2009’s more than halfway done, which means the end of the US blockbuster season and a decidedly mixed run of sequels, toy franchises and flop comedies obscuring the year’s occasional quality films. So as we head into the final stretch of the year, it’s time to get excited — as District 9 is showing, this is the period when great movies sneak up on us without the hype, Oscar contenders unspool, and undiscovered oddities emerge. Of course, the year-end also yields its share of massive films, with new stuff from Pixar, James Cameron and the Twilight franchise still to come. Let’s begin…
Just another zombie movie, right? Not according to star Woody Harrelson, who was so immersed in the film that he allegedly thumped a paparazzo after mistaking him for one of the undead. “I wrapped a movie called Zombieland, in which I was constantly under assault by zombies,” Harrelson explained to police. “I was startled by a paparazzo, who I quite understandably mistook for a zombie.” We’ll take Woody’s word for it, because the movie — in which his zombie-fighting badass teams up with Adventureland‘s unlikely Jesse Eisenberg, Superbad‘s Emma Stone and Little Miss Sunshine‘s Abigail Breslin — looks like killer fun, a horror-comedy mixing George Romero action with white trash humour and plenty of splatter. Plus, the credits list Bill Murray as a “Zombie”; that’s enough for us to be there.
ETA: December 10
Hollywood couldn’t have engineered a more perfect “indie” to capture the twentysomething audience: just add cuddly-disheveled Joseph Gordon Levitt, default princess of the quirk Zooey Deschanel, a self-consciously disordered narrative about the pains of relationships and a soundtrack stuffed with hipster touchstones (from the writers of The Pink Panther 2, no less!). Still, debut director Marc Webb’s fractured romance is striking a chord with audiences in the US, building positive buzz as one of the year’s must-see breakout indies — and Levitt and Deschanel, both naturally charismatic performers, get to share some buoyant moments among the contrivance.
ETA: September 17
Soderbergh. Damon. Corn? They’re not the most obvious ingredients for a great comedy and that’s precisely reason to be excited for The Informant! — or maybe it’s just that rogue exclamation point. Based on the true story of a bipolar Ivy League agribusiness executive — Damon in a moustache and wig usually found on Philip Seymour Hoffman — who became a government spy and blew the whistle on his corporation, this appears to find the hot-and-cold Soderbergh in a playful mood. “Why 0014?” someone asks Damon of his informant code name. “‘Cause I’m twice as smart as 007.” He’s twice as fat here, too.
ETA: December 3
Surprisingly (or not) there hasn’t been a huge amount of buzz for this American CG adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s beloved manga, which could be a warning sign or — fingers crossed — an indication that this might be a sleeper that catches everyone off guard (we did say “fingers crossed”). Certainly reports of the studio running out of money mid-way didn’t bode well, but the finished product — at least from the trailer — approximates the part, with Imagi’s (TMNT) animators making good on their intentions to honour the look (and, hopefully, feel) of the anime series so many fans hold close to their little robotic hearts. Freddie Highmore is the voice of Astro, with Nicolas Cage as Dr. Tenma and a cast that includes other noted Japanese thespians Samuel L. Jackson, Kristen Bell and Charlize Theron. At any rate, it can’t be any worse than Speed Racer.
ETA: October 22
Vince Vaughn might be a box-office force capable of opening junk like The Break-Up and Four Christmases, but it’s been a while since he’s actually been in a funny movie — and no, Into the Wild doesn’t count, although it was pretty comical. On the surface, Couples Retreat looks like forgettable date-night trash — four couples go to a tropical island to attend counseling; insert pratfalls and dick jokes — but there’s hope in that this one was written by Vaughn and co-star Jon Favreau, the dudes behind Swingers. So who knows? The trailer has its moments, Favreau was in fine form in I Love You, Man, and the presence of Jason Bateman is comforting, while we’ll also get the chance to see whether Malin Akerman can act without skintight spandex.
ETA: October 15
If you thought Robert Zemeckis had moved on from his mo-cap obsession after the stilted Polar Express and the empty spectacle of Beowulf, think again — it’s still the future, at least in Bob’s mind, so here comes his most ambitious effort yet. Granted, basing his project on an obscure story from a little-known writer by the name of Charles Dickens is a risky move, but we hear big things about this young man Jim Carrey. Seriously, if anyone’s gonna give mo-cap a work-out it’s the man of a thousand rubbery faces, so we’re curious to see what Zemeckis has in store when this one unspools in 3-D IMAX. Mo-crap, you say? Don’t be like that.
ETA: November 5
It sounds like a mockumentary in the lineage of This Is Spinal Tap: a middle-aged metal band centuries past their prime reunited in one last attempt to capture their teenage rock and roll dreams. In reality, Anvil! might be the documentary of the year. These guys are real and, despite never making it big in the metal world, they’ve been cited as influences on titans like Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. The proof is in the testimonials director Sacha Gervasi gets for the Canadian band: Slash, Lars Ulrich, and Lemmy from Motorhead are among the men who lend their voices to film. This one goes way past 11.
ETA: September 10
Based on a 1970 short story by sci-fi icon Richard Matheson, The Box marks the return of Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly after the critical and commercial disaster of his sophomore epic Southland Tales (which was still inspired insanity, critics be damned). Adapted once before as a slight ’80s Twilight Zone episode, this tale about a couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) who receive a mysterious device from a shadowy man (Frank Langella) is a perfect fit for Kelly’s universe. Exploring the consequences of fate (up against their will) and buoyed by an intriguing subplot about the Mars expeditions in the ’70s, it looks and feels like the direct follow-up to Darko. Curiously, the director has also called it his most personal film.
ETA: October 29
After dragging his knuckles though the Neanderthal bore that was 10,000 B.C. , Roland Emmerich has returned to do what he does best (or worst, depending on your appreciation for the disaster auteur’s ahem, oeuvre): systematically laying waste to every major location on the planet. 2012‘s much-discussed trailer is so exaggerated it plays like a disaster movie parody, which could either mean Emmerich’s finally lost it or found the kind of amusing perspective on his work that graced Michael Bay on Transformers 2 (Are we joking? Don’t know — was Bay?). John Cusack and some other people star as caricatures acting opposite the giant tidal waves and overturned aircraft carriers. Of course it’s going to be bad — but isn’t that the point?
ETA: November 12
At last! Someone has gone and made that all-girl roller-derby movie the world has been waiting for. That someone would be actress-producer Drew Barrymore, who’s strapped on the skates for her directorial debut in this adaptation of Shauna Cross’ novel Derby Girl. The film stars Juno‘s Ellen Page (who reportedly dropped out of Drag Me To Hell) as — wait for it — “an indie-rock loving misfit” who flunks out of a beauty contest but finds salvation in a gang of roller-derby girls (including Drew herself). Call us crazy, but this looks like one of the most fun films on the horizon — and we haven’t even heard Devo’s song used once yet.
ETA: October 8
As the consensus goes, this ain’t grandpa’s Sherlock Holmes — that much is for sure. Between the double-barrel gun-toting, slow-mo shirtless boxing, fiery explosions and smutty asides in the trailer for Guy Ritchie’s take on the Conan Doyle classic, you’d be hard-pressed to spot a glimpse of even the Victorian sleuth’s trademark cap. Then again, the fictional Holmes was a habitual drug user and not averse to using guns, swords and his fists to wage battle — so maybe Ritchie’s hit just the right tone to reinvigorate the legend for a new era. Either that or he’s gone and made another tired Guy Ritchie geezer bromance. So long as Robert Downey Jr.’s involved, however, we’ll be there.
ETA: December 26
Judd Apatow — the man who’s defined the comedy landscape as a director, writer and producer these past few years — returns for a third time behind the camera with his most ambitious project. Partly autobiographical (Apatow grew up around the stand-up comedy circuit in the ’80s), Funny People stars Adam Sandler as a hugely successful comedian whose immense fame has isolated him in a sort of movie-star Xanadu. He’s diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness, takes on a protégé in Seth Rogen, and attempts to reconcile with his ex-wife (Leslie Mann). Wow, Big Life Issues, Judd — no wonder it takes 146 minutes to deal with it all. Apatow’s distinctive rhythms combining comedy with sudden drama are all on display, and it’s the best Sandler’s been since Punch-Drunk Love — and perhaps ever.
ETA: September 10
Forty years ago, Duncan Jones’ old man had a hit with a song about an astronaut adrift in the vacuum of space; alone and isolated from the family and planet he’d left behind. The song was “Space Oddity” and there are no prizes for guessing dad’s name; suffice to say it’s fitting that Jones’ directorial debut concerns an astronaut losing his mind at the end of a three-year solo mission on the Moon. Without spoiling too much we’ll say it’s a proper tour de force from Sam Rockwell as the spaceman coming apart at the seams (he gets his very own, very touching Major Tom moment), while Jones’ style is affectionately indebted to classic sci-fi like 2001 and Alien — and all the better for it. Don’t expect explosions and effects; do expect the thinking person’s sci-fi of the year.
ETA: October 8
For a few, the Coen brothers squandered the goodwill their stunning No Country For Old Men had restored by following it up with the self-satisfied, star-powered comedy Burn After Reading. (That might also be their particular sense of humour, of course.) The good news for those doubters is that Joel and Ethan’s latest — a black comedy about a university professor’s life unraveling — looks like a return to the vintage style of Raising Arizona or Miller’s Crossing. Better still, it’s star-free, and the trailer’s manic rhythm might be the best teaser of the year. This already feels like the film most likely to sneak up on audiences — and maybe the Oscars, come 2010.
ETA: November 19
While the venerable master of Japanese animation could easily sit back and admire his incredible body of work, Hayao Miyazaki instead keeps turning out classics that most filmmakers would kill to create once in a lifetime. Ponyo is no exception. Breaking with the more “complex” fantasias of his previous Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away, this Little Mermaid-esque story of a fish who yearns to become a real girl recalls the gentler Miyazki of films like My Neighbor Totoro. Make no mistake, though: this isn’t just for little kids, as there’s enough emotion and simple-but-evocative artistry in Ponyo to satisfy audiences of any age. Just be sure to catch the original Japanese version, if you can.
ETA: August 27
Young men of a particular persuasion will be flocking to this horror movie for a glimpse at a fanged Megan Fox, whose ass was last seen giving an Oscar-worthy performance under the delicate direction of Michael Bay’s” promiscuous camera” (as Roland Barthes might have described it, anyway). Which is kind of amusing, as this Diablo Cody-scripted, resolutely trashy-looking B-movie — which takes its name from a Courtney Love song, lest we forget — is all about Fox eating and killing young men who get in her way. Uh-huh — high school hasn’t looked this evil since Heathers. Let the chomping begin.
ETA: October 29
Contrary to one of the worst trailers in recent memory — an apocalyptic/disaster movie hack-job that made it look like the poor cousin of a Bruckheimer property — The Road is actually set to be a bleak, fatalistic journey with action eschewed in favour of dread and a sense of hopeless isolation. Yeah — no wonder the studio wants to sell it as something else. Based on the award-winning, minimalist novel by Cormac McCarthy (No Country For Old Men), this has a father and son (Viggo Mortensen and precociously talented Kodi Smit-McPhee) on the run across a post-Apocalyptic wasteland, as they try to survive both madness and bands of cannibals. It’s directed by The Proposition‘s John Hillcoat, which is also promising.
ETA: Late 2009
Now that Marty’s finally got his Oscar he must be feeling free to indulge his trashier thriller instincts, which is great for us, because Shutter Island looks like the sort of baroque horror film he hasn’t made since perhaps Cape Fear. Set in 1954, the film follows a US Marshal (Scorsese muse du jour Leonardo DiCaprio) dispatched to a Boston mental institution on “Shutter Island”, where he finds himself trapped and going mad. Having Ben Kingsley around as a sinister scientist probably doesn’t help, either. Mark Ruffalo, Jackie Earle Haley, Michelle Wiliams, Max Von Sydow and plenty of creepy atmosphere also star.
ETA: October 1
Okay, let’s face it — there’s no middle ground when it comes to Stephanie Meyer’s teen vampire franchise. You’re either in that enraptured, delirious horde who regard Edward and Bella as history’s greatest romance since Romeo and Juliet, or you’re over on the other end of the spectrum, deriding the sparkly vampires and creepy-chaste romance as insipid drivel dispatched from the deepest circle of hell (we’re just sayin’, is all). Either way, there’s no denying New Moon will be massive — or that Robert Pattinson’s unwashed mountain of hair really is quite dreamy. Chris Weitz has picked up the camera from the ousted Catherine Hardwicke (though we suspect Meyer herself is really calling the shots), and the film promises a hefty slice of werewolf action as Taylor Lautner’s beefcake lycanthrope moves in on Team Edward’s action. Squee! Or flee.
ETA: November 19
What does Terry Gilliam have to do to catch a break around here? The mad-genius (and notoriously trouble-plagued) filmmaker pulled Doctor Parnassus back from the brink of the abyss after his close friend and star Heath Ledger passed away during a break in production, and yet the film garnered mixed reviews at Cannes and has struggled, unbelievably, to find a US distributor (Sony Classics are now close to a deal to pick it up). Which is weird, because — on top of the morbid curiosity of seeing the late Oscar winner’s final performance and the presence of Johnny Depp — the film has the look and feel of quintessential Gilliam, with visual nods to Baron Munchausen and Brazil evident and a dizzy, surreal story that plays to the filmmaker’s strengths. Signs point to a return-to-form for the director, who hasn’t had a truly successful film — at least critically — since 1998’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. And Tom Waits plays the devil. Verdict: sold.
ETA: October 29
You might recall Peter Jackson from a largely overlooked trilogy about a bunch of midgets trying to return some stolen jewelry to its rightful owner, which will at least be remembered as a brave attempt to resurrect both the long-forgotten dialect of Elvish and the career of Sean Astin. Long before that epic walk, however, he delivered what may be his finest moment, Heavenly Creatures — and it’s that film, with its fantasy world of two teenage murderesses, that The Lovely Bones most resembles. Based on Alice Sebold’s best-selling, chilling novel, it’s the story of a murdered teenage girl (the super-talented Saorise Ronan) who watches over her family — and killer — from beyond the grave. No giant apes or 3-hour runtime here, just Jackson and his skills as a filmmaker applied to a small canvas — and that’s reason enough to get excited.
ETA: December 26
By now it’s less a question of, “Should we be excited about the next Pixar film?” than, “When will they make a bad one?” Concerns that Hollywood’s undisputed best animation studio would struggle with a movie about an old codger who ties balloons to his house and floats away were quickly dispelled at the American box office, where Up has already taken more than $290 million — second only in domestic grosses to Finding Nemo. That critics have raved is no surprise, either — expect the patented Pixar blend of dazzling artistry, real emotion and inventive adventure (the airship climax is one of their best action sequences) that will appeal to every possible audience. Shame that sidekick kid is sort of annoying…
ETA: September 3
Without giving too much away, Quentin Tarantino rather presumptuously refers to Inglourious Basterds as “his masterpiece”. And you know what? He’s not too far wide of the scalp, either. Long-rumoured as the great unmade QT project and then swiftly rushed into production, Basterds — which premiered to mixed reviews at Cannes, like they know anything — finds the director at the top of his game, mixing action, historical fantasy, cinematic references and langourous long takes that recall, more than anything, Pulp Fiction in their stylistic bravado. Brad Pitt headlines the gang of Nazi-hunting Jews, but this is as much a film about the others in the resistance — including Melanie Laurent’s incendiary cinema mistress, and the menacing, comedic Christoph Waltz as a film-stealing Gestapo officer. Tarantino needs a hit after the debacle of Grindhouse; here’s hoping the world embraces this one.
ETA: August 21
A year ago it was looking like a disaster-in-waiting. Leaked footage from Spike Jonze’s adaptation of the Maurice Sendak classic — in reality just test shots of Max messing around with one of the puppets — had fans puzzled and Warner Bros allegedly ordering the director back to the drawing board for reshoots. What a difference a year makes, however. Two magnificent trailers later — full of whimsy, fantastic imagery and childhood wonder — and the buzz on Where the Wild Things Are couldn’t be more positive. Sure, the book’s just 10 sentences long, but what words they are; and the illustrations are enough to fuel any imagination — let alone an imagination that belongs to the impish filmmaker behind Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. It’s clichéd to say so, but to hell with it: let the wild rumpus begin.
ETA: December 3
James Cameron couldn’t have set anticipation for Avatar any higher if he’d announced it would be simultaneously screened as a hologram on Jupiter and streamed directly into cortex of every human being while benign aliens landed on Earth to herald the next wave of civilisation. Such is the interest in the filmmaker’s first directing effort since a little watery romance known as Titanic, more than a decade ago, that it’s going to be difficult for him to meet the astronomical expectations. Will it revolutionise cinema, as he’s adamant it has the capacity to do? Time will tell, but one thing’s for certain: the world will be right there to greet Cameron’s blue-skinned Na’vi on opening day, making this easily the biggest event on the movie horizon for 2009.
ETA: December 17
