It’s fall and winter preview time here at Razorfine. I’m going to be your host to a bevy of delicious and delightful big screen moments to keep you warm and pleasantly entertained in the coming frigid and cold months. Let’s hope that it’ll be a pleasant experience for all involved; to be honest, I thought that Jan – Aug really fed the public some serious stink bombs. Let me refresh your memory a bit: The Condemned, License to Wed, Norbit, Next, Ghost Rider, Pathfinder, 300, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Hot Fuzz, Balls of Fury, September Dawn and there are quite a few more, just thought I would hit the obvious. However, there was a few pleasant surprises like: Death at a Funeral, Waitress, Nancy Drew, Once and Knocked Up, The Bourne Ultimatum, King of Kong…oops I almost forgot my favorite to date Shoot Em Up. So strap in and hold on, this could be a bumpy ride, join me in our short trip to the future of films being released between Sept – Dec.
2007 Fall Movie Preview
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Well there has been no shortage of really uneventful and utterly crap films so far this year. One could almost say it’s been a plethora of bad comedy and even worse action, all for the masses to spend their limited hard earned buck on. How disappointing that must be, paying anywhere from $9 – $12 a head plus the exorbitant candy, soda and popcorn prices (I never get out of it for less than $50) and at the end of the film the only response you could muster up is a mixture of tears and anger. You’ve just wasted, what took you so much to save, especially with today’s economy, on one of the many crappy films that promised, in a trailer, to have a big pay off. That’s why we exist, the elite group of critic super heroes dawning our laptop and recorder to bring you the latest on entertainment. Don’t shame us in the theaters when you get your free tickets to see the film before it’s released, many of us are there for your benefit to make sure you don’t waste that tank of gas on the price of a crappy night at the multiplex. Take a trip with me and let’s see what to expect on our fall and winter horizons; cross your fingers we might be in for a treat.
September 19
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The Last Winter (Limited)
Shot back in March of 2005 The Last Winter is finally getting it’s screen-time. Indie-horror writer and director, Larry Fessenden (Wendigo), brings icy chills with his psychological thriller The Last Winter. Starring Ron Perlman, James LeGros and Connie Britton as a crew out on an Alaskan oil expedition facing the harsh elements created by man and the destruction of Mother Nature. The crew begins to psychologically crack and demons start haunting their paths. Stuck in an accident with no way out, the leads are forced to join together and sprint back for help. Do they make it on time? Can the others be saved? I guess you are just going to have to watch and find out. Many of us will have to wait for our local video stores for this little treasure; it’s going to be in limited release only.
September 21
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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Limited)
This sucks, here we finally get, what appears to be, a fairly kick ass western with Brad Pitt and it’s only releasing in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto and Austin to start; the rest of us who lives in the world of “want to see a damn film”, have to wait. Honestly that shit really rubs me the wrong way; what, we got to let the persnickety people see it first cause they be smarter than us? Once they can give it their thumbs up, us backwoods hillbilly folk can see it? Anyhow, the film has an all star cast with Brad Pitt as non-other than Jesse James, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker, Paul Schneider, Jeremy Renner, Zooey Deschanel and Sam Rockwell, plus director and screenwriter Andrew Dominik. Here we get to see the inside workings to Jesse and what part Robert Ford played in his life and death. Was Jesse a Robin Hood of sorts or just a wild crazy criminal the public put on a pedestal?
I’ve got 7 words for you…Jessica Alba, Dane Cook and romantic comedy.
Wow, this one sounds like it might be a contender. Into the Wild is based on the bestselling book by Jon Krakauer and both directed and screen wrote by Sean Penn; the cast is nothing to wince at either Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Catherine Keener, Kristen Stewart and on and on. A film about a university graduate who gives up his entire savings to date and hitchhikes his way to the Alaskan wilderness where he has planned to live. Along the way meeting some brilliant and very interesting characters that shape and mold his life, as well as leaving a mark on them in return. Looks to be one hell of an adventure.
The Jane Austen Book Club (Limited)
A group of six friends in California decides to create a Jane Austen Book Club; all six books shall be read and honored. The girls start to sway out and a gentleman finds himself at the table. Love, loss, marriage, sex, divorce and mere life encompass these three friends.
Got to give it to the creators of Resident Evil, they have done a pretty damn good job of keeping up with the cast. Most sequels and on past have all new casts, I like the fact that the final installment still boasts Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr and others from it’s predecessor. Resident Evil: Extinction starts where the other left off with old survivors and new. Based on the ever so popular video game from back in the day. I would say it’s going to kick a little ass.
Awesome, I adore Amanda Bynes, she one of the few left in her caliber that did not go all crazy cracked out; lost the weight naturally, what ever. Amanda is such a hoot too, she isn’t afraid to put herself out there and really make a goof of things and the audience just laughs. In Sydney White she gets kicked out of her sorority and takes on a group of geeky guys, helping them be themselves and cool all at the same time.
September 28
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(from the site) In a coffee shop in a tight-knit Oregon community, local professor Harry Stevenson (Academy Award® winner Morgan Freeman) witnesses love and attraction whipping up mischief among the town’s residents. From the unlucky in love, die-hard romantic coffee shop owner Bradley (Academy Award® nominee Greg Kinnear) who has a serial habit of looking for love in all the wrong places, including with his current wife Kathryn (Selma Blair); to the edgy real estate agent Diana (Radha Mitchell) who is caught up in an affair with a married man (Billy Burke) with whom she shares an ineffable connection; to the beautiful young newcomer Chloe (Alexa Davalos) who defies fate in romancing the troubled Oscar (Toby Hemingway); to Harry himself, whose adoring wife (Jane Alexander) is looking to break through his wall of grief after the wrenching loss of a beloved… they all intertwine into one remarkable story in which no one can escape being bent, broken, befuddled, delighted and ultimately redeemed by love’s inescapable spell.
Hey Rock, eat a damn sandwich, for that matter buy yourself a donut factory and have at it, you have lost too much weight. The Game Plan focuses on a stud football star finding out he has an illegitimate daughter who needs a father figure. How can he balance ballet and a superstar career?
This is a certain hit, with an all-star cast and a dramatic storyline, I’m sure Kingdom will find itself on the “to be considered” list. Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner group together to bring you the story of terrorism, bombs, loss of innocent lives and being stuck in a country thoughts not so forgiving to American soiling their grounds.
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The Darjeeling Limited (Limited) Hurray Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Bottle Rocket) is at it again with an awesome cast and crew of Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Anjelica Huston. No doubt The Darjeeling Limited is full of little weird intricacies and odd moments, all about Wes Anderson’s style. |
October 5
Jennifer Lopez produces a shocker, bunnies and bonnets and all that jazz…NOT. Of course she produces a hip-hop film with a struggle to the top with drugs and guns and street gangs all included. What a shock, hey, haven’t seen this one done before.
(from the site) Single and indecisive, Eddie (Ben Stiller) begins dating the incredibly sexy and seemingly fabulous Lila. Upon the urging of his father and best friend, Eddie proposes to her after only a week, fearing this may be his last chance at love, marriage, and happiness.
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However, while on their honeymoon in sunny Mexico, Lila reveals her true beyond-awful nature and Eddie meets Miranda, the woman he realizes to be his actual soul mate. Eddie must keep his new, increasingly horrid wife at bay as he attempts to woo the girl of his dreams. Michael Clayton (NY, LA, TOR; wide: Oct. 12) Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is a “cleaner” for one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. And the story goes on from there, no doubt a serious drama and a complete neck breaker, but it’s one of those yayayayaya films. You know, bad guy, good guy, bad guy wants to turn into good guy, but has an identity problem and an unforeseen force that keeps him being such an asshole. |
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My Kid Could Paint That (NY, LA) Well is she or isn’t she the next Jackson Pollock? Maria Olmstead, only 4, becomes a mega artist/star, but are they her painting or are they dear old dad’s? The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising Based on the novel by Susan Cooper, “The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising” is the first of “The Dark Is Rising” sequence. The film takes the audience on an adventure with Will Stanton leading they way. Will is the last of the seekers and must travel back and forth through time to save the world from the Dark. October 12 |
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(from the site) Berkeley is the story of Ben Sweet (Nick Roth), an eighteen-year-old middleclass boy who comes to UC Berkeley in 1968 to study accounting and avoid the draft. There begins an odyssey through sex, drugs, rock and roll, and political activism, which turns his conservative world upside down, and leaves him on a path of exploration and self-discovery, far from the life of his father, Sy (Henry Winkler).
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This is great, I loved the first film, Elizabeth, and now Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush are back to give us The Golden Age. Let us not leave out newbie’s to the film the ever so sexy Clive Owen and hot to trot Samantha Morton. Elizabeth: The Golden Age promises to be as well received as its predecessor. Scenery and costuming looks to be spectacular. |
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag – The Journey of a Woman (Top 20 Markets)
(from site) Badki and Chutki live a fun-filled life in Banaras, playing pranks, sneaking off to see a forbidden mujra, and soaking up all the excitement that goes on the ghats of the Ganga. Badki is aware that the family is in dire straits, but she and her mother protect Chutki at all costs. When things get worse, Badki decides to go to Mumbai and seek a living for the family. Alone and unsupported in the midst of the urban jungle of Mumbai, Badki battles with dark forces, keeping her focus on her purpose to support her family and continue Chutki’s education. She deliberately morphs into someone else, leading a secret life full of murky compromises. When Chutki comes to Mumbai to work, things take a dramatic turn. Badki’s life turns into a minefield, as she has to hide her secrets from Chutki. Chutki finds success at work, and love that delights her heart. Badki finds the magic of love, but lets it slip away before it can blossom, as she believes it’s not in her destiny. She battles menace and blackmail alone, not letting these dark shadows fall on Chutki or her family. But her dual life is revealed, and the two sisters are face to face, in a confrontation neither had expected. And when love beckons Badki again, the whole family is thrown in a tumultuous storm. Everything threatens to explode in their faces, destroying all of them.
It’s Jaws meets Lake Placid. Wolf Creek director, Greg McLean, brings us tourists for lunch, tartar style.
Sleuth (limited)
Jude Law and Michael Caine match wits in Sleuth.
(from the site) Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) has turned his back on the family business. The popular manager of El Caribe, the legendary Russian-owned nightclub in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach, he has changed his last name and concealed his connection to a long line of distinguished New York cops. For Bobby, every night is a party, as he greets friends and customers or dances with his beautiful Puerto Rican girlfriend, Amada (Eva Mendes), in a haze of cigarette smoke and disco music.
But it’s 1988, and New York City’s drug trade is escalating. Bobby tries to keep a friendly distance from the Russian gangster who is operating out of the nightclub – a gangster who is being targeted by his brother, Joseph (Mark Wahlberg), an up-and-coming NYPD officer, and his father, Burt (Robert Duvall), the legendary deputy chief of police.
October 19
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It’s a vampire feast, buffet anyone? In Barrow, Alaska the sun disappears for 30 days and it’s only darkness left. Most of the population heads south to last the darkness out, but the few left behind are but only a snack for a new group of inhabitants. Starring Josh Hartnett and Melissa George, looking forward to a little scariness.
From the producers of Wedding Crashers, we have a comedy spoofing the best of inspirational sports films.
Interesting, Ben Affleck not only directed, but screen wrote Gone Baby Gone. I’m hoping it’s a damn good film considering it’s based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River”) and we all know how awesome Mystic River was.
Star packed intrigue with Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter Sarsgaard and Alan Arkin. A story of a missing husband and a wife doing all she can to track him down. CIA analyst starts to think things aren’t all cool with the types of interrogation performed on prisoners.
October 26
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I’m not sure about this one. O-yah Simon Pegg and hank Azaria are absolutely hilarious actors and can really pull of some funny stuff, but David Schwimmer as a director? Looks like it’s based roughly off of the Runaway Bride, except it’s the Runaway Groom.
Gives us a break, isn’t it time to give up this sick and twisted serious? People stop paying money to go see sick crap; maybe they would quit producing 2 a year.
October 31
One word…interesting. Creepy little film based on the true story about the cult that took over a town in Arizona.
Wow, all this and we are not even into November yet and we still have December and January to go. Keep an eye out tomorrow and Thursday for part 2 and 3 to the big kahuna movie preview.