Fall/Winter 2010 Movie Preview - Part Two

Russell Crowe...How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Yes, he's one of my very favorite actors and I'll probably talk more about him at some point. But for now, let's just focus on his upcoming movie, The Next Three Days, whose cast also includes Elizabeth Banks and Liam Neeson. At first glance, the storyline is pretty basic :"A married couple's life is turned upside down when the wife is accused of a murder", but given the fact that the movie is written and directed by Paul Haggis, hopes are high. Allow me to remind you that Haggis wrote and directed Crash and he also wrote Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Father and Letters from Iwo Jima, all 3 directed by Clint Eastwood.

US Release date for The Next Three Days is November 19. Here is the trailer

Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp in the same movie is enough to guarantee a box office hit (although I'm probably one of the few women on the planet who's never been crazy about Johnny Depp. Ok, don't hate me now). The Tourist comes in December and...um...um...yay for the Italian scenery, I guess? Because the rest just doesn't look very promising to me. Trailer here

Ryan Gosling has two upcoming movies and I'm looking forward to seeing both of them. First, there's Blue Valentine, about a "contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods". It co-stars Michelle Williams, comes out at the end of December and you can watch the trailer here.

Also starring Ryan Gosling, All Good Things is a "love story and murder mystery based on the most notorious unsolved murder case in New York history". His movie partner here is Kirsten Dunst. Gosling is one heck of a talented young actor and if he continues to make good choices, he's got a nice future ahead of him. Click here for trailer.

True Grit is an upcoming Western movie, written and directed by the Coen brothers and is another adaptation of the Charles Portis novel (the previous one got made in 1969, starring John Wayne). This time around, the U.S. Marshal is played by Jeff Bridges, who helps a young woman track down her father's murderer. Matt Damon and Josh Brolin are also in the movie and I guess it could show up on the Oscar nominations list, even if not in a major category. We'll see. Take a look at the trailer.

Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand and Teri Polo are back with Little Fockers, the 3rd installment of the "Focker trilogy". Jessica Alba, Laura Dern and Owen Wilson co-star and while it looks underwhelming , it's probably going to attract viewers because of the cast and well...it's one of those easy fun, uncomplicated Holiday movies and we all need a bit of that every now and then. Trailer here.

Sofia Coppola writes and directs Somewhere, a movie about "a hard-living Hollywood actor who re-examines his life after his 11-year-old daughter surprises him with a visit". The film is scheduled to be released in the US on December 22 and it stars Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning and Michelle Monaghan. It was shot in Los Angeles and Italy and it won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival last month. Your trailer is here.

Mark Wahlberg stars in The Fighter, a look at the early years of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his brother who helped train him before going pro in the mid 1980s". A very thin Christian Bale and the lovely Amy Adams join the cast. Wahlberg has come a very long way since his New Kids on The Block days (remember?) and he's turned into a good actor. In fact, acting suits him much better than singing if you ask me. Trailer here.

Kevin Spacey is back at what he does best: playing arrogant, corrupted and manipulative characters. Casino Jack is his upcoming movie and it focuses on Jack Abramoff, the Washington D.C. lobbyist, businessman and con man. It's going to be released in December in the US and the reviews have been ok so far. For trailer click here.

 
I was starting to miss Jack Nicholson, but he's back in the comedy How Do You Know, alongside Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd. It's basically a love triangle romantic comedy, just in time for the Holidays. You can watch the trailer here.

Finally, Biutiful is getting the much deserved attention with a wider release, that will include the US (in December). It stars Javier Bardem, who won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for this role and it's directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, whose work I personally love. I think Babel was a great movie and I also liked Amores Perros and 21 Grams. Biutiful is a slow-burning drama about a father who tries to redeem himself as his imminent death draws near. It's gritty and bleak (Iñárritu does not do "happy" movies), Bardem's acting is superb and it will be interesting to see what the Academy Awards will bring for this movie. Biutiful has been selected as the Mexican entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, which will take place in February 2011.

Biutiful is one of five productions in a $100 million deal between González Iñárritu, Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro, as well as the film companies Cha Cha Cha, Universal Pictures and Focus Features International. Watch the trailer here.

More in Part Three coming soon....