Hey folks, Harry here... I'm going to give you a little preview of the first 12 weeks of 2012, some pictures, some videos, some comments... I'm writing this up as I have Christmas, but figured if I don't do this now, with the family vacation taking me offline for 8 days, it won't get done. So enjoy...
1st Friday of 2012 - January 6th, 2012
THE DEVIL INSIDE - This is a 'found footage' film - that purports to be a documentary about a young lady's discovery of her insane/allegedly possessed mother who is commited to a sanitorium in Vatican City. She is trying to understan Exorcism and gains admittance to a Exorcism class taught in the Vatican. The 2 rebel priests she hooks up with give her and her camera man a look at the Hell they deal with. The acting and story are a bit on the lame side, but honestly... I had a blast with some of the Exorcism sequences. There's more exorcism in this film than any other I've seen. BTW - Driving with a possessed person is a bad idea. Could be a lot of fun with audiences primed. The scene shown at BNAT13WOLF was warmly received.
2nd Friday of 2012 - January 13th, 2012 - Yoko's Birthday
MISS BALA - the film is pretty damn badass - about a would-be Beauty queen having to deal with essentially the Mexican mob. It's pretty blistering...
CONTRABAND - Here's a fun looking film with Mark Wahlberg, who seems to be one of those criminals that got clean, but just when he got out, they pulled him back in, because Banshee was a fucking dumbshit that followed his larcenous path - and to save his rotten little life, Mark has to be a badass to right it all. Also has Kate Beckinsale and - haven't heard much on this, but I like what I see.
3rd Friday of 2012 - January 20th, 2012
CORIOLANUS - Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut is outstanding. In particular, his performance, Gerard Butler's and Vanessa Redgraves makes this film absolutely what you need to watch - especially if you love wild Shakespearean reinterpretations. Not as great as McKellen's RICHARD III, but what is?
EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE - yawn, an emotional pap smear.
HAYWIRE - I hear that Soderbergh's HAYWIRE is fucking amazing. Can not wait!
RED TAILS - Lucas' long term dream project is finally hitting theaters - and I can not wait to check it out. The story of the Tuskegee Airmen as told with a nod to EC's ACES HIGH comics. Can't wait!
4th Friday of 2012 - January 27th, 2012 - Father Geek's Birthday
THE GREY - As stated by most every BNATTER - this is a tremendous film. It is beginning to screen to other long lead press and they're seeming to love it as well, which is really a no-brainer. This isn't a stupid fist-fighting CG Wolf story. Instead, it plays as MEN AGAINST NATURE - and nature's teeth happen to be the elements & wolves. But the real heart of the film is in the unity or lack there of, with the men that are trying to survive. Do not miss this!
MAN ON A LEDGE - Sam Worthington without a shit ton of CG? Alright - like the cast and the premise. Definitely there to see this.
ONE FOR THE MONEY - So Katherine Heigl stars in this comedic mystery based on those Stephanie Plum series of popular novels. SO... will it be good? who knows. Fun trailer though, right? No? Yes? Maybe?
5th Friday of 2012 - February 3rd, 2012
CHRONICLE - A very intriguing "found footage" film about boys that discover something that embues them with powers that seem to get the best of them. Love the trailers so far.
THE WOMAN IN BLACK - Harry Potter vs Ghost - HAMMER FILMS made it, so I'm intrigued. Jane Goldman wrote the script off of the famous well known ghost story - that has me dying to see it. Like the trailers.
6th Friday of 2012 - February 10th, 2012
JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND - the first film in this series was about as awful as it gets. Casting changed - they brought in Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine and Vanessa Hudgens... but it still has Josh Hutcherson... Film seems wildly addicted to CG, but does have a fun spirit to the trailers.
SAFE HOUSE - is probably the better bet this weekend - as the screenwriting talent of David Guggenheim and John Lee Hancock has my confidence up. Also the cast of Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Robert Patrick... well it has me curious to check it out. Denzel is a fugitive wanted by the CIA - Ryan is an agent teamed with him to apparently survive the badassery they are confronted with.
7th Friday of 2012 - February 17th, 2012
ACT OF VALOR - Real Navy Seals, Real state of the art military tech, real tactics... Let's see if that makes for a good movie, right?
GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE - I love the CRANK films - Neveldine and Taylor had approximately $110 million less than either the CAPTAIN AMERICA or THOR films from last year. It's a MARVEL KNIGHTS film. GHOST RIDER was always, to me, a part of Marvel's Grindhouse - and this film plays to me as I expected a Neveldine/Taylor GHOST RIDER movie with Nick Cage going nuts would play. Most of the Critics at BNAT passed on it, but the fans that seem to love the comics, something most critics can't and wouldn't claim.... Well they had a blast with the film. Personally, I enjoyed it enough to play it at BNAT after I previewed it.
THIS MEANS WAR - I believe that McG's THIS MEANS WAR is going to be a realy delightful surprise next year. Watching Witherspoon juggle Super Spy boyfriends played by Tom Hardy and Chris Pine... well that sounds fun to me. The trailers are fun. And this is the kind of material that I really like McG doing. Fluffy fun action. Right?
8th Friday of 2012 - February 24th, 2012
WANDERLUST - Produced by Apatow - directed by THE STATE's mastermind David Wain (director of WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER and ROLE MODELS) teams up with Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston on this Hard R-rated Comedy. Check out the trailer... This seems like the first real fun comedy we have to look forward to in 2012.
9th Friday of 2012 - March 2nd, 2012
DR. SEUSS' THE LORAX - I kinda love the voice casting of Danny DeVito as THE LORAX - but everything that his character isn't in, in the trailer kind of grates me. Right?
HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS - a Steampunk Fantasy Horror Action Fairytale starring Jeremy Renner & Gemma Arterton as the famed siblings. At one point we were to see this trailer at BNAT13WOLF - but that didn't happen, damn it. I've read the script - and it was a big ambitious endeavor - and the screenwriter is Directing. So visually, I've no idea of how this is going to play. The idea is that after they survived their childhood encounter with a Witch - the Brother & Sister team decided to take on Evil for the rest of their lives, taking on witches and things that go bump in the night for money. Think GHOSTBUSTERS from a really long time ago - and more serious and straight. Once we see the trailer - we'll have a clue if Tommy Wirkola has translated his script into something curious or not. Oh yeah, it's 3D.
SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN - Lasse Hallstrom brings this novel to life with Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas. I'll give this one a shot - I like everyone involved. Romantic Comedy. Hallstrom took over for Bill Condon, when Bill got seduced by the dark side.
TIM & ERIC'S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE - it is either for you or not. What say you?
10th Friday of 2012 - March 9th, 2012
JOHN CARTER - the more I see, the more I want to see. I've loved this novel ever since I was a kid. It has taken me a while to get the 6-7 years I spent trying to make this over at Paramount - out of my head, so I could just enjoy it - and I'm just about there. I love Andrew Stanton's previous work - and while I've yet to see a single scene between John & Dejah with a connection... I have to believe that Stanton has that, or else he'd never cast them. I really like the Japanese trailer quite a bit.
THE RAVEN - James McTeigue is a curious director. Love V FOR VENDETTA intensely. Dislike NINJA ASSASSIN quite a bit. Turning Edgar Allan Poe into a character in a SEVEN-esque serial killer detective story - using his own writing as inspiration for the crimes being investigated could be fun. Could be. And it was written by Shakespeare. Stars John Cusack as Edgar... but also has Luke Evans & Brendan Gleeson - and will offer us a good look at Alice Eve, who will next be in JJ's STAR TREK 2.
SILENT HOUSE - a remake of a mixed reviewed Horror film from Uruguay in 2010. The English language remake stars MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE's probably Academy Award nominee for Best Actress - Elizabeth Olsen. She's amazing in that film and is definitely an actress to watch. The directing team of Chris Kentis and Laura Lau last brought us OPEN WATER, which I did enjoy. But mainly I'm there to see this for Elizabeth Olsen. Very curious. The above is just a clip.
11th Friday of 2012 - March 16th, 2012
21 JUMP STREET - I've heard rumors that the film is terrific. Channing Tatum doesn't fill me with hope, but I'm a huge fan of Jonah Hill's. He has consistently been doing great work. This comedic cinematic take on 21 JUMP STREET could be a big hit. Like the trailer so far. We'll see...
BUTTER - R-rated for language, sexual content & brief drug use. It's a story of a young orphan being adopted by a MidWestern family who has an amazing talent for BUTTER SCULPTING, which is a huge deal in this town. And yet, the R-rating and title makes it sound like a tribute to Brando's anal lubing LAST TANGO IN PARIS scene... Stars Hugh Jackman and Jennifer Garner, Alicia Silverstone & Olivia Wilde. Butter, huh? It's a comedy.
MIRROR, MIRROR - this is the first film of 2012 that looks like a high speed train wreck - and because it is by Tarsem Singh - there is no Earthly way I'll miss it. Though the trailer literally leaves me in pain. It just... no.
12th Friday of 2012 - March 23rd, 2012
THE HUNGER GAMES - I'm really rooting for this film. I like the book by Suzanne Collins. Sure, it's a mixture of BATTLE ROYALE and about a dozen other Dystopian future stories... but it works, mainly because you fall in love with the main character as your read. At least I did. I'm curious to see what kind of teeth director Gary Ross has in this adaptation. The book is pretty brutal, but right now - we don't know how this is going to translate. Gary Ross is a great director though and an even better writer. So I'm awaiting it. Great cast. Will this become a cash cow franchise for Lionsgate? They're betting big on it.
A THOUSAND WORDS - Director Brian Robbins is trying it... again. This will mark his 3rd high concept comedy with Eddie Murphy. The first was NORBIT. A singular achievement. Until he made MEET DAVE, which was just as stunning. This time out, they hired the "brilliant" writer of JACK AND JILL, to find the 1000 words that Eddie Murphy will spout before he dies. So. Feeling lucky, punk? Heh. I bet it has to be better than the two previous attempted cinematic suicides. Right?
Well that's the first 12 weeks of the New Year... Whaddaya think? Anything there you want to see?
