2008 Woodie Awards
Fall brings in a new batch of cinematic adventures
Jesse Tucker
Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: Spotlight
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With the arrival of Fall comes the arrival of a new breed of movie: The potential academy award winners (as deemed by the studios that release the movies). Here's a quick look at some of the movies debuting in the coming months.
American Gangster (November 2): In my opinion the most promising new movie of the year, and the one I am the most excited to see (as in, I'm there opening night). Denzel Washington plays a gangster in 1970's Harlem who constructs a heroin empire by hiding the drugs in the coffins of soldiers returning from Vietnam. Russell Crowe plays a NYC detective on his trail. With the direction of Ridley Scott (who needs to prove himself after the mess that was A Good Year) I have high expectations. Check out the trailer, it looks incredible.
Bee Movie (November 2nd): Jerry Seinfeld is not a talented man and the only reason his sitcom became (and still is) one of the most popular ever was the inclusion of dozens of quirky secondary characters. Now he ventures into animated film, playing Barry B. Benson, a bee that wanders out of the hive and has many adventures (apparently).
I was willing to give Bee Movie a chance but while watching The Office on NBC I was subjected to ridiculously long Bee Movie promos during commercial breaks and now I'm a bit bitter about the whole concept in general. If this movie wins any awards besides a Razzie, I'm going to owe a lot of people a lot of money.
No Country for Old Men (November 9th): The Coen's newest film also looks like one of the best of the year (if the trailer doesn't deceive). The film, about a hunter (Tommy Lee Jones) who decides to keep the heroin and $2 million in cash he stumbles across along the Rio Grande, puts the Coen's back to familiar territory and echoes of Blood Simple abound. I enjoyed Ladykillers but I'm anxious to see what the Brothers do with a good ol' fashioned twisted story of violence and mayhem.
Hitman (November 23rd): Based on the video game about a hitman (Timothy Olyphant) named Agent 42 who kills targets for a group known as "The Agency", Hitman looks to hit the crowd of people who are tired of the Oscar-worthy fare coming out this fall. Hitman went from shooting to theatres in six months, which is cause for concern but then a look at the trailer alleviated my fears. No doubt this will not be a good movie, but it at least looks like a good fun time at the theatre. Timothy Olyphant will have a chance to redeem himself from his poor showing of villainy in Live Free or Die Hard, and perhaps make a fine action star out of himself.
In December the movie business undergoes a quasi "second summer" and releases more big-budget, high profile projects. Among these are The Golden Compass, the much anticipated and much delayed adaptation of the book; National Treasure 2, the unnecessary but inevitable sequel to the blockbuster hit, and Will Smith's new film I am Legend, about the last healthy man alive on Earth after a biological attack who must fight off zombies. Whether or not any of these will turn out to be more than typical big budget excuses for CGI remains to be seen, and many other movies are due to be released too that I don't have time to mention (such as Tim Burton's musical, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street). Just keep your ears and your eyes open, maybe something good will come along this winter!
American Gangster (November 2): In my opinion the most promising new movie of the year, and the one I am the most excited to see (as in, I'm there opening night). Denzel Washington plays a gangster in 1970's Harlem who constructs a heroin empire by hiding the drugs in the coffins of soldiers returning from Vietnam. Russell Crowe plays a NYC detective on his trail. With the direction of Ridley Scott (who needs to prove himself after the mess that was A Good Year) I have high expectations. Check out the trailer, it looks incredible.
Bee Movie (November 2nd): Jerry Seinfeld is not a talented man and the only reason his sitcom became (and still is) one of the most popular ever was the inclusion of dozens of quirky secondary characters. Now he ventures into animated film, playing Barry B. Benson, a bee that wanders out of the hive and has many adventures (apparently).
I was willing to give Bee Movie a chance but while watching The Office on NBC I was subjected to ridiculously long Bee Movie promos during commercial breaks and now I'm a bit bitter about the whole concept in general. If this movie wins any awards besides a Razzie, I'm going to owe a lot of people a lot of money.
No Country for Old Men (November 9th): The Coen's newest film also looks like one of the best of the year (if the trailer doesn't deceive). The film, about a hunter (Tommy Lee Jones) who decides to keep the heroin and $2 million in cash he stumbles across along the Rio Grande, puts the Coen's back to familiar territory and echoes of Blood Simple abound. I enjoyed Ladykillers but I'm anxious to see what the Brothers do with a good ol' fashioned twisted story of violence and mayhem.
Hitman (November 23rd): Based on the video game about a hitman (Timothy Olyphant) named Agent 42 who kills targets for a group known as "The Agency", Hitman looks to hit the crowd of people who are tired of the Oscar-worthy fare coming out this fall. Hitman went from shooting to theatres in six months, which is cause for concern but then a look at the trailer alleviated my fears. No doubt this will not be a good movie, but it at least looks like a good fun time at the theatre. Timothy Olyphant will have a chance to redeem himself from his poor showing of villainy in Live Free or Die Hard, and perhaps make a fine action star out of himself.
In December the movie business undergoes a quasi "second summer" and releases more big-budget, high profile projects. Among these are The Golden Compass, the much anticipated and much delayed adaptation of the book; National Treasure 2, the unnecessary but inevitable sequel to the blockbuster hit, and Will Smith's new film I am Legend, about the last healthy man alive on Earth after a biological attack who must fight off zombies. Whether or not any of these will turn out to be more than typical big budget excuses for CGI remains to be seen, and many other movies are due to be released too that I don't have time to mention (such as Tim Burton's musical, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street). Just keep your ears and your eyes open, maybe something good will come along this winter!
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