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From Carnage To The Sitter: Some Winter Movies To Look Forward To

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Starting things off is the film The Descendants, which is Alexander Payne's first film since the critically acclaimed Sideways in 2004 (not counting his first draft of the disaster known as I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry). The film stars George Clooney as Matt King, a descendant of Hawaiian royalty trying to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife goes into a coma, while also wrestling with the decision to sell the land he inherited. Payne adapted the screenplay from the Kaui Hart Hemmings novel of the same name, but considering his adaptation of About Schmidt, probably made it very much his own. Anyone familiar with Payne's movies knows his sick sense of uncomfortable humor, but he's strangely Oscar bait nontheless (not that he's not a great writer, he just seems a bit dark for the Academy). Reviews have been very good, we'll just have to see how it holds up to the competition.

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Following his psychological exploration of violence in Shutter Island and his gritty look at prohibition-era crime in the television show Boardwalk Empire Martin Scorsese brings us... a 3D kids movie! Well, let's give it some credit, the film Hugo is based on Brooklyn author Brian Selznick's great Caldecott winning book The Invention of Hugo Cabret and the film visually resembles more Terry Gilliam or Jean-Pierre Jeunet than anything Scorsese has done before. Although it's Scorsese's first foray into 3D, some of our more reputable directors (i.e. Herzog and Wim Wenders) have proven that the technology can actually be used for good instead of evil. All in all it looks like an interesting film that you can bring people in your life who can't see over the ticket counter to see.

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Back when Forgetting Sarah Marshall came out, a bit of trivia was released about its star Jason Segel, and his desire to write a Muppet movie. Well, Segel got his wish, and the fruits of his labor has now come to fruition with the release of The Muppets. Even though the last Muppet movie was the abysmal Muppets in Space over ten years ago, a lot of people still have a soft spot for these characters who were utilized to great effect on The Muppet Show and in films like Muppets Take Manhattan and The Muppet Movie. We pray that Segel doesn't mess this up because there are more than a few people who will take another bad Muppet movie as an attack on their childhood. At their best the Muppets could appeal to people of any age, let's hope that Disney didn't water down that potential.

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Quick aside: some of our sickest directors have been discovered and financed by our funnier ones. Some of you may know that David Lynch was hired to direct The Elephant Man because Mel Brooks loved his first film Eraserhead, but did you know that Ivan Reitman teamed up with <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/11/17/david_cronenberg_interview.php">fellow Canuck David Cronenberg</a> to help him finance his films out of college? We didn't. Nevertheless, Cronenberg has come a long way since The Brood, Videodrome and Scanners in the best possible way. Not that those movies aren't great, but his forays into accessible films (like the absolutely brilliant The Dead Zone and the criminally award-neglected A History of Violence) are even more affecting. This week sees the release of the third Cronenberg/Mortensen collaboration, A Dangerous Method, and we can't wait. The film follows the relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud and their dynamic relationship that helped form psychoanalysis. The jury is still out on Keira Knightly's acting abilities but we're pretty floored by Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, and Vincent Cassel. Regardless of what the critics end up saying about it, there will be plenty of people waiting on line for this one.

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Coming out December 2nd is visual artist Steve McQueen's second film Shame. McQueen's first film Hunger (it's streaming on Netflix), was a beautifully shot film about the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike, and earned him the Camera d'Or at Cannes that year. There are at least three reasons why you should see his newest film: McQueen directing, Michael Fassbender as the lead, and it takes place and was shot on location in NYC. The film follows a thirty-year-old, sex-addicted, Manhattanite (Fassbender) who's struggling to keep his addiction going after his sister moves into his apartment. The early reviews have been incredibly positive, with Fassbender winning best actor at Venice this year, and this looks like it will be a shock to the throat for any seasonally jaded person who wanders into the theater.

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Jason Reitman has done all right for himself. Between Juno, Thank You for Smoking, and Up in the Air, he's turning into a hig brow version of his father. Reitman's newest film Young Adult (12/9), is his newest collaboration with Juno scribe Diablo Cody, which, depending on how you felt about Juno, is either a blessing or a curse. The film stars Charlize Theron (who has kind of been off the grid since winning an Oscar and starring in Arrested Development), who plays a recent divorcee who moves back home to a small town in Minnesota in order to get back with her ex-boyfriend, who is married with kids. There are a lot of variables at work here, so we'll have to wait and see if it fleshes out.

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One of the more interesting young directors making films right now is David Gordon Green, who made his debut with the dark and beautiful tale of a depressed small town in George Washington and went on to explore similar working class tropes in All the Real Girls and Snow Angels. He worked with the wonderfully subversive Jody Hill on Eastbound and Down and produced working class tragedies like Shotgun Stories. His career took a complete turn however, when he directed Pineapple Express, which ended up a strange mix of a stoner movie and a dark comedy. Green and Hill have become purveyors of extremely bleak comedies centered on a struggling blue collar existence, and at their worst, are always at the very least interesting. Green's newest film utilizes one of the go-to Apatow alums, Jonah Hill and the always (we mean always) fantastic <a href="http://gothamist.com/2010/03/18/sam_rockwell_actor.php">Sam Rockwell</a>. The story follows a deadbeat college student (Hill) who takes a job as a babysitter and gets caught up in an insane night of increasingly strange events. Honestly, it sounds just like the lovable Adventures in Babysitting ("Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues"), and this is not at all a bad thing. In the hands of Green, the already dark world created by the former film could be explored in new, unpredictable ways. Between the watered down commercials and the presence of Hill, one might want to jump to the conclusion that it's another man-boy-in-trouble comedy, but considering its director, it's probably far more interesting.

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Before you dismiss Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy as something your dad wants to see, think about how great a good thriller can be. Why is Hitchcock as famous as he is? Sure, there's the fact that he was a brilliant director, but the fact that he made thrillers and seemingly perfected the thriller genre is why you rather watch Rear Window than Citizen Kane. And yes, John le Carre often goes untouched on a bookshelf before Crichton and Clancy, but this is his favorite book and has been credited as revitalizing the spy genre. Plus, the film stars Gary Oldman and is directed by Tomas Alfredson, who made Let the Right One In (so you know what he can do with genre pieces). It takes place during the Cold War and Oldman is pulled out of retirement to find a mole in the top ranks of the MI6. The film also stars Colin Firth, Tobey Jones, CiarÃ¡n Hinds, John Hurt, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Hardy. A good thriller is always a great time at the movies.

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For the next couple of weeks <a href="http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1218">MoMa presents</a> the film series "The Contenders," which is a collection of films released in the last year that they consider to be essential. The calender is full of great movies and events, and the one we're most excited about is the absolutely brilliant Lynne Ramsay's (Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar) newest film We Need to Talk About Kevin. Based on Lionel Shriver's novel, the adaptation features Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly as a divorced couple trying to come to terms with their son Kevin's shooting spree. As if that wasn't enough to get you pumped, Radiohead's <a href="http://gothamist.com/2007/10/10/jonny_greenwood.php">Johnny Greenwood</a> (There Will Be Blood) did the soundtrack. Although she's only made two feature length films and a couple of short films, Ramsay is one of the most exciting directors working right now. Her films are consistently stunning to look at and, if you've ever seen Ratcatcher, you know she has the ability to emotionally destroy you. Swinton apparently puts in the performance of her career, which considering her track record, should be phenomenal. Highly recommended.

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There are two actors who star in two of the movies on this list. One is the star-worthy Michael Fassbender (Shame, A Dangerous Method), and the other is the underrated dramatic acting comedian <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/07/01/actor_john_c_reilly_terri.php">John C. Reilly</a> (We Need to Talk About Kevin). Reilly's other film this season is the Roman Polanski directed Carnage, based on <a href="http://gothamist.com/2010/04/07/jeff_daniels_god_of_carnage.php">Yasmina Reza's hit play God of Carnage</a>. The film follows two couples [Jodi Foster, Reilly, Kate Winslet, and Christoph Waltz (Whaaaaaat!?)] who meet up to discuss their respective sons getting into a fight, only to exhibit their own selfishness and insecurities. Between the source material, director, and cast, it's hard to see this going too bad. A lot of promising names, let's just see how it pans out.

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Why are we reporting on the next Mission: Impossible movie, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (12/16)? Are we secretly funded by the Church of Scientology? Are we closet Tom Cruise fans? Do we get excited by large explosions and asinine plot situations (well...)? No. It comes down to two words: Brad Bird. Now, we understand that some of you non-nerd-type-people might not find the name familiar, but we sure as hell do. He directed some of the best The Simpsons episodes back in the day when Conan was writing for them, worked with Tim Burton on the excellent Amazing Stories short Family Dog, directed the extremely underrated The Iron Giant (a better animated film than anything Disney's done in over two decades, ahem not counting Pixar) and the great The Incredibles and Ratatouille. So we really don't care if Cruise turns in another flop, or whether the franchise goes to shit, but Brad Bird is one of the greatest animation directors in history and this is his first shot at live action. We really hope, for his sake, that it's not as bad as it could be. If it does end up sucking, don't take it out on him, watch his old movies to remind yourself why he rocks.

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When It's a Wonderful Life was first released, the critics called it what it is: manipulative and corny. What they failed to mention was that it is extremely effective, and emotionally engaging. Nowadays those critics seem to have been too heady, because Frank Capra's classic is recognized, despite how contrived intellectually, as a beloved American Classic. When Mary whispers in George's bad ear: "George Bailey, I'll love you 'til the day I die," it makes people feel as if true love does in fact exist and that, perhaps, the seemingly obsolete conservative working class values of monogamy and skewed family values might have had a pure sliver of truth in them at one point. As detrimental as its ethics might be seen nowadays, it represents a hope from the old world that could still be seen as beautiful in a world that has almost lost it entirely, and we guess that's kind of what the holidays are about. The willful suspension of disbelief, and the passionately blind hope that things were better once and could return that way if we only hoped them to be. Exhilarating and devastating, the film is a glimpse at a prayer many of us don't believe in anymore and a reiteration that thing's could be better than they are. Revisit Pottersville, and let yourself get lost the blind faith that our grandparents once had in abundance. It's too tiresome to keep this scrutiny up all the time.

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Of all the movies coming out this winter, the one that probably deserves the attention of the populous most is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In addition to being the first of the bestselling trilogy to get its American movie debut, it happens to be directed by the excellent David Fincher. For those who have doubted the director of Seven, Fight Club, The Game, The Social Network and the underrated Zodiac, think again, he has definitely earned the reputation as one of our great directors. He might not be that edgy or experimental, but he has consistently crafted beautiful, thought-provoking films that are accessible to almost all of us in this country. At one point, the films that were most popular were also the ones that won awards. Everyone saw Gone with the Wind when it first came out, both highbrow and low, poor and rich, and everyone felt that they had witnessed something special. Technology and tastes have spread us all apart, so when a film comes along that is universally recognized as being a good film, it is a reason to celebrate. Let us hope this movie is as good as it has the potential to be. Granted, Fincher has probably the best teaser trailers around (check out the ones for The Game and Fight Club), but we dare you to watch <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/thegirlwiththedragontattoo/">the one for this movie, and not get excited.</a>

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A strange thing has happened: Herge's Tintin has become popular in the states. Not that it doesn't deserve to be; the linework is brilliant and imitated to this day, the stories are great, the coloring is phenomenal, but we just remember as kids what a pain in the ass it was to find any of these albums. Nowadays the existence of "Tintin in the Congo" is seemingly being covered up (out of print), the fact that Tintin was first published by a Christian-right rag and then by a Nazi occupied newspaper is also not really talked about (other than in a Nova special and biographies) and it is now being turned into a film by a Jewish director. Tintin has had a sordid history, so it's interesting to see how it'll do on the big screen. Early reviews have been strong, so we're hoping for the best. If you know kids too young to appreciate Indiana Jones, take them to this, it has, at the very least, nice colors and a lot of movement.

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Coming out on December 23rd is the film We Brought a Zoo, directed by Cameron Crowe and starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. The story concerns a husband who moves his family to a dilapidated zoo in California, while he tends to his wife dying of brain cancer and the needs of the animals. The music is provided by Jonsi from Sigur Ros, and it's Crowe's first dramatic work since Elizabethtown. Despite the strong cast, Crowe's films are inconsistent at best, so we'll have to wait and see what happens.

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Coming out December 28th is the film Pariah, which follows 17 year-old Alike, as she quietly embraces her identity as a lesbian while trying to come out to her parents in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood. Early responses have been very positive, and looks to showcase some strong performances from its leading cast. Might be a nice way to spend the afternoon while pointing out places you recognize in the film.

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From <em>Carnage</em> To <em>The Sitter</em>: Some Winter Movies To Look Forward To