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It’s fall — time to break out the Oscar bait
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“All the King’s Men”
Starring: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, Anthony Hopkins
Director: Steven Zaillian
Story: Penn stars as Willie Stark, a populist who speaks for the average man and decides to run for governor of Louisiana. Along the way, he finds himself being corrupted and bought off by the very people he once detested. Clarkson co-stars as his press secretary; while Law plays Stark’s functionary and the narrator of the story (the Nick to his Gatsby, if you will). Winslet plays the love interest for Law’s character.
Buzz: It may seem crazy to remake an Academy Award winning film — that is, until you actually see the original film and realize it only dips a toe into the greatness that is Robert Penn Warren’s novel. Zaillan, who also penned the screenplay, is better known for his writing (“Gangs of New York,” “Schindler’s List”) than his directing (“Searching for Bobby Fisher”). Penn revels in playing unlikable men and should have a field day with the corruptible Willie Stark. The question is: Will this movie be able to go deeper than the 1949 film did? If it does, Oscar could come calling again.
Web site: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/allthekingsmen
“American Hardcore”
Starring: Henry Rollins, Black Flag, Bad Brains, Mike Watt, Ian MacKaye, Minor Threat, Moby, Flea, Jimmy Gestapo
Director: Paul Rachman
Story: This documentary looks at the early ’80s punk rock movement and interviews key players, such as Henry Rollins of Black Flag and Mike Watt of the Minutemen.
Buzz: Can this really top Penelope Spheeris’ quintessential film about punk rock, “The Decline of Western Civilization,” which was made back in the early '80s, when punk rock was still around and featured some of the same musicians? They might actually make an interesting double feature — a before-and-after look at some of the musicians. Film Threat’s Sally Foster wrote, “‘American Hardcore’ not only documents a fascinating part of American history, but also leaves us wondering how [and if] this era's youth will manage to find a voice of their own.”
Web site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/americanhardcore
“Feast”
Starring: Navi Rawat, Krista Allen, Balthazar Getty, Judah Friedlander, Jenny Wade, Duane Whitaker, Josh Zuckerman
Director: John Gulager
Story: Tongue-in-cheek horror film about a bar full of people who have to fend off attacking monsters.
Buzz: Best known as the film produced by the final — and extremely entertaining — season of “Project Greenlight,” during which sad-sack director Gulager clashed with penny-pinching producers and overly ambitious screenwriters — and just wanted to do things his way. He basically became one of reality TV’s heroes. The film will only be in theaters for two days so you may want to wait for DVD, especially if the studio includes the final season of the Bravo show.
Web site: http://www.myspace.com/feastthemovie
“The Science of Sleep”
Starring: Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alain Chabat, Jean-Michel Bernard, Emma de Caunes, Inigo Lezzi
Director: Michel Gondry
Story: Bernal stars as Stephane, a shy graphic designer whose rich dream world makes his waking life pale in comparison. He finds himself drawn to his neighbor Stephanie (Gainsbourg) whose imagination matches his own. Soon his dream life begins to intersect with the real world.
Buzz: Gondry is the man behind “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” so expect the surreal with this film. This time, instead of relying on the imagination of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, Gondry has penned his own screenplay, which he told Premiere is based on his own experiences. Gondry doesn’t like CGI and prefers to do things old-school with slight-of-hand tricks and even animation in some sequences. When it screened at Sundance, Duane Berg of the Hollywood Reporter called the film “a textural mindblower and a lot of fun.”
Web site: http://wip.warnerbros.com/scienceofsleep/
“Jackass Number Two”
Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Stephen Glover, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy
Director: Jeff Tremaine
Story: The MTV guys who will try absolutely any dangerous stunt as long as it can possibly produce a laugh are back with a collection of new crazy adventures. No plot, just stunts.
Buzz: If you liked the first one, you’ll probably like this one, too. All the original players are back — even semi-legitimate actor Knoxville. Knoxville told Entertainment Weekly that the film “got dangerously close to a snuff film.” Fun times indeed.
Web site: http://www.jackassmovie.com/
“Jet Li’s Fearless”
Starring: Jet Li, Betty Sun, Dong Yong, Nakamura Shidou
Director: Ronny Yu
Story: Li plays real-life martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia in this film set in China at the turn of the 20th century. After a personal tragedy, he disappears for years, but then re-emerges to defend his country in an international martial-arts tournament.
Buzz: Jet Li claims this is his final martial-arts film. Hmm, that sounds about as believable as Barbra Streisand celebrating her farewell tour … again. Director Yu is the man behind both “Freddy vs. Jason” and “Bride of Chuckie,” which hopefully means he’s at least added a bit of humor to this film.
Web site: http://www.fearlessthemovie.com
“Renaissance”
Starring: Daniel Craig, Catherine McCormack, Romola Garai, Jonathan Pryce, Ian Holm
Director: Christian Volckman
Story: In Paris 2054 every movement is monitored by an Orwellian-type company called Avalon. When a beautiful young Avalon scientist (Garai) gets kidnapped, a renegade detective (Craig) is hired to track her down. As he descends into the depths of the city, he begins to realize that things aren’t quite what they seem.
Buzz: Director Volckman makes his feature debut with a film he told Premiere magazine was inspired by Frank Miller’s graphic novel, “Sin City.” Shot in black and white CGI animation, it’s not as stylized as Robert Rodriguez’s film, but may feel a bit more like the source material.
Web site: http://www.renaissance-movie.com
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