Films I Want to See in (the Rest of) 2011

Right, so I take back my previous bemoaning of zero quality movies coming out this year. Goodness gracious, am I stupid. It's probably the second or third year that I've complained that there aren't any exciting or stellar movies coming out, and now my list is swollen with unexpected releases and I'm back to complaining that they'll probably release all of the good movies in a five-week period.

Anyhoo my list, with its main selling points beneath each title:

Martha Marcy May Marlene (Oct 7)

- Fine, I want to see what all the fuss about Elizabeth Olsen is, ok? Also the movie is supposed to be an excellent mind-fucker.

The Skin I Live In (Oct 14)

- Almodovar duhhhh

The Rum Diary (Oct 28)

- was not enthusiastic about this at all, but the trailer kind of won me over.

Like Crazy (Oct 28)

- See rhapsodizing in prior blog posts. Get ready to fall in love.

Melancholia (Nov 11)

- Kirsten Dunst's possibly Oscar-worthy role

- Lars Von Trier being anti Terrence Malick.

A Dangerous Method (Nov 23)

- Everything about it. Hell, I'm even incredibly fond of Keira Knightley for being in this movie, and the last time I liked her was in 2003.

Coriolanus (Dec 2)

- Ralph Fiennes is acting and directing. There's also Jessica Chastain and Vanessa Redgrave. I'm dying to see it just so I can know if Ralph Fiennes can finally get another Oscar nod after 15 friggin' years, and totally cheated out of two for The Constant Gardener and The Duchess.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Dec 25)

- Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara

- David Fincher <3

- Have you SEEN the trailer?

War Horse (Dec 28)

- Spielberg being sentimental. C'mon, you know you want to.

Drive (?)

- Ryan Gosling, continuing his "suave, awesome" phase, which we must hasten to catch before he gets moody again.

- Heard that the movie is freaking awesome.

Almost Sold On:

The Ides of March (Oct 7)

My Week With Marilyn (Nov 4)

W.E. (Dec 9)

The Iron Lady (Dec 16)

Of course, that's 11 movies that I "must" see, 15 overall, and the reality is that I'll probably catch less than half of these movies. Reviews can make or break my enthusiasm. But for once, my movie "to-see" calendar is spread EXCELLENTLY throughout the calendar, unlike last year. Maybe the movie biz learned something from Oscar Season 10-11, where about half of the Best Picture contenders were summer/early fall releases. If people really like a movie, they won't forget about it. Ok, they'll nominate you more if you release during awards season and their enthusiasm is shiny and new (True Grit) but they still have two months to realize that they don't like it THAT much (True Grit).

Most Anticipated Performances of 2011

Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender in a "A Dangerous Method"

Michelle Williams in "My Week With Marilyn"

Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

Kirsten Dunst in "Melancholia" (just the thought of Dunst paired with Lars Von Trier is so surreal. I gotta see what happens)

Jessica Chastain in "The Tree of Life"

Marion Cotillard and Rachel McAdams in "Midnight in Paris"

Greta Gerwig in "Arthur"

Oscar Oscar Oscar!

Last year I was really excited for the Oscars because I didn't have a life at the time. It was right before spring break, everything felt drab and gray, and the days were just an endless cycle of ennui, work, and an occasional senior-fueled spat with the administration.

So the fact that I am anticipating the Oscars this year with only mild eagerness is a sign of progress, I think. I'm looking forward more to visiting a dear friend at her college and getting trashed with her for the first time (she was more uptight about drinking in high school).

And if anything, this has been one of the least exciting Oscar seasons I can recall. I blame the blogosphere for dissecting the race down to every last calibration to the point that any "surprises" that occur have already been predicted in advance. Even with the mild spouts of drama (The Melissa Leo thing, in which Leo will henceforth be referred to as a noun other than the person, as in "pulling a Melissa Leo"), the sudden "The King's Speech" switchabout, the snubs (my poor Andrew - stop saying that, why do I always feel so possessively protective of him? It's the vulnerable Bambi thing he has going on, probs) and happy nomination surprises (Hawkes and Weaver), the Fincher-Hooper showdown, the marvelous HBC speech - everything's been handled with grace, I feel. But I thought this would be a nice last time to give tribute to the 10 BP nominations. Randomly unfiltered, vaguely nonsensical.

BEST PICTURE COMPETITION

The American Rebel

The Royalty Porn/Feel-Good

The Underdog

Ordinary Man in Extraordinary Circumstances/Directorial Vehicle

The Indie Hit

The Family Drama

Pixar - Toy Story 3

The Blockbuster

The Spectacle/Thriller

The Western

LAST YEAR, my Oscar crushes were Kathryn Bigelow, Colin Firth, Anna Kendrick, Jeremy Renner, and Christoph Waltz. By crushes I mean I googled constantly without shame, youtubed them and gossiped about them and wondered about their respective futures.

THIS YEAR, my Oscar crushes were Annette Bening, Colin Firth (rewatched Valmont again the othe rnight), Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, David Fincher, and HBC doesnt count becuase everyone is always obsessed with her anyways or at least they should be. I also became a fan of Amy Adams and Nicole Kidman via Oscar roundtables for the first time. They're both a lot more self-deprecating, charming, funny, and surprisingly non-fussy than I would have expected. Before, I thought Amy Adams was kind of bland and Nicole Kidman a self-absorbed diva, but they've only spoken intelligently and thoughtfully, and been sweetly low-profile throughout this period of incessant self-promotion.

MY FINAL PREDICTIONS:

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale

Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3

Best Original Song: "We Belong Together" Randy Newman

Best Original Screenplay: The King's Speech

Best Animated Short: TBH, I don't have a damn clue. Fail, I know.

Best Documentary Short: Ditto

Best Live-Action Short: I don't even know the nominees.

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo

Best Makeup: Barney's Version?

Best Costume: Alice in Wonderland

Best Sound Mixing: Inception

Best Sound Editing: Inception

Best Cinematography: True Grit

Best Original Score: The Social Network

Best Visual Effects: Inception

Best Documentary Feature: Restrepo

Best Editing: The Social Network

Best Foreign Language Film: Incendies

Best Actress: Natalie Portman

Best Actor: Colin Firth

Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network

Best Picture: The King's Speech

Oscar viewing party food suggestions: Sushi, appletinis (The Social Network), frosted cake (Black Swan, The Fighter),beef kabobs (Winter's Bone - not same as squirrel, but oh well), anything organic-y - hummus, fruit smoothies, heirloom tomato hor d'oeuvres (TKAAR), trail mix (127 hours), tea sandwiches (The King's Speech).

2011: A Whiff of Hope

Well, Oscar season is far from over and I still have multitudinous tumultuous Oscar rants to rage about, but for now I'm looking ahead to 2011 in film.

Even if I've come to the realization that mediocre superhero flicks and trashy princess fairy tale live-action "interpretations" (aka Twilightfied) will saturate the movie market for the next, oh, twenty five years, there are always still glimmers of hope to be found.

Feb. 11: The Eagle - Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell

What? Don't judge me. Most likely it will end up being this year's "Clash of the Titans" (at least, just as funny and not as boring), but maybe it will be the best guilty pleasure of 2011. And that to me is just as wonderful as any movie plied with Oscars.

March 11: Jane Eyre - Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender

OH MY GOD. I JUST CAN'T WAIT. Have already done my fair share of obsessive pre-conjuncturing.

May 27: The Tree of Life - Sean Penn, Brad Pitt (or the other way around?)

Well obviously even if we get redundant rhapsodizing of sheer nonsense from Malick, I'm just happy just to be bombarded by his sublime montages.

June 10: Super 8 - JJ Abrams (is always the real star of his movies)

It just looks real cool, is all. A bit of nostalgic Spielberg-feeling. I like the fact that Kyle Chandler is in it, though ENOUGH WITH THE ELLE FANNING. Child stars get overexposure like no other, and right now there are like, twelve. I haven't even seen "Somewhere" and even I'm sick of seeing her everywhere. She's supposedly modeling for Rodarte or something equally preposterous precocious.

July 15: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part II

I hope that this will be as haunted and self-assured as its companion piece, and I know that I will have a major breakdown after the movie fades to credits and the full realization that my childhood Harry Potter is over, really over, hits me at last. Just me and every late teen/young adult, just blubbering incessantly and weeping inconsolably. All beautiful things have to come to an end. For the time in my life, I'll feel the full impact of the words, "they'll never understand what it was like". OK shut up now. Pull it together til July, dammit!

Nov: Twilight - JUST KIDDING. FUCK THAT SHIT. Wow 2011 is going to be an emotionally unstable one for me when it comes to the movies...

Dec 21: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Rooney Mara

(Trailer TBD????)

Fincher Fincher Fincher Fincher Fincher

Possibles: War Horse, The Adventures of Tintin, Hugo Cabret, Arthur, X-Men: First Class, Your Highness

Looking back at my 2010 list of anticipated movies, I realize that a third of the movies I never saw on that list and a third of them didn't even come out. And that was in April. Making a list at this time of the year is starting to feel futile.