Oscar contenders add luster to holiday film season
Up to now, 2008 has been a fairly dismal year for really exciting movies that scream "I deserve an Oscar!"
Not anymore.
As if to make up for lost time, Hollywood will dump an avalanche of aspiring Academy Award nominees into theaters for the next six weeks. We'll get Frank Langella as President Nixon in "Frost/Nixon." Meryl Streep as a nun in "Doubt." Mickey Rourke as "The Wrestler." Sean Penn as an assassinated public servant in "Milk."
We'll get Oscar-bait movies such as Clint Eastwood's race drama "Gran Torino." David Fincher's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Baz Luhrmann's epic "Australia." Ron Howard's "Frost/Nixon."
These, and others, will join the only two other sure-fire Oscar contenders from earlier this year, "The Dark Knight" (the villainous Heath Ledger is a shoo-in) and the animated "Wall. E."
In the movie lineup from Thanksgiving week through Jan. 2, 2009, we've got all the telltale signs of Academy Award-winner wannabes: remakes of classics; adaptations of best-selling books; dramas based on Broadway hits; historical epics; cute animation; even thrillers gleaned from graphic novels.
Why the disparity of Oscar-wooing films during the year's final month and a half?
First, audiences are obviously off work and away from school for a good chunk of the holidays. They can see more movies more often.
Second, and more important, studio bosses think the 5,000 voters in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences possess very short memories. So, pulling out their best stuff as close to the voting period as possible makes sense to them.
One thing is certain. The bulk of this year's Oscar nominations are likely to come from movies that haven't even opened yet.
So, with great pride and fanfare, we present our annual preview of holiday movies, many of which will likely win that little naked gold guy with the strategically placed broadsword.
Oops. I almost forgot the required caveat: Studio executives sometimes think of their release schedule as a giant pinball game where they can knock out, replace or add titles whenever they feel like it, just for fun.
So, keep faithfully reading your Daily Herald for updates. Enjoy the shows!
Nov. 26
"Australia" - Baz "Moulin Rouge" Luhrmann directs a "Gone With the Wind" for his home continent. During World War II, an uptight Englishwoman (local talent Nicole Kidman) arrives Down Under and falls for a rough-and-tumble cattle hand (local talent Hugh Jackman). I've seen about 20 minutes of footage, and it looks darned impressive. The ending reportedly was reshot because test audiences didn't like a major character dying.
"Four Christmases" - A married couple (Chicago's Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon) are forced to spend the holidays with both sets of their divorced parents - and their extended, distended families. Oh, the horror. Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight and Robert Duvall co-star.
"Milk" - Sean Penn has created Oscar anticipation for his titular role as Harvey Milk, the gay San Francisco city supervisor gunned down in his office in 1977. Gus Van Sant directs with a mainstream style.
"Transporter 3" - Action star Jason Statham returns in this second sequel in which the unreliable, highly paid delivery man Frank Martin falls for his newest "package," the kidnapped daughter of the Ukraine's EPA chief.
Nov. 28
"My Name is Bruce" - Cult horror movie star Bruce Campbell gets mistaken for his demon-fighting character Ash (from "Evil Dead") and is forced to fight a 9-foot-tall sword-wielding monster in Oregon. I'm not making this up. Ted Raimi, Sam's bro, co-stars.
"Sing-Along Sound of Music" - Get out your wimples and warm woolen mittens, put on your white dresses with blue satin sashes. Dress as your favorite character (prizes for best costumes!) or come as you are. The Julie Andrews musical returns to the silver screen at the Music Box Theatre, Chicago.
Dec. 5
"Beauty in Trouble" - The film's five parts symbolize the five seasons of the Chinese almanac. People come to Ouyang Feng (Leslie Cheung) with a wish to eliminate someone who has wronged them. Feng puts them in touch with a master swordsman.
"Cadillac Records" - Beyonce Knowles throws glamour to the wind to play legendary singer and former heroin addict Etta James, one of the talents in the 1950s stable of Chicago-based Chess Records owner Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody). Mos Def plays Chuck Berry. Jeffrey Wright plays Muddy Waters. Everybody plays music!
"La Leon" - In a remote area of Argentina, a book-loving homosexual must deal with a violent and intolerant captain of the local water taxi.
"Nobel Son" - The night before he's to receive the Nobel Prize, a chemist (Alan Rickman) refuses to pay a ransom for his kidnapped son (Bryan Greenberg), sparking off a "taut thriller spiked with droll humor" (so say the press notes). Shawn Hatosy, Bill Pullman, Mary Steenburgen, Danny DeVito and Eliza Dushku co-star.
"Punisher: War Zone" - Last time we looked, Thomas Jayne played the title avenger in a 2004 movie. Now, Ray Stevenson takes over as the vigilante ex-cop, out to stop a new villain called Jigsaw (Dominic West), seeking revenge from an earlier fight with the Punisher. Can the "Saw" movies sue these guys for recycling the villain's name "Jigsaw"? We shall see.
Dec. 12
"Dark Streets" - When blackouts keep shutting off his electricity, and a ruthless loan shark begins circling his popular blues nightclub, and everyone around him starts turning up dead, a playboy nightclub owner (Gabriel Mann) begins to panic. With 12 original songs performed by such artists as Etta James, Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan and Marc Broussard. Co-starring Bijou Phillips and Elias Koteas.
"The Day the Earth Stood Still" - A perfectly cast Keanu Reeves (he never quite looks human, does he?) takes over Michael Rennie's career-making role as the visiting alien in Scott Derrickson's remake of Robert Wise's 1951 classic. I've seen 20 minutes of this thriller, and it's a major FX reboot, with Jennifer Connelly and Jaden Smith as humans who befriend Klaatu and his robotic protector Gort. "Klaatu barada nikto!"
"Doubt" - The stoical Sister Aloysius (a brittle-looking Meryl Streep), a Catholic school principal, suspects that the new priest on her block (Philip Seymour Hoffman) might be molesting a young student. Directed and written by John Patrick Shanley of "Moonstruck" credit. Co-starring the delightful Amy Adams and Viola Davis.
"Frost/Nixon" - Reliable Hollywood pro Ron Howard directs a historic drama based on Peter Morgan's Broadway play about the 1977 media faceoff between disgraced U.S. President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) and upstart talk show host David Frost (Michael Sheen). Just a talk show? Howard directs it as a combination chess/boxing match.
"Nothing Like the Holidays" - Shot in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood! At a Christmas dinner, the Rodriguez family gets a shock when the matriarch (Elizabeth Pena) announces she intends to divorce her hubby (Alfred Molina). Craziness ensues. Starring Debra Messing, John Leguizamo and Freddy Rodriguez.
"Were the World Mine" - While playing Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," a student stumbles upon a love pansy potion and uses it to turn the narrow-minded townspeople gay.
Dec. 17
"The Wrestler" - Mickey Rourke is getting Oscar buzz over his comeback role as Randy "The Ram," a professional wrestler in the Hulk Hogan mold.
Dec. 19
"Gran Torino" - Clint Eastwood is back. Again. This time not just directing, but starring as a retired Detroit autoworker who resents the Asian influx into his neighborhood. When a minority teen (Bee Vang) tries to steal the man's prized Gran Torino car, the boy's punishment is to work for the racist retiree.
"Seven Pounds" - Will Smith stars as a guilt-stricken IRS agent (can there be such a thing?) out to make amends by helping seven people, presumably not AIG executives.
"The Tale of Despereaux" - A smart little mouse named Despereaux (voiced by Matthew Broderick) befriends a human princess ("Harry Potter" star Emma Watson). So he's banished from Mouseworld, which doesn't look a thing like Disneyland. A CGI feature.
"Yes Man" - Jim Carrey plays a risk-adverse loan officer who finally snaps and decides he'll say yes to everything that comes his way. Everything. Even Zooey Deschanel, his co-star.
"The 25th Annual Music Box Christmas Show" double-bills the perennial fave "White Christmas" with "It's a Wonderful Life" at the Music Box Theatre. Included: an old-fashioned Christmas carol sing-along during the intermission.
Dec. 22
"Good Santa/Bad Santa" - The classic "Miracle on 34th Street" double-bills with the less-than-classic "Bad Santa" at the Music Box Theatre. Included: an old-fashioned Christmas carol sing-along during the intermission.
Dec. 25
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story about a man who ages backward finally becomes a silver screen feature, directed by David "Seven" Fincher, starring Brad Pitt and a lot of CGI effects.
"Hurricane Season" - Louisiana high school basketball coach Al Collins (Forest Whitaker) assembles a team of players from five different schools after the destructive impact of Hurricane Katrina. Directed by Tim Story.
"Marley and Me" - It's not really about a dog, but a poignant coming-of-age story about a Florida newspaper columnist (Owen Wilson) and his comical chronicling of the specialness of the everyday. I greatly enjoyed the adult-oriented story (along with Jennifer Aniston skinny-dipping in the family pool). Plans to cut the film down to a kids-level PG might be a mistake, since it's not strictly a kids' movie.
"The Reader" - After a torrid affair with an older woman (Kate Winslet) in post-World War II Germany, a young man grows up to become an attorney (Ralph Fiennes), only to see his former lover face charges in a Nazi war crimes trial.
"The Spirit" - Frank "300" and "Sin City" Miller directs and writes a Will Eisner-inspired story about a killed cop (Gabriel Macht) who comes back from the dead to battle evil, mainly the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) and Plaster of Paris (Paz Vega). Early footage looks spectacularly stylish. With Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes.
Dec. 26
"Valkyrie" - Tom Cruise dons a macho eye patch to play Claus von Stauffengberg, the Nazi officer who launched a plot to kill Der Fuhrer in 1944. With Kenneth Branagh and Bill Nighy. Directed by Bryan "Superman Returns" Singer.
"West Side Story" - The classic that changed the American movie musical returns to the silver screen at the Music Box Theatre in a refurbished 70 mm print and DTS sound. Groundbreaking choreography joins with the tragic plot of "Romeo and Juliet" in a story of gang warfare set in 1950s New York. Starring Natalie Wood (with Marnie Nixon dubbing her songs), Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris.
Jan. 2
"Revolutionary Road" - Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes tells us a story about an imploding 1950s marriage, starring his wife Kate Winslet (five Oscar nominations so far), and her "Titanic" co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.