|
THE FANTASTIC FALL MOVIE GUIDE 2009
by
Gabriel Chong & Linus Tee | 28 October 2009
Fall 2009 is shaping up to be a fantastic fall- and that’s not just because we’re eagerly awaiting Wes Anderson’s adaptation of “The Fantastic Mr Fox”. No, after the bombast of summer and its parade of sequels, we’re positively piqued for the end of the year bounty the folks at Hollywood and Hong Kong have graciously bestowed us with. In fact, only 3 of the 16 highly anticipated releases are sequels, so instead of more of the same, we can look forward to more of the new and the fresh.
And to whet your appetite, we’re here to share our thoughts on 17 of the films we’ll be counting down to. Whether you’re a thrill-seeker, a chill-seeker, or just looking for some good old wholesome fun and laughs, there’s really something for everyone this Fantastic Fall. Enjoy!
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON
What’s it about: In the second installment of Stephenie Meyer's phenomenally successful "Twilight" series, the romance between mortal and vampire soars to a new level as Bella delves deeper into the mysteries of the supernatural world she yearns to become part of—only to find herself in greater peril than ever before.
We Say: No matter how negative the reviews are going to be, “New Moon” is definitely going to make truckloads of money. Yes the romance presented here is mushy but you got to agree a sprinkle of romance + a dose of fantasy can easily strike a chord in the hearts of many girls and ladies worldwide. The film’s director, Chris Weitz explains “Twilight is about first love; New Moon is about heartbreak.” That sentence sums it all. If you crave for more forbidden romances between Edward and Bella then we say go for it and embrace your true feelings!
2012
What’s it's about: "2012" is an epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors.
We Say: Roland Emmerich is literally the father of all disaster movies, think “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow”. He is the man who blew up the White House, flood the streets of New York and now he has progressed to uprooting Los Angeles. Seek our advice, buy a ticket to “2012”, hold on tight to your popcorn and be blown away by the visual and surround sound. Emmerich is not here to preach, he is here to entertain!
ZOMBIELAND
What it’s about:
Not another George Romero zombie movie, as its title would suggest, this is in fact a horror comedy from a first-time director. Zombieland imagines a world overrun by (what else) zombies, where a guy described as “the most frightened person on earth” teams up with a bounty hunter to lead a band of refugees on a cross-country trip to an amusement park which they believe offers refuge.
We Say:
The “horror comedy” genre was almost pronounced dead when the high-profile Jennifer’s Body starring Megan Fox and written by Juno scribe Diablo Cody tanked ingloriously at the box office. Then a few weeks later, the box office was all abuzz with the release of a film that had as its biggest draw Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg which opened atop the U.S. box office and continued its stellar run in the weeks ahead.
No doubt a huge part of its momentum was sustained by its excellent word-of-mouth- and in fact, the reviews stateside have confirmed it as much (88% of critics polled gave it a ‘Fresh’ rating). Given its awesome, kick-ass trailer, we’ve little doubt that this zombie spoof will be a wild, rollicking ride (a la “Shaun of the Dead”). Strap in and get ready for a journey to the place that is so dead.
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
What’s it about: Mr. and Mrs. Fox live an idyllic home life with their son Ash and visiting young nephew Kristopherson. But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Fox’s wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community.
We Say: Based on the best selling children's book by Roald Dahl ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"), Fantastic Mr. Fox is the first stop-motion animation helmed by talented young director Wes Anderson. Anderson is known for his quirky, light-hearted comedies such as The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Darjeeling Limited. This time by encroaching on a turf dominated by Tim Burton and Henry Selick, he has big shoes to fill but still, we had much confidence in this young ‘padawan’. Anderson can do no wrong.
NINJA ASSASSIN
What it’s about: Produced by the Wachowski brothers, and directed by “V For Vendetta’s” James McTeigue, “Ninja Assassin” is the story of Raizo, picked from the streets as a child and trained under the harsh regime of the Ozunu Clan to be one of the deadliest assassins in the world. But after witnessing the execution of a fellow disciple, who was not just his friend but also his love interest, Raizo leaves the clan and joins forces with a Europol agent Mika to bring down the elusive organization of killers.
We Say: As we have raved in our sneak peek of the movie, “Ninja Assassin” is a glorified B-movie that is wild, bloody fun. McTeigue knows exactly that his audience has come for a balls-out action flick and this he delivers beautifully, piling on one thrilling fight after another until its exhilarating showdown between disciple and master. If you are an action junkie, this is the guilty pleasure that you wouldn’t want to miss out on.
Fans of Rain may also want to take note that the Korean superstar looks great in the movie- evidently the months of training and preparation for this role has worked wonders. Not only is he trim and toned, his fighting is also equally impressive in the many stunts that he performs for the movie. Indeed, it’s safe to say that “Ninja Assassin” is likely to catapult him into the Hollywood spotlight very soon. We’re looking for this movie to make a handsome killing at the box office when it opens.
PLANET 51
What’s it about: "Planet 51" revolves around American astronaut Captain Charles "Chuck" Baker, who lands on Planet 51 thinking he's the first person to step foot on it. To his surprise, he finds that this planet is inhabited by little green people who are happily living in a white picket fence world and whose only fear is that it will be overrun by alien invaders...like Chuck!
We Say: Written by Joe Stillman who gave us the Shrek series, Planet 51 looks like a heap of uninspiring Shrek’s rip off given the green-looking aliens gracing the poster. But look deeper at the credits, a long name of familiar names including Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Gary Oldman and Seann William Scott appear. The kids might adore it but the adults might just shun it. We say it belong to one of those ‘let’s-leave-the-kids-in-the-theatre-while-we-go-for-a-quiet-meal’ movie.
AVATAR
What it’s about: What do you do after you’ve made the most successful movie of all time? Take another twelve years to deliver a movie that purportedly had to be delayed for twenty years in order to give the technology time to play catch up with the vision of the filmmaker. James Cameron’s “Avatar” arrives on a wave of hype and anticipation, one that was no doubt also fuelled by the unusual marketing tactic of premiering 15 minutes of advance footage in Imax and 3D theatres. If you need to know, “Avatar” is about a paraplegic war veteran (Sam Worthington) who is brought to a distant planet called Pandora and finds himself caught in between a battle between his race and that of the indigenous humanoids with their own language and culture.
We Say: Were we wowed by the advance footage we saw of the movie? Let’s just say we were impressed, but we were not blown away. Maybe all that hype we had heard of the project had gotten to our heads and made us expect too much. What’s more, something about “Avatar” reminded us of Kevin Costner’s “Dances with Wolves” and the recently released “Battle for Terra”.
But what unoriginality you may accuse “Avatar’s” story of cannot make up for the fact that the visuals which were supposed to leave us in awe did not have that effect. Instead, they looked too computer-animated to even resemble anything live-action- and the colourful backdrops did not help either. Still, maybe the release of that advance footage was a timely reminder to keep our expectations in check and enjoy the action mayhem that James Cameron has proven to be a master at orchestrating.
COUPLES RETREAT
What’s it about: The comedy follows four Midwestern couples who embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, spa and enjoy some fun in the sun. What follows is a hilarious look at real world problems faced by all couples.
We Say: Nah, this is no Judd Apatow’s R-rated comedy although the trailer has hints of it. What we have instead is motor-mouth Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau (Iron Man) and Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) with Kristin Bell and Kristin Davis. Everyone loves a bit of romance and comedy and “Couples Retreat” fortunately seem to have both.
"The Fantastic Fall Guide 2009" continues...
|
