Nolan's film was one of the more exciting experiences at the movies in the past few years yet somehow it's still somewhat of a disappointment to me because I expected something even better. Is that unfair of me? Maybe, but it's the truth. With all the cards Nolan held I don't think I was being unreasonable in asking for perfection. And because I wouldn't rank it among my top 10 (or even 20 or 30) films of all-time it will always carry a stench of disappointment. That stench has subsided over repeated viewings but I bet it will never completely go away. We always bring our expectations (or lack of them) to every film we see and denying it would just be a lie.
This was originally supposed to be a top ten list but I honestly couldn't name ten films I'm greatly anticipating so I picked five. My top two choices shouldn't surprise anyone familiar with my tastes. There were some movies (such as Star Trek and G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra) I thought I was looking forward to but the more glimpses I saw of them the less enthusiastic I got. Not to say I'm dreading them, but my anticipation has waned considerably. Now I'm just finding myself curious to see whether they fail or not.
It's great when a movie you have no expectations for surprises you, but it's even better (and far rarer) when you have giant expectations and they're met. These are the five films I'm most looking forward to in '09:
5. Inglourious Basterds (Dir. Quentin Tarantino)-Yeah, I know. I see the argument that Tarantino should dump this B-movie tribute nonsense and try to make a legitimate masterpiece again. And yes Grindhouse does feel more underwhelming the further you move away from it, but here's the thing. With some filmmakers I really do question how much passion they have for making movies, often thinking they're in it for a quick buck and nothing else. Tarantino loves movies and its visible in every single frame of every film he's ever written or directed, no matter how it turned out. In fact, he might be the only director alive who loves movies TOO MUCH. He's so self-indulgent he often needs to reigned in, but that's not necessarily a criticism. You've gotta give it to the guy--at least he knows how to have a good time. This promises more of that.I know little about Basterds other than it's a WWII epic starring Brad Pitt that involves killing Nazis and is a remake of a Spaghetti Western from the '70's. And that's pretty much all I need or want to know until the opening credits. Plus, haven't you always wanted to see Eli Roth in a dramatic role? (no need to answer) And Tarantino is actually releasing it as ONE SINGLE FILM for a change. It could very well be train wreck...and I kind of hope it is. (Release Date: August 21)
4. Funny People (Dir. Judd Apatow)- I wasn't sure whether to include this on my most or
least anticipated list but just because I'm so incredibly curious to see how it turns out creatively I figured it belongs here. I've been complaining for a while now that some of Apatow's written, directed and/or produced films (most notably Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall) have had serious problems balancing tone and incorporating dramatic elements and emotional pathos into what's supposed to be comedy. So what does he do? Casts Adam Sandler as a comic...WHO'S DYING.That this film is supposed to be the most dramatic of any of Apatow's output scares me because that aspect hasn't exactly been his strong suit. He's a better writer than director but he's such a gifted, observant writer that I still can't help but think he has a great film somewhere in him. Not just a great comedy, but a truly great film. I'm always willing to see Sandler stretch even just a little and the presence of Seth Rogen (on the streak of his life lately) and the criminally underrated Leslie Mann are big positives. I just hope the Apatow who directed The 40-Year-Old Virgin decides to show up instead of the one who made Knocked Up. If this doesn't work it's at least guaranteed to be an intriguing failure, but if it does, the sky's the limit. (Release Date: July 31)
3. Where The Wild Things Are (Dir. Spike Jonze)- Anyone interested in seeing their childhood unfold in front of their eyes in under 3 minutes should watch the magical trailer for Spike Jonze's adaptation of the Maurice Sendak's classic children's novel. What jumped out at me most are how the creatures are depicted. They actually look like something out of a child's imagination rather than the usual CGI crap we're used to.The images and tone of the trailer bring to mind such '80's family classics as The Dark Crystal and The Neverending Story, movies in this genre that actually meant something. We need to get back to that kind of storytelling and from the looks of it Jonze may have captured everything that made that book special for so many. It also looks like he wasn't afraid to flirt with the story's darker side because, let's face it, everything is scary when you're a kid. The only thing that 's a concern is that the trailer's so strong (one of the strongest I've seen in years) that it's possible Jonze just won't be able to deliver on it resulting in a giant mess of great ideas that just doesn't come together. I hope not. (Release Date: October 16)
2. (500) Days of Summer (Dir. Marc Webb)- Talk about
expectations. It isn't often my interest in a film (especially a romantic comedy) rests primarily with who's starring in it but this is one of those rare, welcome exceptions. I worry if a movie screen can even contain the talent of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel at the same time, easily two of the best young actors working today.As the title character I'm sure Zooey will be playing the ultimate dream girlfriend like only she can and it'll be very interesting to see JGL return to comedy after proving himself the real deal as a dramatic actor in a series of dark, torturous roles. This should be a nice break from that.
I still have my reservations with this though since I can't recall a single buzzed about film in this genre to come out of Sundance that wasn't either flat-out terrible or at least massively overpraised in some way. Being an indie festival favorite could almost be considered a curse nowadays. That it's being released by Fox Searchlight, the same studio that shoved Little Miss Sunshine, Juno and Slumdog Millionaire so far down our throats we were gagging, is also slightly worrisome to me. But that's a minor quibble at this stage. I still have to take a "wait and see" but the signs look promising. (Release Date: July 24)
1. The Box (Dir. Richard Kelly)- In 2001 Kelly directed Donnie Darko, one of the most daring, original films of this decade. Six years later he topped himself with Southland Tales. Luckily I won't have to wait that long this time. The Box, adapted from sci-fi legend Richard Matheson's short story (later adapted into a well known Twilight Zone episode) is the film that's supposed to help Kelly "recover" from the failure of Southland Tales, as if that's even necessary. As far as I'm concerned the only people who need to recover from it are audiences who unfairly dismissed it after only a single viewing.The plot centers around a married couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) who receive a box from a mysterious stranger (Langella!) who tells them each time they push a button they'll get a million dollars but simultaneously someone, somewhere will die. Kelly has stated this is his craziest and most personal film yet, scary to consider since his last one was made only for himself, me and maybe a couple of other people. It's also supposed to deviate heavily from the source material and incorporate NASA and, yes, time travel.
Believe it or not I'm a fan of Diaz and if pushed by the right director she's proven to be capable of great work (see Being John Malkovich, Vanilla Sky and In Her Shoes). If Kelly was able to get the performances he did out of that insane cast in his last film then wrangling one out of her should be a piece of cake. She usually thrives under bizarre circumstances like this and Marsden's been solid in any role he's had so we'll see. The release date has been shuffled around like crazy which isn't news since studios executives have already tried to sabotage his two previous films. This could be the first Halloween I don't rush out to see a Saw film.
(Release Date: October 30, 2009)
Other Films That Could Be Great: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Whatever Works, The Road, Moon, Taking Woodstock
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