Fall Movie Preview Spectacular! Part 3 – The Films of November

Rise of the Guardians

Release Date: November 21^st

Directed by Peter Ramsey; Starring Chris Pine, Isla Fisher, Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, and Dakota Goyo

This film is sort of like The Avengers, if The Avengers was a team-up of public domain mythical characters, like Santa Claus, the Sandman, the Easter Bunny, etc. And as silly as that sounds, I think a strong creative team could probably have fun imagining how all these larger-than-life personalities might get along.

What I don’t quite understand is the need to have these icons team up to fight a monstrous evil force. If Santa Claus is out kicking ass in his sleigh, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of ‘Jolly Saint Nick?’ And of what use would the Tooth Fairy be in a calamitous situation? Would the Sandman really be able to help conquer evil by sprinkling it with magical powder?

I don’t see the logic in turning storybook characters into superheroes, and the tone of the trailers is a bit too reverential for my tastes. That being said, this is an original project from DreamWorks Animation, a company I often criticize for lacking any semblance of creativity. I do applaud them for trying something new. But until I see the finished film, I’ll probably remain baffled by the entire concept.

Life of Pi

Release Date: November 21^st

Directed by Ang Lee; Starring Suraj Sharma

I don’t want to sound overly negative about this film – Ang Lee is a great director, the source material is beloved and respected, etc. – but I have one serious problem with all the footage I’ve seen that I really hope the film itself works past: I do not understand why Life of Pi is a live-action movie. I just cannot fathom, after seeing the sheer amount of CGI on display in every single ad, why one would bother casting a real actor when everything around him is fake. Some of the CGI is very nice. Ang Lee, as always, has a strong eye for visuals. But with even a little bit of live-action mixed in among all the animation, the entire affair looks tremendously ‘fake’ to me.

The trailers should be visually stimulating, I know that, but to me, they’re just eyesores, because the mesh of CGI and live-action doesn’t look right. To be fair, I never think heavy-CGI movies look very good, and even Avatar had spots where I couldn’t quite believe the performers were interacting with their environments. I don’t understand why Hollywood forces CGI on live-action so vigorously, and I seriously hope the technology doesn’t hold Life of Pi back. I think it could be a great movie. But from what I’ve seen so far, it’s difficult to get past the visuals.

Maybe that will all change in context. I sure hope so.

Silver Linings Playbook

Release Date: November 21^st

Directed by David O. Russell; Starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DiNiro, Anupam Kher, Julia Stiles, Jacki Weaver, and Chris Tucker

This one looks really good. Cooper stars as a man struggling with anger, while co-star Lawrence has personality issues of her own. I always enjoy good stories about dealing with dysfunction, and from the looks of the trailer, the film has a lot of very honest things to say about feeling ‘broken.’

Cooper and Lawrence are each wonderful actors, and they are surrounded by very talented people, including Chris Tucker in his first non-Rush Hour ­performance in fifteen years. David O. Russell’s last film was The Fighter, meaning this project carries a good deal of pedigree. I hope it lives up to its potential.

What films are you most excited for? Sound off in the comments, and come back in a few days for the fourth and final part of our FALL MOVIE PREVIEW SPECTACULAR!