A quick note before we start that many of these films don't have release dates yet and are included here because they are expected to debut before the end of the year. There's a good possibility that some of them won't be completed or land distribution deals in time, particularly the foreign ones. "Gravity," for instance, was on last year's list too.
"Upstream Color" - Premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival and is getting a limited release in a few weeks. Director Shane Carruth has finally delivered a new film after the success of "Primer" nearly ten years ago, after a different planned follow-up project fell through. The early reactions I've read suggest this is going to be a very polarizing one, an ambitious genre film full of wild concepts with an unconventional narrative, that will leave many audience members confused and frustrated. However, I love movies like this, so I can't wait.
"Gravity" - Here we go again. Alfonso Cuaron's long delayed, much anticipated science fiction film about a female astronaut, played by Sandra Bullock, stranded in outer space, is slated for an October release date. After test screenings were held for an unfinished print last year, the word is that this is going to be challenging and visually gorgeous and well worth the wait. Frankly at this point I'll be more than satisfied if Warners can refrain from moving the release date back again. Can you believe it's been seven years since Cuaron's last film?
"Captain Phillips" - Formerly known as "Maersk Alabama," the film will dramatize the 2009 hijacking of a cargo ship by Somali pirates. Tom Hanks will be playing the title role and Paul Greengrass, best known for "United 93" and the "Bourne" movies is directing. Along with screenwriter Billy Ray, that's an interesting combination of talent that could elevate the film above the level of your usual bio-pic, and makes it a considerably more attractive prospect than Hanks' other big film this year, "Saving Mr. Banks," where he'll be playing Walt Disney.
"Snowpiercer" - Bong Joon-Ho's multicultural post-apocalyptic adventure story about a new society that has formed aboard an ever-running train, will be his English-language debut. It's got quite a cast attached, including Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, and Ed Harris. "Snowpiercer" is currently in post-production and expected to premiere in South Korea sometime later this year, but the Weinsteins are handling distribution domestic, so who knows when American audiences will be able to get a look at it.
"Mood Indigo" - Michel Gondry's last film, "The We and the I," is finally getting a limited release in the U.S. next week, but the buzz is already going strong for his next one. The French language "Mood Indigo," based on the Boris Vian's surrealist fantasy novel "Froth on the Daydream," will star Audrey Tatou and Romain Duris as young lovers. The trailer features the whimsical fantasy visuals that Gondry is best known for, including a cartoony cloud car, and multiple scenes where the characters are floating or flying. Even if it's a mess, it'll be gorgeous.
"Fruitvale" - The big winner at Sundance this year follows the last day in the life of Oscar Grant, an Oakland resident whose shooting death in 2009 by transit police sparked massive public outcry. The buzz is that "Fruitvale," named after the BART station where Grant was killed, could follow a similar trajectory of critical acclaim and financial success as "Beasts of the Southern Wild." However, my interest is mainly as a Bay Area resident, who used to ride the BART trains every day, and happened to be living in Oakland at the time these events took place.
"Labor Day" - Jason Reitman has directed four films so far, which can all be categorized as dark comedies or satires to some degree. His next one is going to be "Labor Day," starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin. From the descriptions online I initially thought that this was going to be a crime thriller, and maybe it will be to some degree. However, further digging revealed that this is gong to be a small scale interpersonal drama, a little darker than the usual material Reitman works with, but not entirely a departure from his usual style and genre.
"Foxcatcher" - Steve Carrell has done dramatic roles before, but nothing quite like what he's going to attempt in Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher." The film will be a dramatization of a bizarre crime, where multimillionaire John duPont, played by Carrell, shot and killed a longtime friend in his driveway in full view of witnesses. There aren't many more details yet, but Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum will also star. I also want to note that "Foxcatcher," along with the next entry on the list, were both financed by the increasingly vital Annapurna Pictures.
"Her" - Here's one that's been flying very far under the radar so far, but Spike Jonze's new film has an irresistible premise to a science-fiction geek. A romance between a lonely man and a sophisticated new operating system? Where Joaquin Phoenix is playing the lead? And Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, and Samantha Morton are also in the cast? I'm in. Spike Jonze will be scripting this one solo as well as directing, which is going to be a first for him. He co-wrote "Where the Wild Things Are," though, which I adored, so I have plenty of faith in him.
"12 Years A Slave" - Last, but not least, we have Steve McQueen's upcoming film based on the autobiography of Solomon Northup, who was born a free black man in New York, but kidnapped during a business trip and sold into slavery in the South in 1841. Chiwetel Ejiofor, who we haven't been seeing nearly enough of, has the lead role. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this ends up overshadowing more typical Oscar bait like Lee Daniels' "The Butler" next awards season. And it should provide an interesting contrast to "Django Unchained."
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