In this volume I look at the cinematic reboot of Tom Clancy's most famous literary creation, Bryan Singer's big budget take on the Beanstalk fable, a biopic about late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, a 3D re-release of a Steven Spielberg classic, a sequel to an acclaimed R-rated superhero movie, a film about a famed voyage across the Pacific, and one of the latest works of the masterful Terrence Malick.
Jack Ryan
Opens: December 25th 2013
Cast: Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh, Colm Feore
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Analysis: It's a shame that one franchise that gets seldom talked about by film writers is also one that remains amongst the most watchable of early 1990s cinema - the film series based on the techno-thriller novels by Tom Clancy. 1990's "The Hunt for Red October" is a bonafide classic, 1994's "Clear and Present Danger" is a smart action-packed thriller, and 1992's "Patriot Games" is an underrated dramatic procedural.
Though critics consider it one of the weakest of the four films, 2002's "The Sum of All Fears" was also one of the first real modern studio attempts at the now common idea of rebooting a franchise. In that case it ignored the previous films and reset the previously older Jack Ryan back to being a young analyst that was played by Ben Affleck. Now, Paramount has recruited Chris Pine, the star of their rebooted "Star Trek" franchise, to see if he can succeed where Affleck and 'Sum' failed.
It has taken the better part of a decade to get the film off the ground. Mashing together several scripts from different scribes, this will be the first of the films not to be based on a specific book by Tom Clancy. The story will nevertheless use elements from the series, such as the launching point of the film being the helicopter crash that nearly killed Ryan when he was a marine. It then moves to the main plot which portrays Ryan as a successful financial analyst who discovers a Russian plot to finance a terrorist attack designed to collapse the U.S. economy.
Part of the reason that this film took so long to get going was that the studio made it a priority for the film to launch a sustainable franchise rather than filling in a specific release slot. Producer Mace Neufeld has previously said they want to go back to the thinking man's thriller vibe of the earlier films, rather than take the "Star Trek" approach of giving it a big-scale action vibe. One smart choice was the hiring of "Thor" helmer Kenneth Branagh who not only directs the project, but also stars as the villain.
Another great move is the casting of Kevin Costner as a new character that will serve the function that James Earl Jones' Admiral Greer did in the previous films. Costner's character William Harper is also expected to be the equivalent of Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson in the Marvel films - should there be more films in the Clancy-verse, he would be the bridging character. The question now is if audiences will come. All four previous films were only modest earners with each garnering around $180-215 million worldwide. This 'Ryan' will have to do better than that to become the franchise the studio wants it to be.
Jack the Giant Slayer
Opens: March 1st 2013
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy, Ewan McGregor
Director: Bryan Singer
Analysis: Following "The Usual Suspects" and "Valkyrie," director Bryan Singer and scribe Chris McQuarrie have teamed for a third time on this big-budget action-fantasy based on a fairy tale - in this case classic British folk story 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. A combination of live-action and motion-capture elements, the story follows a young farmhand (Nicholas Hoult) who unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants bent on reclaiming the Earth they once lost - forcing the farmhand into the battle of his life to stop them.
Unfortunately, this particular adaptation has become well-known for something not so flattering - delays. Originally developed for D.J. Caruso to direct back in 2009, Singer and McQuarrie came onboard and completely re-tooled the project which pushed back production by about a year. Things eventually got under way Spring 2011 with the project aiming for a mid-Summer bow in June 2012.
Then in January 2012 the studio flinched. The first trailer went online to a fairly tepid response - what was shown wasn't bad, but wasn't particularly exciting either. From the very obvious and unfinished computer effects to some unusual design elements, it came off as mid-range performer that would get crushed under the deluge of more formidable tentpoles. Subsequent trailers haven't done much to dissuade that impression.
With the similar "Snow White and the Huntsman" releasing the week before, the sci-fi epic "Prometheus" the week after, and both those films releasing first trailers around the same time that had far more enthusiastic responses - the move came as no real shock. "The Dark Knight Rises" revenue would satiate the Warners stockholders for the season, and releasing the film at a quieter and less challenging date made more sense.
A nine month delay though was enough to raise eyebrows and made people wonder if something else was going on. There has been talk of weak test screening results and wild budget overruns, and there is no doubt concern about getting the marketing right after the high profile failure of Disney's "John Carter" last year. These days, big fantasy epics built around mostly unknown talent are anything but safe. The extra time certainly means Singer has had plenty of time to tweak the effects and the 3D, the question is if the script is strong enough to make the journey worthwhile.
Jayne Mansfield's Car
Opens: 2013
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Kevin Bacon, Ray Stevenson, John Hurt, Robert Duvall
Director: Billy Bob Thornton
Analysis: Premiering at various festivals throughout last year, 'Car' marks the return of Billy Bob Thornton to directing a decade after his last attempt. That film was his adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses" in 2000, a project that was torn apart by studio politics with the leftovers savaged by critics. The experience took Thornton a long time to get over, and now he is back with this quirky ensemble melodrama laced with a melancholic tone.
The story is set in the American South in the 1960s. Robert Duvall plays the crotchety patriarch who had to raise his four kids on his own when his wife abandoned him years before. He soon learns that she has died, and the British man she re-married is arriving in town with her body and his family in tow.
Reviews for the film say it features some brilliant sequences and inspired moments, but on the whole it is a bit of mess that lacks focus and direction. Thornton's screenwriting has certainly garnered more praise than his direction, while various character moments are said to ring true with excellent dialogue, solid performances, and a refreshing lack of sentiment. From the great mix of talent playing the kids, to what's said to be a stand out sequence featuring Robert Duvall-on-acid, I'm looking forward to it.
Jimmy Picard
Opens: 2013
Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Mathieu Amalric, Elya Baskin, Gina McKee, A Martinez
Director: Arnaud Desplechin
Analysis: The latest project from French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin ("A Christmas Tale") is this film adaptation of ethnologist George Devereux's 1951 non-fiction tome "Reality and Dream: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian". Benicio Del Toro plays a Native American soldier who, following World War II, is troubled by various medical symptoms. None of the symptoms can be explained physically, so he begins working with a French psychoanalyst (Mathieu Amalric) at a Kansas hospital to help cure himself.
The two ultimately form a bond of friendship along with their professional, medical relationship which lasted over eighty sessions. Shot last Summer in Michigan, a lot of people are talking a potential Cannes premiere. Certainly Del Toro hasn't really had a big performance piece like this since "Che," and the material sounds very awards-friendly. Could this be a potential contender in next year's race?
jOBS
Opens: April 2013
Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, James Woods, Matthew Modine, Josh Gad
Director: Joshua Michael Stern
Analysis: Not to be confused with the "official" Steve Jobs film in development at Sony that Aaron Sorkin is penning the script for, this independently-produced feature is a more straightforward biopic about the late Jobs' journey from Northern California hippie to co-founder of one of the largest and most recognisable corporations in history.
Joshua Michael Stern ("Swing Vote") directed the project which 34-year-old Ashton Kutcher shot during the break between seasons on "Two and a Half Men." According to the producers, the film primarily focuses on the early years of Apple, its founding and the up and down years from 1971 to 2000. It isn't based on one particular book or resource though, as the public nature of the company gave them a huge variety of source material. They also had full access to people who knew Jobs personally.
Just this week, Open Road Films and Five Star Feature Films teamed to acquire the movie which will premiere at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival ahead of an April theatrical release. Due to the limited budget, the film is being billed as an "intense dialogue-driven story" and "an immensely personal portrait." While all the focus is on Kutcher as Jobs, he's aided by a great supporting casting here including those above, plus J.K. Simmons, Lukas Haas, Lesley Ann Warren, Ron Eldard, Kevin Dunn, David Denman and Amanda Crew.
K-11
Opens: March 15th 2013
Cast: Goran Visnjic, Kate del Castillo, D.B. Sweeney, Portia Doubleday, Jason Mewes
Director: Jules Stewart
Analysis: Kristen Stewart's mother Jules, a script supervisor for more than two decades, makes her directorial debut on this film which takes the "Caged Heat" format and gives it a gender and sexuality twist. Described as unabashedly trashy and deranged, reviews from the Turin Film Festival in November painted it as a project that would make John Waters proud. However, they also say Stewart doesn't reign it in enough, meaning even the campy appeal wears out its welcome.
Goran Visnjic plays a wealthy record producer who wakes from a drug-induced blackout to find himself locked up in K-11, the wing of L.A. County Jail reserved for gay and transgendered prisoners. He's stuck in a prison environment run by a brutal Mexican transsexual diva named Mousey (Kate del Castillo). With no way to contact the outside world, he begins formulating plans to turn the tables on the predatory inmates who have control.
Joining Visnjic are Portia Doubleday as a troubled young transgender named Butterfly, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister as a predatory child molester, and D.B. Sweeney as a twisted and sadistic deputy. While Waters always played his films for laughs, this one does not - including the brutal scenes of prison rape and murder. It's a film designed only for a very limited audience, but it's one that could amass a cult following down the road. Oh, and K-Stew cameos as a voice at the end of a phone line.
Kick-Ass 2
Opens: June 28th 2013
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jim Carrey
Director: Jeff Wadlow
Analysis: Though it made a solid $96 million off of a $28 million budget, 2010's comic adaptation "Kick Ass" was more of a hit with audiences and (to a lesser extent) critics. Based on Mark Millar's violent comic, the film has quickly grown a cult following and actually garnered more fans as a minor controversy over the quite dark and adult tone became known. It also launched the career of the now ubiquitous Chloë Grace Moretz thanks to her scene-stealing role as Hit Girl. In fact, it is her subplot and scenes with her dad (Nic Cage) that easily stole the film from the title character.
Even though the first film's director Matthew Vaughn opted out of coming back to direct the sequel, he has stayed on as producer and ended up selecting Jeff Wadlow ("Never Back Down," "Cry Wolf") to take over as director. Universal is no doubt ready for any potential controversies this time. It should be interesting to see just what makes it into the final film, one that is expected to garner a "hard R" rating.
This entry sees 'Kick-Ass' joining a group of normal citizens who have been inspired to fight crime in costume. Said group is led by Jim Carrey's 'Colonel Stars and Stripes'. At the same time, 'The Red Mist' (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) has changed his hero name to 'The Mother Fucker' and plots revenge with his own band of villains called 'The Toxic Mega-cunts'. One of his team is a gigantic blond ex-KGB muscle woman named 'Mother Russia' who serves as his personal bodyguard.
Once again though it is Hit Girl who has the most interesting subplot, one that's drawn comparisons to "A History of Violence". Forcibly in retirement and desperately trying to adjust to the normal life of a young girl, she's reluctantly pulled back into a violent lifestyle. Millar's "Hit-Girl" comic forms the basis of the film's first half-hour, while his "Kick Ass 2" comic makes up the plot of the remaining 70 or so minutes. While the first film toned down some of the first comic's darker material, this film is NOT expected to shy away from it - such as the already infamous dog-decapitation scene.
There is confusion though as to whether the film will portray the sequel comic's darkest chapter - in which Red Mist and two of his minions kill the father of Kick Ass' girlfriend Katie, and then proceed to punch and then gang rape her. Early in 2012, Millar said the scene would make the cut. A few months ago however, actor Mintz-Plasse said "The rape scene is not in it. There’s a version of it, but there’s no rape. Thank God." Even hardcore fans of the first film are balking at the idea in various movie and comic chat rooms. Here's hoping it doesn't make it.
Kill Your Darlings
Opens: 2013
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Elizabeth Olsen, Michael C. Hall, Dane DeHaan, Ben Foster
Director: John Krokidas
Analysis: Yet another film about the Beat Generation to sit alongside last year's "On the Road" and this year's "Big Sur," this one isn't based on their works. Rather, it deals with the real-life murder of David Kammerer in 1944 at Columbia University. Said murder brought together three great writers - Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs - whose works and deeds were a key part of an entire counter-culture movement.
Kammerer (Michael C. Hall) was stabbed to death by Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan), a student who had been pursued sexually by Kammerer. Carr's friends included the three writers (Daniel Radcliffe, Jack Huston, Ben Foster) and together they dumped Kammerer's body in the Hudson River and spent a couple of days deciding whether or not to confess to the murder. When Carr finally did, he served two years in prison before becoming an editor at United Press International. The other three went on to define the Beat Generation.
Filmmaker John Krokidas has been trying to get the project made for a good few years with the likes of Chris Evans, Jesse Eisenberg and Ben Whishaw attached at one point. That version fell apart, but this one came together soon after. The cast is essentially flawless with all the impressive young talent above, plus the likes of Kyra Sedgwick, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and amusingly David Cross playing Louis Ginsberg. Louis was the father of Allen Ginsberg, and Cross played Allen in 2007's "I'm Not There." Set to premiere at this year's Sundance, this will hopefully be one of the festival's real highlights.
Kiss of the Damned
Opens: 2013
Cast: Joséphine de La Baume, Roxane Mesquida, Milo Ventimiglia, Riley Keough
Director: Xan Cassavetes
Analysis: Move over you chaste "Twilight" vampires, the creatures of the night in this thriller are ravenous, yet cultured horn bags. Actress turned filmmaker Alexandra 'Xan' Cassavetes, daughter of Greek actor-director John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands, helms this erotic vampire film which was the closing night feature of International Critics’ Week at the 2012 Venice Film Festival. Magnet Releasing quickly acquired it and are planning a likely simultaneous limited theatrical and VOD run sometime in 2013.
Akin to European genre films of the 1960s and 1970s, Joséphine de La Baume plays Djuna, a beautiful vampire who tries to resist the advances of the handsome human screenwriter Paulo (Milo Ventimiglia). Eventually she gives in to temptation, only for both her romance and the vampire community as a whole to be endangered when Djuna's troublemaker sister (Roxane Mesquida) arrives unexpectedly.
Reviews from the festival were mildly positive. While it might seem like a throwback sexploitation flick, it is also said to smartly deal with issues of female sexuality rather than simply fetishize it. Indeed, the cast is almost entirely female, with the men essentially kept off to the side aside from Ventimiglia's love interest. The ending is said to be rushed, but the film also explores cultural and class divisions - not something you usually see in this kind of genre territory. The promise of quite a bit of soft-core sex mixed with a decent amount of blood should also garner an audience.
Kon-Tiki
Opens: 2013
Cast: Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Odd-Magnus Williamson
Director: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg
Analysis: The anti-"Life of Pi" if you will, "Kon-Tiki" swaps Ang Lee's spiritual metaphors and digital effects heavy survival tale for a straightforward historical procedural with a bit of an action-adventure vibe. Though partly in English, this handsomely produced Norwegian film is up for the Best Foreign Language Film award at the Golden Globes this year, and has also made the final nine on the shortlist for the same honor at the Oscars.
This $15.5 million production is the dramatised story of ethnographer and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl and his famed expedition in 1947. Heyerdahl set out to prove that people from South America could have settled in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times. Using the original techniques that were available to the Peruvians 1500 years before, he and a crew of five set out on a 5,000 mile journey across the Pacific on a balsa raft.
While mainstream Western audiences may shy away from something that's subtitled, I've seen the film and have to say it would be a shame as it is more a smart crowd-pleaser than it is art house fare. The end product certainly looks like it was made for more than its budget lets on. With shooting having taken place in Norway, Polynesia, the United States, Malta, Bulgaria, Sweden and Peru - it has certainly been done on an impressive scale. With only one or two exceptions, the digital effects are also excellent and used with restraint. The international rollout begins around Easter and goes through into early Summer.
Knight of Cups
Opens: 2013
Cast: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Antonio Banderas, Teresa Palmer
Director: Terrence Malick
Analysis: Love or hate him, Terrence Malick has become more than ever a lightning rod for debate following "The Tree of Life". Malick's cinematic approach has always been much more akin to impressionistic art than storytelling, his films driven far more by moods than structure. They are beautiful to look at and often achieve a transient wonder, yet they can also be ponderous, unfocused and frustrating.
As a result, he has become to art house cinema what Michael Bay is to action blockbusters - a filmmaker unashamed to indulge in some of the worst excesses in their respective fields, in the process earning an army of unquestioningly loyal supporters. Of course fandom is like any religion, the blindly devout tend to be crazy and are best avoided. Malick also famously forms his films in the post-production phase - sometimes taking years to get them just right.
Whole swaths of plot, character and performance get cut out or remixed along the way - much to the chagrin of some of the actors involved (as in the famous case of Adrien Brody and "The Thin Red Line"). As a result, there's no way to tell when this Terrence Malick film will end up seeing the light of day - it could be this year, 2014 or even 2015.
Shot back-to-back with the formerly titled "Lawless," all that's really known is that it deals with celebrity and has an amazing cast. How much of that cast will survive the final cut remains to be seen, but those who have participated include Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Teresa Palmer, Antonio Banderas, Holly Hunter, Wes Bentley, Joel Kinnaman, Isabel Lucas, Freida Pinto, Imogen Poots, Thomas Lennon, Nicky Whelan, Michael Wincott, Ryan O'Neal and Joe Manganiello to name a few.
ALSO OPENING:
Java Heat
Kellan Lutz and Mickey Rourke star in this action thriller about a Muslim detective (Ario Bayu) and a young American (Lutz) posing as a graduate student. They team-up and set out to find the man behind a series of deadly terrorist bombings in Indonesia. The young American soon learns that the world is more complicated than he thought, and can't be fixed with mere violence. Conor Allyn ("Red & White") penned and directed the film which was shot on location in Jakarta. IFC has already picked it up for release sometime in 2013.
Jurassic Park 3D
Steven Spielberg's 1993 film adaptation of Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park" has been remastered and reformatted for a 3D re-release to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Spielberg himself was said to be heavily involved in the conversion process on the film, and the recent re-release of "Titanic" showcased how good 90's live-action films can look if done the right way.
Justin and the Knights of Valour
This Spanish-produced 3D animated fantasy tale comes from Kandor Graphics, the company behind "The Missing Lynx." The story is set in a medieval kingdom where knights have been replaced by bureaucrats. The son of the Queen's chief counsel wants to become a knight and so he runs away from home in search of his dream. The project boasts an impressive voice cast including Saoirse Ronan, Freddie Highmore, Barry Humphries, Mark Strong, Antonio Banderas, Olivia Williams, Alfred Molina, Julie Walters, Rupert Everett, Charles Dance and David Walliams. Sadly the story looks decidedly routine.
Kid Cannabis
"Blue Crush" director John Stockwell's other film this year, aside from the Gina Carano action thriller "In The Blood," is this stoner comedy meets true story piece. Chris Marquette plays an Idaho high school drop out who starts trafficking marijuana across the border of Canada in order to make money. When the drop out starts cutting into the business of a local dealer (Aaron Yoo), said dealer lets his 'Scarface' fixation go to his head and brings out his guns to stop him.
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
Volume H: The Hangover Part III, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia, The Heat, Hell and Back, Hell Baby, Her, Hidden, The Hive, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Homefront, Horns, The Host, The Host 2, How I Live Now, Hummingbird, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunt
Volume I: I Frankenstein, The Iceman, The Identical, Identity Thief, I Give It A Year, I'm So Excited, In a World, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, In Fear, Inside Llewyn Davis, Insidious Chapter Two, Interior Leather Bar, The Internship, In the Blood, The Invisible Woman, Iron Man 3
Volume J-K: Jack Ryan, Jack the Giant Slayer, Java Heat, Jayne Mansfield’s Car, Jimmy Picard, jOBS, Jurassic Park 3D, Justin and the Knights of Valour, K-11, Kick-Ass 2, Kid Cannabis, Kill Your Darlings, Kiss of the Damned, Kon-Tiki, Knight of Cups