By Thomas Willett
Over the past week, I have been hyping for the last month of movies in theaters. As an Oscars die hard, I know this is known as the prime time for major candidates. It is more than coincidence that many of the big names come out on Christmas. They always have. Remember when Curious Case of Benjamin Button got 10 Oscar nominations? Christmas release date.
There’s no rhyme or reason except that it’s become the norm to follow the “Last in line, first in mind” theory that 70% of last year’s Best Picture nominees were released after September. It’s true that every year someone gets snubbed because of this, but I try to take in account movies that should be nominated no matter what time of year.
With that said, I have been evaluating the movies I need to see to make a substantial Best of 2011 list. Looking back on my Best of 2010 list, I immediately realize how impossible it is for me to nail it (only 127 Hours stayed in my Top 5 post-Divergence article), even claiming that “This year wasn’t as good as last year” (you may remember I wrote off the Social Network just to pool for it to win Best Picture). I am a very lousy predictor of what I’ll like in a year.
But was this year not as good as 2010? Let’s evaluate. As of yesterday (with Hugo coming out today, I don’t want to jinx it), the last movie to make my Top 10 was October 7th with the Ides of March. Nothing in over a month (Oscar’s prime time) has come close, which is saying a lot (the Descendants is still TBA).
So, with that said, has November and before been a good year for movies? In a sense it hasn’t. However, because of the uncertain Best Picture picks, it has made it an adventurous, exciting time for me. I stand by and hope Drive gets deserved buzz. I even hold out hope for 50/50. Will there be an indie wild card like Precious or Winter’s Bone? I want to know!
For now, the most I can do is watch a lot of movies and determine what I like. With that said, I look forward to December, which brought us the Fighter and Black Swan, which were dynamic and entertaining films with Oscar-winning performances. Will anything come close this year? I took a look at movies I am interested in seeing and explored what makes them appealing.
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Release Date: December 21
If you have followed Nerd’s Eye View since the CCMN days, you’ll know how I was birthed into loving Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. Since early last year, I have been obsessed, rushing out to see all of the Swedish films and even reading the first two books. To say the least, I have been properly hyped on this for at least a year, even more when I discovered that David Fincher was attached to direct. It may not be true to the book, but Fincher has done gritty book adaptations like Fight Club. I’m sure he’ll produce something as amazing as the Mouth Taped Shut Tumblr account promotion. I’ve even come around on Rooney Mara as the lead choice to portray Lisbeth Salander. I will probably be seeing this as soon as the ticket window opens. They’ve just been harassing me too long not to.
2. The Adventures of Tintin
Release Date: December 21
Let’s review the regime: directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who), Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz), and Joe Cornish (Attack the Block), and produced by Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures). That’s not even counting the cast. The fact that this movie compiled a list of people as talented as that to helm the project makes me already want to see it long before the first trailer showed me the possibilities of motion capture animation. This movie looks amazing and if it’s as good as I assume, it may as well have just nabbed the Best Animated Feature Oscar.
3. Young Adult
Release Date: December 16
If you hate Juno or United States of Tara, I have no word on liking this. However, as someone who finds the team of Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) directing and Diablo Cody writing, I already am imagining what they could do with Charlize Theron, or better yet Patton Oswalt, who may seem like an unlikely charismatic actor, but after Big Fan, I am excited to see what he can do in this team’s hands. I am not expecting to love it like their previous collaboration, but it has a cast so intriguing (also featuring Patrick Wilson and J.K. Simmons) that it’s definitely more worth my time than the Sitter. Let’s just hope it doesn’t give me more reason to hate Cody for remaking the Evil Dead.
4. Carnage
Release Date: December 16
Such an odd, short film (79 minutes) this is. What most intrigues me is not the plot, but the possibilities of this cast in one location arguing (worked wonders for Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones this year in Sunset Limited). I am not a huge buff on director Roman Polanski, but if he can capture madness in any way similar to Repulsion, then I’d like to think he can do it in a comical way here. It also features Kate Winslet (who was also in the entertaining Mildred Pierce mini-series), John C. Reilly, and possibly the biggest surprise of the year, Christoph Waltz. While he has been acclaimed for his Inglourious Basterds performance, he has been badly type-casted so much this year in works like Water for Elephants and the Three Musketeers that the menace that made him great has been forgotten. I would love to assume that he’ll be able to capture that charm here and make a great cast shine under the hands of a director like Polanski.
5. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Release Date: December 16
Of course it’s impossible to escape December without one big popcorn movie. My money is squarely placed on this new Guy Ritchie vehicle that follows Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law after the exploits of the first movie. What I enjoy about Ritchie is his ability to make action pop and the characters have the snappiest comebacks without seeming fake. In truth, the Sherlock Holmes movie was one of my least favorite of Ritchie’s, but as an admirer of Downey Jr., I am very curious to see if he’s still got it. I am also heavily intrigued to see if original Lisbeth Salander Noomi Rapace can translate well to American films. At most, I am hoping that this film delivers on a fun afternoon at the theaters, giving Ritchie enough money to finally make the RockNRolla sequel he promised years ago.
6. Shame
Release Date: December 2
It seems like there’s a trend starting in recent years where sexualized dramas get high acclaim and NC-17 ratings. Blue Valentine barely escaped that last year, and from what I gather, Shame does little to not earn that scoring. While the trailers have done little to sell me, it’s mostly the critical acclaim that has convinced me that this may be a really good, moody picture that somehow has a warm place in my heart. It also helps that it features Michael Fassbender, an actor who may have become oversaturated, but I’d like to think has plenty of potential to show everyone. Also, when your co-star is Carey Mulligan, my interest grows exponentially. While the chances of me seeing it may be limited due to the rating, I am very curious to see if this is the honest, dark sex drama it was billed as or just another pretentious artsy movie.
7. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Release Date: December 9
I’ll make this description brief. After seeing Nicolas Winding Refn’s Bronson starring Tom Hardy, I have been excited to see him in more movies. I barely missed Warrior and This Means War looks like a sad mess, so I am hoping that this movie, along with Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, and Mark Strong, can convince me that he still has that potential to be the great machismo, charismatic actor I take him to be. The trailer isn’t amazing, but with a cast like this, I will be checking it out eventually.
Do you have any movies coming out in December that you are looking forward to?
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