The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met.
Incredibly moving trailer about this doomed couple. The trailer sets you up to sympathize with Casey Affleck’s character. I wonder if the movie will actually sway us in the opposite direction at some point. If you remember, this was one of my picks for films to see at Sundance 2013, but I didn’t end up getting into a screening. I did get to see Rooney Mara though at the Sundance photocall; she is such a poised woman. Love Ben Foster; I’m still waiting for people to see how great of an actor he is. Can’t wait to see this when he hits theaters August 16th. It has been getting great reviews especially from the ongoing Cannes film festival.
Every year, the Sundance Institute posts videos of filmmakers discussing their films chosen to be screened for the Sundance Film Festival in their “Meet the Artist” series. With the start of the 2013 Festival only 9 days away, video discussions for some of the most anticipated films for the festival have been posted. Check out three from films that I think will be ones to look out for in theaters this year and next:
Fruitvale (starring Michael B Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melanie Diaz, Chad Michael Murray): The film centers on the true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008.
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints(starring Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster): the film tells the tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met.
Kill Your Darlings (starring Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall): The film is the untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution.
A new year, new movies to look forward to. Are you excited? I am. Here are the upcoming films to be released in the next few months I am most looking forward to and/or what I recommend. Many of them represent the reunion of director-actor or actor-actor teams from well-known and successful past projects. Also included are related media and blog posts you may be interested in:
January 11
Gangster Squad: You know I’m a sucker for Ryan Gosling films and this one, a 40s/50s throwback to a time where smooth-talking gangsters ruled the streets, reunites him with Emma Stone and is one not to be missed. Anticipate This.
Zero Dark Thirty: Kathryn Bigelow has found a sweet spot with combining acting talent with stories of war. This one, focused on the hunt for Osama bin Laden, seems like it will even surpass her Oscar win (first female director in history) for The Hurt Locker.
Side Effects: A Soderbergh psychological thriller in the vein of Contagion that preys on our paranoia of mood-affecting drugs; it’s a follow up to Magic Mike for the Soderbergh-Tatum pair.
Side Effects //A young woman, unhinged by her husband’s return home from prison, increases her daily medication to cope with her life’s return to “normalcy”. However, things take a dangerous turn for the worse.
Yes, sir! Steven Soderbergh’s putting his hands in a Contagion-esque (hey, it’s from the same creators) medical psychological thriller. I’m loving it. The movie stars Rooney Mara (who replaced Blake Lively) as the lead actress, Channing Tatum as her husband (I wonder what his crime was that would make this situation believable), and Jude Law as her psychiatrist who appears to take liberties with his unstable patient. There is a certain paranoia and stigma attached to taking drugs that alter your mood so I think this is such a great approach to delve into its affects on you life, a spouse who feeds into your emotional well-being, and a doctor responsible for your mental health. Gotta say though that Mara looks so weirdly young that it may be strange seeing her in a role as a wife; in that respect, I would have liked to have seen Lively tackled this. However, I’m sure this will be a great film. Look out for this one February 3, 2012.
I have to admit that I never heard of Terrance Malick before The Tree of Life, which I still have mixed feelings about. I never saw The New World or The Thin Red Line and (surprisingly) never heard of the whole public debacle between him and Adrian Brody. One thing is for sure though, the man goes for grandiosity. He is now (probably permanently) on my radar, and since he is skipping the long hiatuses between films he is known for and coming out with three, count ‘em three, new films, he probably will remain there. Here are some details of his upcoming projects. In what seems to be true Malick style, no one know much in terms of plot details, but there is enough to peak curiosity. Terrance Malick fans rejoice, Terrance Malick haters beware:
Untitled Terrance Malick Project (2012) Ben Affleck, Jessica Chastain, Rachel McAdams, Rachel Weisz, Javier Bardem
Synopsis: A romantic drama (Ben Affleck) centered on a man who rekindles an old love affair with a woman from his hometown (Rachel McAdams) after his marriage to a European woman dissolves.
My Initial Reaction: A good one. I think this is a good cast for the plot of the film. I am really curious to see the on screen chemistry between McAdams and Affleck, how Malick presents the American vs. European landscape, and what internal struggles the main characters have to color the tone of the film.
[Two simultaneous film projects with overlapping casts and primary shooting location in Austin, TX. Talk about ambition! The projects were first announced to be unconnected narratives but I guess there is always potential for an interesting cross-over with the characters. This is presented in their order of shooting and probably theatrical release:]
Knight of Cups (2013) Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman
Synopsis: A man is in search of love and truth.
My Initial Reaction: Not sure since the details are scarce. I would never have considered a convergence between the intensity of Bale and the often sweeping majesty I have heard about in alot of Malick’s films, but hey, I’ll be interested to hear more about this.
Lawless (2013) Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman
Synopsis: Two intersecting love triangles, a story of sexual obsession and betrayal set against the music scene in Austin, TX.
My Initial Reaction: Seeing that ubber-talented Ryan Gosling picked this movie to do, I don’t see why I wouldn’t want to see it. The mysterious combo of Gosling and Mara is intriguing, and my money is on Portman being the go between of the Gosling-Mara, Bale-Blanchett relationships. Can’t say I have ever been to Austin (though I hope to attend SxSW next year) so I am interested in the whole amazing music scene of Austin I have heard so much about and how that will play into the narrative.
I found this great comparison done by a blogger looking at the differences between the book series, the original Swedish film and the newly released American remake. As someone who has seen both, I agree with alot of it. All in all, I really liked David Fincher’s take on the film which I thought overall was a better movie, but still question the necessity of a remake so early since the conclusion of the original series.
Untitled Terrance Malick Project (2012)
Knight of Cups (2013)
Lawless (2013) 