In this volume I look at a prequel to an early Pixar film, an all-star hunt for stolen WW2 art treasures, the return of Michel Gondry to quirky rom-com territory, another young adult fantasy lit adaptation, a cinematic take on a recent John le Carre title,1960s cartoon characters brought to CG life by Dreamworks, a Joss Whedon-directed Shakespeare adaptation, and an Outback murder mystery.
Monsters University
Opens: June 21st 2013
Cast: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, Kelsey Grammer, Frank Oz
Director: Dan Scanlon
Analysis: A few years ago one thought this question would never be asked, but the time has now come - can Pixar come back?. The crass, commercial "Cars" sequel in 2011 raked in $560 million at the worldwide, not to mention countless more millions in merchandise sales. That financial success came at a steep price, the end of the once perfect critical track record for the studio. The original "Cars" scored only a moderate reaction, but it seems like an Oscar winner in comparison to the utter thrashing that "Cars 2" received in reviews.
The reviews for last year's "Brave" were better, but almost all said it didn't come close to Pixar's work at its best. Can this prequel to 2001's "Monsters Inc." steers things back on the right course? Set ten years before the events in the first film, the story envisions Sulley and Mike as college students in the same fraternity. Both are in training to become scare specialists for the company, and actually start out rivals who ultimately become best friends.
Many of the key voice talents are back from the first film, Kelsey Grammer replacing the late James Coburn, while the likes of Dave Foley, Julia Sweeney, Joel Murray, Ken Jeong, Rob Riggle, J. B. Smoove and John Ratzenberger have also joined the cast. The studio has been fairly low-key with the marketing so far, but have posted some inventive viral videos and websites which pretend Monsters University is a real college.
The Monuments Men
Opens: December 18th 2013
Cast: George Clooney, Daniel Craig, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray
Director: George Clooney
Analysis: If there is one obvious awards front runner for this year right off the bat, it's George Clooney's big-budget hunt for Nazi-stolen art treasure project which is slated to begin shooting in March in Europe. A good portion of the crew behind Ben Affleck's "Argo" will serve in the same capacities here, though Clooney himself is stepping into the director's chair and is co-writing the script with his producing partner Grant Heslov.
The story is an adaptation of Robert M. Edsel's book about a hand-picked group of art experts chosen by the U.S. government to retrieve artwork taken by the Nazis during World War II. The team of American and British museum directors, curators, and art historians all came together to find and return the treasures which Hitler systematically emptied from the museums and private collections of Europe.
The action is set in the last eleven months of the war with the group sometimes working behind enemy lines. The tone is expected to be akin to "Argo" - mixing dramatic thriller elements with caper thrills in a crowd-pleasing package with a classy pedigree. For those after something with more dramatic weight, check out the documentary that has already been made on the subject - 2006's "The Rape of Europa" - which made the Oscars documentary shortlist.
Clooney has landed an incredible cast for the story with the likes of Daniel Craig, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville, Jean Dujardin and Bob Balaban already attached. The big question is, will they be able to finish the movie in time? With rumors that the award nominations cut off date could be moved up this year to accommodate an earlier ceremony, this is the highest profile project that might not make the deadline as it is already going to have to hustle to meet its mid-December release. Can it be done in time?
Mood Indigo
Opens: 2013
Cast: Audrey Tatou, Omar Sy, Romain Duris, Alain Chabat, Gad Elmaleh
Director: Michel Gondry
Analysis: Michel Gondry gets back to the kind of filmmaking he's famous for with this surreal and quirky, Paris-shot, indie romantic fantasy. Three major French cinema talents - Audrey Tautou, Omar Sy and Romain Duris - star in this adaptation of Boris Vian’s cult 1947 novel "Froth on the Daydream". The synopsis for the film says the setting is "a world where you can travel around on a pink cloud or literally be swept off an ice-skating rink into a hole" which means plenty of absurdity will happen along the way.
Duris plays Colin, a wealthy young man and inventor of the cocktail-mixing piano. Desperate to fall in love, he enlists his cook and best friend to help him woo Chloe, a woman who is "the incarnation of a Duke Ellington tune." Soon after their wedding, Chloe falls ill due to a water lily growing in her chest. Ruined by medical expenses, Colin resorts to increasingly desperate methods to save her life. Set to be released in France in April, an international rollout is expected shortly after.
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Opens: August 23rd 2013
Cast: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Lena Headey, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kevin Zegers
Director: Harald Zwart
Analysis: An adaptation of the first novel in Cassandra Clare's popular "The Mortal Instruments" young-adult novel series, 'City' is Constantin Film and Sony's attempt to launch their own "Twilight" and "Hunger Games"-esque franchise. The brooding emo young men here aren't vampires, rather they are half-human/half-angel warriors who seem to have a thing for rune tattoos and hanging around in nightclubs.
Playing like a younger-skewing "Constantine" judging by the trailer, Lily Collins stars as a teen girl whose mother (Headey) is kidnapped by a man (Rhys-Meyers) in search of a powerful artifact. She discovers the truth of her existence - she is destined to become a Shadowhunter - and seeks the help of others of her kind to help rescue her mother.
"The Karate Kid" and "Agent Cody Banks" director Harald Zwart helms the film that is being dumped at the tail end of Summer, not exactly a sign of confidence on the studio's part. The books themselves were praised for their blending of modern humor with traditional fantasy, whether the film can carry on that tradition remains to be seen.
A Most Wanted Man
Opens: 2013
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright, Willem Dafoe, Daniel Brühl
Director: Anton Corbjin
Analysis: After a solid debut with the Ian Curtis biopic "Control," Anton Corbjin surprised everyone with 2010's "The American." Dismissed in the lead up as a Bourne franchise clone with George Clooney in the role, the final film proved an unexpected surprise - a melancholic and somber one-off character drama about a hit man seeking redemption in what proves to be his final days. The film ultimately appeared in quite a few Top 10 lists for that year.
One has to wonder which approach Corbjin will bring to this adaptation of John le Carré's 2008 novel. Set in present-day Hamburg, the story begins when a mysterious, near-dead half-Chechen, half-Russian fugitive arrives in the city's Islamic community desperate for help and looking to recover his late Russian father's ill-gotten fortune. As a British private banker and a young female lawyer try to help, a covert German spy unit works to solve the mystery of the man's identity.
Le Carre's contemporary set story is loosely based on Murat Kurnaz, a Turkish citizen and legal German resident seized by American authorities and imprisoned for years in Guantanamo Bay before being released without charge in 2006. The cast is superb, but the role everyone will really be watching with interest is Philip Seymour Hoffman as the head of the spy unit that must find out the truth about this fugitive.
The film boasts a script by "Lantana" and "Strictly Ballroom" scribe Andrew Bovell, and it follows in the wake of two excellent le Carre adaptations in recent years - 2005's "The Constant Gardener" and 2011's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy." Both films worked because they were NOT action thrillers, but meticulously detailed and carefully paced character dramas, something this will hopefully be. It's the kind of filmmaking Corbjin excels at, which would explain his hiring. Already scheduled for a November release in Europe, I wonder if this will also feature on critics Top Ten lists come the end of the year.
Mother of George
Opens: 2013
Cast: Danai Gurira, Isaach De Bankole, Yaya Dacosta Alafia
Director: Andrew Dosunmu
Analysis: "The Walking Dead" fans will see the sword-wielding Michonne (Danai Gurira) in a whole different light with this Sundance drama project starring Gurira as Adenike, a South African woman now living in the United States. "The Limits of Control" star Isaach De Bankolé plays her fiancée Ayo, the owner of a small African restaurant in Brooklyn.
Ayo and Adenike have a traditional Basotho wedding, a ceremony in which her yet-to-be conceived son is named George. As months pass and her attempts to get pregnant fail, her loneliness intensifies. Torn between her Basotho culture and new life in America, she is willing to risk everything to save her marriage and to give Ayo his long-awaited son.
Set to premiere at Sundance in dramatic competition, Andrew Dosunmu's project has also gone by the title "Ma'George" and marks the Nigerian photographer and filmmaker's first film since 2011's musical indie drama "Restless City". Dosunmu says his aim with the project is to make the audience walk away from the film considering the consequences of their actions and decisions they make. Hopefully it is as thought-provoking and fascinating as it sounds.
Movie 43
Opens: January 25th 2013
Cast: Too Many To Count
Director: Too Many To Count
Analysis: A huge number of stars have come together for this R-rated anthology comedy made up of short stand alone segments (ala "Kentucky Fried Movie") held together by a unifying storyline. Said storyline follows two teen stoners and their younger geek brother trying to find the most banned movie in the world on the Internet, but each time they get close someone tries to stop them.
One sketch has Gerard Butler as a perverse and foul-mouthed leprechaun kidnapped by Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott who want to steal his pot of gold. Another has Halle Berry as a career driven woman set up to take the fall for corporate embezzlement by a sexy college friend. The most anticipated is "Robin's Big Speed Date," a follow-up to the 2006 comedy short "Robin's Big Date" in which Batman's sidekick Robin (Justin Long) tries to go on a date without The Bat-Man (Sam Rockwell) tagging along and ruining the evening. Long will reprise his role with Jason Sudeikis taking over as Batman.
Other cast members include Elizabeth Banks, Kristen Bell, Jimmy Bennett, Leslie Bibb, Kate Bosworth, Bobby Cannavale, Kieran Culkin, Josh Duhamel, Anna Faris, Richard Gere, John Hodgman, Hugh Jackman, Aasif Mandvi, Stephen Merchant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Moretz, Liev Schreiber, Tony Shalhoub, Emma Stone, Uma Thurman, Patrick Warburton, Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet. The list of directors who contributed sketches is also impressive including Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, Patrik Forsberg, James Gunn, Bob Odenkirk and Brett Ratner.
Mr. Morgan’s Last Love
Opens: 2013
Cast: Michael Caine, Gillian Anderson, Clémence Poésy, Justin Kirk, Jane Alexander
Director: Sandra Nettelbeck
Analysis: A quiet and dramatic piece about a unique relationship, "Mostly Martha" and "Helen" filmmaker Sandra Nettelbeck penned and directed this adaptation of French author and playwright Francoise Dorner's "The Gentle Assassin." Shot in Paris in late 2011, the film deals with the bond between characters played by acting legend Michael Caine and young "In Bruges" actress Clemence Poesy.
Caine plays a retired philosophy professor and widower who feels misunderstood in his grief by his children. Poesy plays a twenty-something Paris shop girl who finds herself always hurt and disappointed in love. A relationship develops between these two solitary beings that is neither sexual nor platonic, but rather somewhere in between. They soon transform the other’s life for the better, but it comes at a price.
Shot in Paris in late 2011, it's a small movie that will likely get a festival premiere sometime this year ahead of a limited theatrical release. The big question of course is Caine's award chances. The pedigree is there behind the scenes, it's now a question of whether the film itself will work as an adaptation.
Mr. Peabody and Sherman
Opens: November 1st 2013
Cast: Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Stephen Colbert, Ellie Kemper, Ariel Winter
Director: Rob Minkoff
Analysis: "The Lion King" co-director Rob Minkoff helms this 3D computer-animated comedy adventure that serves as Dreamworks Animation's big feature for the Fall schedule (and the company's third for the year). The story is based on the classic characters from the 1960s "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show." For those who don't know them, Mr. Peabody is a highly intelligent talking dog who is accompanied in his time travelling WABAC machine by his rather dim "pet" human boy Sherman.
In the film, Sherman's accidental antics threaten to destroy the space-time continuum and things must be set right before history unravels. Some fun voice roles here include Stephen Colbert as Mr. Peabody's nemesis, along with Allison Janney, Leslie Mann, Stanley Tucci, and even Mel Brooks as Sigmund Freud. The movie also boasts a script by American playwright and Emmy-nominated television writer Craig Wright who created the short-lived series "Dirty Sexy Money" and penned key episodes of "Lost" and "Six Feet Under."
While the other two animated films by Dreamworks this year are new titles, 'Peabody' comes with a certain amount of brand recognition. It was also as much an educational show as it was a straight-forward cartoon, so there's a big question as to what kind of tone Dreamworks will target. 'Sherman' will also sport a short film in front of it featuring the Rocky and Bullwinke characters, a short that will serve as a test for a possible feature film based on the characters.
Much Ado About Nothing
Opens: June 7th 2013
Cast: Nathan Fillion, Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Clark Gregg, Fran Kranz
Director: Joss Whedon
Analysis: Joss Whedon's adaptation of the famed Shakespeare play is famous for being the micro-budget indie side project the filmmaker took on whilst in the midst of post-production down time on Marvel's mega-budget "The Avengers." Filmed entirely in black-and-white over 12 days at Whedon's residence in Santa Monica, Whedon and his wife produced and shot the film with the help of cinematographer Jay Hunter.
The entire production was kept top-secret. No one knew about it, outside those involved, until the film was actually complete. Mostly made up of cast members from the various television shows he's produced over the years like "Buffy," "Angel," "Firefly" and "Dollhouse," one other regular alum was scheduled to take part - Anthony Head. When Head couldn't make it, "The Avengers" actor Clark Gregg stepped up to fill in the role. Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions quickly snapped up the film after its Toronto Film Festival premiere for a joint theatrical release this coming Summer.
Reviews from the fest paint it as a contemporary set adaptation that stays loyal to the text. Whedon's regular cohorts though are often known for their impeccable comedic timing and skills, and this one uses them all to take one of the Bard's most famous comedies and turn it into an often hilarious crowd pleaser. One review says: "more than most adaptations, this is a film true to Shakespeare's practice of employing all means at hand to keep the crowd entertained." I expect this will be loads of fun, and not just for the Browncoats.
Mud
Opens: May 26th 2013
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Paulson
Director: Jeff Nichols
Analysis: The next film from "Shotgun Stories" and "Take Shelter" director Jeff Nichols keeps Matthew McConaughey's impressive career resurgence on the course it has been steadily following the last two years. An old-fashioned, but contemporary spin on "Huckleberry Finn," this coming-of-age tale has drawn comparisons to "Stand By Me" and classic Americana novels about young boys undergoing a rite of passage. It's certainly a safer, more heavy-handed and sentimental work than Nichols' often daring and acclaimed indie dramas have been so far.
The story follows the unlikely friendship between a fugitive (McConaughey) and two Arkansas teenage boys who help him escape and reunite with his lost love (Reese Witherspoon). There's a lot more to the story however, and she isn't exactly what the teens expect. In fact, the small Arkansas town soon finds itself besieged by a line of hunters seeking revenge against Mud.
Reviews from the festival circuit have all been pretty good. Despite the over familiarity and formulaic nature of the film, it's still said to be an often engaging and quite commercial work that boasts strong performances, particularly from the kids. The nostalgic melodrama, however, gets too much which leads to a messy final act. Even so, it should make for a welcome change of pace when it opens right in the height of the Summer film season.
ALSO OPENING:
Mindscape
The feature debut of Goya Award-nominated short filmmaker Jorge Dorado, this psychological thriller stars the likes of Mark Strong, Brian Cox, and Taissa Farmiga. Strong plays a man with the ability to enter people's memories. He takes on the case of a brilliant, but troubled and dangerous teenage girl (Farmiga) to determine whether she is a victim of trauma, or the sociopath responsible for it in the first place. Think "The Cell" without the arty shot compositions and serial killer antics. The film was shot earlier this Fall in France, Spain and Canada ahead of a late 2013 release in the United Kingdom.
Mobius
Éric Rochant's French espionage thriller stars "The Artist" actor Jean Dujardin as a veteran FSB spy who falls in love with a money launder (Cécile de France) at a casino owned by a Russian oligarch (Tim Roth). While Dujardin has made his name in comedies, this one is a serious and expensive looking action-thriller piece built on twists and shifting loyalties. Switching between English, Russian and French, the film has already become known for its "Inception"-style trailers. It will be interesting to see if the final product approaches Nolan-style territory as well. Somehow though, I doubt it.
Mockingbird
After making a bit of a splash with 2008's "The Strangers," filmmaker Bryan Bertino has been keeping fairly low-key until he went into production last year on two films. The first is an indie drama with Hilarie Burton and Mackenzie Foy called "Plastic Jesus". The other is this micro-budget found footage thriller from Blumhouse Productions. Previously titled "Red Balloons," the story follows a Los Angeles couple (Todd Stashwick, Audrey Marie Anderson) who are given a camera and a set of instructions. They must carry out what’s on the document or someone will die.
Molly Moon: The Incredible Hypnotist
An English family fantasy film based on Georgia Byng's popular children's book series. Raffey Cassidy plays a young orphan who finds a book about hypnotism and learns how to use that skill on people. She soon finds herself in a face-off with a bank robber (Dominic Monaghan) who wants her book to use for nefarious purposes. The film is mostly notable for all the familiar British actors in small roles - Emily Watson, Celia Imrie, Anne-Marie Duff, Joan Collins, Sadie Frost, Lesley Manville and Ben Miller. Helmed by Christopher Rowley ("Bonneville"), a second-half 2013 release in the U.K. is expected.
Mystery Road
Long-time Aussie actor Aaron Pederson leads an excellent cast in Ivan Sen's mystery thriller shot in central Queensland in mid-2012. Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten, Jack Thompson, Tasma Walton, Damian Walshe-Howling and Robert Mammone also star in the film in which a detective (Pederson) returns home to an outback town to resolve the murder of a teenage Indigenous girl, whose body is found under a highway out of town. Sen displayed solid balancing of racial politics with drama in his well-regarded, but little seen earlier films like "Beneath Clouds" and "Toomelah." It'll be interesting to see how this more conventional and commercial sounding feature does both locally and overseas.
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: The Call, 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 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
Volume L: Part 1: Labor Day, The Last Days On Mars, The Last Exorcism: Part II, The Last Stand, Last Vegas, Laurence Anyways, Leo the Lion, Leviathan, Le Weekend, Libertador, The Lifeguard, Like Someone in Love, The Little Mermaid 3D, The Loft
Volume L: Part 2: London Project, The Lone Ranger, Lone Survivor, The Longest Week, Long Time Gone, A Long Way Down, The Look of Love, The Lords of Salem, Lore, Love and Honor, Love is All You Need, Lovelace, Lowlife, Lullaby, Luv
Volume M: Part 1: Machete Kills, Magic Magic, Malavita, Mama, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Maniac, Man of Steel, Man of Tai Chi, The Man Who Sold the World, A Many Splintered Thing, Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box, Mary Mother Of Christ, May in the Summer, McCanick, Meet Me In Montenegro, Milo
Volume M: Part 2: Mindscape, Mobius, Mockingbird, Molly Moon: The Incredible Hypnotist, Monsters University, The Monuments Men, Mood Indigo, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, A Most Wanted Man, Mother of George, Movie 43, Mr. Morgan’s Last Love, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Much Ado About Nothing, Mud, Mystery Road