The last time I posted one of these, I started off with Bigelow’s upcoming film and what better place to start than with a second, awesome trailer for The Hurt Locker?
There isn’t much more to be said about Kathryn Bigelow’s upcoming film other than to continue re-iterating the fact that it looks fantastic. The film, which stars Jeremy Renner, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Evangeline Lilly, is being described as the first great war film about the Iraq conflict and from the footage I’ve seen, the critics may be on to something.
The Hurt Locker opens in limited release on June 26th.
Julia
Rarely can one go wrong with Tilda Swinton. She’s a prolific actress, often working on 2 or 3 movies at a time and often, some of the smaller films fall by the wayside. That seems to be the case with Julia.
Directed by Erick Zonca, the thriller features Swinton as a down on her luck woman who takes a job on the wrong side of the law. The task: kidnap a little boy and use him for extortion. The film premiered at Berlinale in 2008 where it was nominated for a Golden Bear. From there, it went on to play around Europe along with a few other festivals but for one reason or another (perhaps thinking North America may be suffering from Swinton fatigue; like that’s even remotely possible) it never made it to this side of the water. Until now.
Julia, which appears to have another stellar performance from Swinton, will open in limited release on May 8th.
This title would be perfect for a porn movie alas, it’s not. That said, it does feature Jessica Biel as a stripper. Does that make it all better?
I’m not quite sure what to make of this. The trailer for Timothy Linh Bui’s film reminds me of The Air I Breathe, another interconnected-stories film from a few years back, and that’s not a good thing. This looks just as stylish as that film did but, if that’s even possible, with even less substance.
It’s fun to talk about though. Just look at this cast list: the molested kid from Savage Grace (our review), Patrick Swayze as a tranny with a bad wig, Ray Liotta with some killer tatts, and along for the ride are Kris Kristofferson, Lisa Kudrow and Forest Whitaker. What this cast is doing in this seriously shitty looking film is beyond me. I could barely make it through the trailer never mind the movie.
Powder Blue opens in limited release on April 24th and will see a DVD release on June 9th.
Home
Like Swinton, Marcia Gay Harden is prolific popping up in a handful of films every year. Mostly, I think of her as a scene stealing supporting actress but once in a while, she comes in with a great lead performance and that appears to be the case here.
Mary Haverstick’s Home premiered at the Montréal World Film Festival in 2008 and has been gathering dust on a shelf since then and I can sort of see why. The story is somewhat vague but from what I can sort out and from the bits of plot scattered around the web, Harden plays a sick (perhaps even dying woman), trying to buy a house which reminds her of her childhood home and in the process, she bonds with her young daughter.
It’s a beautiful looking, if vague, trailer and Harden is an actress I’m always happy to watch but I’m not sure we’ll have a chance to see the film. At the moment, the distributor has only announced a NY opening date (April 27th).
An American Affair
Set in 1963 with JFK’s entry into the White House in the backdrop, William Olsson’s film tells the coming of age tale of a 13 year old Catholic Schoolboy who begins working for a neighbour who appears to have some connections to the famed president.
The story here doesn’t really capture my interest but the cast does. I’ve had a soft spot for Gretchen Mol since I spotted her in the bland The Notorious Bettie Page but I have yet to see her shine (though I haven’t given up) and Cameron Bright has impressed me since I first saw him in Birth and though this particular film doesn’t look particularly memorable, I’m curious to check it out.
The film apparently opened in limited release at the end of February but I look forward to checking it out on DVD.
Hurt Locker: I don’t care much for war movies, but this looks fantastic, provided it doesn’t get too preachy or political.
Julia: I have an irrational fear of masks. I’m sure the movie will be great, but I’ll probably avoid it. :S
Powder Blue: Agreed. Fabulous cast, but WTF? It’s like they aren’t even trying.
Home: I have no idea why, but I have yet to connect to a Harden performance. Haven’t given up yet, but I don’t think this will be it.
An American Affair: This one got savage reviews (scored 31 on Metacritic), but the trailer is still rather intriguing. Perhaps I adopted some of my father’s fascination with the Kennedy family.
Everything I heard about the TIFF showings of the film was that it was positively excellent and a real return to form for Ms. Bigelow who has been struggling of late to get a good film out the door. (The Weight of Water & K19 were her last two). Go back to 1995 for Stange Days. Oi.
Nice job on the round-up Marina. Of all these, I think Julia looks the most interesting. I’m sure I’ll check out Renner and Co. kick some ass and love it, but Swinton in Julia looks like the movie I’ll be coming back to again and again. Maybe not, but I’ll be damned if I can think of a poor Tilda performance. – Plus I like weird, dramatic thrillers (sort of looks like Frozen River on crack).
The Hurt Locker WAS amazing and I’m glad it is FINALLY getting a release, even though war movies aren’t very popular at the moment. Renner is great in it.