The Big Ones

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I'm re-pasting these with the assumption that I'm missing at least two or three that should be included (but aren't). The 23 prestige fall-winter narrative films to watch for are Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood, Alan Ball's Nothing Is Private, Susanne Bier's Things We Lost in the Fire, Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, Joel and Ethan Coen's No Country for Old Men (seen it...brilliant), David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises, Marc Forster's The Kite Runner, Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road, Paul Haggis's In the Valley of Elah, Gavin Hood's Rendition, James Ivory's City of Your Final Destination, Shekhar Kapur's The Golden Age, Lajos Koltai's Evening, Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Mike Newell's Love in the Time of Cholera, Mike Nichols' Charlie Wilson's War; Vadim Perelman's In Bloom, Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs, Ridley Scott's American Gangster, Michael Winterbottom's A Mighty Heart (seen it...a strong Michael Mann film), and Joe Wright's Atonement.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 6, 2007 at 9:39 AM

comment #1

Bocephus says ...

ooo, I forgot that a new Cronenberg was coming out.

Posted by Bocephus at June 6, 2007 9:58 AM

comment #2

actionman says ...

all of these movies sound interesting in one way or another

i'd also add Terry George's "Reservation Road" to the list, as well as Peter Berg's "The Kingdom," which I saw a few months ago, and was easily the best, smartest, and most intense real-life action thrillers in years. Michael Mann produced it and you can tell; it's incredible.

Also, another film I saw a while back that was masterpiece quality was "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." God only knows what version the general public will get a chance to see.

Posted by actionman at June 6, 2007 10:05 AM

comment #3

PanTheFaun says ...

"Evening" is not a fall-winter film... It opens in 3 weeks.

Posted by PanTheFaun at June 6, 2007 10:09 AM

comment #4

Jesse Perry says ...

Has there been any news online regarding There Will be Blood? That and No Country For Old Men are my two must-sees from that list.

Posted by Jesse Perry at June 6, 2007 10:13 AM

comment #5

PanTheFaun says ...

No one's seen There Will Be Blood yet.

But I read the script last year, and it was excellent.

Posted by PanTheFaun at June 6, 2007 10:17 AM

comment #6

JD says ...

I really liked Alan Ball's script for Nothing Is Private, but I'm having a hard time seeing it as a prestige film. It's strikes me as a really modest, intimate comedy-drama in the spirit of the more casual (ie. not heavy-handed) Six Feet Under episodes. I kept waiting for big, dramatic events to take place -- because I'd heard it was a provocative drama -- but they don't. In fact, that's what I liked about it. It's kind of like a less comic version of Slums of Beverly Hills (ie. a father-daughter puberty movie). That's oversimplifying it, but it's not the scorching exploration of teen sexuality and Middle-Eastern values that some people are expecting. In terms of prestige, I'd put it alongside Noah Baumbach's Margot at the Wedding, a similarly observant and insightful, but modest drama (on the page, anyway).

I have a hard time believing that anyone will go see There Will Be Blood, as it's simply too great (again, on the page) and literary to appeal to a broad audience. Of course, if it gets good reviews, it might find an audience. It's also possible (but not likely) that it will connect with religious audiences. The script has a really interesting and complex vision of religion that could appeal to atheists and fundamentalists alike. In other words, it's not as judgemental as some people might expect.

The Lions For Lambs script really surprised me in that it's basically a play. It's almost (but not quite) three long scenes intercut. It's very effective -- and it makes a really strong, interesting statement about the cause of American complacency -- but it's also quite modest, though that may depend on how they choose to deal with the war section. Maybe it will fill this year's Good Night and Good Luck, dialogue-heavy, political lot.

Posted by JD at June 6, 2007 10:20 AM

comment #7

Mike Schaefer says ...

So, "Revolutionary Road" and "Reservation Road" are both coming out around the same time? Oops.

Posted by Mike Schaefer at June 6, 2007 10:46 AM

comment #8

jeffmcm says ...

Ditto for A Mighty Heart since, as I think we can all easily tell, it's in theaters June 22 (I assume Wells gets a peanut every time he mentions it in print).

Posted by jeffmcm at June 6, 2007 10:47 AM

comment #9

hcat says ...

I would think the Savages would make the cut. As well as Youth without Youth (I understand the director was once well regarded)

Posted by hcat at June 6, 2007 10:49 AM

comment #10

hcat says ...

And everything I have read has Revolutionary Road coming out in 08

Posted by hcat at June 6, 2007 10:51 AM

comment #11

Ian Sinclair says ...

I would add Kenneth Branagh's SLEUTH re-do to that list, which Fox Searchlight has already picked up for an October stateside release. I hear Harold Pinter has totally rewritten the dialogue and it is aces, Jude Law is very good for once and that Michael Caine is Best Actor Oscarworthy.

Posted by Ian Sinclair at June 6, 2007 11:02 AM

comment #12

HaterSucker says ...

Actually SLEUTH is a Sony Pictures Classics film.

Posted by HaterSucker at June 6, 2007 11:26 AM

comment #13

ASD says ...

Just want to echo what Actionman said about The Kingdom. It's a really tight, few-frills procedural built around two stunning (and in the case of the latter, remarkably protracted) action sequences which bookend the film. The Mann influence is pronounced. In a lot of ways it's the film I expected Miami Vice to be.

As for Haggis' In the Valley of Elah, it screened in Hollywood on Monday and all I'll say is it's an improvement over Crash but that's not saying a ton. It's actually almost an opposite of The Kingdom in that it's a procedural that's never especially interested in solving its central mystery. It draws a lot of the same sweeping conclusions as Crash (basically war, in case it's never been said, is hell) but isn't as embarrassingly self-congratulatory which is a plus. Tommy Lee is pretty great in it, which certainly helps.

Posted by ASD at June 6, 2007 11:38 AM

comment #14

Ari says ...

I can't wait to see There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men. Should be great.

Posted by Ari at June 6, 2007 11:40 AM

comment #15

hhh43089 says ...

Jeff,

Revolutionary Road is being release December 18th, 2008...not 2007.

Posted by hhh43089 at June 6, 2007 11:56 AM

comment #16

T. S. Idiot says ...

Darjeeling Express? Leatherheads?

Posted by T. S. Idiot at June 6, 2007 11:58 AM

comment #17

Gabriel says ...

I'd add Kimberly Pierce's "Stop-Loss" and "The Darjeeling Limited" to the list.

Posted by Gabriel at June 6, 2007 12:11 PM

comment #18

Josh Massey says ...

In the Valley of Elah is an improvement over Crash? In the same way Red Sonya was superior to Conan the Destroyer, I assume?

Posted by Josh Massey at June 6, 2007 12:11 PM

comment #19

Don Murphy says ...

Please do not include Marc Foster on any list of films to look out for like ever.

Posted by Don Murphy at June 6, 2007 12:42 PM

comment #20

ASD says ...

More like the way The Number 23 is an improvement over Batman & Robin.

Posted by ASD at June 6, 2007 12:43 PM

comment #21

Mr. Gittes says ...

American Gangster trailer!!

http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?sid=37949179&sdm=web&qtw=640&qth=400

Posted by Mr. Gittes at June 6, 2007 12:55 PM

comment #22

erniesouchak says ...

What about Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution"?

Posted by erniesouchak at June 6, 2007 12:56 PM

comment #23

insidah says ...

What EVENING seems to want to be: THE NOTEBOOK ($$$) and THE HOURS(reviews)combined.

What I fear it will be: House of Spirits (the last time Streep and Close co-starred)

Posted by insidah at June 6, 2007 1:22 PM

comment #24

MiraJeffAICN says ...

What about Southland Tales? Thing has Oscar written all over it. I read There Will Be Blood and in PTA's hands it has the chance to be something special. Charlie Wilson's War, not so much. I thought it was a Sorkin-special, as in, appealing to maybe 100 people, even with Hanks and Roberts. I can't see that one becoming a contender, but we'll see. Never judge a Hanks film by the script. That man is so incredible, he could turn Spawn into The Godfather. But probably not. Anyways, good list, Jeff. Looks like another solid awards season. Let's enjoy the summer fluff first though. Seems like Oscar season comes earlier and earlier every year.

Posted by MiraJeffAICN at June 6, 2007 2:25 PM

comment #25

frankbooth says ...

There Will be Blood should attract some very confused Saw fans.

Posted by frankbooth at June 6, 2007 2:32 PM

comment #26

actionman says ...

Thanks for the trailer link Mr. Gittes!

American Gangster looks phenomenal.

Posted by actionman at June 6, 2007 2:52 PM

comment #27

BurmaShave says ...

Mr. Gittes, you have made my day, my week, my month, nay, even my year... (cuz I'll be there for you?)...

Wells, where are you getting your info on Revolutionary Road? Everything I've read has it staked out on 12/08. Are they going to rush it through post?

I hope everyone is remembering D-Day.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 6, 2007 2:56 PM

comment #28

actionman says ...

Hey Don--isn't it Marc Forster?

Posted by actionman at June 6, 2007 2:57 PM

comment #29

televisiontears says ...

MiraJeff - Southland Tales sadly won't be realeased until March of next year. It looks like Sony dumped it to Samuel-Goldwyn, a terrible injustice for a film of this promise. Besides, it seems to be too unique for the Academy (ala any Kubrick film), and it features a very awards-unfriendly cast. It must be too sprawling and eclectic to properly market it, so Sony will just dump it theatrically and just pray for a DVD cult-monster like Donnie Darko. Hope this doesn't affect Kelly's career since the guy just shows unlimited fucking potential.

Posted by televisiontears at June 6, 2007 3:20 PM

comment #30

christian says ...

if SOUTHLAND TALES is so great, why wouldn't sony get behind it at least as a prestige release? i'm very curious about tis film, but i've yet to read a good review for it -- maybe that will have to wait until it gets to aicn...

Posted by christian at June 6, 2007 3:28 PM

comment #31

cobhome says ...

May be too arty for general tastes - but I think Todd Haynes is due - and I'm Not There is a film I am very much looking forward to

Posted by cobhome at June 6, 2007 3:36 PM

comment #32

cobhome says ...

Leatherheads is too rom com beginnings of pro football to probably merit serious consideration - but - Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton - with Clooney and a great brit cast - does anyone think that might have merit??

Posted by cobhome at June 6, 2007 3:43 PM

comment #33

DarthCorleone says ...

I read Oil! over two years ago when I first heard P.T. would be adapting it. Any of you guys that read the script know how closely There Will Be Blood follows the book? I can't wait for that film.

Posted by DarthCorleone at June 6, 2007 3:47 PM

comment #34

George Prager says ...

I was going to make a movie were 100 different people play Peter Tork, but I ran out of people who wanted to play Peter Tork. If you know anyone who wants to play Peter Tork in a movie about Peter Tork played by 100 different people playing Peter Tork, please let me know.

Posted by George Prager at June 6, 2007 3:50 PM

comment #35

SMScripter says ...

I know pdf versions of these scripts are floating around. If anyone would like to upload them to Rapidshare or some other file-sharing site and then post the link here... I don't think that would be such a bad thing. And you would earn good karma for your generous, sharing nature.

Posted by SMScripter at June 6, 2007 4:52 PM

comment #36

Ari says ...

Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche NY should be interesting.

Posted by Ari at June 6, 2007 6:07 PM

comment #37

CambridgeCat says ...

What about GONE, BABY, GONE?

Posted by CambridgeCat at June 6, 2007 6:42 PM

comment #38

christian says ...

i'm reading SYNECDOCHE right now.

Posted by christian at June 6, 2007 7:12 PM

comment #39

MiraJeffAICN says ...

Actionman, I was kidding. I don't think there will be any gold statues in Southland's future. I know it got some shitty reviews out of last year's Cannes but I will form my own opinion when I see it. Where'd you read that they'd set a release date though? Only two weeks ago or so I heard that no date had been set. Interesting. I feel bad for Richard. Sony dicked him around. Domino was trash but that wasn't his fault as much as Tony Scott's, and Darko is brilliant. Can't wait to see it. The graphic novels have gotten me pumped and I liked the script, even if it was a little out there for my tastes.

Posted by MiraJeffAICN at June 6, 2007 7:28 PM

comment #40

lipranzer says ...

The ones on top of my list are the P.T. Anderson, the Coen brothers, the Cronenberg, the Sidney Lumet, the Todd Haynes, the Kimberly Peirce, and a qualified maybe for AMERICAN GANGSTER. The trailer does look good, and if nothing else, it doesn't look as darkly lit as most Ridley Scott films are. However, he's been sort of hit and miss for me lately.

I wish I were more enthusiastic about THE KINGDOM, but I don't trust Peter Berg as a director after what he did to FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.

Posted by lipranzer at June 6, 2007 9:29 PM

comment #41

lipranzer says ...

Oh, and I'm also looking forward to the Mike Nichols (just started reading the book), THE GOLDEN AGE, and THE NANNY DIARIES (with the folks behind AMERICAN SPLENDOR directing, it should be good).

Posted by lipranzer at June 6, 2007 9:32 PM

comment #42

BurmaShave says ...

lipranzer, what exaactly did Peter Berg do to Friday Night Lights? I thought the whole thing was fantastic, though honestly it could just be the awesome score by Explosions in the Sky. I dug the hell out of The Rundown though.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 6, 2007 10:16 PM

comment #43

delphic_oracle says ...

Where is 3:10 to Yuma? I think this movie has potential too.

Also as some people here have pointed out, Revolutionary Road is not coming out until December 2008. Not 2007

The American Gangster trailer is great! I really can't wait to see that film.

Posted by delphic_oracle at June 7, 2007 1:25 AM

comment #44

MPNeeb says ...

""Southland Tales sadly won't be released until March of next year [2008].""

Wasn't it set in 2008?

Posted by MPNeeb at June 7, 2007 2:00 AM

comment #45

OddDuck says ...

I'm pretty sure all Peter Berg did to Friday Night Lights was make it a great movie. So many good choices made, so much easy sentimentality avoided, it was pretty much perfect in tone.

Posted by OddDuck at June 7, 2007 5:48 AM

comment #46

sunny says ...

Oh, yeah! I can't wait to see all of the films mentioned, but Jeff, you forgot Mangolds 3:10 to Yuma. With Crowe and Bale, how could it go wrong! (I know, it COULD, but I have high hopes.)American Gangster looks kick ass.

Huge Crowe fan. Can you tell?

Posted by sunny at June 7, 2007 7:09 AM

comment #47

actionman says ...

Friday Night Lights is one of the best--if not THE best--football movies ever made. OddDuck is right on--the avoidance of the simple sports movie cliches and the refusal to become sentimental in so many places really elevated the film above most others. The cinematography is also superb, a great lead-in to the breathtaking staging and intensity to what he Berg and Mauro Fiore did in The Kingdom. Berg is a true journeyman. Remember him in Fire in the Sky? I sure do. And then he did a lengthy stink in Chicago Hope, and had colorful supporting roles for years. Then, after making a nasty little first movie (Very Bad Things, which I saw again recently for the first time in years--FUCKED UP movie) he makes one of the best pg-13 action movies ever in The Rundown. Then he nails Friday Night Lights for BOTH the big-screen and the small-screen (the tv show is easily in the top 5 programs at the moment). Then hooks up with Michael Mann, who for a while was going to direct The Kingdom himself, and Mann gives Berg his first big-budget and hits a grand slam. And just look at the stuff he has in the pipeline--ALL of it sounds exciting and cool. Who knows how the public will react to such a hard-hitting, no-bullshit action film like The Kingdom, one that dares to ask a question or two about foreign policy, while also fulfilling its promise of big action scenes (the 40 minute battle that comprises the last section of the film is about as intense of an action scene that I have seen since Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, and I take this sort of stuff very seriously). I think The Kingdom is gonna surprise some people and get excellent critical reviews, but will only do $60-75 domestic, which while not a horrible failure, wouldn't be what this film deserves.

Posted by actionman at June 7, 2007 7:17 AM

comment #48

actionman says ...

"And then he did a lengthy stink in Chicago Hope..."

I meant to say "stint"

it's early...i am tired...

Posted by actionman at June 7, 2007 7:22 AM

comment #49

The Winchester says ...

If Southland Tales has prestige written all over it, how come it's gonna take almost two years from it's Canne premiere to reach theaters?

And why no mention or love for John August's The Nines? Absolutely stunning film, very well made, great performances, far from predictable. Light years better than Tim Burton's Sweeny Todd film will be. (c'mon, it's gonna be Sleepy Hallow 2, featuring all things safe to Burton: Depp, his girlfriend, Christopher Le... oh wait)

Posted by The Winchester at June 7, 2007 8:24 AM

comment #50

T. S. Idiot says ...

American Gangster looks like it could be the best film of the year, but will the Oscar Yahoos ignore it because they just honored a similar film?

Posted by T. S. Idiot at June 7, 2007 8:35 AM

comment #51

christian says ...

how could you cut christopher lee from SWEENY TODD?

Posted by christian at June 7, 2007 8:35 AM

comment #52

lipranzer says ...

I didn't like Friday Night Lights for two reasons. First of all, the book managed the difficult task of making you empathize with a small-town's obsession with football even as you may have recoiled from it. It's much harder, of course, to provide context on film than it is in books, but in my opinion, Berg didn't do a good job of it. Sure, you have Tim McGraw living out his failed football dreams through his son, but there's no dealing with the economic conditions that the town had to deal with, that would make them hinge their hopes on a high school football team. So the townspeople just come off as overzealous yahoos.

The second reason, and this even more, is it downplays the racism angle. Boobie Miles is presented as a one-dimensional character in the movie, and Berg doesn't deal with the attitudes towards him by the fans, coaches, or his fellow players. For all of its flaws, Any Given Sunday did a much better job dealing with the racism even top-flight players have to deal with. And for those who have seen The Kingdom, does it present the Arabs fairly, or as the usual one-dimensional Hollywood characters?

Posted by lipranzer at June 7, 2007 10:08 AM

comment #53

OddDuck says ...

Any Given Sunday was complete trash -- extremely well made, expertly directed and loads of fun -- but still trash. Completely different kind of beast than FNL.

As far as FNL the movie versus the book, you make very good points, but taken alone, the film still rocked. And great movie adapations rarely embody every theme from their original source. When they try, failure usually ensues.

Posted by OddDuck at June 7, 2007 10:38 AM

comment #54

fnt says ...

I'm hoping Kenneth Lonnergan's MARGARET will finally come out this fall. Which reminds me, Noah Baumbach's MARGOT AT THE WEDDING should also be worth checking out.

Posted by fnt at June 7, 2007 3:19 PM

comment #55