The Descendants has a pretty crappy trailer. However, considering the talent at hand and the early critic reviews, I've got a feeling that in a couple years people are gonna watch the trailer again and say "Wow. The trailer does not do this movie justice at all." The film stars George Clooney as a father trying to reconcile with his daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident. It's directed by Alexander Payne (Sideways) and currently has a 92% on rotten tomatoes based on 13 reviews with an average rating of 8.5/10.
14. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is a film directed by Steven Spielberg based on the comics and tv series of the same name. I've only seen one episode of the show, but it was AWESOME! It's an Indiana Jones type of treasure hunt movie. It's a motion capture animated movie and the animation looks INCREDIBLE! This is Academy Award Winner Steven Spielberg's return to cinema after the piece of garbage that was Indiana Jones 4. This film is 1 of 2 Spielberg movies coming out this year (The other being War Horse , but more on that later) and looks to be a return to form. It is expected for release on December 23, 2011 and has no reviews yet.
Machine Gun Preacher is a film starring Gerard Butler (300, some shitty Rom-coms) that it set to be released next Friday, September 23. It's based on the True Story of Sam Childers, a former criminal who became a crusader for hundreds of Sudanese children forced to become soldiers. It looks like a hit-or miss film. Either a powerful, heart wrenching biopic, or a maudlin, irritating melodrama. Hopefully it'll be the former. It currently has 5 reviews from Rotten tomatoes. 80% of the reviews are positive with an average rating of 6.1/10.
12. Contagion
Contagion is scary looking thriller released on September 9, 2011. It has a very strong ensemble cast. Academy Award Winner Marion Cottilard (La Vie En Rose, Inception), Academy Award Winner Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting, The Departed, The Jason Bourne Series), Academy Award Nominee Laurence Fishburne (What's Love got to do with it, The Matrix), Academy Award Nominee Jude Law (Talented Mr. Ripley, Closer, Cold Mountain), Academy Award Winner Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man, Shakespeare in Love, Seven) and Academy Award Winer Kate Winslet (Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Reader). It's also directed by Academy Award Winner Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Oceans 11, Che). It's about a deadly disease that breaks out, the attempt to contain the disease, and the breakdown of society that results. It has an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes right now with 163 reviews and an average rating of 7.2/10. It looks pretty intense
11. Moneyball
Moneyball stars Academy Award Nominee Brad Pitt (12 Monkeys, Seven, Benjamin Button, and my favorite movie of all time, Fight Club) as Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A's, and his attempt to create a competitive team despite Oakland's financial situattion. Like Machine Gun Preacher, this is also based on a true story. It's directed by Academy Award Nominee Bennett Miller (Capote) and also stars Academy Award Winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Capote, Before the Devil Knows your dead) and Jonah Hill (most Judd Apatow movies). It currently holds an 83% on Rotten tomatoes based on 18 reviews and has an average rating of 7.8/10. It is set to be released on September 23.
10. Red State
Red State has director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma) leaving his raunchy comedy roots in favor of making a horror film....I think. The film is about 3 teenagers who get kidnapped by an extremist church led by a psycho fundamentalist preacher. The teaser trailer is one of the most frightening things that I have ever watched.
Then I saw the theatrical trailer which was kinda weird. It started out with the super creepy horror vibe but then it started to look more like an over the top Grindhouse style action movie. The film currently has gotten mixed reviews from critics with a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 23 reviews and an average rating of 5.5/10. Nonetheless, I'm still intrigued. The film can be currently watched online or On Demand and will be released into theaters on September 23, 2011.
9. Warrior
Warrior is a film in theaters right now that I hope to watch ASAP.
I refuse to post the trailer for Warrior because I believe that it spoils way too much of the movie. That said, I think that the film looks like an excellent and emotional sports Drama. It's about a man (Tom Hardy) who trains for an MMA championship with his father (Nick Nolte) which his brother also enters into. Warrior was released on September 9, 2011, currently has an 83% on rotten tomatoes based on 124 reviews with an average rating of 7.4/10. Nick Nolte has been getting a lot of oscar buzz for his performance.
A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas is the third movie in the Harold and Kumar stoner comedy series. Following 2004's Harold and Kumar go to White Castle and 2008's Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Two hilarious comedies about 2 stoners named Harold and Kumar and the over the top adventures that they encounter while trying to achieve some goal, all while having a tad bit of social commentary about issues like Racial stereotyping. This movie is in 3D, which I'm usually not a fan of, but the trailer makes it look like the 3D is going to be good. I'm a big fan of the first 2, so hopefully this movie will be as good as it's predecessors. It is expected to be released on November 4, 2011. It has no reviews yet. The film stars John Cho (Star Trek, American Pie), Kal Penn (House, The Namesake, Van Wilder) and Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser, How I Met Your Mother) as a fictionalized version of himself.
7. War Horse
War Horse is Academy Award Winner Steven Spielberg's 2nd film coming out this year, the other being The Adventures of Tintin, It follows a young man and his horse and how they are seperated when WWI starts and their journey to be reunited. This film looks like an emotional and epic journey. Hopefully it'll be as good as it looks. It is expected for release on December 28, 2011 (Just five days after Tintin's release) and has no reviews yet.
6. 50/50
50/50 is an upcoming Comedy-Drama starring Joseph Gordon Levitt (Inception, 500 Days of Summer, Brick) and Seth Rogen (Knocked up, Superbad, The 40 year old Virgin). It's about a young man (Joseph Gordon Levitt) who gets cancer and has a 50/50 chance of beating the disease. Joseph Gordon Levitt has gotten some early Oscar buzz for his performance. It looks to be a good mix of comedy and drama. Let's just hope it's not uneven. It currently has 100% on rotten tomatoes from 11 reviews with an average rating of 8.1/10. It is to be released on September 30, 2011.
The Ides of March is an upcoming Political Drama/thriller directed by George Clooney with an all star cast including Academy Award Nominee Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson, Blue Valentine, The Notebook), Academy Award Winner George Clooney (Syriana, Michael Clayton, Up in the Air), Academy Award Winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Capote, Charlie Wilson's War, Doubt), Academy Award Nominee Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man, Sideways) Academy Award Winner Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny, Before the Devil Knows Your Dead, The Wrestler) and Jeffrey Wright (Syriana, Source Code, Casino Royale). It's about a young campaign staffer (Ryan Gosling) who's working with a Governor running for President (George Clooney) who gets involved in a political scandal after being approached by a rival campaign manager (Paul Giamatti). It looks intelligent, well acted, and exciting and with the talent at hand, it will hopefully live up to my expectations. It is set to be released on October 7 and currently has an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 16 reviews with an average rating of 7/10.
4. J. Edgar
J. Edgar is the new film from Academy Award Winning Director Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino) starring Academy Award Nominee Leonardo Dicaprio (Titanic, Departed, Inception). Some critics are predicting that this year Dicaprio might get his long awaited Oscar. I hope they're right. The film is a biopic focusing on the career of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. There is no trailer yet, but Dicaprio and Eastwood rarely disappoint. It will probably get a lot of attention from The Academy this year. It is going to have wide release on November 11, 2011. (My Birthday)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is David Fincher's English language adaptation of the Swedish book of the same name. Academy Award Nominee David Fincher is one of my all time favorite directors having previously directed The Social Network (where he was snubbed for the Best Director Oscar), Seven, Zodiac, and my all time favorite movie Fight Club. The film is about a journalist (Daniel Craig, James Bond) who is searching for a missing woman and is aided by a young female hacker (Rooney Mara). The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was previously adapted into a Swedish language film that was released 2 years ago. This film has already been called "a cheap hollywood cash grabber" by many people, mostly fans of the original film. I myself am a fan of the original, but I'm not so narrow minded as to call a movie trash just because it's a remake (hell, it's not even a remake, it's an adaptation of the book). The film will have Fincher going back to his dark, stylish roots that were seen in his earlier films and will hopefully put all the haters back in their place. It will be released on December 21 and has no reviews as of now.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is an upcoming spy thriller directed by Swedish director Tomas Alfredson who had directed the Swedish vampire movie Let The Right One In, the best vampire film of the last couple decades. The film is based on the book of the same name and stars Gary Oldman (Batman films, Harry Potter, Sid and Nancy, Dracula) who is famous for never being nominated for an Oscar. Lots of people think that his year has finally come. Maybe even an Oscar win. It also stars Academy Award Winner Colin Firth (The Kings Speech, A single Man, Bridget Jones) and Tom Hardy (Inception, Warrior, Bronson). It's about a former British agent who comes out of retirement to track a Russian mole inside British Intelligence. Despite not coming out in the US until December 9, it already has 35 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes with a 97% positive rating and an average score of 8/10. This film will be amazing.
1. Drive
Drive is an independent action film that just came out today, September 16th, 2011. It seems like 2011 will be a great year for Ryan Gosling. It also seems like Drive will be remembered as the only indie action film in the world. Action films are usually blockbusters by definition. The film stars Academy Award Nominee Ryan Gosling (Lars and The Real Girl, Blue Valentine) as a nameless hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as a wheelman. He falls in love with a beautiful woman played by Academy Award Nominee Carey Mulligan. When her ex-convict husband returns in debt from some mobsters, Driver attempts a heist to pay off his protection money. The heist goes terribly wrong and the film begins. It also stars 3 time Emmy Award Winner Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Malcolm in the Middle). Director Nicolas Winding Refn won Best director at the Cannes film festival. The film has been compared to classics like Pulp Fiction and Clint Eastwood's The Man with no name series. It currently has a 93% on rotten tomatoes based on 133 reviews and an average rating of 8.4/10.
It's consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is: A hyper-stylized blend of striking imagery and violence, Drive represents a fully realized vision of arthouse action.
Plus it stole it's tagline from one of my favorite movies of all time. That pretty much makes it a guaranteed win.
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