Winter 2007 Movie Preview

January through April are usually the most barren months of the film calendar. I've still got a bunch of leftover '06 stuff to get through, specifically Pan's Labyrinth, Curse of the Golden Flower and Perfume, but other than that, it could be a slow time. Let's see what the studios have for us...

January 26
The Host - It was last year's top grossing film in Korea, and it's also been getting great internet buzz. I'm not usually a fan of monster horror films, and all I can picture for the film is Flukeman from The X-Files' episode of the same name. But, if it's got such good buzz, there's probably something worthwhile here. I'll probably end up seeing this on DVD at some point.

February 9
The Lives of Others - I don't know much about this one except that it got a bunch of awards over in Germany, and I've read a bunch of good things online. This is another one I'll probably see on DVD eventually.

February 23
Black Snake Moan - I loved Brewer's Hustle and Flow, and this follow up looks like it'll tap into that same Southern exploitation flavor. I love the posters and the cast is great. The plot, Samuel L. Jackson chains Christina Ricci to a radiator in her house to cure her of her wickedness, is thoroughly odd, and I'd imagine this'll be a really fun, crazy movie.

March 2
Zodiac - Other than Fight Club, I'm not a big Fincher fan, but this film will benefit from its March release date. Put this out in December, amidst a whole bunch of quality films and it's a low priority viewing, put out in March, when I'm looking for anything that at least tries to be good, and it's a must see. Plus, I'm eager to see his digital photography in action. Plus, the cast has a ridiculous amount of hipster cred, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Chloe Sevigny, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo.

March 9
300 - I'm not a big fan of the book, but the trailer for this is just nasty good. Of course, I'm guessing it will turn out like Sin City, where the trailer is an absolute masterpiece, and the film itself is just good. I'm just not that into Miller's view of the world, and since this one appears to be pretty faithful to the original book, it'll be bound by his themes. Still, I'm sure it'll be great fun to watch.

March 16
Sunshine - Danny Boyle's made two really great films, and as he showed in 28 Days Later, he can bring a lot of humanity to genre filmmaking. This one's got a great cast and a cool premise that I'm confident Boyle can pull off. Should be cool.

March 23
Angel-A - This was on my 2006 film preview a year ago, and it's good to see it finally getting released. Besson seems to have sailed off into kiddie film purgatory, and this could wind up being his final live action directorial statement. The man can capture great images like few others, and I loved his last live action project, the unjustly maligned The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. Stop making sequels to The Transporter and start making more of your own films, Luc.

April 6
Grindhouse - By far my most anticipated film of the season, this project looks to be thoroughly entertaining. Sure, it's not a particular challenge for either director, but perhaps the dual film format will push them to try and top each other. New Tarantino is always worth getting excited about.

April 13
Hot Fuzz - Spaced is genius, and Shaun of the Dead was a lot of fun, so I'm eager to see whatever Pegg and Wright put out. Throw in Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan and Bill Nighy and you've got pretty much every interesting comic in Britain. It should be a great time.

April 20
The Kingdom - The plot doesn't really jump out, but the backstage talent does. On story, there's Michael Mann, coming off of 2006's best film. Directing is Peter Berg, coming off the brilliant pilot for Friday Night Lights. In the film we've got Chris Cooper, Jamie Foxx, Jason Bateman, Richard Jenkins and Jennifer Garner. The trailer's a bit generic, but there should be something worthwhile in here.