Movie Picks 1
It's been a week in the making, but I'm ready to release "Mike's Movie Picks"
I'll come right out and say it. I'm not a perfect judge of movies. Some may even say I have poor taste. Anyone who has heard me recommend "Jacob's Ladder" for its spiritual profundity knows this. But I am nonetheless an avid fan of movies good and bad alike. I always have at least one or two films on my radar that are coming soon to theaters. Now that I have someplace to write it down I'd like to catalogue the films that I'm looking forward to.
What do I base my picks on? Well, I'm ashamed to admit very little. I find the list on IMDB to be a pretty good place to start, although I don't always agree with their reviewer about what films to watch out for. Certain actors or directors will bias me one way or another. Production studios or effects houses will too. The preview (or if one isn't available the synopsis) will often be the basis of my decision whether to list a movie or not. Comedies trump dramas, action trumps comedy, sci-fi trumps action, and CG is the wild card.
So, what follows is what I hope will be a rolling 6-month preview of upcoming movies. As films get closer to release and more preview information is made available, I reserve the right to alter my judgment of them. I'll list the movies I would want to see, but I'll also add those that I think deserve honorable mention, those that I'm still undecided on as well as those to avoid.
September:
Fearless - Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, two of China's finest action stars. Li was fantastic in "Hero" and is a favorite of mine in the genre. There's another martial arts film "The Protector" also releasing this month starring a new up and coming action star Tony Jaa. I'll be keeping an eye on that one too.
Flyboys - A WWI version of "Top Gun" with all the CG flight sequences you could hope for. I only hope that the CG is believable and not too over the top. The previews make it look a bit like the latter, but it may be really exciting to watch nonetheless.
Open Season - After "Over The Hedge" this one looks to be the next best CG movie. Although another CG movie will also be released in September "Everyone's Hero", "Season" looks like it'll have more laughs.
Honorable Mention: Renaissance - This one gets honorable mention because of the unique cinematography. We've seen this sort of thing before in "Through A Scanner Darkly" and "Sin City" and there will likely be more CG-enhanced, live-action films like this in the future as the affects of the computer revolution continue to be felt in the cinema.
AVOID: "Sleeping Dogs Lie" See my earlier post on this one.
October:
This is a slow month for serious movie-goers since this month is typically plagued by the usual suspects of horror films in homage to the secular world's favorite demonization of a Catholic holy day. However there are two films that stand out:
"Flags of Our Fathers" is a Clint Eastwood film about the six men who wound up in the famous Iwo Jima flag raising photograph. I don't want to get too excited about this one yet because "Million Dollar Baby" was a gigantic disappointment. I'll give him credit for being a good director, however. So if the screenplay is right and this turns out to be a heartwarming, patriotic, uplifting homage to the men who became icons of America's determination in the face of adversity, then I'll give it all the praise it deserves.
"The Prestige" - is one of a couple of very similar films coming out this year. "The Illusionist" which came out this month is about a couple of turn-of-the-century magicians who battle for the title of "best magician" with ever impressive trickery that ultimately goes supernatural. That also perfectly describes "The Prestige". And while I really like Edward Burton, and think "Illusionist" will be worth watching, I'll bet "Prestige" will have a bigger box office draw because of the big three: "Batman's" Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale, and "X-Men's" Hugh Jackman.
AVOID: "Saw III" - These films are a little more than a vision of hell. Anyone who would enjoy actually watching films like these need an exorcism and clinical attention.
November:
"Flushed Away" - The first CG project from Aardman Animations Studio (the claymation masters behind Wallace & Grommit). I'll be excited to see how they translate their old-school animation savvy to the new technology.
"Casino Royale" - The long-awaited new Bond film with Daniel Craig as the new Bond. A couple of things make this a very different movie from previous editions: It's the first remake of an old Bond Film, and it features the first blonde Bond.
"Happy Feet" - The first preview for this sold me. This just looks really cute and funny.
Honorable Mentions: Stranger Than Fiction (Will Ferrell & Emma Thompson); The Fountain (A Kubrickian time travel film with Hugh Jackman); Deja Vu (Tony Scott, Jim Caviezel, and time travel again); For Your Consideration (the next 'mockumentary' from Christopher Guest)3
AVOID: "F*ck" - Yes, you read correctly; there really is a movie the title of which cannot be said in polite company. Worse, it features all the Left's favorite comedians (and porn stars!) exploring the entomology of the word. It's like a bad chain email being made into a feature length movie.
December:
"Apocalypto" - Mel Gibson is back with his next big, mysterious movie that some think is an allegory to the demise of our culture. I'm excited to see it despite all the lame buzz in the entertainment media surrounding Gibson.
"Night at the Museum" - A great-looking Ben Stiller comedy and CG fest.
"The Good Shepherd" - I don't know much about this movie yet, but Damon, Jolie, and DeNiro are all favorites (not for their politics, mind you). I'll keep my eye on this one.
"Children of Men" - This could turn out to be a real surprise. If the movie is anything like the preview makes it out to be, this could be a huge pro-life film.
The Jury Is Still Out: "The Nativity Story" See my past blog on this. The potential problem with this film is its depiction of Mary. From the few things I've read, it appears to be a Protestant version, not a Catholic one. Which would mean that despite the pretty packaging the film may offer, the substance of the film would be junk.
January:
It's sad to say that there's really nothing worth watching in January '07. This is definitely the low point of the cinema year. The only film that is worth honorable mention is "The Last Legion" and only because it has Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley starring in this historic epic set during the fall of Rome. The preview doesn't do it much credit, but we'll see. Otherwise, stick with Blockbuster.
February:
"Superhero!" - A spoof of super hero films as the "Scary Movie" franchise did for the horror genre. Could be fun.
"Music and Lyrics By" - The first romantic comedy of the year with Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant. An odd pairing, but then so was Grant and Sandra Bullock in "2 Weeks' Notice" and that went alright.
The Jury Is Still Out: "Ghost Rider" - Not sure if Nicholas Cage can pull this off, but we'll keep our eyes on it. The trailer didn't' impress.; "Bridge to Terabithia" - The first "Narnia" spinoff film, this one is earmarked to be a blockbuster, but we'll see.; "The Number 23" Jim Carrey once again trying to move away from comedy. Joel Schumacher directs, so it could be good. Stay Tuned!
So that's the 6-month scoop. Once a month I'll revisit my list and add the next month at the end. Have fun at the movies!
I'll come right out and say it. I'm not a perfect judge of movies. Some may even say I have poor taste. Anyone who has heard me recommend "Jacob's Ladder" for its spiritual profundity knows this. But I am nonetheless an avid fan of movies good and bad alike. I always have at least one or two films on my radar that are coming soon to theaters. Now that I have someplace to write it down I'd like to catalogue the films that I'm looking forward to.
What do I base my picks on? Well, I'm ashamed to admit very little. I find the list on IMDB to be a pretty good place to start, although I don't always agree with their reviewer about what films to watch out for. Certain actors or directors will bias me one way or another. Production studios or effects houses will too. The preview (or if one isn't available the synopsis) will often be the basis of my decision whether to list a movie or not. Comedies trump dramas, action trumps comedy, sci-fi trumps action, and CG is the wild card.
So, what follows is what I hope will be a rolling 6-month preview of upcoming movies. As films get closer to release and more preview information is made available, I reserve the right to alter my judgment of them. I'll list the movies I would want to see, but I'll also add those that I think deserve honorable mention, those that I'm still undecided on as well as those to avoid.
September:
Fearless - Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, two of China's finest action stars. Li was fantastic in "Hero" and is a favorite of mine in the genre. There's another martial arts film "The Protector" also releasing this month starring a new up and coming action star Tony Jaa. I'll be keeping an eye on that one too.
Flyboys - A WWI version of "Top Gun" with all the CG flight sequences you could hope for. I only hope that the CG is believable and not too over the top. The previews make it look a bit like the latter, but it may be really exciting to watch nonetheless.
Open Season - After "Over The Hedge" this one looks to be the next best CG movie. Although another CG movie will also be released in September "Everyone's Hero", "Season" looks like it'll have more laughs.
Honorable Mention: Renaissance - This one gets honorable mention because of the unique cinematography. We've seen this sort of thing before in "Through A Scanner Darkly" and "Sin City" and there will likely be more CG-enhanced, live-action films like this in the future as the affects of the computer revolution continue to be felt in the cinema.
AVOID: "Sleeping Dogs Lie" See my earlier post on this one.
October:
This is a slow month for serious movie-goers since this month is typically plagued by the usual suspects of horror films in homage to the secular world's favorite demonization of a Catholic holy day. However there are two films that stand out:
"Flags of Our Fathers" is a Clint Eastwood film about the six men who wound up in the famous Iwo Jima flag raising photograph. I don't want to get too excited about this one yet because "Million Dollar Baby" was a gigantic disappointment. I'll give him credit for being a good director, however. So if the screenplay is right and this turns out to be a heartwarming, patriotic, uplifting homage to the men who became icons of America's determination in the face of adversity, then I'll give it all the praise it deserves.
"The Prestige" - is one of a couple of very similar films coming out this year. "The Illusionist" which came out this month is about a couple of turn-of-the-century magicians who battle for the title of "best magician" with ever impressive trickery that ultimately goes supernatural. That also perfectly describes "The Prestige". And while I really like Edward Burton, and think "Illusionist" will be worth watching, I'll bet "Prestige" will have a bigger box office draw because of the big three: "Batman's" Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale, and "X-Men's" Hugh Jackman.
AVOID: "Saw III" - These films are a little more than a vision of hell. Anyone who would enjoy actually watching films like these need an exorcism and clinical attention.
November:
"Flushed Away" - The first CG project from Aardman Animations Studio (the claymation masters behind Wallace & Grommit). I'll be excited to see how they translate their old-school animation savvy to the new technology.
"Casino Royale" - The long-awaited new Bond film with Daniel Craig as the new Bond. A couple of things make this a very different movie from previous editions: It's the first remake of an old Bond Film, and it features the first blonde Bond.
"Happy Feet" - The first preview for this sold me. This just looks really cute and funny.
Honorable Mentions: Stranger Than Fiction (Will Ferrell & Emma Thompson); The Fountain (A Kubrickian time travel film with Hugh Jackman); Deja Vu (Tony Scott, Jim Caviezel, and time travel again); For Your Consideration (the next 'mockumentary' from Christopher Guest)3
AVOID: "F*ck" - Yes, you read correctly; there really is a movie the title of which cannot be said in polite company. Worse, it features all the Left's favorite comedians (and porn stars!) exploring the entomology of the word. It's like a bad chain email being made into a feature length movie.
December:
"Apocalypto" - Mel Gibson is back with his next big, mysterious movie that some think is an allegory to the demise of our culture. I'm excited to see it despite all the lame buzz in the entertainment media surrounding Gibson.
"Night at the Museum" - A great-looking Ben Stiller comedy and CG fest.
"The Good Shepherd" - I don't know much about this movie yet, but Damon, Jolie, and DeNiro are all favorites (not for their politics, mind you). I'll keep my eye on this one.
"Children of Men" - This could turn out to be a real surprise. If the movie is anything like the preview makes it out to be, this could be a huge pro-life film.
The Jury Is Still Out: "The Nativity Story" See my past blog on this. The potential problem with this film is its depiction of Mary. From the few things I've read, it appears to be a Protestant version, not a Catholic one. Which would mean that despite the pretty packaging the film may offer, the substance of the film would be junk.
January:
It's sad to say that there's really nothing worth watching in January '07. This is definitely the low point of the cinema year. The only film that is worth honorable mention is "The Last Legion" and only because it has Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley starring in this historic epic set during the fall of Rome. The preview doesn't do it much credit, but we'll see. Otherwise, stick with Blockbuster.
February:
"Superhero!" - A spoof of super hero films as the "Scary Movie" franchise did for the horror genre. Could be fun.
"Music and Lyrics By" - The first romantic comedy of the year with Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant. An odd pairing, but then so was Grant and Sandra Bullock in "2 Weeks' Notice" and that went alright.
The Jury Is Still Out: "Ghost Rider" - Not sure if Nicholas Cage can pull this off, but we'll keep our eyes on it. The trailer didn't' impress.; "Bridge to Terabithia" - The first "Narnia" spinoff film, this one is earmarked to be a blockbuster, but we'll see.; "The Number 23" Jim Carrey once again trying to move away from comedy. Joel Schumacher directs, so it could be good. Stay Tuned!
So that's the 6-month scoop. Once a month I'll revisit my list and add the next month at the end. Have fun at the movies!
Labels: movies
posted by AdmiralDack | 12:25 PM
1 Comments:
Awesome! I hadn't heard of a lot of those.
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