Hollywood tends to follow a specific formula when it comes to movie releases. The first eight or so months of the year provide audiences with blockbusters, light, fluffy escapism and little substance. By the time September and October roll around, the studios begin to roll out the big wigs for awards season. So far, 2009 appears to be no different. Still, between films like The Pink Panther Deux and Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experiences, there appear to be a few promising movies slated to premiere in the upcoming months, enough to please several different palates.
Adventureland and I Love You, Man, two comedies of what is now often dubbed "the Judd Apatow genre," come out in March. The former, from Superbad director Greg Mottola, is about a college graduate (Jesse Eisenberg) in the summer of 1987 who is forced to trade his Eurotrip for a job at the local amusement park. Unexpected romance and good times ensue. In I Love You, Man, Paul Rudd becomes engaged to Rashida Jones but has no one to serve as his best man - enter Jason Segel.
March also sees the release of The Class, a French film about high school students and the relationships they share. The film boasts the title of Palme d'Or winner at last year's Cannes Film Festival.
State of Play, based on the BBC mini-series, tracks a group of investigative reporters as they try to uncover the story behind the murder of a congressman's mistress. The film was directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) and features an expansive ensemble ranging from Helen Mirren and Russell Crowe to Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman.
Then, of course, in the warmer months, we get into popcorn-flick season starring Star Trek, G.I. Joe, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and so on. Shaking up this group is the long-awaited Bruno. Perhaps the least recognized of Sacha Baron Cohen's alter egos, Bruno is a flamboyant Austrian fashion guru/TV reporter. Bruno made headlines a few months ago when he spontaneously joined the models on the catwalk at a fashion show in Madrid. That incident, along with Baron Cohen's success with Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, might give any audiences unfamiliar with Da Ali G Show an idea of what to expect.
Rian Johnson, director of the critically condemned but excellent neo-noir Brick, also has a new film that will hit theaters this summer called The Brothers Bloom, starring Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody as a pair of con artists.
Moving along to fall and heavy-hitter territory, Mark Ruffalo will also be starring in a new Martin Scorsese 'picture' entitled Shutter Island. The film, which also stars Scorsese's new golden boy, Leonardo DiCaprio, follows two men after they are summoned to investigate the disappearance of a murderess (Michelle Williams) from an asylum for the criminally insane. The film is based upon the novel by Dennis Lehane. Spoilers ahead, so look away if you haven't seen/read the aforementioned: Lehane is big on disappearances, and they usually don't end well. His works are also loaded with red herrings and twists and turns, so this should be a good one.
Another adaptation expected late this year is Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones. It will be interesting to see how Jackson handles the material, as the novel is told from the perspective of a murdered teenager up in heaven. The movie stars Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon and Saoirse Ronan.
Ronan received an Oscar nomination last year for her work in Atonement. Her Atonement costar, Keira Knightley, has finally removed the "period pieces only" clause from her contract to star in a modern romantic drama as one-half of a couple dealing with past relationships and temptations abroad. The film, entitled Last Night, also stars the attractive Guillaume Canet.
Julie Taymor, visionary director of Across the Universe and Titus, returns to Shakespeare with The Tempest. There's a catch, however. Helen Mirren will reign as Prospero - whose name has been changed to Prospera to reflect the gender swap. Just because the casting is technically inaccurate doesn't mean the nominative gender agreement should be. The film stars an eclectic cast, also including Djimon Hounsou, Chris Cooper, Alan Cumming and Russell Brand.
And because Hollywood is so very into being derivative, yet another play - or rather, musical adaptation - is to be released in December. Nine is based upon the Broadway musical of the same name. The musical is to be directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago) and follows an Italian film director and his dealings with the women in his life. Relationships - definitely a common theme this year. Now, because this is Hollywood, only one person in the principal cast is actually Italian, but the cast is still one of the most impressive in years, featuring the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench and Sophia Loren. That's five Oscar winners, maybe six if Cruz wins this year for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I'm predicting this movie cleans up the 2010 awards season.
So there you have it: a handful of the big movie releases for the upcoming year. Granted, I'm sure lots of great indies will emerge at some point or another out from under the radar, but until then - not too shabby.
