The Most Anticipated Films of the
Season
Commentary by Greg Dean Schmitz |
| Featured November
Movies: |
8
Mile (Opens November 8)
Rapper and former Detroit resident
Eminem makes his debut as a lead in a feature film in this
film directed by Curtis Hanson (L.A.
Confidential, Wonder
Boys). Although not directly based upon Eminem's own life
story, the project does have its roots at Universal as having
been written explicitly as his feature debut (which is why
the small role he had in The
Wash had to be uncredited). So, the comparisons are there
to be made, if you want to (poor white kid from Detroit follows
the road to fame through rapping, which is an artistic way
of expressing his angst about his roots). I think the project
was lucky to find a shepherd in the form of a director like
Curtis Hanson, who gives the film clout and credentials to
make sure it doesn't get overlooked or written off as just
another movie starring a hip hop artist trying to get into
movies (although, well, one could still argue *that* as well,
I suppose). What I do know is that Hanson's last two films
were both extraordinary, and I'm hoping this continues his
winning streak.
Read
Greg's Preview
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Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Opens November
15)
There are undoubtedly many adults
who just don't get the appeal of this franchise, but for many
kids (and adults), the novels by J.K Rowling have opened up
a whole new world of fantasy and magic, and the first film
was exactly what they imagined it would be. So the studio's
interest in filming all seven books (of which only four have
been published thus far) appears to be matched by an audience
anxious to don wizard's robes, dust off their wands, and stand
in line all over again. The advance word on this second movie
is that, like the book it's based upon, it pits Harry and
gang more thoroughly into a series of adventures, having dispatched
with the necessary introductory stuff in the
first movie. Another movie opening this fall that benefits
from being the second chapter is The
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Read
Greg's Preview
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Standing
in the Shadows of Motown (Opens November 15)
Admittedly, my list of anticipated
movies is heavy on documentaries this season, but this just
happens to be a great few months for the form, and this musical
feature, taking us into the lives of the performers who interpreted
(that is, they may not have gotten song writing credits, but
they gave the notes life) and performed most of the Motown
hits just seems to be another must-see. In addition to detailing
the history of the "Funk Brothers" recording group,
the film shows the surviving members coming together for a
big reunion in which contemporary stars like Joan Osbourne,
Gerald Levert, Ben Harper, Chaka Khan and Me'Shell NdegeOcello
interpret Motown hits with the Funk Brothers as their band.
Read
Greg's Preview
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Talk
to Her (Opens November 22)
In early 2000, Pedro Almodóvar
won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film with All
About My Mother, and for his follow-up, he's gone with
a film that is a sort of departure from his usual oeuvre,
focusing on the friendship between two men, instead of women.
That's at least sort of true, because the two men are both
in love with women who are in comas, so of course, this is
also a film about two women as well. I had a chance to see
this film in an advance screening, and I was thoroughly impressed
and entertained. Almodóvar has ditched some of the
quirky character types (transvestites, etc.) that peopled
earlier films, but at the same time, he's staying true to
his roots of creating a story unlike one you've seen before.
The two men who are the heart of the film form a bond in their
shared pastime (caring for their comatose women) that becomes
more emotional and endearing, even as it starts to take on
a darker, more ominous tone as well. I'd expect this to be
one of the most talked-about, most raved-about films of the
season.
Read
Greg's Preview
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Solaris
(Opens November 27)
Prolific director Steven Soderbergh
is going to have another two-movie-year with this film and
Full
Frontal, like he did in 2000 with Erin
Brockovich and Traffic,
making as many films in three years (five) as most modern
directors do in ten (if they're lucky). And he's putting the
cap on that quintet with what may be the most ambitious of
them all, a science fiction thriller adapting a novel which
was previously filmed in 1972 by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky.
George Clooney, who's worked with Soderbergh twice before
(and is his partner in a production company) stars. Coproducer
James Cameron (whose Lightstorm company is working on the
many special effects) presented the audience at the Comic
Con in San Diego a few weeks ago with an extended sequence
that was fresh out of the editing room. It showed Clooney's
character taking a tentative, spooky walk through a deserted
space station, with an amazing score already in place, reminding
me of some of the best elements of both Stanley Kubrick's
The
Shining and Ridley Scott's Alien.
The growing popularity of M. Night Shyamalan appears to be
proof that moviegoers are ready again for horror films that
rely more on atmosphere than gore, and this film appears to
be perfectly timed to take us back into the horrors of space
(and actually, more specifically... the human mind).
Read
Greg's Preview
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| All
November Movies |
| Opening
November 1, 2002 |
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| Opening
November 6, 2002 |
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| Opening
November 8, 2002 |
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| Opening
November 15, 2002 |
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| Opening
November 20, 2002 |
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| Opening
November 22, 2002 |
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| Opening
November 27, 2002 |
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| Opening
November 29, 2002 |
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