The countdown continues, here are 5 more films to lookout for.
20. My Week With Marilyn
Release Date:
11/4
Director:
Simon Curtis
Starring:
Michelle Williams
Kenneth Branagh
Eddie Redmayne
Emma Watson
Why: A look at the real Marilyn Monroe from the perspective of an assistant, Colin Clark, who spent a wild week with the icon. I’m not familiar with the director (he’s done mostly British TV), and the story sounds okay, but I have a major crush on Williams lately. Not just her looks, but her talent. So, I am more than a little worked up to see her lose herself in such a larger than life role.
19. The Artist
Release Date:
11/23
Director:
Michel Hazanavicius
Starring:
Jean Dujardin
Berenice Bejo
John Goodman
Why: I’ve never seen the director’s OSS 117 films, but this new film sounds right up my alley. It’s about Hollywood in the 20’s and 30’s, when a major star loses his popularity due to the advent of sound in cinema. The movie itself is silent and black and white like the films from that period. Hailed as a funny, bittersweet crowd-pleaser, it has already won raves at Cannes and a Best Actor award.
18. J. Edgar
Release Date:
11/9
Director:
Clint Eastwood
Starring:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Armie Hammer
Naomi Watts
Why: Written by the Oscar-winning writer of Milk, directed by the legend himself, starring my boy Leo, and it’s a biography about one of the biggest names in modern history. On paper this thing is a slam dunk. Let’s just start handing out Oscars now, right? We don’t have a trailer or a poster yet, so I’m still a little skeptical. Plus, I think Eastwood’s output is a little more hit-and-miss than everyone else. I hope this is another Letters From Iwo Jima and not another Million Dollar Baby. Yeah, I said it.
17. Young Adult
Release Date:
12/9
Director:
Jason Reitman
Starring:
Charlize Theron
Patrick Wilson
Patton Oswalt
Why: This one also has no trailer or poster, but it does have the team behind Juno. That film was a tad overrated, but I still like it, and I really liked Reitman’s Up in the Air. The story has something to do with a teen-lit author trying to relive her glory years. Sounds original and promising, and hopefully Theron can get out of her recent slump.
16. Damsels in Distress
Release Date:
TBD
Director:
Whit Stillman
Starring:
Greta Gerwig
Adam Brody
Why: Apparently about a trio of college friends trying to help out their depressed peers while balancing their own love lives. But, if you know Stillman, you know it will be so much more than that. I like Gerwig, and Brody is okay. But this is the longest hiatus going. Stillman’s little-seen masterpiece, The Last Days of Disco, came out 13 years ago, and he hasn’t done a film since. I only recently saw Disco, so its magnificence is fresh in my mind. Damsels doesn’t have a release date yet, but it premieres at Venice next month. Alas, Stillman’s charismatic mainstay, Chris Eigeman, is not in this film. Let’s hope the movie is so good that I don’t notice.
Check back tomorrow for five more films I’m excited about seeing. And stay tuned all week to get the full list.
