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Tuesday, June 12, 2012
BRACE YOURSELF FOR SUMMER FILMS
Summer In The City Where You Live,
At The Art-plex
Omar P.L. Moore
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
FOLLOW
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Summer is around the corner, and
cloudless blue skies (like the one in the photo above) will blanket the earth.
Summer movies will get going in earnest in the next nine or ten days, even
though unofficial summer films, aka pre-Memorial Day hits like
"The Avengers",
have already set the pace. "Men In Black 3", a sentimental sequel
highlighted by the endless charm and sharp comic timing of Will Smith, and a
quick -witted Josh Brolin, is also entertaining many audiences.
Yet so far on a critical level (as is often the case) it's the smaller films
that are making their presence felt:
"Bernie", featuring fine work from Jack Black
and possibly the best work of Matthew McConaughey's career, is one of the year's
best films. This summer Mr. McConaughey is also in "Magic Mike" and
"Killer Joe", the latter of which is rated NC-17. Both
"The Best
Exotic Marigold Hotel" (featuring an all-star British cast headed by
Dame Judi Dench) and
"Peace, Love & Misunderstanding", with Jane
Fonda's charismatic turn as a hippie Earth mother reveling in Woodstock 1969,
are delighting audiences middle-aged and above.
"The
Intouchables", a "controversial" French smash-hit satire about a
Sudanese caretaker and his white wheelchair-bound client, is beginning to find
an audience in the U.S., moving past the one million dollar-mark on just 77
screens. "Moonrise Kingdom", a gem of a film directed by Wes Anderson, is
also finding a solid audience. Mr. Anderson's romance in the 1960s at a
boy scout camp in a coastal New England island town, boasts an ensemble cast
that includes Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis and Tilda Swinton.
When summer films get underway there will be other key smaller films to watch
out for: Woody Allen's "To Rome With Love", which features a host of prominent
Italian actors as well as Americans
Greta Gerwig, Jesse Eisenberg and Alec Baldwin,
was shot in Rome. "Beasts Of The Southern Wild" has been gaining much
attention ahead of its release later this month. Benh Zeitlin's drama
features strong performances from Dwight Henry and Quvenzhane Wallis, both
first-time actors.
After the critical hit "Humpday" director Lynn Shelton brings audiences "Your
Sister's Sister", a comedy-drama-romance with Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt,
which also stars Mark Duplass, who can be seen in "Safety Not Guaranteed" and
the upcoming "People Like Us". Kirby Dick, the director behind the
documentary "This Film Has Not Yet Been Rated", has his latest documentary "The
Invisible War", about the high incidence of rape in the U.S. military among
soldiers.
Oliver Stone gets "Savages" into theaters, with
Demián Bichir,
Uma Thurman and John Travolta among the cast. Mr. Stone's last feature
film was
"Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps".
Ever the provocateur, Todd Solondz has "Dark Horse", about two
socially-challenged thirty-somethings seeking love; Fernando Meireilles returns
with the adultery drama "360", his first feature since
"Blindness"
in 2008.
Spike Lee also has his first feature film since 2008 with
"Red Hook Summer",
which drew sharply-divided reaction at Sundance in January. Even more
polarizing at Sundance (and numerous other film festivals) is the must-see
"Compliance",
Craig Zobel's
deeply uncomfortable psychodrama based on a
true story about five nightmarish hours at a fast-food restaurant. Ann
Dowd, Pat Healy and Dreama Walker are all top-notch in Mr. Zobel's film, and if
none receive Oscar consideration each can expect to be Independent Spirit Award
nominees late this year.
David Cronenberg
follows up "A
Dangerous Method" with "Cosmopolis", which seems geared up as a
dangerous trip through New York City for a walled-off billionaire (Robert
Pattinson). Juliette Binoche, Samantha Morton and Paul Giamatti are among
the ensemble cast. Morgan Freeman gets romantic in Rob Reiner's "The Magic
Of Belle Isle", while the much-talked about "Searching For Sugar Man" will
likely find a sizable audience.
The French period drama "Farewell, My Queen", about the last days of Marie
Antoinette's rule in Versailles, has effective work from a trio of ladies (Diane
Kruger, Lea Seydoux, Virginie Ledoyen); while Chris Rock gets entangled in "2
Days In New York" with his co-star and director Julie Delpy, remaking her "2
Days In Paris" film for Stateside appeal. There's also comedy for women to
be found in "For A Good Time Call . . . ", about two cash-strapped women who
start a phone sex service in their Manhattan apartment.
Juliette Binoche reunites with
David Cronenberg for his latest "Cosmopolis", a New York City drama.
Entertainment One
These films are by no means an exhaustive list, but they are worthy of your
time.
KEY INDEPENDENT FILMS TO WATCH OUT FOR THIS SUMMER
(From the highest on down in order of must-see, with initial limited opening
release dates; films will expand their release beyond opening)
Compliance (August 17, NYC; August 24, LA, SF)
Your Sister's Sister (June 15)
Farewell, My Queen (June 29)
Killer Joe (July 27)
Searching For Sugar Man (July 27)
The Invisible War (June 22)
To Rome With Love (June 22)
Safety Not Guaranteed (now playing; expanded release soon)
For A Good Time Call . . . (August 31)
Dark Horse (now playing; expanded release soon)
Savages (July 6)
Cosmopolis (August 17)
360 (August 3)
Magic Mike (June 29)
Red Hook Summer (August 10)
2 Days In New York (August 10)
Beasts Of The Southern Wild (June 27)
The Magic Of Belle Isle
(on demand now; July 6 theatrical release)
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