Renee RosenowAs the later months of the year are upon us, and the weather becomes increasingly colder and unpredictable, rest assured there is one place that will be able to cure your cabin fever. Or two places, in the case of Eau Claire.
Grengs London Stadiums, 3109 Mall Dr., and the Carmike Oakwood 12, 4800 Golf Rd., will both be showing their fair share of movies in the upcoming winter months. Some will be entertaining. Some will be potential Academy Award winners/nominees. And others . well, you need to avoid altogether.
So to aid you in taking your mind off the inches and inches of slush that will accumulate outside, here is a guide to what both theaters could potentially be showing in the months to come.
Now that’s entertainment
The fall movie season kicked off last week with the release of “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.” For the most part the entire cast of voices is back, including Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and David Schwimmer. The group of characters from the first movie find themselves marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar, where the members of the zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time.
This week, though, is when the most anticipated movie of the season will be released. “Quantum of Solace” will showcase Daniel Craig reprising his critically acclaimed role of James Bond, and team him up with Oscar-nominated director Marc Forster. It is the first time an Oscar-nominated director has helmed a Bond movie, so it could potentially be better than its crowd-pleasing predecessor, “Casino Royale.” And if you actually care about what the plot is, Bond goes on a revenge mission against those responsible for Vesper Lynd’s betrayal.
Some would debate, however, that the most anticipated film of the season actually comes out a week after “Quantum of Solace.” That’s because the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s first novel, “Twilight,” will be released on Nov. 21. Starring a cast of relatively unknowns, the movie focuses on a misfit teenage girl falling in love with a vampire and the fight the vampire has to protect her from himself and other vampires. Internet hype has been surrounding the film for months and likely will be repaid by a film that’s entertaining to those who loved the book.
Hollywood will then go through a dry spell as far as releasing movies that look like locks to be decent shows. But once Dec. 12 rolls around audiences will have the opportunity to see Keanu Reeves play an alien, which truly is a win-win opportunity. In a remake of the 1951 classic, “The Day The Earth Stood Still” Reeves’ alien has a message for Jennifer Connelly and the rest of mankind, and it may not be to wish them a happy holiday season. Early indications are the remake is more modernized to the current planet’s predicaments and steers clear of the Cold War message of the original. Whatever direction it goes in though, a $150 million budgeted film with stadiums being demolished by dust cannot be half bad.
Oscar contenders
For those seeking not just explosions but actual artistic expression, the winter months are ripe with studios pushing their best movies out in order to get Academy Award nominations. Nov. 26 brings a pair of them with “Australia” and “Milk.”
“Australia” re-teams the “Moulin Rouge” duo of Oscar winner Nicole Kidman and Oscar-nominated director Baz Luhrmann. Kidman’s character inherits land in Australia and makes a pact with a stock-man, played by Hugh Jackman, to protect it against an impending Japanese attack during World War II.
“Milk” chronicles the life of Harvey Milk’s ascent to become San Francisco’s first openly gay city supervisor in 1977, and the political fallout that led to his assassination, as well as Mayor George Moscone’s the following year. At the helm is Oscar- nominated director Gus Van Sant, who directs Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn in the title role.
But then it’s another long wait until Christmas Day when three likely Oscar contenders are released.
Starting off is “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Oscar-nominated actor Brad Pitt stars in the title role as a man who ages backwards, being born old and dying young. He is re-teamed with director David Fincher, who previously calibrated with Pitt in “Seven” and “Fight Club.” Oscar winner Cate Blanchett also co-stars.
Oscar-winning director Ron Howard returns to the director’s chair with his adaptation of the hit Broadway play “Frost/Nixon.” The film revolves around BBC host David Frost and his interviews with Richard Nixon in 1977, where the scandal-plagued president opens up about his role in the Watergate scandal. Past period pieces of Howard’s, such as “Apollo 13” and “A Beautiful Mind,” all garnered praise, and his newest film is likely to continue the streak.
And if that doesn’t make your heart go on, perhaps a film starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio will. The two pair up to play a young couple raising a family in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s who look to break free from their frustratingly mediocre lives. The film is directed by the Oscar- winning director of “American Beauty,” Sam Mendes; coincidently Winslet’s husband.
Avoid like the plague
For every Oscar contender or just flat-out entertaining movie, there are likely 10 other films that are just horrendous.
One of those films is “Transporter 3.” Released on Nov. 26, Jason Statham reprises his role as a former mercenary who reinvented himself as a specialist in moving goods of all kinds. Sounds interesting, except it has been done twice and a third time likely won’t bring out any new or unique feelings in regards to the franchise.
If Thomas Jane didn’t convince you movies about the Marvel Comic hero The Punisher just won’t work, perhaps the release of the franchise’s reinvention “Punisher: War Zone” will on Dec. 5. The title character must take on his most worthy adversary Jigsaw. No, not the one from the “Saw” franchise, this one is actually played by Dominic West and has a disfigured face. Sounds like a winner.
If you think a film would be great if it starred Jim Carrey and put a twist on the “Liar, Liar” plot but wasn’t actually a sequel, then “Yes Man” may just be the movie for you. Carrey stars as a man who cannot say no to anything for an entire year. Let’s just hope nothing involving the number 23 comes up.
And last, but certainly not least, is “The Spirit.” If you don’t plan on taking in an Oscar-contending movie on Christmas Day, then by all means stay in with the family and avoid this movie. Directed by first-timer Frank Miller, it essentially plays off the look of “Sin City” but has a different plot. A rookie cop returns from the dead to fight crime in his beloved city. His main opposition is a former lab technician who has reinvented himself as The Octopus, played by Samuel L. Jackson. Normally seeing Jackson play a Nazi would warrant enough reason to see it, but once the acting abilities of Eva Mendes and Scarlet Johannson are mixed in, it becomes that much less appealing.
