FALL/HOLIDAY MOVIE PREVIEW
Edited by John Delia
Well, Fall has arrived and that means the biggies are not far off. Will a film from this year top last year’s blockbuster Avatar? Probably not, but isn’t it kind of strange that leading the box-office for 2010 are two family films; Toy Story 3 grossing over $400 million and in second place another Disney film Alice in Wonderland with a take of over $330 million to date. With the exception of Iron Man 3 (over $312 million), the fourth place Twilight Eclipse (grabbing just under $300 million) and the adult oriented Inception (hovering around $270 million) the kid flicks have dominated the top ten so far this year.  Consider this, the 6th through 9th films are also family (kid friendly) films starting with Shrek Forever After ($238 million), Despicable Me ($236 million), How to Train Your Dragon ($217 million) and The Karate Kid ($175 million). The final slot in the top ten is currently occupied by Clash of the Titans ($163 million).
What can we expect from the upcoming season and the holidays? Are there still some tricks in the bag that will knock off some of those who have already had an astonishing year, or will the year fizzle out? The following are the films that have the opportunity to reposition the top 10 for 2010, but I wouldn’t count on too much change.
Opening September 10 is the fourth installment of the Resident Evil series, Resident Evil: Afterlife with Milla Jovovich reprising her role as Alice who takes on a zombie nation while fighting the virus that is still spreading. I’m Still Here updates the whereabouts of Joaquin Phoenix who has ‘left the big screen’ to become a hip-hop musician. The Virginity Hit is a film about getting to home plate for the first time.
On September 17 another youngster entry to the movie theatres Alpha and Omega hits the ground running and jumping in 3D. The animated film about two wolves has all the right elements to get the kiddy dollar. Joining the films for the weekend is Devil a story that takes place in an elevator where the monster from hell has joined the occupants for a descent of another kind. The teen comedy Easy A hits the screen starring Emma Stone and Amanda Barnes under the direction of Will Gluck who gave us Fired Up. The high school flick follows several virgin boys who want to end the scourge so they can be ‘one of the guys.’ The Town starring Ben Affleck puts him in a role of a bank thief that finds himself in love with a former hostage.
Releasing on September 24 is another family friendly animated film called Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole where the owls have to defend their kingdom from an invasion of the evil ‘pure ones.’ Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps with Michael Douglas returning as Gordon Gekko in this sequel to Wall Street that garnered a lot of accolades when it was released in 1987. This time Douglas shares the limelight with Shia LaBeouf. You Again features a nice cast of ladies including Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kristen Bell that find themselves reliving their high school nightmares when a family member decides to marry ‘the’ bully. Ryan Reynolds returns to the screen in a terror flick called Buried (he’s 6 feet underground). It gives me the willies just thinking about it.
Opening October 1 is the suspense thriller Case 39 starring Bradley Cooper and Rene Zellweger about a social worker that finds herself trying to save a young child from being murdered. Let Me In tells the tale of a pre-teen who gets bullied by his classmates so seeks revenge on them. A success story involving the computer generation comes to the screen called The Social Network and stars Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake.
October 8 reveals the much-awaited horse racing biopic drama Secretariat, the Triple Crown winning racing sensation that beat the odds. The fast action sports film stars Diane Lane and John Malkovich. Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel lead a stellar cast in the comedy Life as We Know It about two single adults who adopt an orphan child. The science fiction fantasy My Soul to Take tells the story of a serial killer who returns to the town where it happened, for revenge. Inside Job narrated by Matt Damon opens in limited release. The documentary traces the roots of the 2008 financial crisis in America and globally.
On October 15 Hillary Swank and Mini Driver hit the big screen in limited release with Conviction, a true story about a man convicted of murder and the journey his wife and sister takes to try and get his sentence overturned. Jackass returns with another installment featuring Johnny Knoxville and his crew of crazies, but this time it is in 3D (yuck). Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman lead an all-star cast in the action comedy Red. The story involves retired CIA operatives that are now targets because they know too much. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, part three of a trilogy of films from Sweden will be released this weekend. Noomi Rapace and Michael Kyqvist will reprise their roles in this final installment.
The weekend of October 22 releases Paranormal Activity 2, the sequel to the edge of your seat supernatural thriller. The romantic science fiction film Hereafter starring Matt Damon and directed by Clint Eastwood tells the story of three people who are touched by death. The comedy drama The Company Men starring Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones is about men t living the American dream who get corporate downsized and try to adapt to a new life.
The Halloween bloodletting begins on October 29 with Saw 3D. Jigsaw is back to invoke his mayhem on more unsuspecting victims. This sequel is the seventh and supposedly final offering. Monsters opens this weekend in a limited release. The Sci-fi horror flick tells the story of a young man trying to get his employer’s daughter to safety from aliens.
November 5 offerings include; 127 Hours a biopic about a mountain climber’s ordeal starring James Franco. The film was written and directed by Danny Boyle who gave us Slumdog Millionaire. Robert Downey, Jr. and Zach Galifianakis team up for a road trip in the comedy Due Date. Naomi Watts and Sean Penn are featured in a film based on a true story called Fair Game involving the life of the spy Valerie Plame. For Colored Girls, a Tyler Perry film with a huge cast including Whoopie Goldberg and Janet Jackson. Megamind, an animated comedy starring the voices of Will Farrell, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Tina Fey, takes on a Superman theme fighting the forces of evil.
On November 12 the comedy Morning Glory about a failing television show stars Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton and Jeff Goldblum. Danzel Washington works with Chris Pine in the action thriller Unstoppable. The film centers on a runaway train filled with explosive materials headed for a town. Skyline a science fiction thriller centers on beams of light that are swallowing up humans.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 opens on November 19 with the return of the entire cast of the film based on the long awaited final book in the series by J.K. Rowling. We find Harry (Daniel Radcliff), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) fleeing the clutches of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Part 2 is scheduled for summer of 2011. Sliding in along side the blockbuster is the film The Next Three Days directed by Paul Haggis (Crash) a thriller about a woman accused of murder. The film stars Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks and Liam Neeson and is a remake of a 2007 French film.
On November 24 Disney releases its 50th animated feature. The family comedy is called Tangled and is loosely based on the fairy tale Rapunzel. The film stars the voices of Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi and is directed by Glen Keane (Aladdin, Tarzan). The King’s Speech, a period piece, stars Colin Firth as King George VI who aligns with a radical speech therapist to help him through his first year of authority.
The musical Burlesque with Cher and Christina Aguilera opens November 26. The plot involves a young girl played by Aguilera who gets befriended by Tess (Cher) while seeking a career in Los Angeles. Twelve songs are featured in the film. The action thriller Faster stars Dwayne Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton about an ex-convict that goes after his brother’s killer. Love and Other Drugs stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway a comedy drama about a salesman in the world of prescription drugs.
December 1 marks the opening of the film Black Swan a psychological drama by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) and features the acting of Natalie Portman and Milla Kunis who play ballet dancers competing against each other for the main role in a production of Swan Lake. According to the hype the two actors actually perform their own ballet dances.
On December 10 The film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader opens in theaters in 3D. Edmund and Lucy are drawn into a painting of a ship and find the new King of Narnia. Mark Wahlberg stars as professional boxer Mickey Ward in the movie The Fighter. The film is directed by David O Russell and also features the acting talents of Christian Bale. The Tourist starring Angelina Joli and Johnny Depp is a thriller about a man who gets romantically involved with a woman that has a dark secret. This is Depp and Joli’s first appearance together in a film. Helen Mirren and Russell Brand will star in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Mirren will be playing the ‘male’ Prospero the sorcerer.
Tron: Legacy opens at movie theaters on December 17 with Jeff Bridges reprising his role as master video game developer Kevin Flynn who ended up inside the workings of a game being chased by adversaries. In this story we find his son trying to find out what happened to his dad and gets pulled into the scary video world. The fun loving bear turns up in 3D in his animated feature Yogi Bear. Yogi has to fight to save Jellystone park from extinction and calls on Boo-Boo and Ranger Smith. Dan Akroyd and Justin Timberlake voice Yogi and Boo-Boo. How Do You Know stars Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson in a comedy involving a love triangle about baseball. The film is directed by James L. Brooks (Jerry Maguire) and also stars Jack Nicholson.
December 22 releases include Little Fockers starring the original cast with Ben Stiller still trying to outwit Robert De Nero. This time it involves moonlighting for a drug company. Gulliver’s Travels stars Jack Black as the traveler who gets taken down by little people in this comedy directed by Rob Letterman (Monster’s vs. Aliens). The film also stars Emily Blunt, Jason Segel and Amanda Peet. Sofia Capolla directs the drama Somewhere starring Stephen Dorff, Benicio del Toro and Michelle Monaghan about a Hollywood star who is on his way down and changes his life through a visit from his young daughter. Country Strong about two country singers that go on a comeback tour and change their lives. The film features the singing and acting of Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw and Garrett Hedlund.
On December 25 Joel and Ethan Coen’s True Grit comes to the screen with actors Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. The film is a remake of the John Wayne western about Rooster Cogborn who takes a teenage girl under his wing when she avenges her father’s death.
There is something for everyone from kiddy to adult, action to romance, horror to inspiration with a predictable measure of box-office take in the billions of dollars. Without seeing the films first it’s almost impossible to predict which ones will be outstanding, but from past performance, publicity, strong draw from CGI, cast and storyline you can probably bet on the following to win their box-office weekend: September 10- Resident Evil: Afterlife, September 17- Alpha and Omega, September 24- a toss up Buried or Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole October 1- The Social Network, October 8- Secretariat, October 15- Red, October 22- Paranormal Activity 2, October 29- Saw 3D, November 5- Megamind, November 12- Unstoppable, November 19- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, November 24- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows again but Tangled should take second, December 3- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows again, December 10- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, December 17- Yogi Bear, December 22- Little Fockers, December 25- Gulliver’s Travels.
The award possibilities are a different story with movies like 127 Hours, Black Swan, Burlesque, The Fighter, Hereafter, The King’s Speech, Morning Glory, Secretariat, The Social Network, The Tempest and The Town, all in the hunt for Oscar recognition.
It is my job to critique movies for your consideration. Each weekend you’ll hear comments and read about about the many listed films above. Just log on to this website first every Friday. Then choose the film that is right for you. As a special feature of Your Entertainment Ticket, you can hear, see and read about all the movies for 2010 from staff reporters who care. We are critics and we criticize!