In this volume I look at a sci-fi epic set on an Earth physically divided by income inequality, an mega-budget Chinese-produced undersea epic that could prove disastrous, a drama set in Japan in the wake of World War Two, a remake of a Sam Raimi horror classic, the next chapter in the popular "Evangelion" anime series, several CG animated features about strange lands, and a horror thriller in the world of genetics.
The East
Opens: 2013
Cast: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, Ellen Page, Julia Ormond, Patricia Clarkson
Director: Zal Batmanglij
Analysis: Zal Batmanglij's debut film, 2011's "Sound of My Voice," finally opened in cinemas this year after more than a year of being a cult favorite on the film festival circuit. It was a real surprise, a micro-budget thinking person's sci-fi feature with career launching performances from Brit Marling ("Arbitrage") and Christopher Denham ("Argo"). Though rough and hardly flawless, it has an energy and promise that makes it a film that's worth checking out.
Two years on Batmanglij returns to Sundance, with Marling in tow, to premiere this thriller which Fox Searchlight has already picked up for distribution. This time Marling's character is the one going undercover to expose a dangerous group of devout followers. Gone is the sci-fi tones, here Marling plays a private intelligence firm operative who is assigned to infiltrate an anarchist collective known for executing covert attacks upon major corporations.
Infiltrating her way into this group of predominantly eco-terrorists, she begins to find herself unexpectedly torn as she starts to fall in love with the group's charismatic leader. Batmanglij and Marling reportedly co-wrote this before 'Voice', and filmed it before 'Voice' hit theaters. Along the way they pulled in an excellent cast like those listed above, as well as Toby Kebbell and Shiloh Fernandez. Along with the Park City premiere, the film will also screen next month in Ann Arbor, Michigan as part of the Sundance Film Festival USA initiative.
Elysium
Opens: August 9th 2013
Cast: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Diego Luna, Alice Braga
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Analysis: The last of the three 'Scorched Earth' films to hit this year, "Elysium" boasts a grimier and grittier aesthetic compared with the high-tech gloss of "Oblivion" or the fauna-filled jungle settings of "After Earth." It also boasts the best cast and most promising director in the form of Neill Blomkamp. The first feature from the South African-born filmmaker was 2009's "District 9," an astonishing $30 million blend of sci-fi action and political satire that ended up scoring both a Best Picture Oscar nomination and $210 million in worldwide box-office.
This time out, Blomkamp has a budget four times the size he had on "District 9" to tell this story set on a ravaged Earth where the wealthy now live on a pristine, man-made, space wheel station. Onboard is a government official (Jodie Foster) who enforces strict anti-immigration laws to preserve the luxurious lifestyle of those onboard. Meanwhile, the majority of the world's population is stuck planet-side on a now barren and overpopulated Earth. Matt Damon plays an unlucky ex-con who agrees to go on a daunting mission to bring equality to these polarized worlds.
Like D9, this one is full of social commentary and subtext about class warfare, income disparity, economic divisions, immigration policy and exploitation of poorer countries. Blomkamp has said it is "exponentially greater than District 9, in terms of just how much stuff there is in the film." It certainly sounds like a more thematically rich project than the other two scorched Earth films which are more straightforward sci-fi action adventure stories. However, the film has taken a while to come together and underwent reshoots over a year after principal photography - indicating the studio may be a bit nervous about it. There's been a couple of promising photos of a bald Matt Damon, but still no footage as yet which makes me wonder what the final product will look like.
Emperor
Opens: March 8th 2013
Cast: Matthew Fox, Tommy Lee Jones, Eriko Hatsune, Toshiyuki Nishida, Masayoshi Haneda
Director: Peter Webber
Analysis: Roadside Attractions acquired "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "Hannibal Rising" director Peter Webber's new historical drama shortly after its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September. Decent, but tepid reviews from the festival strongly praised Tommy Lee Jones' performance as General Douglas MacArthur. The same reviews dismissed the stiffness of the story, along with the blandness and clumsiness of the lead character played by Matthew Fox.
The story is set in the days immediately after the Japanese surrendered at the end of World War II. MacArthur was made the de facto ruler of Japan as Supreme Commander of the occupying forces. Fox plays General Bonner Fellers, a Japanese expert brought in to make a crucial decision - should Emperor Hirohito be tried and hanged as a war criminal? There's a third subplot as well aside from MacArthur's occupation and Fellers' investigation, and that is the search by Fellers for a Japanese friend lost amidst the post-war chaos.
The script by both Vera Blasi ("Woman on Top," "Tortilla Soup") and David Klass ("Kiss the Girls," "Walking Tall") is what has come under the most fire from critics. Complaints have been targeted at its concentration on both a generic love story and an under served investigation plot, even if both have key moments about how a culture can't be rebuilt until the victors first understand it. The same reviews, however, have praised the various production values of the film which was mostly shot in New Zealand. It may be a simple take on a complicated and rich story, but it should be interesting nonetheless.
Empire State
Opens: 2013
Cast: Liam Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Emma Roberts, Nikki Reed, Michael Angarano
Director: Dito Montiel
Analysis: Showing a lot of promise with his debut feature "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints," filmmaker Dito Montiel couldn't match the quality with his second film "Fighting" which also did little at the box-office. More recently, his third film "The Son of No One" proved disastrous. Boasting a $15 million budget, the film was widely panned and grossed just $30,000 in a short-lived theatrical run in the United States before quickly heading to disc.
The blow hasn't fazed Montiel though, he's gotten up and is now tackling this true story heist thriller. Adam Mazer ("Breach," "You Don't Know Jack") penned the script which deals with the 1982 robbery of $11 million from the Sentry Armored Car Company - the biggest cash robbery in U.S. history at the time. It also turned out that a considerable amount of that stolen money had been embezzled in advance.
Dwayne Johnson plays an NYPD officer who stands in the way of two childhood friends who've planned the robbery of the armored car depository. Liam Hemsworth, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano and Nikki Reed also star in the film which was shot in New Orleans this past summer. Roberts describes it as one of the darkest movies she's done so far, a film with far more commercial possibilities than Montiel's last two films. Here's hoping it works for him.
Empires of the Deep
Opens: 2013
Cast: Olga Kurylenko, Steve Polites, Maxx Maulion, Pierre Bourdaud, Jean-Michel Casanova
Director: Michael French
Analysis: Making waves a few months ago for all the wrong reasons, this independent 3D action-adventure fantasy feature has earned the title of the biggest US-Chinese co-production in history. Shot nearly three years ago, the project is the obsession of real estate magnate Jon Jiang. An in-depth New York Times piece back in 2010 on the film says the project is his attempt to create a lavish English-language spectacle to rival anything in Hollywood.
With a budget said to now clock in at around $130 million, it's easily the most costly Chinese movie ever. The story itself is an "Avatar"-esque tale set in the mystical world of mermaids and described by Jiang as a "serious love tragedy." Dig a little deeper though and things start to smell. Jiang is obsessed with Hollywood to the point of madness, blindly dismissing local filmmakers like Zhang Yimou as being "not qualified to make my movies."
The script has reportedly gone through over forty drafts with the help of ten screenwriters. TV documentary producer Michael French is the credited director, but he was the fourth to helm the project after the previous three left. The budget itself was originally only going to be about $50 million, and the only cast members of note are former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko and Taiwanese pop star Alec Su. Reports from the set indicate a mess of a production with sloppy shooting schedules, and allegations of unpaid wages and hazardous working conditions.
Originally slated for release mid-late 2011, there is still no locked down release date as yet. Two months ago a trailer leaked online which drew often hilarious derision from bloggers. The human elements of the final film looked more akin to a psychedelic Las Vegas stage show take on "The Little Mermaid." Those live action scenes are mixed in with awkwardly strobing and highly unconvincing digital effects which mostly showcased giant crabs and lobsters wrestling with each other. Already written off as "so bad it has to be good" in various circles, it should at least prove a laugh.
Ender's Game
Opens: November 1st 2013
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Moises Arias, Aramis Knight
Director: Gavin Hood
Analysis: Twenty-eight years after its publication, and seventeen years after he first put pen to paper on a screenplay adaptation, eccentric author Orson Scott Card's sci-fi tale "Ender's Game" is finally coming to the screen. First set up at Warners ten years ago with Wolfgang Petersen attached to direct, news on the project would seem to re-emerge and then disappear every few years as those involved would lose interest and move on.
It wasn't until about three years ago that the current incarnation started to come together at Odd Lot Entertainment. First, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" helmer Gavin Hood became attached to direct in late 2010, followed shortly by "Star Trek" and "Transformers" scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman who came onboard to produce in early 2011. Summit Entertainment picked it up for distribution, and production finally got underway in February this year.
The story is set seven decades after a hostile alien race have attacked Earth. Preparing for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young children in order to find a future prospect to lead the International Fleet. Enter Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy and strategically brilliant boy pulled out of his school to join the elite. Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult war games, distinguishing himself as the military's next great hope in the epic battle that will determine the future of Earth.
While Card penned the earliest drafts of the film adaptation back in the late 1990s, Gavin Hood penned the script for this and Card has specifically stated that only a few scenes from the film actually appeared in the novel. That said, he's not that fussed about liberties being taken with the source material. When discussing his visit to the set back in April, he said: "My book was already alive in the mind of every reader. This is writer-director Gavin Hood's movie, so they were his words, and it was his scene." Card himself recorded a voice-only cameo as a pilot making an announcement to his passengers.
Orci says the book and film both explore modern warfare's reliance on video game-like aspects - how this new technology is desensitising people to the actual horror of warfare. It's an interesting issue and one certainly worth exploring, however Card's contentious public image in the wake of certain op-ed pieces about homosexuality and gay marriage could become a talking point in discussions about the film. That said, Card's political and religious beliefs aren't reflected in the novel, and any adaptation with a sizeable budget like this (said to be over $100 million) will likely play it safe at every turn.
Epic
Opens: May 24th 2013
Cast: Colin Farrell, Amanda Seyfried, Beyonce Knowles, Christoph Waltz, Josh Hutcherson
Director: Chris Wedge
Analysis: The latest work from "Rio" producers Blue Sky Studios is this CG animated loose adaptation of William Joyce's kids book "The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs". Joyce's other works will be familiar to audiences of this genre as they formed the basis for both Blue Sky's "Robots" and Dreamworks Animation's recent "Rise of the Guardians."
Here though you have a project that has been unkindly described as "Ferngully" meets "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" with a dash of "Avatar." "Ice Age" director Chris Wedge very nearly left his own studio and Fox because the latter didn't want to produce the project which Wedge had been pursuing for some time. They relented though, and now we finally get to see if this eco-friendly fantasy tale was worth the investment.
The story follows a teenager who finds herself transported to a deep forest setting, there she must band together with a rag-tag group characters in order to save both their world - and ours. Recent trailers have showed some surprisingly imaginative and fun use of the natural world to tell this tale of battles on a large scale. There seems to be more thought, emotion and consideration on offer here than one usually expects from Fox animated movies.
Errors of the Human Body
Opens: 2013
Cast: Michael Eklund, Karoline Herfurth, Tómas Lemarquis, Rik Mayall, Ulrich Meinecke
Director: Eron Sheean
Analysis: Eron Sheean helms this psychological thriller set in the world of genetic research, a film that has been playing the genre festival circuit over the past six months. Reaction has been mostly positive, with Michael Eklund's performance in particular scoring consistently good notices. The praise has been enough for IFC to take notice and acquire the low-budget feature for release through its 'IFC Midnight' label.
The story follows a brilliant genetics researcher invited to join a lab in Germany, only to slowly uncover the reason for why he was truly brought there - a nightmare that he's at least partly responsible for. The character is also dealing with the emotional scars of a personal tragedy - only adding to his guilt and despair. Along the way it showcases the different ways this field affects the personalities of those who work in it, and the effects on multiple levels of a breakdown of communication.
Sheean himself spent a good amount of time at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, so his research and attention to detail is said to be frighteningly accurate. On the flip side, it also has a definite out there feel to it as the character's mental state begins to break down. Comparisons to films like "Altered States" and early-era Cronenberg have come up in several reviews, comparisons which only make me more excited.
Escape From Planet Earth
Opens: February 14th 2013
Cast: Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry, Jessica Alba, Sarah Jessica Parker, James Gandolfini
Director: Callan Brunker
Analysis: Canadian animation and design company Rainmaker Entertainment is known for its various computer animated children's shows and direct-to-disc movies over the years like "ReBoot" and the various "Barbie" titles. Now they try their hand at theatrical feature filmmaking with "Escape from Planet Earth," a 3D animated family comedy that is built on the idea that the aliens of the story are us.
Specifically, the action follows admired astronaut Scorch Supernova - a blue alien who masters in daring rescues with the help of his nerdy, by-the-rules brother. When warned of a dangerous planet named Earth, he heads there to check out the danger - only to find himself caught in a trap set by a ruthless human General at Area 51. As a result, the weakling brother has to man up to save his brother, his family and his planet.
Announced over five years ago and long-delayed ever since, it marks a rare attempt by Harvey Weinstein to get into animation - and it has cost them. The film's former writer/director Tony Leech and producer Brian Inerfeld launched a $50 million lawsuit alleging Weinstein and his brother intentionally sabotaged the film through overspending, incompetence and "contempt for contractual obligations." TWC's attorneys fired back and called the claims "false, gratuitous, slanderous, preposterous." It's something of a dark cloud that hangs over the film with no one quite sure at the moment how accurately the final credits of the film reflect the actual work done. Expect to hear more details about this closer to the film's release.
The Europa Report
Opens: 2013
Cast: Sharlto Copley, Michael Nyqvist, Christian Camargo, Daniel Wu, Anamaria Marinca
Director: Sebastián Cordero
Analysis: The most mysterious of next year's science-fiction films is this effort from Ecuadorian filmmaker Sebastián Cordero ("Ratas, Ratones, Rateros," "Crónicas"). The story involves six astronauts who go on a private mission to Jupiter's fourth moon, Europa, in search of extraterrestrial life. Shot in Brooklyn in late 2011, the cast is a mixture of international talent including Sharlto Copley ("District 9"), Michael Nyqvist ("Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol") and Christian Camargo ("Dexter"). "Battlestar Galactica" composer Bear McCreary is also onboard to do the score.
That's all that's really known about the film so far. No specific release date is set, even though viral marketing has begun. A teaser trailer released a few months ago showcased some great imagery - a real classic science-fiction feel akin to films like the underrated "2010: The Year We Make Contact" which also dealt with signs of life on Europa. However, the trailer was also frustratingly short and vague, not letting us in on the tone or the story beyond what we already knew. Still, the secrecy is to its advantage right now as it has gotten people talking.
Evil Dead
Opens: April 12th 2013
Cast: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci, Elizabeth Blackmore
Director: Fede Alvarez
Analysis: Just over twenty years since "Army of Darkness" hit cinemas, the "Evil Dead" franchise finally returns to screen albeit in a very different form. After a decade of discussion about a fourth film, years of confusion over the franchise's fate, and months of hassle over a lawsuit from rivals trying to cash in on the brand - things finally became clear in 2011. It was then when director Sam Raimi and actor Bruce Campbell revealed they had seemingly given up on a fourth film with Campbell's Ash character.
Instead, they had finally settled on a script they all approved of for a remake of the original 1981 low-budget classic. Raimi and Rodo Sayagues penned this version, while Diablo Cody came in to give it a final polish. The story involves a group of teenagers who go to a cabin in the woods and find a mysterious book that unwittingly summons up dormant demons living in the nearby woods. Initially cast as the lead character, Lily Collins had to drop out and was ultimately replaced by "Suburgatory" star Jane Levy.
The original "Evil Dead" set out with a serious tone in mind, but became better known for it elements of unintentionally comedic and over-the-top gore. Said elements became the focus of the much more outright comedic sequels. The biggest change with the remake, aside from a much larger budget of $14 million, is that the tone is quite different. Under Raimi's guidance as producer, acclaimed Uruguayan short film director Fede Alvarez came onboard to direct. The result is a film that plays it very serious and very dark.
While the visual look is akin to today's torture porn horror features, reports from the set and footage of the final product indicate the production is keeping many of the key scenes that made the original so memorable. From the tree rape to the possessed hand, the difference here is the gore is much more icky and realistic. Alvarez made it a point to use only practical effects on the film, especially in terms of the key elements. The result seems to work though as fans of the series brought the house down at the film's Comic Con presentation this year in San Diego. On chat boards and Twitter, a lot have expressed an eagerness to check it out rather than treating it with the usual scepticism that most horror remakes receive.
ALSO OPENING:
Eden
Making a film about sex trafficking can be potentially exploitative if not handled with care. It seems "The Off Hours" writer/director Megan Griffiths has done it the right way with this drama winning two Audience Awards at film festivals (including SXSW) along with several other nods. Based on a true story, Jamie Chung plays a young Korean-American girl abducted and forced into prostitution by domestic human traffickers. She soon joins forces with her captors in a desperate plea to survive. Said to boast more believable characters than you'd expect in these kinds of films, it's this more grounded approach - and the work of Chung and co-star Matt O'Leary - that's the draw here.
Elsa and Fred
Currently filming in New Orleans and Rome, "Il Postino" and "The Merchant of Venice" director Michael Radford helms this $10 million rom-com remake of the 2005 Spanish/Argentine film "Elsa y Fred". Shirley Maclaine plays a retiree living in New Orleans who has always dreamed of living that fountain scene from Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" but with the love of her life whom she hasn't found. Christopher Plummer plays a straight-laced widower who moves into her apartment building. Their friendship soon blossoms - she teaches him how to live again, and he tries to make her dream come true before she succumbs to a terminal illness.
Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes
Set to premiere in competition at Sundance this year, "Tanner Hall" filmmaker Francesca Gregorini casts rising young actress Kaya Scodelario as a troubled girl who becomes preoccupied with her mysterious, new neighbor. The woman apparently bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother, and Emanuel offers to babysit her newborn - in the process she unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world. Jessica Biel, Alfred Molina and Frances O'Connor also star. Right now it is awaiting the reviews out of Park City to tell the tale.
The English Teacher
"Weeds" and "The Larry Sanders Show" director/producer Craig Zisk shot this indie dramedy around this time last year. Sadly though, no new details have really emerged since then and still no word on a potential release. Julianne Moore plays a popular small town high school English teacher who brings a lot of energy to her teaching, but at the cost of a personal life. When a promising former pupil returns home after failing as a playwright in New York, she suggests her high school perform his unproduced play.
Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo
The third of four films released in the "Rebuild of Evangelion" tetralogy, this is where Hideaki Anno's cinematic remake of his classic mid-90's TV anime series really starts to take a different direction to its small screen counterpart. Last we saw, Shinji and Rei were still frozen in the impaled Unit-01 while Tokyo-3 and Geofront were abandoned. The third film picks up the action much further down the line and has been getting an interesting mix of reviews. From all reports it's the most ambitious of the three films, in a few ways it sounds like it may have over-reached. The film gets a limited theatrical run in the United States early in the year ahead of a disc release mid-year.
Everything Will Be Fine
Originally aiming to be wrapped by now for a premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in March, filmmaker Wim Wenders' next project won't actually even begin shooting in Montreal until February. As a result a late 2013 release is the earliest we'll likely see the Sarah Polley-led film which deals with a man who, driving aimlessly after a trivial domestic quarrel, accidentally hits and kills a child. It then shows his life over the next twelve years and how it destroys him. The project, penned by Bjørn Olaf Johannessen, is Wenders' first narrative feature since 2008.
The Complete Notable Films of 2013 Guide
Volume 0-9: 2 Guns, 21 and Over, 33 dias, 42, 47 Ronin, 300: Rise of An Empire, 7500
Volume A: The ABC's of Death, About Last Night, About Time, Admission, A.C.O.D., Adult World, After Earth, Afternoon Delight, Aftershock, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, All Is Lost, Anchorman: The Legend Continues, The Angriest Man In Brooklyn, Angry Little God, Are We Officially Dating?, As I Lay Dying, Ass Backwards, At Any Price, August: Osage County, Austenland
Volume B: Backmask, Baggage Claim, Bailout: The Age of Greed, Battle of the Year, Beautiful Creatures, Before Midnight, Belle, The Best Offer, Better Living Through Chemistry, Beyond The Hills, Big Sur, The Big Wedding, Black Dog Red Dog, The Black Marks, Bling Ring, Blood Ties, The Brass Teapot, Breathe In, Broken City, Bullet to the Head, The Butler, Byzantium
Volume C: Can a Song Save Your Life?, The Canyons, Captain Phillips, Carol, Carrie, A Case of You, Cavalry, CBGB, Chavez, Child of God, Chinese Zodiac, Closed Circuit, Closer to the Moon, Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers, C.O.G., The Colony, Come Out and Play, The Company You Keep, The Congress, Concussion, The Counselor, The Coup, The Croods, Crystal Fairy
Volume D: Dallas Buyers Club, Dark Blood, Dark Skies, Dead Man Down, Decoding Annie Parker, The Deep, Delivery Man, Despicable Me 2, Devil’s Knot, The Devil's Rapture, Diana, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: His & Hers, Disconnect, Dom Hemingway, Don Jon's Addiction, Dorothy of Oz, The Double, Drift, Drinking Buddies, Driven
Volume E: The East, Eden, Elsa and Fred, Elysium, Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes, Emperor, Empire State, Empires of the Deep, Ender's Game, The English Teacher, Epic, Errors of the Human Body, Escape From Planet Earth, The Europa Report, Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, Everything Will Be Fine, Evil Dead
Volume F: Fading Gigolo, Fast Six, Fellini Black and White, Felony, A Field in England, Fill the Void, Filth, Foxcatcher, Foxfire, From Up On Poppy Hill, Frozen, Fruitvale, The Frozen Ground
Volume G: Part 1: Gambit, Gangster Squad, The Gatekeepers, Get a Job, Getaway, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Ginger and Rosa, Girls Against Boys, Girl Most Likely, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, Gods Behaving Badly, A Good Day to Die Hard
Volume G: Part 2: Graceland, The Grand Masters, Grand Piano, The Grand Seduction, Grave of the Fireflies, Gravity, The Great Gatsby, Great Expectations, The Green Blade Rises, A Green Story, Greetings from Tim Buckley, Growing Up (and Other Lies), Grown Ups 2, Gus