Now that Summer
is finally over, Hollywood
gets more adult as the kids trudge back to school and Oscar season
closes in. That doesn’t mean the movies get better, mind you, just
that there aren’t as many explosions, comic book heroes, sequels,
spin-offs or remakes to contend with.
Or are there?
Maybe I’m wrong,
but it seems to me Fall is strangely starting to look more and more
like Summer Part II. Sure, there are more bona fide Academy Award
contenders (Terrence Mallick, Steven Spielberg, Sam Mendes, Roman
Polanski, Rob Marshall, Cameron Crowe, Ang Lee, Curtis Hanson, Niki
Caro, Marc Foster, James Mangold, Jim Sheridan, Darren Aronofsky,
Steven Zaillian, Woody Allen, Neil Jordan, Stephen Frears, Lasse
Hallström and James Ivory all have prestige pictures coming out before
the end of the year), that’s always a given this time of year. Yet,
for every “Munich”
(Dec. 23) there is a “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (Nov. 18),
“Saw 2” (Oct. 28) or “Aeon Flux” (Dec. 2) to make up for it.
Once again, it
looks as if imagination is the furthest thing away from the minds of
those controlling the financing deals on high over in Tinseltown. With
total ticket sales way down (12% by some estimates) for the year and
coming off one of the worst summers at the box office in ages, it’s
hard to believe much on each studio’s slate is going to help Hollywood
break out of its slump. While the guaranteed hits are obvious; “Harry
Potter,” “Chicken Little” (Nov. 4), “King Kong” (Dec. 14); there is
little that looks like it could turn into an out-and-out smash.
Still, not
everything is going to suck, and some of these sequels, remakes and
whatnots have me every bit as excited at the most hotly anticipated
Oscar contender. And while some to just seem to beg the questions why
(like, why exactly do we need another remake of “King Kong,” even if
it is a labor-of-love by director Peter Jackson), sometimes finding
out the answer can turn into a blissfully stimulating surprise. Okay,
it’s a forgone conclusion some of these are probably going to be
wastes of time (does the world really need a remake of John
Carpenter’s “The Fog,” Oct. 14, starring Tom Welling of “Smallville”),
but certainly not all of them. Some, like say Jon Favreau’s “Jumanji”
sequel “Zathura” (Nov. 23), might even turn out to be eye-popping
delights.
Be all that as it
may, I’ve managed to dilute the fall into ten flicks I’m most
interested in seeing. Some are obvious, some aren’t, and it is sure
that not all of them will pan out like I’d hope. But they’ve got me
excited, and after a summer that left me bummed out being excited
about going to the movies again is about the best possible thing I
could probably hope for.
A brief side note.
I should say that the one movie I was most excited about this fall was
Joss Whedon’s cinematic interpretation of his short-lived cult science
fiction television series “Firefly.” You won’t find any mention of
“Serenity” (Sept. 30) here, however, because I’ve already seen it.
While I can’t say more until my review, pesky publicist’s order to
secrecy until the release date, I can say I can’t wait to see it
again. That, by itself, should make my feelings on the picture
perfectly clear.
Now, onto that
list.
SEPTEMBER 16
(limited), SEPTEMBER 23 (wide)
“Tim Burton’s
Corpse Bride” (featuring the voices of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham
Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Albert Finney and Christopher
Lee, written by John August, Pamela Pettler and Caroline Thompson,
directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson)
This is one of two
stop-motion animated films coming out this Fall, and I’m giddy about
both of them. In this case, Burton’s
return to the genre for the first time since “The Nightmare Before
Christmas” and “James and the Giant Peach” is cause for celebration.
And, although the absence of Henry Selick is a concern, it seems
almost impossible that the teaming of Burton and Depp could fail twice
(“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”) in the same year.
SEPTEMBER 30
(limited)
“Duma” (starring
Alex Michaeletos, Mary Makhatho, Hope Davis and Campbell Scott, written by
Karen Janszen and Mark St. Germain, based on the book by Carol Cawthra
Hopcraft and Xan Hopcraft, directed by Carroll Ballard)
Ballard’s first
studio-released film since 1996’s classic “Fly Away Home,” but anytime
“The Black Stallion” auteur climbs back into the directing saddle
should be cause for celebration. This African adventure, a boy and his
cheetah tale based on the acclaimed book How It Was with Dooms,
looks like another naturalistic winner for the filmmaker. If it’s even
close to his prior two triumphs, count on “Duma” to be a triumph.
Other September
Curiosities:
“Everything is
Illuminated,” “Hellbent,” “Just Like Heaven,” “Lord of War,” “The
Thing About My Folks” and “Thumbsucker” (Sept. 16), “Flightplan” and
“Oliver Twist” (Sept. 23), “Capote,” “The Greatest Game Ever Played,”
“A History of Violence” and “Serenity” (Sept. 30)
“Wallace & Gromit:
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (featuring the voices of Peter Sallis,
Ralph Fiennes and Helana Bonham Carter, written by Bob Baker, Steve
Box, Mark Burton and Nick Park, directed by Steve Box and Nick Park)
The year’s second
stop-motion animated adventure, and this one has me even more excited
than the first. Anyone who’s loved the Oscar-winning short adventures
of scatterbrained inventor Wallace and his silent-but-cool genius dog
Gromit has to be going giddy waiting for this. Interesting question:
How odd is that Carter’s most high-profile pictures this year are all
family films, and two of them are animated?
