Movie studios bearing cinematic gifts during holiday film season
“Avatar”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
New movies bring old stars, newcomers to screen
The turkey may be leftovers by now, but film fans should be giving thanks.
The movie studios have packed their shiny cinematic sleighs with many promising gifts this holiday season, from James Cameron’s long-awaited sci-fi adventure “Avatar” to Disney’s return to hand-drawn fairytales “The Princess and the Frog.”
Also, Robert Downey Jr. becomes “Sherlock Holmes,” filmmaker and former Python Terry Gilliam captures the late Heath Ledger’s final performance in “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” and director Wes Anderson transforms George Clooney into one “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”
Here is a list for cinemaphiles to check twice of movies opening in Oklahoma City this season. But remember, those naughty studios sometimes change their release dates, so check movie listings before heading to the theater.
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
Opened Wednesday
Writer-director Wes Anderson (“The Darjeeling Limited”) adapts Roald Dahl’s book “Fantastic Mr. Fox” into a stop-motion animated film with the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson.
The film version of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Road” features Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as a father and son traveling through a post-apocalyptic America.
Asian stars Rain and Rick Yune face off as skilled killers who were once allies in the undoubtedly action-packed “Ninja Assassin.”
Two bachelor pals (John Travolta and Robin Williams) are forced to care for 7-year-old twins in the comedy “Old Dogs,” from director Walt Becker (“Wild Hogs”).
The MacManus brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) return to their vigilante ways when their beloved priest is killed in the sequel “Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.”
“Everybody’s Fine”
Dec. 4
In “Everybody’s Fine,” Robert De Niro plays a widower who takes an impromptu Christmastime trek to reconnect with his adult children (Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore).
A supposedly full-proof armored car robbery goes awry in “Armored,” starring Columbus Short, Laurence Fishburne, Matt Dillon and Jean Reno.
After surviving a prison-of-war camp in Afghanistan, a solider (Tobey Maguire) returns home to find his wife (Natalie Portman), who assumed she was a widow, has taken comfort in a relationship with his ex-con brother (Jake Gyllenhaal) in “Brothers.” Helmed by Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan, it is a remake of writer-director Susanne Biers’ highly regarded 2004 Danish film.
In the horror comedy “Transylmania,” a group of college students decide to study abroad in Transylvania, where they encounter vampires.
“The Princess and the Frog”
Dec. 11
Disney gets back to its hand-drawn animation roots in adapting the classic tale “The Princess and the Frog.” Set in New Orleans during the Jazz Age, the film features the Mouse House’s first black princess, Tiana (voice of Anika Noni Rose)
Clint Eastwood (“Gran Torino”) directs the fact-based, post-apartheid story “Invictus,” about South African president Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) partnering with the country’s rugby team captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to unite their nation through the power of sport.
“Did You Hear About the Morgans?”
Dec. 18
Writer-director James Cameron’s (“Titanic”) return to feature film, “Avatar” follows a band of humans into the future as they battle the indigenous population of a far-off planet using genetically engineered avatars. The film uses a special 3-D process Cameron has been developing for years and marks the grand opening of Oklahoma City’s first IMAX screen at AMC Quail Springs 24.
An estranged New York couple (Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker) are put in the witness protection program and relocated to rural Wyoming after they witness a murder in “Did You Hear About the Morgans?”
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”
Dec. 23
Alvin, Simon and Theodore (voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney) meet their match in the all-girl singing rodent group The Chipettes (voices of Anna Faris, Christina Applegate and Amy Poehler) in “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.”
“Sherlock Holmes”
Dec. 25
Robert Downey Jr. plays the world’s most famous detective and Jude Law his loyal counterpart Dr. Watson in director Guy Ritchie’s (“Snatch”) take on “Sherlock Holmes.”
“The Young Victoria” offers a dramatized look at the tumultuous early years of Queen Victoria’s (Emily Blunt) rule and her long relationship with Prince Albert (Rupert Friend).
In “Nine,” Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) directs Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman and Sophia Loren in a musical based on Federico Fellini’s film “8 ½.”
Directed and co-written by Jason Reitman (“Juno”), “Up in the Air” stars George Clooney as a corporate-downsizing consultant whose beloved frequent-flier lifestyle is grounded, keeping him from seeing a fellow traveler (Vera Farmiga) who might be the woman of his dreams.
Meryl Streep stars as a divorcee who is romanced by her remarried ex-husband (Alec Baldwin) and the architect remodeling her kitchen (Steve Martin) in “It’s Complicated.”
Director Peter Jackson (“The Lord of the Rings”) adapts Alice Sebold’s best-selling novel “The Lovely Bones,” about a murdered girl (Saoirse Ronan) who watches her family and killer from heaven.
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
Jan. 8
Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill star in the near-future horror tale “Daybreakers,” about a plague that transforms most of mankind into vampires.
Oscar winner Penelope Cruz again teams with Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar (“Volver”) for “Broken Embraces,” a noirish tale of a movie director (Lluís Homar) who loses his sight and his love (Cruz) in an accident.
Teenager Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) gets into all sorts of trouble on his quest to lose his virginity to the precocious Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) in “Youth in Revolt,” based on C.D. Payne’s novel.
Fashion designer-turned-filmmaker Tom Ford makes his directorial debut with “A Single Man,” a drama starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore and Matthew Goode.
“Brazil” filmmaker (and former Monty Python troupe member) Terry Gilliam directs the late Heath Ledger in his final last role in “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” a colorful fantasy also starring Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Ferrell, Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits.
“Crazy Heart”
Also for the holidays
These films are slated to open in Oklahoma City during the holiday season, but exact release dates have yet to be announced:
Writer-director Jared Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite”) returns to Utah for his latest film, “Gentlemen Broncos,” about a teenager (Michael Angarano) who attends a fantasy writers convention and finds his ideas have been stolen by a well-known novelist.
A broken-down country singer (Jeff Bridges) tries to find redemption with the help of a journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) in “Crazy Heart.”
-BAM
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