Awards Season

Some upcoming film releases on my radar as movie awards season begins to heat up...


BLUE VALENTINE - Currently no UK release date

IMDb- 'The film centers on a contemporary married couple (Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams), charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods'. A bit like a much more serious 500 Days of Summer, perhaps? And much much more serious by the sounds of it, with some controversy surrounding the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) awarding the film, due for a late December release in the States, an NC-17 certificate across the Pond. NC-17 is often seen as a death knell for a film's chances at the box office, and the Weinstein Company are campaiging hard to try and get this lifted and reversed to an R (worth signing their petition- http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/blue-valentine-mpaa-rating-appeal/). Fair play to first-time director Derek Cianfrance for sticking to his guns and refusing to cut material from his already much lauded debut feature, which is rumoured to include very frank scenes of sex and also an attempted abortion. Michelle Williams believes the MPAA's decision 'unmasks a taboo in our culture, that an honest portrayal of a relationship is more threatening than a sensationalized one', as though we almost have a fear of what is brutally honest and true to life and instead find our comfort zone in much more unrealistic and more obviously cinematically pleasing portrayals of life. The film is gaining some terrific pre-release buzz, with blog.moviefone.com calling it 'the most impressive and moving film at Sundance' and The Telegraph describing it as 'one of the stand-outs of the (Cannes) festival'. I'm a massive fan of the two leads and really do consider them two of the finest actors of their young generation (I could watch Ryan Gosling in pretty much anything), and their performances in this film have garnered some extremely positive early reviews. Grizzly Bear's music soundtracks the film. Blue Valentine is yet to receive a UK release date, but hopefully it won't be long before we see it on our screens! Trailer- EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 9/10

127 HOURS - RELEASED 7 JANUARY 2011 UK

Danny Boyle's latest, based on the real life events of Aron Ralston, a young mountain climber who took on what should have been a relatively straightforward solo canyoneering venture in the Utah Mountains in 2003, only for his right arm to become trapped by a boulder (leading to him having to amputate his lower arm with a dull knife), has received extremely positive reviews thus far and debuts in UK multiplexes on the 7th January. James Franco's performance as Ralston has already been talked up as a dead cert for an Oscar nomination, his being the only face we see for so much of the film's running time. It will be testament to Boyle's brilliance as a filmmaker if he has managed to craft an entertaining and suspenseful movie out of a subject matter that generally requires its main character to spend a lot of time just (literally) hanging around. Reviews suggest he has managed it, though, and the film looks set to build on the critical, commercial and awards success he received with his last feature, Slumdog Millionaire. The amputation scene (supposedly shot in one take) should make particularly unsettling viewing but reminds audiences just what us human beings can be capable of when in such extreme circumstances. Trailer - EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 7/10

THE KING'S SPEECH - 7 JANUARY 2011 UK

IMDb- 'The story of King George VI (Colin Firth) of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it'. The King's Speech, directed by Tom Hooper, is another film that has run into issues with the MPAA, who have bestowed upon it an unfair R rating based on swearing (used in a scene in which Rush's speech therapist gets George VI to do it in order to aid his confidence in talking). My excitement levels for this film have greatly increased in the last few days after reading Empire's glowing 5 star review, which calls it 'unexpectedly good' and 'the Oscar favourite'. It seems like it will play less like a standard, rather dull and sluggily paced period piece and more like a pleasingly straightforward tale of an underdog rising up to achieve success (think Rocky, think even Eminem's 8 Mile), with the twist of the 'success' being simply the test of someone trying so hard to reach the end of a sentence without error. Features the ensemble cast of, as well as Firth and Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi, Guy Pearce and Timothy Spall. Trailer- EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 7/10


TRUE GRIT - 14 JANUARY 2011 UK

New Coen Brothers film- need I say more? Well ok, I will a little... This is a new version of the 1969 film which won the legendary John Wayne his only Oscar, being more a new take on the original book rather than any kind of direct remake of the Wayne-starring film. 'A tough U.S. Marshal (Jeff Bridges) helps a stubborn young woman (newcomer Hailee Steinfield) track down her father's murderer'(IMDb). Bridges takes on the Wayne role of Rooster Cogburn- it's The Dude taking on The Duke. The film also features Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper and looks terrific. We'll know more when the reviews start rolling in soon though. Trailer- EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 8/10

BLACK SWAN - 21 JANUARY 2011 UK

I've already written lots about how much I'm looking forward to Darren Aronofsky's (definitely one of my favourite modern filmmakers) latest, the twisted ballet thriller starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, so I won't go into it more. Currently the best reviewed film of those I've mentioned though, and Oscar nominations (especially for Portman, who is said to be superb) seem certain. Looks like psychological horror of the highest ilk, very much in the Pi and Requiem For A Dream vein. Trailer- EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 9/10

NEVER LET ME GO - 11 FEBRUARY 2011 UK

Already mentioned this one too. Carey Mulligan won Best Actress at the British Independent Film Awards last night for this film, Mark Romanek's sci-fi of sorts scripted by celebrated scriptwriter Alex Garland, and based on Kazuo Ishiguro's novel. Also starring Andrew Garfield (young actor of the moment, having been named the new Peter Parker in Marc Webb's new take on Spider-Man) and Keira Knightley. Early buzz is very positive, and I'm looking forward to this one. Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXiRZhDEo8A EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 7/10

Honourable mentions should also go to Javier Bardem-starring Biutiful (28 Jan: EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 8/10), David O Russell's The Fighter with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale (4 Feb: EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 6/10), Clint Eastwood's ethereal latest Hereafter (28 Jan: EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 7/10) and the TV show satire with Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton, Morning Glory (21 Jan: EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 6/10) and romantic comedy with-a-twist Love and Other Drugs (EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 6/10). Should be a very exciting few months for cinema!