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It’s fall — time to break out the Oscar bait
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“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning”
Starring: Jordana Brewster, Andrew Bryniarski, R. Lee Ermey, Taylor Handley, Matthew Bomer, Diora Baird
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Story: Ever wonder how Leatherface came into existence? Well, this quaint little film tells that heart-warming story. When two friends (Handley, Bomer) decide to take a last road trip with their girlfriends (Brewster, Baird) before shipping out to Vietnam, they get into a car accident that brings a mysterious local sheriff (Ermey) onto the scene. He takes the teens to a house where a future killer is being nurtured.
Buzz: Don’t you kind of wish Leatherface had a perfectly normal upbringing instead of being raised by what looks like relatives of those guys who terrorized Ned Beatty in “Deliverance?” This looks like everything you would expect. Liebsman directed the evil Tooth Fairy film (don’t ask), “Darkness Falls.”
Web site: http://www.texaschainsawmovie.com/
“Shortbus”
Starring: Sook-Yin Lee, Paul Dawson, Lindsay Beamish, PJ DeBoy, Raphael Barker, Jay Brannan, Peter Stickles, Justin Bond
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Story: A group of present-day New Yorkers navigate their way through love and sex, and congregate at an underground salon called Shortbus where anything goes.
Buzz: Mitchell is the man behind the very entertaining “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” He collaborated with the cast members on the script, all of whom submitted videotaped auditions in response to an open casting call on Mitchell’s Web site (nearly 500 people sent in tapes). This is the first film for many of the cast. Though the premise seems promising, Variety’s Kirk Honeycutt wrote of the film, “The graphic sex is certainly inventive and enthusiastic but fails to shed much light on character.”
Web site: NA
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“The Departed”
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Alec Baldwin
Director: Martin Scorsese
Story: This remake of the Japanese film “Infernal Affairs” tells the story of a young undercover cop (DiCaprio) who is chosen to infiltrate a mob syndicate run by Frank Costello (Nicholson). Meanwhile, Damon plays a criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informant for the mob. The two men are consumed by their double lives. But when Costello realizes he may have a cop in his midst the two men are set to do battle to keep their hidden identities secret.
Buzz: This is the first time Nicholson has starred in a Scorsese film and it’s about damn time, Jack. Let’s face it, with this cast and this director, anything but a violent masterpiece will be considered a disappointment. Scorsese’s blessing and curse is that he’s made so many great films that he has a hard time living up to them. This could lead to an Oscar rematch with Clint Eastwood (“Flags of our Fathers”). This is DiCaprio’s third film with Scorsese. Farmiga was one of last year’s indie film favorites for her L.A. Film Critics-winning role in “Down to the Bone.”
Web site: NA
“Little Children”
Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Noah Emmerich, Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Kate Winslet, Gregg Edelman, Sarah Buxton, Phyllis Sommerville
Director: Todd Field
Story: This adaptation of Tom Perrota’s best-selling novel tells the story of two recently married couples. Sarah (Winslet) is an over-educated, and bored, housewife. Brad (Wilson) is a stay-at-home dad and ex-jock who’s known as the Prom King to the housewives in the neighborhood. Brad and Sarah embark on a torrid affair. Kathy (Connelly) is an uptight mom who already envisions her 4-year-old attending Harvard. Ronnie (Haley) is a recently paroled pedophile who throws the neighborhood into chaos when he comes to stay with his mom (Sommerville).
Buzz: Field directed the surprise hit and Oscar nominee “In the Bedroom,” and it will be interesting to see if lightning can strike twice for him — this is his first feature since that film. Wilson is definitely an actor on the rise — he also appears in this year’s “Running with Scissors” and made quite an impression with his roles in “Phantom of the Opera” and HBO’s “Angels in America.” Winslet (“Finding Neverland,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) can be counted on to do interesting work (she also appears in “All the King’s Men”) — and is always a threat for an Oscar nod.
Web site: NA
“Employee of the Month”
Starring: Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson, Dax Shephard, Efren Ramirez, Tim Bagley, Brian George, Marcello Thedford
Director: Greg Coolidge
Story: Cook stars as a slacker wholesale warehouse employee who suddenly gets competitive when he realizes that hot new cashier Simpson has a yen for guys who can win Employee of the Month. One problem, Shephard also wants a shot at Simpson and is ready to compete as hard as he can to beat Cook. Ramirez (Pedro from “Napoleon Dynamite”) co-stars as Cook’s right-hand man.
Buzz: This is the film where sparks allegedly flew between Cook and Simpson. Were they really a couple? Tabloids said yes, but Cook and Simpson denied it. This film looks like counter-programming to some of fall’s more serious fare, but look for “Texas Chainsaw” to make mincemeat of this one.
Web site: http://www.employeeofthemonthfilm.com/
“Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker”
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MGM |
Director: Geoffrey Sax
Story: Based on the British teen books by Anthony Horowitz, Pettyfer stars as 14-year-old Alex Ryder, who gets drafted into the British MI6 when his uncle (McGregor) is killed. Little does he realize that his uncle actually has been training him for duty from early on. Alex must take on mastermind billionaire oilman Darrius Sayle (Rourke) in order to stop him from releasing a biological weapon.
Buzz: This movie looks like a teen James Bond flick — our hero even uses many high-tech gadgets — so if Daniel Craig isn’t your taste, maybe you’d prefer Pettyfer. Director Sax (“White Noise”) has a background primarily in British TV; while Horowitz adapted his own books. Both are probably hoping that this British kid is as popular as Harry Potter.
Web site: http://www.stormbreaker.com
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