Fall Movie Preview: Family Matters

BuzzSugar — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 07:15:00 -0700

We may not be getting the crisp fall weather just yet, but we are getting previews for tons of movies opening in the fall. In preparation for this autumn and winter at the theaters, I've broken up the lengthy list of upcoming movies into many small themes for my Fall Movie Preview series. This way, you'll be in the know when the chillier months roll around, bringing a whole new crop of new films. Today's roundup features the movies that explore those fickle family dynamics.

Martian Child
Yes, that's John Cusack in what looks like it will be one of the fall's most endearing movies. Cusack plays "a recently widowed science fiction writer who adopts a young boy that claims to be from Mars. But the new father ignores some sage advice about the perils of parenthood from his sister and gets more than he bargained for when a series of strange occurrences lead him to believe the child's claim may be true." The trailer on the movie's website is adorable and heart-squeezy, so check it out before Martians land in theaters October 26.

Much more family love if you read more

Juno
I really can't wait for this movie to open December 14, but at this point I'd settle for any kind of promotional material - photos, trailers, anything! The cast is basically a roundup of some of my favorite actors ever: Michael Cera, Ellen Page, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Allison Janney and Rainn Wilson. Page plays a bright teenager whose life is compromised when she's faced with an unplanned pregnancy by - wait for it - Michael Cera's character. Luckily, a wealthy suburban couple (Bateman and Garner) agree to adopt Juno's baby. According to this plot description, "Juno has the total support of her parents (J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney) as she faces some tough decisions, flirts with adulthood and ultimately figures out where she belongs." I seriously can't wait.

The Savages
This is one of the many movies that I wish I'd been able to see at Sundance this year, as it stars some highly capable actors: Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman. In this "serious comedy," the two play middle-aged siblings struggling to come to terms with their father's deteriorating health. The trailer looks poignant and funny at the same time. The Savages opens December 26.

Grace Is Gone
I think someone recently decided that John Cusack plays a damn good widower, since this fall finds him in not one, but two roles that require him to put on the sad-puppy face. Grace Is Gone also screened at Sundance and was quickly snatched up by The Weinstein Company. Cusack plays Stanley Phillips, a father of two who learns that his wife has died in the Iraq war. He knows he must tell his daughters about their mother's death, but first decides to bring them on a road trip to their favorite amusement park. On the journey, the daughters try to understand their father's strange behavior, and Stanley realizes that he needs to know who his children are before he can help them with this sorrowful turn of events.

Darjeeling Limited
Wes Anderson's latest project looks extremely promising: Josh Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson play brothers on a journey together in India. The trailer is all sorts of bizarre mixed and sweet with a dash of funny.

Rails and Ties
The plot description for this movie makes it seem achingly sad, so hopefully there are traces of redemption in there somewhere: "Tom (Kevin Bacon) and Megan Stark (Marcia Gay Harden) always thought there would be time - time to have children, time to take that trip to San Francisco, time to fix the problems in their marriage. But Megan's illness and Tom's inability to face the possibility of losing her are stealing all the time they have left. All Tom can do is bury himself in his job as a train conductor... Tom's train has hit a car on the tracks in a tragic turn of events that, while not his fault, may still cost him his job. Worse, a young woman is dead and her son, Davey, has been left to cope with the loss of his mother. The accident puts the Starks and Davey on their own collision course. But instead of leading to tragedy, this crossing could mean new hope for a woman who has only one chance left to fulfill her dreams, for a man who must learn to open his heart before it's too late, and for a young boy who has never known the true meaning of family." I'll be checking out Rails and Ties - tissues in hand - when it opens October 26.

August Rush
I'm very curious about August Rush, a story about a lonely boy who seeks out his birth parents (played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Kerry Russell) through their shared gift for music. Here's what I'm not as stoked to see: Robin Williams playing (what else?) the inspirational urban cowboy. Check out the trailer before August Rush opens November 21.

Martian Child, The Savages, Darjeeling Limited and Rails and Ties photos source
Grace Is Gone, August Rush photos source

Link Time! 8/23

BuzzSugar — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:35:19 -0700

Pop Candy shares details on the Darjeeling Limited soundtrack.
Director James Mangold is directing a fictive version of the documentary Murderball, say the folks at the MTV Movie Blog.
Stereogum has the new Eagles video, and it's pretty boring.
Stephen Colbert's cast -celebrity signatures and all - will go up for sale on eBay tonight, and TV Squad has a photo.
Cinematical muses over a list of the onscreen couples that have had the least chemistry.
Popwatch wants to hear all about your most embarrassing ringtones.
What do an ex-"Bachelor" contestant and Hugh Laurie have in common? Buddy TV discovers they're both featured on the new "House" soundtrack.
FilmExperience starts to count up the number of kisses that take place in Volver, but loses track around 47.

Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight

First Look: Darjeeling Limited

BuzzSugar — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 06:30:00 -0700

I was so thrilled yesterday when the trailer for the latest Wes Anderson project, Darjeeling Limited, hit the Internet. Starring the adorable Adrien Brody with his all-innocence-all-the-time-eyebrows, along with Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson, the movie looks more outright funny than some of Anderson's works (like The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou), but less obnoxious than, say, a typical Owen Wilson movie (You, Me and Dupree, I'm looking at you... all three of you).

From the trailer it looks like the three men are playing brothers who embark on an adventure together. When someone asks what made them want to do so, there's a vague reference to a spiritual journey. It's a pretty slow-moving trailer until the part involving a can of mace, which made me laugh out loud, but it has that distinctively weird-cool Wes Anderson vibe to it throughout.

My favorite line: "I wonder if the three of us could have been friends in real life. Not as brothers, but as people." Who hasn't wondered that at least once about one's siblings? I can't wait to see Darjeeling Limited when it opens September 28. To watch the trailer, read more

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