Sunday, September 8, 2013

Top 10 Most Anticipated Films Fall 2013: No. 5-1

As I stated in the Part I of this post, I had a very difficult time narrowing this list down this year.  So this year I thought I would list a few honorable mentions that I just couldn't fine the room for, in no particular order:

Anchorman 2
Rush
Foxcatcher
Captain Phillips
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Nebraska
The Monuments Men
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Now, here are the top 5 films I'm anticipating for the fall season:


(5) "American Hustle"

David O. Russell follows up the success of last year’s Silver Linings Playbook with a much different film, a true story about a con-artist in the 1970’s who was forced to work with a federal agent to bring down other cons, mobsters and politicians.  Russell is teaming here with mostly former cast members of his, with Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner all adding to the fun. 

Also, can we all just take this moment to stand up and give a big round of applause to Amy Adams for all that she does for us?  Her recent Man of Steel performance aside, girl’s pretty much a national treasure. 



(4) "Gravity"

I sincerely hope that by now everyone has seen this trailer or any of the clips that have been released.  This film, directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Children of MenY Tu Mama Tambien) follows two astronauts (George Clooney and Sandra Bullock) who become suspended in space after an accident leaves them stranded.  The trailer is absolutely horrifying, and I can only imagine how amazing this will look in IMAX 3D; however, I’m most intrigued by what interesting things will be done with the film’s script after this accident occurs.  It has already popped up at a couple of festivals recently and the raves are flooding in. 



(3) "12 Years a Slave"
Chiwetel Ejiofer stars as Solomon Northup, a fee black man in pre-Civil War era U.S. who is abducted and sold into slavery.  This true story is simply amazing, and I believe director Steve McQueen (one of the most intelligent filmmakers I’ve ever listened to) was the perfect choice for this film; he has the necessary elegance as a storyteller to pull it off in a way that won’t seem indulgent or self-important. 



(2) "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Yeah yeah, I know we’re all getting a little tired at this point of Scorsese-DiCaprio team-ups.  But this one feels different, doesn’t it?  For one thing, Scorsese is returning to form a little after his last two films (not that that’s a bad thing…Hugo was my favorite film of 2011, as you might recall).  The trailer just has the look and feel of someone who just felt relaxed and confident as hell while making a film.  For another thing, the source material that this is based on is apparently a complete riot, telling the story of early-90’s Wall Street brokers and journaling various misadventures in that world.  At the very least, there’s no way this isn’t one of the most entertaining films of the year, right?



(1) "Inside Llewyn Davis"
As my favorite directors both currently and in all of film history, Joel and Ethan Coen have a lifetime pass for this list.  Oscar Isaac portrays the titular character here, a New York folk-singer in the 1960’s trying to make his way in the folk scene of that era.  The Coens have taken on the film industry in the past with Barton Fink, and I’m interested to see what their take on the music industry will be here, and whether it relates in some way to either their careers or their personal lives, as many Coen Brothers’ movies do.


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