Original source : http://www.mademan.com
Posted : January 2014
Author : Tim Lowery
January is over, people - which, for film buffs, means the
good stuff (you know, releases you’d actually get out of your house and pay
money to see) will soon start hitting theaters. The cinematic calendar for the
next 11 months promises sex addicts, sexy vampires, sexy co-eds - not to
mention the indies that made a splash earlier this month at Sundance and
artfully concocted big-budget fare.
The Grand Budapest
Wes Anderson hops over to Europe
for this color-popping chronicling of the adventures of a smooth-talking
concierge (Ralph Fiennes), notorious for sleeping with elderly guests, and new
lobby boy (Tony Revolori). The writer-director has explored oddball father-son
dynamics excellently in the past (Rushmore, Bottle Rocket, The Life Aquatic
with Steve Zissou), and his ambitious presentation of Budapest in three aspect ratios has us
curiously excited.
Nymphomaniac
No topic is off limits for Lars von Trier. But the consistently
- seemingly gleefully - controversial auteur, despite depicting sex at its,
let’s say, most uncomfortable, has yet to come out with a film just about
fucking. Until Nymphomaniac, his five-hour saga - split into two separately,
erm, releases - about the travails of sex addict Joe (played by Charlotte
Gainsbourg as an adult, newcomer Stacy Martin as a youngster). Oh, and just to
up the crazy factor: Shia LeBeouf and Christian Slater are in this thing.
Only Lovers Left Alive
Laconic, ever-cool director Jim Jarmusch is probably the
last person we’d expect to tackle the whole vampire phenom. And that’s a good
thing. (By the way, is vamps’ pop-cultural moment over yet? And if not, can it
be?Please?) Only Lovers Left Alive, starring Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston
as a hip, shades-wearing centuries-old couple, promises retro soundtrack picks,
nudity, dry humor and desolate urban landscapes - in other words, pretty
awesomely left-field ingredients for a vampire flick.
22 Jump Street
The boys are back, brah! Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill
reconvene for more mismatched-cop antics, wherein the 21 duo graduates to go
undercover at a college. Keg parties, frat dudes, spring breakers and sundry
co-ed wildness should ensue. For our money, it’s pretty commendable that co-writer
Hill, even after his Best Supporting Actor nom in The Wolf of Wall Street, is
going full-on-goofball again.
Boyhood
Talk about a novel - if ridiculously time-consuming - approach:
For this coming-of-age drama, Richard Linklater spent a whopping twelve years
intermittently capturing actor Ellar Coltrane between ages six and 18 to
concoct this coming-of-age flick about a boy settling into the world while
dealing with divorced parents (Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette).
Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn’s New York Times bestseller - about a writer
(in the film, played by Ben Affleck) coping with the suspicions surrounding of
his wife’s (Rosamund Pike) disappearance - is right in director David Fincher’s
gripping, dimly-lit wheelhouse. We’re not expecting another Zodiac or anything,
but - assuming it’s granted an R rating - we’re optimistic, as the guy can whip
up one helluva psychological thriller.
Intersteller
From the teaser, it’s tough to tell just what Christopher
Nolan’s sci-fi epic is about. (Matthew McConaughey’s narration, mixed with the
retro space program footage, has the stately feel of an ad for NASA.) But with
this filmmaker at the helm, we’re pretty jazzed about this big-budget telling
of a wormhole exploration.
Big Eyes
The writers of Ed Wood, to us Tim Burton’s last bona fide
masterpiece (and last biopic, for that matter), team up again with the director
for this true tale of coupled artists Margaret and Walter Keane (Amy Adams and
Christoph Waltz), the latter a popular “painter” in the ’50s and ’60s who took
credit for his wife’s creations. Burton
is an avid collector of her work (famous for their “big-eyed” depictions), so
this has all the signs of a personal passion project from a filmmaker who could
desperately use one.
Birdman
Keaton. The dude’s one-two punch in Beetlejuice and Batman
give him a lifetime pass in the acting department, as far as we’re concerned.
And we’re absolutely smitten with the meta premise of the latest from Alejandro
González Iñárritu (Babel, Amores Perros), in which the not-so-hot actor who
used to be a big-screen superhero plays … a not-so-hot actor who used to be a
big-screen superhero attempting a Broadway comeback.
Inherent Vice
Inherent Vice (TBD): Is there a working American director as
consistently impressive P.T. Anderson? (Seriously, as people who are still
contemplating the meaning of The Master, we’re asking. The guy makes movies
that feel classic the first time you see them.) Whatever the case, Anderson’s
highly anticipated latest - an adaptation of the literary heavyweight Thomas
Pynchon’s early-’70s-set, druggy L.A. detective novel - has all the hallmarks
of this year’s most promising film. Can’t. Wait.
The One I Love
Man, is indie-film fave Mark Duplass a busy guy or what? (At
last count, the actor-producer-writer has his hand in more than half a dozen
projects coming out this year.) In Charlie McDowell’s directorial debut, he and
Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss star as a married couple who, at the insistence of a
therapist (Ted Danson), escape to the country. Reportedly, some weird,
we-won’t-say-anything-’cause-it-will-spoil-the-movie twist goes down, turning
the dramedy on its head.
The Skeleton Twins
Why journalists are always surprised when really funny folks
make really great dramatic actors, we’ll never know. According to the backflips
scribes had at Sundance, it looks like Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader - arguably
SNL’s best recently departed cast members - do just that in this indie about
estranged twins, co-penned by Mark Heyman (Black Swan).
The Trip to Italy
Hell yes. The only frustrating thing about Michael
Winterbottom’s The Trip, the largely improvised road movie about Steve Coogan
and Rob Brydon touring haute northern U.K. eateries, is that we could’ve
gone for a second course. And here it is, a sequel where the beloved British
comedians take to the Boot for more tastings, squabbles and Michael Caine
impressions. As with the first one, expect some oddly touching notes about
maturity to seep in between the banter.
Two Days, One Night
Cannes Film Festival darlings the Dardenne Brothers are some
of the best deceptively simple storytellers out there. (For evidence, check out
their moving, seemingly straightforward features The Kid with a Bike and The
Child.) The jury’s out on just what this newbie will cover - but with the
always-fetching Marion Cotillard in the lead role, we’re there.
~Blog Admin~
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