January
Okay, it’s not necessarily a film that I want to see this year in the sense that I’ve already seen both parts (hence my calling it Che). Che is Steven Soderbergh’s 4 hour biopic about Che Guevara. As a whole, the films are okay, when divided Che is essentially one great film followed by one mediocre film. Che: Part 1 (the Argentine) is generally quite strong, it opens with Che Guevara at a press conference and then cuts to Che meeting Castro at a dinner party. The assumption (well, this was my assumption) is that the films is going to tell the tale of how Che went from the clean cut Argentine to the revolutionary leader in the grainy press footage. This isn’t the case, we see little of Che that isn’t full fledged Guerrilla Che Guevara, it would have been nice to see different parts of this person. So it’s not prefect, but the second half was significantly worse.
UK Release Date: 02/01/2009
Slumdog MillionaireAnother exception to the “Films I would like to see” list. I managed to see a preview of Slumdog Millionaire on Monday which was rather impressive. Danny Boyle is continuing to show his range; unlike most film-makers he appears to be able to dabble in everything. With 3 wins at the London Independent Film Festival, 4 Golden Globe Nominations and almost guaranteed Oscar nominations it’s clear that I’m not the only person who sees this as a masterpiece.
UK Release Date: 09/01/2009
The WrestlerAround September, following the premier of The Wrester, it suddenly became one of the biggest films of the following months. Mickey Rourke plays Randy “the Ram” Robinson a retired wrestler as he makes a comeback and tried to form relationship with his daughter. The film is as much of a comeback for Mickey Rourke as it is Randy “the Ram” Robinson. The Wrestler has parted the way for many films this year including Iron Man 2.
UK Release Date: 16/01/2009
Frost/Nixon
Ron Howard’s follow-up to the Da Vinci Code premiered at the 2008 London Film Festival. It details the infamous interview between talk-show host David Frost and former United States president Richard Nixon. With elements of humour and a general sense of intensity Frost/Nixon looks like it will be on the whole, impressive, without the didacticism a film such as this could easily suffer from. Frank Langella, although not visually similar to Richard Nixon, becomes Nixon in his posture, present and of course, voice. Michael Sheen brings a nervousness similar to that of his performance in The Queen to his role as a young David Frost.
UK Release Date: 23/01/2009
MilkGus Van Sant tends to make films that are either loved or hated by their viewers. Some saw Paranoid Park as an engaging, complex teenage drama, whilst others saw it as dreary with a poor leading actor. Last days was seen by some as a thought provoking work of art whereas others saw it as generally unpleasant. Van Sant’s Psycho was on the whole seen as an unnecessary remake to a classic. However, Milk is getting the best reception of any of Gus Van Sant’s films since 1992’s Good Will Hunting. Playing California’s first openly gay public official Harvey Milk, Sean Penn appears to display a softness not often associated with the characters he plays. Milk is almost certain to get Oscar attention even if solely for Sean Penn’s performance.
UK Release Date: 23/01/2009
Rachel Getting MarriedThe very first thing I heard about Rachel Getting Married, was that Anne Hathaway may get Oscar attention for it. Since then, I’ve heard very little of it other than Anne Hathaway’s (and occasionally Rosemarie DeWitt’s) performance. Jonathan Demme’s latest work is not being praised for it’s direction, writing so much or cinematography, however, it is not being criticised for these things either. It appears that it will be a heavily character driven piece worthy of being seen for the performances.
