New Films
Cadillac Records – I didn’t have a chance to see this one, but I actually have heard some pretty good things about it. It snuck its way into quite a few critics’ top ten lists for 2008. It’s the story of Chess Records, the record label that got behind such talents as Muddy Waters, Etta James and Chuck Berry. The film stars Adrien Brody and Beyonce.
Happy-Go-Lucky – British auteur Mike Leigh’s latest film is the type of movie that can really sneak up on you. When I saw it, I really liked it. But as the days went by, I started to really, really love it. Unfortunately, it was out of theaters too quickly and I didn’t get a chance to see it for a second time. It was in my top five films of last year and Sally Hawkins gives the best female performance of the year (and one of the best of the decade for my money). How the Academy failed to even nominate her is beyond me. Unfortunately for Blu-Ray owners, this one is a DVD only release.
Let The Right One In – This is another one that I unfortunately missed. Word on this Swedish horror film was excellent. It’s already being prepped for an American remake due in 2010, of course. Let’s all see the Swedish version first.
Milk – My pick as the best film of 2008. It’s a brilliant blend of Gus Van Sant’s indie style and mainstream sensibility. It’s obvious that making this a mainstream film was important for both Van Sant and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (both gay). It’s an extremely important film and a call for social justice. The acting is across the board brilliant. Penn is the heavyweight, but look out for a brilliant supporting turn from Josh Brolin. This is a film not to be missed.
Rachel Getting Married – This one has had the opposite aftertaste from Happy-Go-Lucky for myself. I liked this quite a bit when I saw it, but since then have almost completely forgotten about it. It is certainly a good film, but I’d say there are a good 15-20 films from 2008 that I liked more. Hathaway is really, really great in this though and I can’t wait to see her take on more roles like this.
Synecdoche, New York – I saw this the same night as Happy-Go-Lucky and had the same reaction. I liked it a lot, but it wasn’t until it kept sneaking into my thoughts a couple days later that I really grasped how much I loved it. And then it was gone. Milk has a supporting cast made up almost exclusively of men. On the other hand, Synecdoche is a cast full of brilliant women, except the lead role, in which Philip Seymour Hoffman is equally brilliant (and significantly better than his Oscar-nominated role in Doubt). I highly recommend checking out Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut.
Other Releases: Battle in Seattle (Woody Harrelson, Charlize Theron), The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Role Models (Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, McLovin), Transporter 3 (Jason Statham).
Older Films
Batman - The first four installments of the Batman Franchise (Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin) are making their way to Blu-Ray for the first time in a 5 disc anthology. These may have been fun to watch as a kid, but after seeing Nolan's Batman universe, these films see awfully kid-orientated. The anthology is also getting a standard DVD box set.
Brokeback Mountain – Ang Lee’s superb and heart-wrenching 2005 film is being released this Tuesday on Blu-Ray for the first time. This was the juggernaut in the 2005 awards season that Slumdog Millionaire was this past year. Unfortunately, Lee’s film was stopped at the big night, with Crash winning in a huge upset. I think it’s safe to say that it’s Brokeback Mountain that will be remembered as the film of 2005 when people look back on the year.
Howard the Duck – Apparently this children’s film has a bit of a cult following. I’ve never seen the film but I’ve heard quite a bit about it. IMDb describes the film as following: “A sarcastic humanoid duck is pulled from his homeworld to Earth where he must stop an alien invader.” George Lucas was executive producer. Sounds interesting, to say the least. This is a DVD only release.
Pinocchio – Out of the bevy of films being released this week, this is probably the one I’m most looking forward to. I am admittedly a huge Disney fan, and they love to play the (amazing marketing) game of putting films into the vault, and this one hasn’t been available for around seven years. This was the second Disney full-length animated film (following Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, coming in October) premiering nearly 70 years ago in 1940. I was a bit skeptical about classic animated films on Blu-Ray, but it was the release of Sleeping Beauty last year that convinced me that I needed a Blu-Ray player. The image quality of Sleeping Beauty was stunning and really set the standards high. I hope that Pinocchio is equally as dazzling.
Witch Mountain films – Just in time for the new film Race to Witch Mountain starring the Rock (excuse me, Dwayne Johnson), Disney is re-releasing Escape to Witch Mountain and Return from Witch Mountain. The latter film stars Bette Davis and Christopher Lee. Both films are DVD only.
Other release: Primal Fear (Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand).
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