Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 1
By the time Harry Potter wraps up in a few short months, it will have been the most watched, highest earning franchise of all-time. It will also be one of the most consistent, no small feat considering it's audience has grown up right along with the film's three main stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. Deathly Hallows is slow by comparison to the other movies, perhaps a bit too slow, but one thing it promises is that the final chapter is going to be a dark, action packed affair.
The Incredibles
Of all the many great films Pixar has given us, The Incredibles is my absolute favorite and I've been waiting for it to hit Blu-Ray forever. The premise is something that we saw Fox try to emulate with their Fantastic Four films with much less success: a close-knit, superpowered family battling against a foe with a very specific grudge.
Country Strong
It feels like only yesterday that I was in a crowded movie theater covering my eyes at the disaster that was Country Strong, a film a lot of folks had high hopes for after the success of Crazy Heart. But maybe that was the problem, as director Shana Feste seemed intent on making a film that embodied every single country music cliche possible, whereas Crazy Heart used the music as a backdrop to a familiar tale of redemption. As far as Gwyneth Paltrow goes, she makes for an impressive package as both actress and singer, and Leighton Meester is very good as well. Too bad neither gets a heck of a lot to work with.
Summer in Genoa
I don't recall Summer in Genoa(called Genova
when it released in 2008) ever dropping anchor on our shores, a thought that should come as a surprise considering the film's pedigree. Michael Winterbottom directs, with Colin Firth, Catherine Keener, and Hope David starring in the story of a father who moves to Italy with his daughters after the death of his wife. The script was written by Laurence Coriat, who worked with Winterbottom on the riveting 1999 film, Wonderland
. Le Cercle rouge
Let me just put it all out there on front street: every heist movie you've probably ever seen owes a little something to this Jean-Pierre Melville classic. Unfortunately too many people will never understand that, and probably won't bat an eye when the Orlando Bloom remake finally makes it's appearance. No, I'm not kidding. It's in the works, folks.
White Material
One of my great shames of last year was not having a chance to catch up with Claire Denis's White Material, which stars the great(and still incredibly sexy) Isabelle Huppert as a defiant coffee plantation owner in Africa who stubbornly won't give up her business even as rebels descend on them all.
