Ryan McNeilPart of me thinks it’s a shame that the studios save all these gems for the last bit of the year, but I’m not going to waste my breath railing about that issue. Instead, I thought I’d look past the great flicks I just saw at TIFF (JUNO, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN), and the screenings I missed (EASTERN PROMISES, INTO THE WILD) and make this a Top Five Tuesday.
The Top Five Movies I’m Excited About for Fall 2007
#5. THERE WILL BE BLOOD… After a five year absence, director Paul Thomas Anderson returns, and he’s brought Daniel Day Lewis along with him. Together they will tell a story set in the early days of the oil business, with the daunting tag line of “There will be greed…there will be vengeance“. Indeed, there will be me in my seat on opening night! (Opens Limited, Dec. 26th)
#4. WALK HARD… So with the glut of musical bio-pics that have come over the past few years (RAY, WALK THE LINE, etc). You had to figure someone was going to skewer it eventually. I’m just happy that Judd Apatow is taking his shot at it, and not the guys who do the SCARY MOVIE send-ups. It’s months before this opens and I already have the title track stuck in my head – plus, how can you resist Jack White as Elvis Presley? (Opens everywhere, Dec 21)
#3. THE DARJEELING LIMITED… Another three years has passed, so it must be time for another quirky Wes Anderson movie. This time, along with regulars Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman, he has brought in Adrian Brody to round out the cast of three brothers who go across India on a train journey of self discovery. I’m curious about this one, if only to discover the reason Wilson is all bandaged up – and you just know the reason will be a good one. And a funny one. (Opens everywhere, Sept 29th)
#2. SWEENEY TODD… Tim Burton directs Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, Alan Rickman, and Sacha Baron Cohen in a film adaptation of Sondheim’s musical. I’m already imagining the lavish visuals that are in store, and can’t wait for Depp to dive into yet another quirky role. But with great expectation come great risk for disappointment. Will this be a modern musical that makes the most of the medium (a la MOULIN ROUGE)? Or will it be an unimaginative cinematic re-hash (like 2004’s PHANTOM OF THE OPERA). I guess I’ll have to gamble my $13 and find out. (Opens everywhere, December 21st)
#1. AMERICAN GANGSTER… Watching two Best Actor winners play against one another in a crime movie is right up my alley. Add in some good-looking direction by Ridley Scott and you have the makings of a potential neo-classic. The marketing seems to want to sell this film as an heir to THE DEPARTED (as does the lesser-looking WE OWN THE NIGHT), but in the end I think this film will stand on its own as one of the year’s big-budget best. (Opens everywhere, November 2nd).
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