Festival Fever

Reports are flowing from critics around the world following the Toronto Film Festival and Venice Film Festival that are being held respectively in the past month or so. Some of them are praising many of the films, and some are not. From all the hype around that, i managed to compile some of my own "to-watch" list. The following are not listed in any order or whatsoever:

The Darjeeling Limited
I wanted to see this film mostly because i'm a fan of Wes Anderson. His quirky sense of comedy, and off beat drama are very interesting to watch. He got his own style of film making, which makes him one of the most talented yet the most unconventional filmmaker in Hollywood (see his earlier film, especially Rushmore, and The Royal Tenenbaums). The Darjeeling limited is a story about three brothers who travel together in India to figure out why they haven't spoken in years. Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman played the three brothers. The premise did not seem to be any different than the previous Wes Anderson's movie, but he seems to always deliver some extraordinary experience in every movie he made. Given the premise, the essential style of filmaking from Wes Anderson, and the strong cast, i see no reason at all for this movie to disappoint.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The title is a dead giveaway to the audience. We know that Jesse James would be dead by the end of the movie, having killed by his own friend and devoted follower, Robert Ford. What makes me interested in the movie is why would Robert Ford want to kill Jesse James? This film is directed by New Zealand based director, Andrew Dominik, which his previous movie was Chopper (a supposedly great movie, starring Eric Bana). Brad Pitt played the title role, while Casey Affleck played Robert Ford. Early reviews that comes in the internet said the movie is so powerful, thanks to the performance by Pitt and Affleck. Casey Affleck received numerous praise for his role as Robert Ford, while Pitt won the best actor award in Venice film festival. However, critics are concern about the running time of 160 minutes which they find too long and too slow. Also, please take note, my favorite actress, Zooey Deschanel also stars in the movie. She played Dorothy Evans, a love interest for Robert Ford. A reviewer said that her role is short, but very important for Robert Ford's character development. Mary-Louise Parker from the tv show, Weeds, also stars as Jesse James' wife. It looks like it's going to be an Oscar contender next year. We'll see about that later.

Juno
Juno is a comedy story about a young girl, Juno Macguff (played by Ellen Page), who is pregnant with a baby from Paulie Bleeker (played by Michael Cera from Superbad). Her parents (J.K Simmons and Allison Janey) are surprisingly supportive about her pregnancy, but Juno decided to put her baby for adoption after she gives birth to her baby. The couple who's going to adopt her baby is Vanessa and Mark Loring (played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman). Juno is helmed by Jason Reitman, who also directed Thank You for Smoking a couple of years back. I have no doubt that Ellen Page is a great young actress, just look at her acting in Hard Candy. I guarantee it will blow you away. As for Michael Cera, he is known for his comedic appearances in Arrested Development and Superbad, so i expect some good comedic flavor in this movie. Early critics said that Juno is funny and warm at the same time. Many of them compared Juno to last year's surprise, Little Miss Sunshine.

There Will Be Blood
Paul. Thomas. Anderson. Bear that in mind. He is the director that brought us many of the best film in the past decade. His films hasn't disappoint me yet. Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love are all great films. He always seems to impress the audience with his visual and in depth characterisation. There will be blood is a film about oil, but not in middle east. It's a story about how oil affect people in USA. From the trailer, it looks like it sets somewhere in the 50's, or 60's. Daniel Day Lewis played the main character, with young Paul Dano as the supporting cast. Early critics are comparing this movie with one of John Huston's finest film, The Treasure of Sierra Madre. I've seen that film before, and it's really good. It's a classic. If someone can make a movie of that calibre, P.T Anderson is the man.

I'm Not There
From all the films that are being screened at the festivals, this is the most interesting and strange film. I'm Not There is a biopic film about Bob Dylan. Here we're going to see Dylan played not by one, but many actors. They portrayed the life of Dylan at different times of his life. Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, and Cate Blachett (yes, that Cate Blanchett) are some of the actors that played him. Todd Haynes (Velvet Goldmine, Far From Heaven, Little Children) is directing. Just right there we can see that this is going to be a strange controversial film. I'm sure there will be a mixed receptions toward this film. but, i'm still curious about how it's going to work out. And, Cate Blanchett won the Best Actress award for her role as Dylan in Venice Film Festival.


Those are the films that i'm looking forward to see. There are still many interesting films that i'm sure are going to make me interested to watch, so these are the other honorable mentions:

Brian de Palma's Redacted
Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men
Gavin Hood's Rendition
Paul Haggis' In the valley of Elah
and
Ang Lee's Lust, Caution.


Yes, that's it. I'm done compiling the films. And i'm looking forward to watch them. I'm gonna post a review once i saw those films.
until then,
goodnight, and goodluck