|
diversions
Oscar hopefuls
fill holiday film calendar
By Greg Smith
On-line Forty-Niner
The holiday season
can be best defined as the peak movie season. Studios clamor
to release their best films for the masses to consume, but
more importantly for the impending awards deadline. The studios
hope to keep their films fresh in the minds of voters for
the Golden Globes, various guild awards and the glorious Academy
Awards. While the summer is the time for mind-numbing popcorn
fare, the holiday season is where filmmakers really shine.
And this year is no exception.
The rush began
this past weekend with Steven Soderbegh's ensemble remake
"Oceans 11," featuring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon
and Julia Roberts. The Rat Pack remake is about Clooney's
plan to rob three huge Las Vegas casinos. With the high powered
cast and Soderbergh's impeccable direction, the film is sure
to be a blockbuster.
Dec. 14 will see
two comedies from completely different veins, "Not Another
Teen Movie" and "The Royal Tenenbaums." The latter, directed
by Wes Anderson is another ensemble piece featuring Gene Hackman,
Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Angelica Houston and Bill Murray
among many others. The film tells the story of a now grown
dysfunctional family brought together for the patriarch's
(Hackman) impending death.
Also opening Dec.
14 is Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla Sky" starring Tom Cruise, Cameron
Diaz, Penelope Cruz and Jason Lee. The film, a remake of "Open
Your Eyes," a Spanish film directed by Alejandro Amenabar,
promises to be one of the weirdest films to come out this
year. Amenabar also directed this year's sleeper hit "The
Others."
One notable film,
opening Dec. 19, may be the most anticipated film to date:
"The Fellowship of the Ring," Peter Jackson's first installment
in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Early reviews for the
film have been phenomenal, with many critics calling it a
sure contender for many Oscars.
Opening in the
shadow of "The Fellowship of the Rings" is Ron Howard's new
film "A Beautiful Mind," starring Russell Crowe, Ed Harris
and Jennifer Connelly. The film tells the true story of genius
John Forbes Nash, Jr. and is already an early favorite for
several Academy Awards.
Dec. 21 brings
the new film from "The Green Mile" director Frank Darabont,
"The Majestic," which stars Jim Carrey as a blacklisted Hollywood
screenwriter who develops amnesia after a car accident. He
happens upon a small town whose townsfolk recognize him as
a fallen war hero. The Capra-esque tale may garner Carrey's
first Oscar nomination.
Four days after
"The Majestic" opens, filmgoers will get to gander upon the
first solid contender for multiple Academy Awards. Michael
Mann's "Ali" is a biopic of the great boxer Muhammad Ali and
stars Will Smith and a heavily made-up John Voight as Howard
Cossel. Both actors are almost guaranteed Oscar nominations
in the spring.
Lasse Holstrom
is hoping to continue his run of Best Picture nominations
with "The Shpping News," opening Dec. 25. The film is an adaptation
of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name by E.
Annie Proulx and stars Kevin Spacey and Julianne Moore.
Another much anticipated
film opens Dec. 26. "Monster's Ball" stars Billy Bob Thornton
and Heath Ledger as father and son death-row prison guards
in the Deep South. The two eventually fall for the same woman,
Halle Berry, whose husband they executed years before. Thornton
and Berry recently received International Board of Review
awards for the film.
"Black Hawk Down,"
the newest film, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and director
Ridley Scott, is another top awards contender. The film stars
Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor and Eric Bana as members of an
elite Army special forces unit that gets overrun and nearly
slaughtered during a raid in Mogadishu, Somalia. "Black Hawk
Down" is based on the critically acclaimed non-fiction book
by Mark Bowden.
Also opening Dec.
28 is the Sean Penn film "I Am Sam." The film is about a mentally
challenged man trying to regain custody of his young daughter.
Penn is another early favorite for acting awards.
With so many top-notch
films being released this holiday season, there is sure to
be something for everybody and plenty of high quality entertainment
for the masses to consume.
|
