Film Preview: September 2011

Drive

Release date 09.16.2011 (U.S.) Director Nicolas Winding Refn Cast Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston Plot If 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) only had substance, this is how it would look like. What's the 411? Gosling was given his choice of director when he signed up for Drive. He chose Nicolas Winding Refn, a Danish filmmaker best known for Bronson (2008). Buckle up. Kudos Although it didn't win the Palme d'Or in this year's Cannes, Drive clinched the Prix de la mise en scène for Refn. First impression Drive is a gearhead's wet dream fully realized. Adrenaline will be oozing down their nostrils.

Contagion

Release date 09.09.2011 (U.S.) Director Steven Soderbergh Cast Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law Plot A viral epidemic sets a team of doctors scampering for a cure. Star wattage As if Damon, Winslet and Law are not enough, Contagion also features Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard and Laurence Fishburne. It's more than your regular burger: it's a Big Mac. First Impression Wolfgang Petersen's Outbreak (1995) and M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening (2008) drove people away from the cineplex and got critics gagging. They want a reenactment for 2011 with Contagion.

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

Release date 09.09.2011 (U.S.) Director Göran Olsson Cast Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale Plot Swedish filmmaker Göran Olsson strings together various footage of the Black Power Movement into a well-crafted documentary. What's the 411? Footages used in the movie were taken from the spools of film discovered by Olsson in the dusty basement of a television building in Sweden. First impression Trippy. An eye-opener. You'll like.

50/50

Release date 09.30.2011 (U.S.) Director Jonathan Levine Cast Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick Plot Twenty-seven-year-old Adam doesn't smoke, he doesn't drink and he recycles, so life decides to throw him a curveball: he gets cancer. What's the 411? James McAvoy was originally set to play Adam. The role eventually went to Gordon-Levitt. McAvoy must be grinning right now. Annoying factor Seth Rogen and his big voice Saving grace Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston and Philip Baker Hall provide a much needed respite from Rogen's vexing vibe. First impression Looks anemic and sappy. Call 911.

Moneyball

Release date 09.23.2011 (U.S.) Director Bennett Miller Cast Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman Plot Held back by lack of funds, Oakland's general manager resorts to non-traditional means of scouting players for his baseball team. Why should we care? Moneyball is Miller's first movie after he directed Hoffman in his breakthrough movie, Capote, six years ago. Level of predictability High. Watch the trailer. Saving grace Philip Seymour Hoffman First impression Moneyball is this year's Jerry Maguire. Like we need another Jerry Maguire?

Essential Movie Posters: August 2011

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Tag line "Evolution becomes revolution" Designed by Art Machine Why it matters Clever use of light and shadows. Intense. What the poster is trying to tell us It's going to be dark. It's going to be serious. Prepare to go ape-shit.

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy

Tag line "A comedy about old friends in new positions" Designed by cold open Why it matters It doesn't have an overblown face in it. Why? Because none of the cast are Hollywood crowd-drawers, that's why. What the poster is trying to tell us Expect sex. Lots of sex.

Griff the Invisible

Tag line "He's a dreamer... stuck in the real world." Designed by cold open Why it matters Clever twist on the superhero, dual identity schtick; shows how the real intersects with the unreal in a flat, two-dimensional world What the poster is trying to tell us The dude's a schizo.

One Day

Tag line "Twenty years. Two people..." Designed by Mojo Why it matters Uncanny sense of urgency. Fleeting and temporal, as if everything will change in a nano second What the poster is trying to tell us PDA is making a comeback. Word.

Daniel Craig in Esquire, August 2011

"All of [a] sudden I'm getting magazine covers when I got nothing for ten years."

Tilda Swinton in W, August 2011

"When I brought my Oscar home and showed the children, nobody knew what it was. The thing sat on the kitchen table for two weeks."

"It’s every pregnant woman’s nightmare to give birth to the devil."

"I don’t think I’m courageous. One man’s courage is another man’s comfort zone."

"There’s no preparation for having children."

"The Greeks speak about the violence of the real. I want to get at something real."