On The Horizon In 2008 (Part 2)

We are nearing the end of 2008 and that means it’s time for Oscar season. From here on out a lot of movies are looking extremely splendid, including two films (Burn After Reading, Benjamin Button) listed on the last edition of On The Horizon. Now that we are a bit further along in the year it’s a lot easier to get the full scoop on the rest of this year’s soon-to-be best.

Before we begin let’s recap how things are looking for the movies mentioned last time. Forgetting Sarah Marshall was a delightful comedy and yes, it did feature one extra large helping of cock. In my review of the film I exclaimed “Marshall is better at mixing comedy with heartfelt moments than earlier Apatow films.” Then there was Wall·E, the breakout animated hit of the summer. Pixar delivered as expected and people of all ages began screaming “better than Lion King!” I wouldn’t agree entirely with that sentiment since I wasn’t a fan of the Fred Willard cut sequences. Still a great movie when all things are considered. Ponyo On A Cliff has gone through a slight title change and is now being known as Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea. It’s expected to appear in English form (I assume) this September at the Venice Film Festival and looks to be on track for a 2009 release in the United States [watch trailer]. Ponyo had a massive debut in Japan where it is currently cleaning up at the box office (currently standing at $93.2 million in just four weeks). I don’t really have too much more info on Burn After Reading or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button since each of their trailers were released a few months ago. Although, some unfortunate headlines are saying that Benjamin Button’s running length could be its downfall.

Now, just as before, here are five films that are making even the toughest of critics tickle themselves with anticipation.

Synecdoche, New York
Directed by: Charlie Kaufman

This is by far my most anticipated film of the year. Charlie Kaufman, the mastermind behind Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, is in his first directorial seat and the consensus so far: mind blowing. Meaningful reviews are few and far between but The Playlist saw it and were left in a daze, “[After] leaving Charlie Kaufman’s ‘Synecdoche, NY’ not only did I look up in a drunken daze and marvel at the night time gleaming spectacle, I stood in awe and stared.” Obviously this film has quite the punch, and I’d expect no less from a gleaming writer like Kaufman. In case you haven’t heard, Synecdoche (pronounced si-nek-duh-kee) is about a crazed (I assume) theater director who decides to build a life size replica of New York City for his new play. Channeling themes of death, relationships and everything in-between, Kaufman looks to be at the top of his game.

You know a movie is looking extremely awesome when you can drool over the director/screenwriter for a full paragraph without even mentioning the talent presented in Synecdoche’s cast. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the lead; he has enough experience to salvage any scene. Academy Award nominated actresses, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener and Samantha Morton also have important roles in the film. It’s expected in theaters this October and has already received a Golden Palm nomination at the Cannes film festival earlier this year. That pretty much speaks for itself these days.

Slumdog Millionaire
Directed by: Danny Boyle

This is one film flying way under the radar. After directing last year’s sci-fi epic, Sunshine, director Danny Boyle returns with another feel good movie. Slumdog is about a illiterate who winds up on the Hindi version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? in an attempt to reach his old girlfriend.  In an odd turn of events he wins the jackpot but is accused of cheating in the process. It’s hard to tell if it will be quite as heartwarming as Boyle’s Millions — the incredibly underrated comedy about two boys who find a bag full of Pounds just days before the currency is set to be converted into Euros. So far all of his movies have differed drastically, with the exception that each explores human qualities, motives, and ways in which those can be altered.

It currently doesn’t have a real set date of release since Warner Bros. just sold it off to Fox Searchlight in their blowout sale. [ed. Fox Searchlight just released more photos and a release date of November 28th, 2008] However, it will be playing at this year’s Toronto Film Festival alongside Steven Soderbergh’s Che, Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, and many other awesome films. Boyle has already said the film will be spoken in part Hindi and part English (aka Hinglish). Man, if you had problems with the dialog in Juno you may have trouble with this one. I’m excited for this since a good majority of the time Boyle’s films are highly underrated but highly entertaining.

The Road
Directed by: John Hillcoat

The Road is one of the obvious standout titles this year for one reason alone: Cormac McCarthy. Since No Country For Old Men did so well at the Oscars (yes, winning best picture is doing just well) the author is obviously going to have even more movie adaptations within the next few years, the adaptation of Blood Meridian has already been announced. The Road is often cited as one of his best books and an obvious choice to transfer into movie picture form.

This is just one of three Viggo Mortenson’s “Oscar worthy” roles this year; he’s also appearing in Apaloosa with Renee Zellwegger and Good, a movie about a liberal German professor turned Nazi conformist. In The Road he plays an unnamed father who travels with his son in a post-apocalyptic world. Adding to the confusion, the cause of this new landscape is unknown. The cinematography looks very “Children of Men” and works with a very pale color pallet, as shown in the picture to your right. The movie was adapted for the big screen by Joe Penhall, a relative unknown with a few TV credits to his name. It’s supporting cast and credits are also exciting; Charlize Theron plays a presumable love interest, while Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, who worked on last year’s Assasination of Jesses James, are back together again this year and are currently occupied with the film’s score.

Miracle at St. Anna
Directed by: Spike Lee

Say what you want about the highly opinionated Spike Lee but his movies usually rock audiences pretty hard. I’ve seen just three of his many accomplishments (When the Levees Broke, Inside Man, and Do The Right Thing). I also recall Girl 6 but that movie doesn’t meet his typical level of excellence. Miracle at St. Anna is both a departure and a continuance of Spike’s normal routine. This is his first in depth look at any war but he still shows a strong interest in racial issues. More or less this is his tribute to the forgotten African American soldiers of WWII. After being heavily criticized by the Italic Institute of America for not having a fair portrayal of Italian’s in much of his work, Spike then duly noted that his upcoming flick is about a group of African American soldiers who risk their lives to save an Italian lad. Shit, Spike sure knows how to throw out comebacks or at least make movies that speak for themselves.

Ignoring all the controversy behind the film, it truly looks like one of the year’s best. One of my favorite young actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, Mysterious Skin), plays a young journalist named Tim Boyle who interviews a recent murder, Hector Negron (Laz Alonso), who has a little more to spill than what’s anticipated. The film’s Tuscany setting offers more to Miracle at St. Anna than anything else, allowing Spike to work freely and with as much imagination allotted in most of his previous films. The movie is based off a novel by the same name and was written by James McBride, who also wrote the film’s screenplay, which is his first treatment of this caliber.

Milk
Directed by: Gus Van Sant

You could say that Gus Van Sant often goes through a set of distinct phases and they are easily found while taking a quick peek at his filmography. There was his “mainstream” stage when he directed Good Will Hunting (made notorious through various parodies of the film), Finding Forrester, and Pyscho. With those newly formed connections he created a very straight forward way at looking at very complicated circumstances. I can’t really comment on Paranoid Park since, unfortunately, it didn’t arrive in a single theater near me last year and it still hasn’t been released on DVD. When you consider his section of the hit short film collection, Paris je t’aime and read about Milk, you can’t help but think Gus Van Sant’s newest  interest is gay couple relationships (without necessarily casting a sexual light on the subject, though).

Besides some mild wang talk, everything seems to be more wide-audience friendly compared to Gus Van Sant’s most recent films. His cast even resembles something a little more welcoming this time around. Sean Penn is sure to please with his portrayal as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician elected to office who was later assassinated by Dan White (Josh Brolin). James Franco and Emile Hirsch play Milk’s former boyfriend and aide respectfully. I think we’ll still see a relatively subjective Gus Van Sant for this biopic since that’s what he knows best, but you never know if this is one of those special cases. Recent reports suggest that the film makes good use of archival footage and colors that go “pop.” Count me in. [ed. The trailer is now online, awesome.]