Your Stars for 2006
2006 looks an exciting year for movies, if the release schedules are any indication. Surefire hits are set to include Ron Howard’s adaptation of the Dan Brown novel THE DA VINCI CODE; Daniel Craig making his 007 debut in CASINO ROYALE; there’s the return of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST, and Bryan Singer tackles the most famous superhero of them all in SUPERMAN RETURNS.
2006 is also the year when the big new names could make good on their initial promise, with releases from directors Daren Aronofsky, David Fincher and Richard Kelly, while some of the heroes of independent film making also make a return, including Steven Soderbergh, Richard Linklater, Sofia Coppola, Luc Besson and Neil Labute.
Westerns are on the comeback trail, with Ang Lee’s BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN; THE PROPOSITION, and THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES. The king of the cowboys, Clint Eastwood, brings us FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, and the other actor-turned-oscar-winning-director, Mel Gibson, releases the esoteric APOCALYPTO. This exclusive club will be looking to count Robert De Niro as one of its members in 2006 with his release THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
De Niro’s mentor, Martin Scorsese, brings us THE DEPARTED, and other big name directors with releases include Ridley Scott, with A GOOD YEAR, and Brian De Palma’s BLACK DAHLIA. Tarantino and Rodriguez team up for GRIND HOUSE, whilst the latter makes a return call with Frank Miller for SIN CITY 2.
The CGI film of the year is going to be Pixar’s CARS, and most exciting remake could prove to be Colin Farrell starring in Michael Mann’s MIAMI VICE. Tom Cruise adds the third instalment to his MISSION IMPOSSIBLE franchise.
And courting controversy there’s Steven Spielberg’s MUNICH, early in 2006, while later in the year we have Paul Greengrass’ FLIGHT 93 followed by Oliver Stone’s as yet untitled World Trade Center project.
As ever, Close-Up Film will be on-hand each week to review the films, meet the cast and crew, and bring you all that insider information and trivia.
Here JEAN LYNCH and HEMANTH KISSOON take a closer look at what’s in store for 2006…
16 Blocks
Dir. Richard Donner, Cast: Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse, Alfre Woodard
HK: Please be good, please be good! In the 70s and 80s Donner made: The Omen, Superman: The Movie, The Goonies and Lethal Weapon. He has not made a decent movie in over 11 years. Willis has to transport (a currently on-form) Def 16 blocks to a trial but there are several organisations that intend to prevent this from happening. It sounds a lot like a claustrophobic, serious Midnight Run.
A Good Year
Dir. Ridley Scott, Cast: Russell Crowe, Albert Finney, Marion Cotillard, Abbie Cornish, Freddie Highmore
HK: This is an adaptation of A Year in Provence by one of the great film-makers of all time (Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise).
A Scanner Darkly
Dir. Richard Linklater, Cast: Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder
HK: The hard-working Linklater turns his hand to sci-fi in his adaptation of author Philip K. Dick’s (Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report) split-personality action drama using rotoscoping (animation over live performances).
Aeon Flux
Dir. Karyn Kusama, Cast: Charlize Theron, Martyn Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okenedo, Frances McDormand, Pete Postlethwaite
JL: Sci-fi action thriller which sees Theron as the titular heroine, 400 years into the future in a world where disease has killed most of the Earth’s inhabitants. A mission to kill a government leader uncovers a labyrinth of secrets…
Angel-A
Dir. Luc Besson, Cast: Jamel Debbouze, Rie Rasmussen
HK: Besson’s first film since 1999’s mega-budget flop The Messenger is a hugely anticipated romantic comedy, by his fans anyway, waiting for something as special as Léon.
Apocalypto
Dir. Mel Gibson, Cast: unknown
JL: Gibson’s epic action-adventure is set in Mexico 1000 years ago and is in the ancient Mayan language. Visually stunning.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Dir. Andrew Dominik, Cast: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Zooey Deschanel, Sam Rockwell, Ted Levine, Mary-Louise Parker, Sam Shepard
HK: The title looks like being truncated to the word-of-mouth friendly The Assassination of Jesse James. Six years since the energetic Chopper for Dominik, a Western, and Pitt as the legendary lawman - who is not looking forward to this?
Babel
Dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu, Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal
HK: Any writer-(Guillermo Arriaga) director team who makes Amores Perros and 21 Grams back to back deserves to make this list even if said film was Dick and Dom in da Bungalow: The Movie. It isn’t that but another troika of intertwining stories, here spanning the globe.
The Black Dahlia
Dir. Brian De Palma, Cast: Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank, Aaron Eckhart, Mia Kirshner
HK: James Ellroy gets another adaptation. Will it be as good as L.A. Confidential? De Palma is certainly one of the most awe-inspiring directors when it comes to wielding a camera but his films lack depth and he certainly does not have the smarts of Curtis Hanson. It has the Ellroy staples: brutality, corruption and the police.
Breaking and Entering
Dir. Anthony Minghella, Cast: Jude Law, Ray Winstone, Juliette Binoche, Robin Wright Penn, Martin Freeman
HK: Minghella’s first London-set film since Truly Madly Deeply focuses on an architect and a thief.
Casino Royale
Dir. Martin Campbell, Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench
HK: The day that producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson decide to hand over the reigns to Bond will be a great day for the franchise. I am waiting for a day when a Bond film will have the iconic stature of a Goldfinger, the darkness of a Licence to Kill and the spectacle of a True Lies. That day does not look like arriving anytime soon unfortunately. Craig is a good actor but does he have the charisma or presence for Bond? Perhaps Christian Bale or Eric Bana should have been offered the role with Ridley Scott directing a Quentin Tarantino script?
JL: The knives seem to be out for Craig but he’s a great actor, dangerously charismatic and I think will surprise everyone – in a good way – where Bond is concerned. And an official franchised film of one of the original Fleming novels is worth seeing.
Children of Men
Dir. Alfonso Cuarón, Cast: Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Danny Huston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julianne Moore, Peter Mullan
HK: Sci-fi dystopia predicting the perilous state of humankind in 2027, from the director of Y Tu Mamá También and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Crossing the Bridge
Dir. Fatih Akin, Cast: Alexander Hacke, Baba Zula, Orient Expressions, Duman, Replikas
JL: Extaordinary docu(rocku?)mentary from the maker of the award-winning Head On. The filmmaker returns to Istanbul to explore the underground music scene in the city where East meets West, and cultures collide and collude.
The Da Vinci Code
Dir. Ron Howard, Cast: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina
JL: Dan Brown’s esoteric pulp-novel about the true bloodline of Christ has been the publishing phenomenon of the decade. So, with already millions of fans, plus favourites such as Hanks and McKellen in the cast, and all the controversy the film’s release is bound to court with the Catholic Church, director Ron Howard will be sitting pretty with this one. Look out for the rush of alternative history/occult conspiracy theory titles that will ensue.
The Departed
Dir. Martin Scorsese, Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin, Anthony Anderson, Mark Wahlberg
HK: Cinema is such a relatively new art-form that remakes are unnecessary. Only a few stick out: The Thomas Crown Affair, Solaris, The Bourne Identity, Heat and Ocean's 11. This, however, has the potential of being absolutely amazing.
It is directed by arguably the greatest living American director, and the cast is probably the best ever assembled. It is produced by Brad Pitt and Brad Grey (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). It is written by William Monahan (Kingdom of Heaven). The Hong Kong original, Infernal Affairs, is a brilliant concept handsomely executed but the dialogue and acting sometimes let it down.
The excitement is predicated on a police mole (DiCaprio) infiltrating the Irish mafia and a gangster (Damon) infiltrating the Boston Police Department. It is a race against time that each organisation finds its fifth wheel. DiCaprio vs. Damon, Nicholson vs. Sheen. I just hope that Jack Nicholson and Martin Sheen have a scene together - think the De Niro/Pacino equivalent in Heat.
After a 12 year span of flawed movies could this be the film that Scorsese finally wins Best Director at the Oscars??
Firewall
Dir. Richard Loncraine, Cast: Harrison Ford, Virginia Madsen, Paul Bettany, Alan Arkin, Robert Forster, Robert Patrick
HK: Can anyone remember the last good Harrison Ford film? Neither can I. Han Solo has to rob a bank to save his family. Where is Indiana Jones 4? Come on Lucas greenlight it!!
Flags of Our Fathers
Dir. Clint Eastwood, Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Jamie Bell, Robert Patrick, Barry Pepper, Paul Walker
HK: Eastwood is riding on the crest of a wave after Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby. From the eyes of the Americans is the telling of the planting of the U.S. flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima. He is already in the process of making a film from the Japanese viewpoint.
Flight 93
Dir. Paul Greengrass, Cast: Polly Adams, Khalid Abdalla, Gary Commock, Lewis Alsamani, JJ Johnson, Starla Benford, Omar Berdouni
JL: Flight 93 was the fourth aircraft to be hijacked by terrorists on 11th September 2001. Told in real-time, with the full backing of family and friends, here is the story of the passengers who died ensuring that their flight did not end in mass scale death and destruction, heroically overpowering their captors to stop the aeroplane reaching its intended target. Greengrass is no stranger to intelligent handling of sensitive material, having portrayed Bloody Sunday and The Murder of Stephen Lawrence in films of the same name.
Eragon
Dir. Stefen Fangmeier, Cast: Djimon Hounsou, Sienna Guillory, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Robert Carlyle, Edward Speleers
HK: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Dr Seuss, Lemony Snickert, The Chronicles of Narnia and now Hollywood is milking another fantasy novel in the form of a talking dragon or something. PS – is the director’s surname cool or what?
The Fountain
Dir. Darren Aronofsky, Cast: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn, Sean Patrick Thomas
HK: Brad Pitt bailed and Jackman stepped in for a time-traveling opus set in 1500, 2006 and 2500. Epic.
The Good German
Dir. Steven Soderbergh, Cast: George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Beau Bridges
HK: Is there an equal to Soderbergh at the moment as a director-cinematographer-producer-writer? Genre-hopping from sci-fi and confidence-trickster to indie and crime, he turns to war with a thriller set in the immediate aftermath of a ravaged 1940s Germany.
The Good Shepherd
Dir. Robert De Niro, Cast: Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie, Joe Pesci, Alec Baldwin, Billy Crudup, William Hurt, Jason Patric, John Turturro
HK: De Niro’s first foray behind the camera since A Bronx Tale chronicles the CIA from the perspective of one man.
Grind House
Dir. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, Cast: John Jarratt, Alicia Rachel Marek
HK: These are two one-hour slasher flicks from the masters of pulp. They each film a segment with made-up trailers in between.
Hidden
Dir. Michael Haneke, Cast: Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche, Maurice Benichau
JL: A married couple begin to receive videotapes, by post or delivery, of themselves going about their everyday lives, leading to long-hidden secrets and memories resurfacing. Beautiful, understated performances in a quietly moving – in all its contexts – film that packs a powerful punch.
Idiocracy
Dir. Mike Judge, Cast: Luke Wilson
HK: From the creator of Beavis & Butthead, King of the Hill and Office Space, the delayed futuristic tale of a guy waking up in the year 3000 where everyone is really stupid.
Lady in the Water
Dir. M. Night Shyamalan, Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Paul Giamatti, Bob Balaban
HK: A fairy tale from the creator of Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense, Signs and The Village; cinematography by Christopher Doyle; Howard as a water nymph living in an apartment complex pool; and Giamatti as the janitor who finds her.
Lucky You
Dir. Curtis Hanson, Cast: Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall, Debra Messing
HK: I love L.A. Confidential and Wonder Boys but 8 Mile and In Her Shoes had real problems, the latter more so. This poker world championship film with the magnetic Bana and achingly cute Barrymore could be a return to form for the ambitious Hanson.
Margaret
Dir. Kenneth Lonergan, Cast: Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, Allison Janney, Jean Reno
HK: From the talented writer-director of the fantastic You Can Count on Me, this looks like Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter - the repercussions of a bus accident - but will hopefully have Lonergan stamped all over it.
Marie-Antoinette
Dir. Sophia Coppola, Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Rip Torn, Asia Argento
HK: Coming off two very good films Coppola deserves some slack until you read the cast list for the story of the end of the French monarchy.
Miami Vice
Dir. Michael Mann, Cast: Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, Gong Li, Naomie Harris
HK: Even with Collateral’s neat ending Mann has not dropped the ball his entire career. He is a muscular director who makes crime films like no other. This 80s TV show re-imagining could have gone The Starsky and Hutch way, but with the gorgeous Li as a drug-dealer and murky camera-work it doesn’t look like it.
Mission Impossible 3
Dir. J.J. Abrams, Cast: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laurence Fishburne, Ving Rhames, Keri Russell, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Crudup, Simon Pegg, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
HK: Cruise allegedly fell out with Brian De Palma and John Woo on the previous installments and David Fincher and Joe Carnahan left due to supposed “creative differences”. This seems to be one franchise the Cruiser is incredibly protective over and possibly very difficult to collaborate with. He certainly chooses great directors. Abrams’ pedigree should not be in doubt. He created TV series Lost, Alias and Felicity. Alias is a labyrinthine spy show and the pilot double-episode of Lost should allay any fears as to Abrams’ ability with both action and large casts. Oh yeah, student wrestler turned consummate actor Hoffman as a bad-guy anyone!
The Omen 666
Dir. John Moore, Cast: Liev Schrieber, Julia Stiles, Mia Farrow, David Thewlis, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Michael Gambon, Pete Postlethwaite
JL: With June 6 2006 (666, geddit?) marking the 30th anniversary of the Richard Donner original, the temptation to cash in was just way too strong. Do we need a remake of the tale of the antichrist being swapped at birth with a jackal and secreted into the family of a wealthy politician only to wreak havoc of death and destruction? No, I don’t think so either. However… that’s a mighty impressive cast list… could be a surprise hit.
The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes
Dirs. Stephen & Timothy Quay, Cast: Cesar Saracho, Amira Casar, Gottfried John, Assumpta Serna
JL: Beautiful but disturbing dark fairytale about a demonic doctor who steals away an opera singer with the intention of turning her into a mechanical nightingale. Film as art that should appeal to those of a gothic romantic nature.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Dir. Gore Verbinski, Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Naomie Harris, Geoffrey Rush, Stellan Skarsgård
HK: This sequel to the over-rated original has the promise of being entertaining, but with 2 and 3 being shot together and rumoured to be costing $400 million, over-reaching could be on the cards…
JL: …although that didn’t do the LOTR trilogy much harm. Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow can’t go far wrong, particularly if – as rumoured – his prototype Keith Richards makes an appearance, and Bill Nighy into the mix? Genius. The currency of the cast – Depp, Bloom and Knightley – has risen considerably since the first film (and chiefly on the back of it) so success and enjoyment should be abundant in equal measures.
The Science of Sleep
Dir. Michel Gondry, Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg
HK: After the rightly Oscar winning Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Gondry sticks with sci-fi, the mind and control.
Silent Hill
Dir. Christophe Gans, Cast: Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Deborah Kara Unger
HK: From the director of the extraordinarily nuts Brotherhood of the Wolf and written by the excellent Roger Avery (The Rules of Attraction, Pulp Fiction), this may not only be the solitary good computer game adaptation so far but also a kick-ass horror-action-thriller.
Sin City 2
Dir. Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, Cast: Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson, Brittany Murphy, Jaime King, Danny Trejo, Devon Aoki
HK: The ground-breaking Sin City is probably the most faithful adaptation of a literary source. There are knights in scuffed armour and hard-bitten dames in distress. As Oliver Twist said, “Please sir, can I have some more?”
Song of Songs
Dir: Josh Appignasi, Cast: Nathalie Press, Joel Chalfen, Felicite Du Jeu, Elliot Levey
JL: Rising star Nathalie Press stars in a dark tale of belief and desire, set amongst London’s Orthodox Jewish community. A young woman returns from Israel to nurse her sick mother but finds herself caught in a game of sexual and religious obsession with her estranged brother. Thoughtful and mature.
Southland Tales
Dir: Richard Kelly, Cast: The Rock, Sarah Michelle Geller, Sean William Scott, Bai Ling, Mandy Moore, Justin Timberlake, Lou Taylor Pucci, Miranda Richardson, Jon Lovitz, Janeane Garofalo
HK: ‘The future is just like you imagined’, states the poster for the new one from the man behind Donnie Darko. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is an amnesiac boxer, Scott is twins and Geller a porn-star in the lead up to the apocalypse. Not far from now actually.
Superman Returns
Dir. Bryan Singer, Cast: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, James Marsden, Frank Langella, Kal Penn, Peta Wilson, Parker Posey, Eva Marie Saint, Kevin Spacey, Marlon Brando
HK: The source material is mythic. The Usual Suspects and X-Men 2 are truly fantastic. Kevin Spacey is Lex Luthor. Footage of Marlon Brando is being spliced into the film. It is bridging where the franchise left off after the fourth film. It is allegedly the first film to cost $250 million. The teaser trailer glimpses some outstanding cinematography and emotion. June just cannot come quick enough!
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny
Dir. Liam Lynch, Cast: Jack Black, Kyle Gass, Tim Robbins, Ben Stiller, Meat Loaf
HK: The irreverent rock band gets a movie. Nuff said.
The Visiting
Dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel, Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam
HK: This has an excellent director (Downfall), but is Kidman's third pointless remake in as many years: The Stepford Wives (2004), Bewitched (2005) and now The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Why Nicole, why?
JL: Billed more as an entity in its own right rather than a remake, The Visiting is based on Invasion of the Body Snatchers, with Kidman starring as a psychiatrist whose son may hold the key to an extraterrestrial-based epidemic which alters human behaviour. It’s Hirschbiegel’s English language debut.
The Wicker Man
Dir. Neil LaBute, Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Molly Parker, Leelee Sobieski
HK: A remake from LaBute, a biting contemporary playwright and filmmaker. Why Neil, why?
JL: Curiousity compels with this one, and LaBute’s resume contains some very cruel gems of dark humour (In the Company of Men, Nurse Betty), so who knows? However, one can’t help but feel that our quirky eccentric tale of the original 40-year-old virgin, out of his depth with the deranged pagan community who see him as their latest sacrificial lamb, has been hoovered up by the Hollywood juggernaut and re-assembled for American tastes a la The Ring, The Grudge, Open Your Eyes, et al. Cage as a sheriff looking for a lost child on an island peopled by matriarchal neo-pagans may well surprise us all, but it will take some doing for us to be kind.
X-Men 3
Dir. Brett Ratner, Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, Ben Foster, Rebecca Romijn, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Vinnie Jones, Olivia Williams
HK:The powers that be on this franchise really cocked up when they let Bryan Singer go and direct Superman Returns instead of making this. X-Men 2 is one of the all time great comic book movies. This could be decent but let’s face it, it is from the director of Rush Hour and Red Dragon.
Young Hannibal: Behind the Mask
Dir. Peter Webber, Cast: Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li, narrated by Anthony Hopkins
HK: The prequel to Manhunter/Red Dragon charts Hannibal Lector as a young man and his transformation into a psychopath. The last two adaptations have not captured the harshness of the novels like Manhunter and Silence of the Lambs, but there is potential due to megaphone duties by the director of Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Zodiac
Dir. David Fincher, Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, Anthony Edwards, Donal Logue, Bijou Phillips, Chloë Sevigny, Mark Ruffalo
From the same source that was eventually turned into Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry, this is the story of the San Francisco serial killer who was never caught. It is from my favourite director and visual genius, David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club, Panic Room, The Game).
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