went through directors and lead actors on the road to settling on Boyle and Michael Fassbender (although, I still would have liked to have seen the DavidFincher-Christian Bale iteration). The film is written by Aaron Sorkin and also stars Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, and Katherine Waterston. It looks like an interesting biopic of one of the great innovators of our time. Here is the trailer.

Netflix made a play to get into the filmmaking business when it acquired the rights to Beasts of No Nation, which it will debut October 16^th. The film is written and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (who also directed the first season of True Detective) and stars Idris Elba. It’s about child soldiers fighting in an unnamed African nation’s civil war. As a big fan of Fukunaga’s work and Elba, I’m very much looking forward to this. Could Nexflix get an Oscar nomination?

Horror has always been a passion of writer-director Guillermo del Toro. His new film, Crimson Peak, looks like his version of the classic haunted house horror narrative. Aesthetically, it looks wonderfully gothic. It also features a top cast, including: Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, and Charlie Hunnam. Here is the trailer.

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have had one of the most fruitful partnerships in Hollywood, from films to producing excellent television (I’m specifically thinking of Band of Brothers). Their latest endeavor with Spielberg behind the camera and Hanks starring is the cold-war thriller Bridge of Spies. It’s about the man who negotiated an exchange of prisoners under extreme political pressures (with all-out nuclear war always looming). Here is the trailer.

November

Daniel Craig has enjoined his time as James Bond, starring in some of the best films of the series. Returning once again, along with director Sam Mendes, Craig next 007 adventure is called Spectre, where he will seek out the criminal organization behind the events that Bond faced in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Most of Skyfall’s cast is returning (M, Q and Moneypenny) and joining the cast are Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, and Andrew Scott. It looks like another great Bond film. Here is the trailer.

Brooklyn was one of the Sundance Film Festival’s most buzzed about films, coming out of the festival as a potential Oscar favorite. The film is directed by John Crowley, written by Nick Hornby, and stars Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen and Domhnall Gleeson. It’s about a young Irish woman who leaves Ireland in the 1950s to come to New York, but she finds herself torn between the two places and two men, the man she has fallen for in Brooklyn and the man she loves when she returns to Ireland. Here is the trailer.

For many, November’s most anticipated film is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, the closing chapter of the saga. I’m particularly looking forward to the film because it will be interesting to finally see Katniss make tough decisions (presumably) and actually be involved in the action, as District 13 engages in all-out revolution against the Capital. Jennifer Lawrence is excellent as Katniss; Francis Lawrence returns behind the camera. Here is the trailer.

I really liked the Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Jonathan Levine collaboration 50/50. There are back with a new film called X-Mas. It’s about three friends who annually travel to New York City on Christmas Eve to get drunk and otherwise have fun. This year their tradition might be coming to an end, so they embark on a mission to find the biggest and best party. Joining Gordon-Levitt and Rogen in the cast are Lizzy Caplan and Anthony Mackie.

Pixar and Disney released one of their better recent films this summer with Inside Out. They have another film coming in November called The Good Dinosaur that sounds just as good. The logline of the film asks: What if the meteor that killed-off the Dinosaurs never hit the Earth, leading to a world in which humans and dinosaurs co-exist? Peter Sohn is heading up the creative team (directing his first feature, though he did make the great short Partly Cloudy which played in front of Up). Here is the trailer.

A film that sounds awesome but has so far flown under the radar is the new sci-fi drama from writer-director Jeff Nicholas called Midnight Special. It’s about a father and son who go on the run after the dad learns that his son has developed special powers. It stars Michael Shannon, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Joel Edgerton, and Sam Shepard. Nicholas also made the very good dramas Take Shelter and Mud.

Eddie Redmayne, who won the 2015 Best Actor Oscar for The Theory of Everything, is back again with what sounds like another Oscar-worthy performance. This time in Tom Hooper’s new film The Danish Girl, where he plays Einar Wegener, the husband of famous Danish artist Gerda Wegener who painted him as a woman. As the painting gained popularity, Einar began to change his appearance, dressing and associating more as a lady, which he named Lili Elbe. With the support of his wife, he attempted the first ever male to female sex reassignment surgery. The film also stars Alicia Vikander (who’s blowing up this year) and Matthias Schoenaerts. The film is likely an Oscar favorite.

December

And finally we get to December. To kick us off, here’s In the Heart of the Sea, a film scheduled to be released in the Spring but scored such outstanding reviews in its test screenings that Warner Bros. pushed it all the back to awards season to compete for Oscars. It’s directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Benjamin Walker, and (your new Spider-Man) Tom Holland. The film’s about Thomas Nickerson, the ship captain that encountered the famous white whale Moby Dick, inspiring Herman Melville’s novel. Here is the trailer.

One of the best reviewed films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival was Carol, a romantic drama set during the 1950s in America. It’s about two women who fall in love and dream of a different world in which they could be together. It’s directed by dramatic filmmaking master Todd Haynes and stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara (who won Best Actress at Cannes).

The biggest and hopefully greatest blockbuster of the winter season is Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. I cannot wait to see it. J.J. Abrams seems like a god choice to take over the creative reigns for the franchise. The film will mix characters we know (Luke, Leia, and Han Solo) with new characters, continuing the saga. The cast sees many of the original actors returning (Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford) and a mix of great new actors, including: Oscar Issac, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, and Gwendoline Christie. Here is the trailer.

It sure seems like Olive Stone’s best films are behind him. That said, he is back with a new politically charged biopic Snowden. It’s about Edward Snowden, the man who basically destroyed his own life to inform the American people what the government was doing (i.e. spying on them). The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Zachary Quinto, Melissa Leo, and Tom Wilkinson. Let’s hope Stone finds his form again, as this is an important story that people need to hear/see. Here is the trailer.

Another very fruitful partnership between director and actor has been between David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence (and Bradley Cooper), they have made Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle together. Their new film is Joy. It’s about inventor and entrepreneur Joy Mangano, creator of the Miracle Mop and many other products.  The film seems like an Oscar favorite, with a great cast (in addition to Lawrence), including: Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.

The film that I predicted would be the 2016 Academy Awards frontrunner for Best Picture is The Revenant. It’s the new adventure/western/drama from Alejandro G. Inarritu (who directed Birdman, last year’s winner). It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, and Will Poulter. It’s about Hugh Glass, a frontiersman who is left for dead after he is severely injured in the wilderness by compatriot John Fitzgerald. Somehow he survives, regaining his strength, and sets out on a mission of vengeance against Fitzgerald.

2015 might be the year we finally see the resurgence of the western (with Slow West, Jane Got a Gun, and The Revenant); its most high profile entry is Quentin Tarantino’s new film The Hateful Eight, a post-Civil War narrative that sees a group of bounty hunters who find shelter from a blizzard only to get pulled into a plot of betrayal and deception. Tarantino has a great mix of actors with Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Bruce Dern (among others).

Other Potential Releases

These two films don’t have firm release dates yet, but could very likely come out in 2015 and compete for awards. First is Derek Cianfrance’s new drama The Light Between Oceans, which stars Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Rachel Weisz. It’s about husband and wife lighthouse keepers who find a baby the washes ashore in Western Australia. The second is Lenny Abrahamson’s new drama Room about a boy who is raised exclusively with the small confines of a small shed. It stars Brie Larson, William H. Macy and Joan Allen.

Sequels, Reboots and Remakes – Movies Spotlight – June 2015

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Sequel/Reboot/Remake

We all know that Hollywood is overrun with sequels, reboots and remakes. Just look at the films we are most excited to see this year: Avengers: Age of Ultron (sequel), Mad Max: Fury Road (sequel/reboot), Jurassic World (sequel/reboot), Terminator: Genisys (sequel/reboot), Ant-Man (sequel of sorts), Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (sequel) Fantastic Four (reboot), Spectre (James Bond sequel), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (sequel), Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (sequel). Why all the sequels and reboots? Plainly, if a Hollywood studio is going to spend a bunch of money on a film, they would like it to be as secure a bet as possible, so why not bet on established properties. Original blockbusters are often based on successful books, comics, video games, television series, or something that came prior. There are very few truly original blockbusters. And when Hollywood does give us a good one, like Disney’s Tomorrowland, which came out in May to mixed reviews and mild box office returns (not reaching its audience – I genuinely think it is great film), no one goes to see it. Or worse, Jupiter Ascending, an original blockbuster from the Wachowskis that bombed in every way. This only increases the likeliness of Hollywood to stay away from original ideas, as there is much more risk.

So, we are likely stuck in a world of constant sequels and rehashes of the same established characters, stories and properties.

At first, I was annoyed by the very idea of someone making a new film based on an old film or character that I loved. A good example is Steve Martin’s The Pink Panther. Steve Martin is a very funny comedian and a good actor, but why would he ever want to attempt Inspector Clouseau – a losing proposition at best? A character made famous in the 1960s by Peter Sellers (probably film’s greatest comedic actor to this day). Martin could never approach what Sellers brought to the character, all this new film could do is soil the reputation of the character (is what I initially thought).

This is an overreaction. At worst, the new Pink Panther films scar younger viewers, preventing them from seeing the Peter Sellers’ films (but let us be honest, they were not going to watch them anyway). At best, the new viewers would love the character of Inspector Clouseau and seek him out in other films, finding their way to Sellers’ genius. Also, do not forget that the Clouseau character has been played by other actors before Martin took over in 2006 (Alan Arkin in the 60s and Roger Moore in the 80s, as well as Roberti Benigni, in spirit, in 1993’s Son of the Pink Panther). Martin was in no way tarnishing a character that was not already grinded up and spit out in many other subpar forms.

I came to understand that remaking or reboot a beloved character/series/film really has no effect on the original (or the version I love most). If I do not like the new vision for the character then I still have the original, and if the actors and filmmakers bring something new or different to the story/character then all the better. I take more of a wait and see approach now than one that finds me immediately upset before seeing how the new film even turns out (and if it does turn out to be terrible, I do not have to see it or even acknowledge its existence – like the Star Wars Prequels or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I just live my life as if they do not exist). I will always have the version I love.

Now on to sequels. So many sequels. They crowd our summers and holiday seasons. Yet, many of them are films I love. I love The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I love the Harry Potter film series. I love Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. I love Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy. I love what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become during Phase II (especially Joss Whedon’s brilliant Avengers films) and cannot wait for Phase III. Of course I love these big adventure/action/fantasy films. I grew up on Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Ghostbusters. When these big films are done well, they capture all that film can be.

So why is there such a stigma? Well, I think it is twofold. First, and chiefly, for each sequel, reboot or remake there is money not going to an original idea film, blockbuster or otherwise, which has led many of our great auteurs today to work solely in indie film (for better or worse). Secondly, many of these tent pole blockbuster sequels, reboot and remakes are just not good. For every great film like The Dark Knight, there many more films like Catwoman or Batman and Robin. Or forgetting the downright terrible, most of these blockbusters are just the same old thing, nothing special and bland. Even Jurassic World, which just opened to the biggest box office weekend ever, is painfully banal and uninteresting. It is entertainment for the moment but not good enough to be lasting (like Jurassic Park).

We are just tired of the endless parade of these boring action films that try to thrill us by being massive, but offer little in the important areas of character and emotional resonance. They may grab us in the moment, but they fail to stay with us, inspire us or capture our imaginations.

How does this change? The answer is easy. If we do not give our money to these films, Hollywood will stop making them; but as Jurassic World proves, audiences are just fine with thrills over substance. Thus, I say take a similar approach to blockbuster sequels as you do with reboots and remakes. Revel in the films that are great and ignore and move past the ones that are marginal or bad.

Because honestly, who is not passionately eager to see the new James Bond film, the new Star Wars, the next Marvel Cinematic Universe film (Captain America: Civil War), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Warner Bros.’s new Harry Potter prequel series), Disney’s live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, Pixar’s Finding Dory, the conclusion of The Hunger Games series, or the third iteration of Spider-Man (now a part of the MCU)? I know I cannot wait to see all of these.

Top 100 Films of the 20th Century – Part 7: 75-71

80-76

Rank: 75

Title: The Conformist

Release Year: 1970

Genre: Drama

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci

Cast: Jean-Louis Trintignant

Plot Summary: Marcello Cierici is a man without strong political feelings, but in 1938 he takes a job working for Mussollini. He is courting a young girl looking to marry as well. The couple goes to Paris for their honeymoon, but Marcello also has an assignment: to track down his old professor, who fled Italy when the fascists took power, and assassinate him.

What Makes It Special: On a pure aesthetic level, The Conformist is a stylistic and photographic wonder. Vittorio Storaro’s lighting is magnificent, helping Bernardo Bertolucci create a film that often feels surreal. At face value, the film is a disdainful look at fascism, but Bertolucci digs a lot deeper with his lead character. He explores many of the value systems and morals that we build society upon and their ramifications on the human spirit.

Trailer: Here

Available on: DVD

Rank: 74

Title: The Bridge on the River Kwai

Release Year: 1957

Genre: War Drama

Director: David Lean

Cast: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, and Sessue Hayakawa

Plot Summary: Two prisoners in a Japanese POW camp during WWII have very opposing ideas on how to treat their imprisonment. An American, Shears, is dead set on escaping, while a British Colonel, Nicholson, believes they should behave in a gentlemanly manner. Nicholson even goes as far as to cooperate with the Japanese to build a bridge across the River Kwai if it means keeping his men alive, aiding the Japanese effort, while completely unaware that the Allies plan to destroy it.

What Makes It Special: David Lean is the master of epic filmmaking, and The Bridge on the River Kwai is one of his brilliant sprawling dramas. And yet, for all its scope and scale, this is at its heart a very human story of competing wills. The Japanese POW camp commander must have his bridge, Nicholson must have his men treated in a humane manner by the Japanese, and Shears must make it through the war – each will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. The interplay between each character is riveting. Plus, it has one of the best climaxes in cinema history.

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray and Streaming

Rank: 73

Title: Kind Hearts and Coronets

Release Year: 1949

Genre: Revenge Drama

Director: Robert Hamer

Cast: Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood, and Alec Guinness

Plot Summary: Louis is a distant relative of the Duke of D’Ascoyne, but his mother was an outcast from the family and they lived poor all her life. Now with a little ambition, Louis plots to murder all eight of the remaining heirs ahead of him in the line of succession, claiming the title for himself.

What Makes It Special: This wonderful forgotten gem from British cinema features great performances (including Alec Guinness playing eight characters), sly witty dark humor, and a true sense of Britain in the 1940s. Kind Hearts and Coronets is full of irony and satire as Louis is a charming, dapper man completely set on preserving his manners as a gentleman, meanwhile remorselessly murdering his entire family. British cinema has a reputation for its clever, subtle humor and this may be it crowning achievement.

Trailer: Here

Available on: DVD

Rank: 72

Title: Star Wars

Release Year: 1977

Genre: Sci-Fi Action/Adventure

Director: George Lucas

Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, and Anthony Daniels

Plot Summary: Farm boy Luke Skywalker, who dreamed of a different and more exciting life, is suddenly thrust into a galactic adventure, when he must deliver two droids to a former Jedi Knight, only to be pulled into a fight to save the Universe from the evil Empire and rescue Princess Leia from Darth Vader. Luke joins forces with a reluctant hotshot pilot, Han Solo, to find the Princess and destroy the Empire’s ultimate weapon.

What Makes It Special: While the modern blockbuster may have been birthed with Jaws two years earlier, Star Wars changed everything (for better or worse). The film captured the imagination of filmgoers of its generation, and each generation subsequently, with its great characters, strong narrative and drama, and exciting action. As a kid, there was maybe no other film that thrilled me more – and it is one of the few films (beloved by me as a child) that holds up into my adult years as well. There may never be a greater fantasy saga (and we are currently living in a time of constant massive blockbusters releases).

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray

Rank: 71

Title: Letter from an Unknown Woman

Release Year: 1948

Genre: Romance Drama

Director: Max Ophuls

Cast: Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan

Plot Summary: Lisa Berndle lives next to a handsome pianist, Stefan Brand, as a young girl and develops a deep crush, devoting her life to being his alone. Yet, Stefan does not even notice her. As the years pass Lisa has an opportunity to be with Stefan, but will he truly love her or merely treat her as one of his many conquests?

What Makes It Special: French cinema auteur Max Ophuls is most notably remembered for his films La Ronde, Le Plaisir, and The Earrings of Madame de…, but it is Letter from an Unknown Woman that is his finest work – though mostly forgotten now. The film is incredibly sad, as it makes no illusions about its overall tragic narrative arc. However, the film is still very romantic and features many lovely, beautiful scenes. Yet, it is subversive in it approach to love. Yes love is glorious, but it transient as well. Lisa is obsessed with Stefan, giving him all her love – and for her it was worth all the pain and struggle even though it is unrequited. This is what makes the film so heartbreaking. It both champions love and distrusts it.

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray

70-66

Movie of the Week - Star Wars

This week’s movie is Star Wars (1977).

The space opera is about The Empire, a tyrannical military force, whose sole objective is to gain control and have power over the universe. However, there are still some Rebels that fight against them. When one of the leading Rebels is captured by Darth Vader (a top Empire commander), she sends a desperate message to Obi-Wan Kanobi, a former Jedi Knight, asking for his help to get plans on how to strike a decisive blow to The Empire to the Rebel base. But, the message falls into the hands of Luke Skywalker, a farmer who longs for more. The film is written and directed by George Lucas (and to date is the best film that he has directed). Lucas has a fantastic cast and crew on the film with music by John Williams, cinematography from Gilbert Taylor and production design from John Barry (making it an all-star line-up). Williams’ score is wonderful (though it gets even better with the two subsequent films), but it is Barry’s sets that steal the show (he also designed Superman and A Clockwork Orange, before he died young). The cast is highlighted by Alec Guinness and features Mark Hamill (though maybe his best work is as the voice of the Joker), Carrie Fisher and great voice work from Anthony Daniels and James Earl Jones. However, it is Harrison Ford’s Han Solo that elevates this film. His rough, fringe planet smuggler Captain Solo is utterly charismatic and a pleasure to watch (not to mention influencing Firefly’s Captain Reynolds). What makes this film great is its scale, sets, characters and story. This is the film that would forever change the landscape of Hollywood filmmaking, and many of our favorite films exist thanks to this one. It is a must see (though I suspect most have already seen it, if not multiple times). Check out the trailer.

Available on Blu-ray, DVD and to Rent