A film critic's holiday 2013 notebook

This coming holiday season has the strongest slate in recent memory--so much so that Variety is turning out articles like "Toronto: Should There Be (Gasp!) 20 Best Picture Nominees This Year?" That's in stark contrast to earlier sentiments about the change in the number of the Academy's Best Picture nominees, like the 2011 Hollywood Reporter headline "Why Oscars' 10 Best Picture Nominees Experiment Failed." Plus, some of the upcoming pictures don't just look good, they've already been seen and applauded by critics and festival audiences alike. Twelve Years a Slave and Gravity, which both screened at Toronto and Telluride, received excellent early notices from the press, and they're right at the top of my to-see list. Here's the highlights from my viewing list for the rest of 2013.

My Picks for Pure Viewing Pleasure
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: Star Jennifer Lawrence has proven herself outside the young adult ring by winning an Oscar, and fans (myself included) can't wait to see the second in this dystopian series.
About Time: The director of Love Actually takes gawky-cute Domhnall Gleeson (one of the Weasley brothers in the Harry Potter series) and
pairs him with Rachel McAdams. And gives him Bill Nighy as a father. What's not to love?

Pure Viewing Pleasure that will likely come with an Oscar stamp of approval
American Hustle & The Wolf of Wall Street both take jubilant looks at criminals. They're set in the past, but I'm sure commentators will be making connections to current events, especially given the latter film's focus on finance.
1953's Stalag 17 and 1963's Great Escape were among the first World War II movies to actually take a light tone on the war. The Monuments Men, about masterpiece-recovering GIs, is a step back from the over-the-top Nazi caricatures in 2009's Inglourious Basterds, but it should leave most of the fun intact.

Movies that will ooze drama
The Coen Brothers are reliabli prolific filmmakers, and Inside Llewyn Davis
has extra appeal thanks to the inclusion of real musicians Justin
Timberlake and Marcus Mumford (the latter's voice appears in the
soundtrack).
Movie theatre seats are much more comfortable than Broadway's tiny cushions. I missed August: Osage County back when it was a play, but I won't mind seeing it with a tub of popcorn in a theatre.
It's hard to even know what category to put Gravity into, but at this point my expectations are as high above Earth as its leading lady, Sandra Bullock. Director Alfonso Cuaron appears to have done something really special with this film, both technically and narratively, and I think it will please people with all different kinds of tastes.

(Would-be) Weepies
I've heard from Telluride that Labor Day is a surefire tearjerker, and as a fan of Kate Winslet, it's a hands-down must see. Reports of damp eyes have also come from Twelve Years a Slave, which will likely be one of the most talked-about films this year, especially given the great odds it has right now of ending up on the Oscar podium.

The trailer for Foxcatcher still hasn't released, making it one of the last end-of-year holdouts. The real-life tale is tragic, and I can't imagine Moneyball director Bennett Miller putting a funny spin on this dark tale of Olympic greatness foiled. But Steve Carell as an eccentric millionaire is definitely one role I want to see on the big screen.
Likewise, Lone Survivor is based on a real-life tragedy, with an unhappy ending appended. It's likely more about bravery than tears (these are soldiers, after all), but that doesn't mean the audience will feel just as stoic. As a huge fan of the realistic, gripping feel of Zero Dark Thirty, I'm hoping that the Mark Wahlberg-led picture will borrow some of that verisimilitude.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has heartwarming written all over it, and it's just the kind of toasty film that's great to catch with family around the holidays. I predict this one will be a big hit, in the vein of other holiday warm-fuzzies like Marley & Me, The Blind Side, and The Pursuit of Happyness. It's also likely to gain the praise of critics, given its placement on numerous lists predicting the Best Picture competition.

Just as all these movies are coming out, Screener will be led by a new voice. After five years of helming the Screener blog for Film Journal International, I'm passing on my reins, and tomorrow will be my last post. Cheers to all, and happy viewing.

'Lion King 3D' leading the pride

By Sarah Sluis

This weekend at the box office should be close, with four films settling around the $10 million mark: Lion King 3D, the second week of Contagion, Drive, and Straw Dogs.

Lion King 3D (2,330 theatres) will take advantage of the lack of fresh family titles. Currently, no G or PG-rated movies are in the top ten, making this a prime time for an animated re-release. Some of the younger parents may have seen the movie as kids themselves in 1994, giving them the chance to reintroduce their little ones to a beloved childhood classic. Because of the high price point of 3D, Disney will actually release the movie in both 2D and 3D. The 2009 re-release of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 grossed $12 million its opening weekend, so Lion King 3D hopes to achieve a similar number.

Drive and Straw Dogs will both be competing for the same audiences, mainly young males. Critically, though, Drive (2,886 theatres) is the clear winner. The "coolly beautiful action thriller," according to critic Maitland McDonagh, is "a glittering toy designed to delight a particular kind of movie lover," one who will take pleasure in the "bleakly funny deconstruction of genre movie clichs." Ryan Gosling stars as a stunt car operator who moonlights as a getaway car driver. Carey Mulligan and "Mad Men's" Christina Hendricks add female star power. The movie's worth seeing just for its opening chase scene, which is so powerfully slick it will keep your adrenaline running through the rest of the film.

Straw Dogs (2,408 theatres), on the other hand, is a remake that pales in comparison to the 1971 Sam Peckinpah actioner. Its mediocrity is "a liability that increases exponentially with the quality of the original," according to McDonagh. The violent movie remains "faithful to its underlying notion that civilization is a thin veneer laid over animal instincts," but McDonagh feels this message doesn't have the same cultural resonance it did in the Vietnam era.

Sarah Jessica Parker plays an overcommitted working mom in I Don't Know How She Does It (2,476 theatres), with barely enough time to do anything, much less see a movie. However, those moms will be the prime audience for the comedy this weekend, which is expected to do in the $6-8 million range. Because of the overbooked target viewers, this movie should see more traction in weeks to come if it has positive word-of-mouth, and should be especially popular once it hits the home entertainment market.

On Monday, we'll see if Drive's 95% positive approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes allows it to race ahead of Contagion or Lion King 3D.

'Sucker Punch' dukes it out with 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' sequel

By Sarah Sluis

Leading the pack this weekend is writer/director Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch (3,033 theatres), which could top $20 million. The "visually stylized" film centers on a girl (Emily Browning) thrown into a mental hospital and scheduled for a lobotomy. Accompanied by a bevy of beautiful young women, she enters alternate realities in order to plan her escape. The setup allows for a lot of action sequences, but critic Ethan Alter found them tiring. For such a credibility-straining plotline, the movie "commits the fatal error of taking itself much too seriously." In a critique that brings to mind Snyder's other films (Watchmen, Legend of the Guardians), Alter complains that instead of drama, Snyder "settles for lots of sound and fury masquerading as drama." The eye candy look of the female stars has attracted the greatest interest among males under 25, followed by older males. Last in tracking projections are women, who seem to have honed in on the fact that this isn't really a "girl power" picture.

For pre-teen boys from 7-12 years old, a safe bet will be Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (3,167 theatres), the sequel to last year's surprise success. Critic David Noh, however, was unimpressed. He complains that the filmmakers try "too hard" to make the film "family entertainment," with moments that make sitcoms seem subtle. Director David Bowers, who did not direct the first film, gets too "fancy" by "littering the film with elaborate fantasy scenes." Still, this PG-rated outing could earn in the teen millions, especially since its release coincides with some school breaks. There's also not much else at the box office for families--only the critical flop Mars Needs Moms, which will likely exit the top ten this weekend.

Also entering the mix is Miral (4 theatres), a "plodding, earnest historical epic" about the Palestinian plight, as described by critic Jon Frosch. In an unusual casting decision, Indian actress Freida Pinto stars as a Palestinian woman. The lovely Catherine Deneuve plays a trophy wife who escapes her boring existence in the French comedy Potiche (7 theatres). Finally, a dysfunctional family gathers in Peep World (3 theatres). As the movie "degenerate[d] into flailing, repetitive obviousness and mean-spirited pointlessness," Noh pined for "Arrested Development," a superior comedic rendition of the messed-up family.

On Monday, we'll see if Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules outperforms expectations and beats Sucker Punch.

Looking ahead to 2011: 'Water for Elephants,' 'Cedar Rapids'

By Sarah Sluis

The wave of end-of-the-year movies brings with it the release of a host of new trailers. I weigh in on the prospects of a couple of movies that actually look good (at least in their trailers).

Water for Elephants (April 22):

Starring Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz (in a love triangle!), this movie is based on a best-selling book (that I never managed to read past page twenty). But the trailer is another story, showing off a lush, period circus environment shot with shadowy and vibrant cinematography. Witherspoon wears her sparkly leotard with panache, and her graceful movements as a circus performer at the :51 mark made me a believer. Cons: The trailer music is a bit treacly--could this be a harbinger of the movie's tone as a whole?

Cedar Rapids (Feb. 11):

Could this be the rare comedy that's actually funny? The trailer's humor is part "The Office," part Office Space, and also could be called a more upbeat, blue collar version of Up in the Air (Though George Clooney's character would have sniffed disparagingly at Ed Helms' clueless navigation of business travel). I liked director's Miguel Arteta's overlooked teen comedy Youth in Revolt, and if Cedar Rapids avoids that brand of painfully over-the-top humor that makes the audience cringe (I'm looking at you, Due Date), I think it will be good for a quiet chuckle.

These two films are just a sampling of the many movies in the early part of 2011 that I'm excited about -- Hanna, Jane Eyre, and a smaterring of maybe-good comedies (Hall Pass, Paul, Just Go For It), and dramas (The Adjustment Bureau) should make the early part of 2011 an active one.

Will 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua' bark its way to the top?

By Sarah Sluis

It's another crowded week at the box office, and early yapping from moviegoers places the decidedly silly

Beverly Hills Chihuahua (3,215 screens) as the one to beat, with tracking reports estimating a $30 million estimated take, which I predict will be on the high side.

This week brings us two ideological lampoons (Religulous and An American Carol) and two young urban comedies (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and How to Lose Friends and Alienate People).  Religulous (502 screens) has agnostic Bill Maher taking on religious dogma, while American Carol (1,639 screens) has conservative David Zucker lampooning Michael Moore while taking on politics and patriotism--leaving agnostic conservatives in for a tough viewing decision.  Nick & Norah's Infinite
Playlist (2,421 screens), a "one crazy night" teen film, might see some overlap with How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (1,750 screens), as those in the twenty-something range debate whether they want to relive a bit of high school or look ahead to a loosely defined workplace/ambition comedy (I think Nick & Norah will win).  A.O. Scott called Nick & Norah "like Martin Scorsese's After Hours filtered through the high school sensibility of John Hughes, or Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise remade for Nickelodeon."  Conversely, How to Lose Friends is expected to have paltry returns and make it up on the DVD market.  Say no more.

Ambitious literary adaptation Blindness (1,690 screens), the rare film that combines the thrill of depicting a worldwide apocalypse with arthouse allegory (except, of course, that this description fits upcoming release The Road) has been slowed by disappointed critics that wish director Fernando Meirelles could have awed them as much as he did in City of God.  The film will have to count on forgiving audiences giving the thumbs up to their friends in order to do well at the box office.

Flash of Genius also looks to be a feel-good family picture in a little man vs. the auto industry fight over his invention of the intermittent windshield wiper--except it isn't, and will likely be a victim of the crowded weekend.  With a PG-13 rating, and reviews calling out the film for its slow pace, families will likely opt for Chihuahua, or one of the sneak previews of next week's PG-rated sports drama The Express.

Arthouse western Appaloosa expands to 1,045 screens this weekend, and another little film, Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married, opens on nine screens.  Anne Hathaway gives the film a high profile, and it's a brilliant career move on her part to break out from her Disney-manicured image.  The film itself has a meandering view of the wedding, with an unusual amount of musical interludes coloring the white suburban house with a bit of bohemia.  The eccentricity is played out without question, but in one final dancing scene (featuring an approximation of belly and can-can dancers and West African beats) I couldn't help but think of how this scene would fit into another film altogether--say the horrified looks of the Wedding Crashers.

Along with these new releases, holdover Eagle Eye, only in its second week, will certainly stay in the top five, while Burn After Reading, four weeks into its run, will probably be bumped down a few places.