Zero Dark Thirty
Release Date: December 19th
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow; Starring Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Nash Edgerton, Mark Strong, Edgar Ramirez, Jennifer Ehle, Chris Pratt, and Kyle Chandler
What could possibly make a film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden made by the filmmakers behind The Hurt Locker sound any cooler? A real-life ending to the narrative. That’s what Kathryn Bigelow got when President Barack Obama announced bin Laden’s death last year, and that means this espionage film has a real shot at being the definitive cinematic version of the story.
The cast is great, and I’m especially overjoyed to see Jessica Chastain’s name at the top of the list. The teaser trailer is very oblique, but that makes sense. This is a mysterious story, and I’d rather not know anything about it (save, of course, the ending) until I’m sitting in the theatre, ready to watch. If this can provide half the satisfying surprise Hurt Locker did in 2009, it will be one of the year’s greatest treats.
Monsters Inc. 3D
Release Date: December 19th
Directed by Pete Docter; Starring John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, Jennifer Tilly, and James Coburn
I’ll repeat what I said about Pixar’s upcoming Finding Nemo re-release: With Pixar having chosen to move in a more overtly commercial direction in recent years, a 3D re-release of Monsters Inc. is a no brainer. It is one of the greatest of all American animated features, and still widely beloved by parents and children alike. This one makes even more commercial sense than Nemo, with the prequel film Monsters University hitting theatres next summer, and I personally feel this one is an even cooler big-screen experience. So I am interested in checking it out, even if I still don’t think it needs 3D to warrant a re-release.
Amour
Release Date: December 19th
Directed by Michael Haneke; Starring Jean-Louis Tringtigant, Emmanuelle Riva, and Isabelle Huppert
It’s hard not to look forward to this dark romantic drama from Michael Haneke, given the incredible reception it received at Cannes (including the prestigious Palme d’Or). The film tells the story of an elderly married couple facing their final days together, as the wife is extremely ill. I hear it is an almost unbearably emotional experience, and one of the most powerfully human films of Haneke’s career. I hope it lives up to the hype. No matter what, this is one to watch out for.
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