Films that are to be released in the upcoming months
I recently curated and edited Limité‘s 2014 Fall Film Guide. Get a taste below, then click here for the full guide.
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Fall is nearly upon us, so we’re turning our sights towards some of the season’s hottest releases—from what are sure to be big budget crowd pleasers (the latest in the Hunger Games and Hobbit franchises), art house favorites (Whiplash, Mr. Turner), and sure-fire Oscar bait (Birdman, Foxcatcher). Mark your calendars for these fall flicks.
NOTE: I edited and partly wrote the following feature for LimitéMagazine.com.
(Re-posted from LimitéMagazine.com)
Star Wars fever has captivated the world since the original film’s initial release in 1977, but with recent news of Episode VII‘s casting and today being … um … May the 4th, it’s only fitting that news comes out about the 15th anniversary re-release of celebrated short film “George Lucas in Love.” At under 9 minutes, the Joe Nussbaum-directed film takes a hilarious look at the “origin” story of the iconic movie franchise by following a young George Lucas, a film student struggling with writer’s block, who learns that sometimes the best untold stories are the ones staring you right in the face.
The film was released in 1999, one year after Best Picture winner Shakespeare in Love was popular in theatres, so imagine the short’s added relevance then. Fifteen years later, it remains as funny as ever —and perhaps even more relevant as the world prepares itself for J.J. Abrams’s latest incarnation next year.
“George Lucas in Love” will be available for download on iTunes on May 20.
An ill-tempered Brooklyn man is told he has 90 minutes to live, and then stuff happens. It’s hardly an original story, yet I can’t help but be lured by the impressive cast. Robin Williams. Mila Kunis. Peter Dinklage (Tyrion!). Richard Kind. Melissa Leo. James Earl Jones. Hamish Linklater. (I’m kind of a sucker for Hamish.) Add my adopted home of Brooklyn on top of it and this looks to be a fun ride, coming to theatres May 23rd.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZEd-zrROsY]Johnny Depp. Rebecca Hall. Paul Bettany. Kata Mara. Morgan Freeman. Cillian Murphy. And above them all, Wally Pfister.
After a terminally ill scientist downloads his mind into a computer, he discovers unimaginable powers. Depp sheds the heavy makeup for this sci-fi action pic, which doesn’t usually bode as well for his films’ box office receipts. However, this time he has Wally Pfister, the Oscar-winning cinematographer behind Christopher Nolan’s films, to guide him in Pfister’s directorial debut. After standing behind the camera for dozens of critical and box office favorites, it should be interesting to see how much of Nolan’s influence—if any—bears on Pfister’s turn in the director’s chair.
Transcendence is slated for an April 18 bow.
Straight from the fucked-up mind who brought us Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), and Black Swan (2010), comes the epic Biblical story (which Biblical stories aren’t epic?) of Noah and his famous ark. Auteur Darren Aronofsky and his mustache take us back to the days when a storm could flood the earth with such apocalyptic might that only a monstrous boat could save a man and his family.
Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly reunite after 2001’s A Beautiful Mind, and along with Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, and rising star Logan Lerman, their characters will try to defy the impossible in Noah, which is due to surge into theatres this March 28.
The fall is my favorite season for several reasons: the weather, the holidays, the foliage, the movies—oh, the movies. This is when studios release their best contenders for Oscar glory, more than four months away. Every year, I aim to watch all of the Oscar hopefuls before nominations are announced (this year on January 16, 2014).
Here is my second-annual list of this year’s major contenders in various categories, along with release dates.
FRUITVALE STATION
(Re-posted from LimitéMagazine.com)
With the start of September comes the much-anticipated fall film season—the time of year when studios and independent distributors alike present their best hopes for Oscar gold and some big box office dollars. This season, keep your eye on some key dramas like Gravity,Inside Llewyn Davis, American Hustle, and The Wolf of Wall Street, among others. And following his turn in this spring’s Star Trek into Darkness, British import Benedict Cumberbatch continues to make waves this side of the Atlantic in four features (12 Years a Slave, The Fifth Estate, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, August: Osage County).
Tell us in the comments which films you’re most looking forward to seeing.
Note: All non-authored pieces’ loglines are courtesy of IMDb.com.
Next to Gravity, August: Osage County is my most anticipated fall release. Without knowing much else about the movie, here are enough reasons to jump on board my bandwagon:
1. Tracy Letts wrote the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning Best Play, as well as the film’s screenplay. Not only is Letts a terrific actor (I was privileged to see him give his Tony-winning performance in last year’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), but he’s a fantastic writer (last year’s Killer Joe was one of my favorite films and was deserving of Oscar recognition, but was wrongfully ignored).
Continue reading August: Osage County (Hey, that’s the month we’re in!)
(Re-posted from LimitéMagazine.com)
Man of Steel. Star Trek into Darkness. World War Z. These are the movies we won’t be talking about in this summer movie feature. For the fourth year, Limité is taking a look beyond the standard blockbuster studio fare to bring you some of the most-anticipated independent films with a summer release date. Proving that a $100 million budget is not a necessity—and is often a hindrance—to deliver a powerful story, these 10 films masterfully transform a small budget into a big punch.
by Daniel Quitério
January 1, 2009. Oakland, CA. Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old black male, was caught in a physical altercation on a train a mere two hours after celebrating the passing of the new year with his friends. Held at the Fruitvale BART station by the police, an agitated Oscar was restrained by the officers, held with his face against the ground. One officer then pulled out his gun and shot the unarmed Oscar in the back, ultimately ending his life. (The officer claims he was reaching for his stun gun.) Fruitvale Station tells the true story of Oscar’s last day alive. A conflicted young father, he was just trying to get by, and although he didn’t always make the soundest choices, he was loved dearly by his family and friends—none of whom believed he deserved his ultimate fate.
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