Movies I want to see

2007 is almost over...how did that happen so quickly? Anyway, now that my Christmas shopping is done and I have one day of work left (hooray!), I'm free to ponder my entertainment options for the remaining 10 days of 2007. And there are so many movies I want to see right now. Check it:


Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (trailer)
Release date: December 21, 2007
Johnny Depp. Helena Bonham Carter. Tim Burton. Singing. Lots and lots of blood. What's not to love? Plus, looks like Johnny's dusting off his Captain Jack accent. I can't wait to see how this turned out! I'm pretty much guaranteed to love anything Tim Burton puts out there.
Update: saw it! loved it!

Enchanted (trailer)
Release date: November 21, 2007
Can't believe I haven't seen this one yet. As an old-school Disney devotee since pretty much birth, I'm probably going to love this movie. Unless they totally fuck it up somehow, which is entirely possible. The reviews have been mostly positive, though, so I'm not too concerned. I love Amy Adams (she was the only thing I really liked about Junebug. And does anyone remember her as Jim's Season 1 girlfriend on The Office?), so I'm glad she's getting more exposure.
Update: saw it! It was everything I wanted it to be. :) Sweet, funny enough, and entertaining.

Atonement (trailer)
Release date: December 7, 2007
I haven't read the book this is based on (by Ian McEwan, if you're interested), but everything I've seen on it has captured my interest. It's set in 1930s Britain, spanning over 70 years, and the story is powerful enough to make a potentially brilliant film. The previews make this look gorgeous, provocative, devastating. It stars Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, and screen legends Vanessa Redgrave and Brenda Blethyn, and it's directed by Joe Wright, who directed the latest Pride and Prejudice (also with Keira Knightley). I had some issues with that adaptation, but the movie was well-directed and gorgeously shot. I have high, high hopes for Atonement.
Update: What a gorgeous, gorgeous film. It dragged a bit in the middle, but it's such a great story, and the visuals are absolutely stunning.

The Amateurs (trailer)
Release date: December 7, 2007
About a small town that decides to make an amateur porn film. The cast has me dying to see this. Just take a look at these names: Jeff Bridges, Tim Blake Nelson, William Fichtner!!, Ted Danson, Patrick Fugit!, Lauren Graham!!!, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Steven Weber, and Judy Greer! Plus Isaiah Washington, Joe Pantoliano, and Brad Garrett. How could this not be awesome?
Update: Looks like this is getting the direct-to-DVD treatment now, for some reason. Guess I'll have to see it via Netflix! Update #2: Saw it, and it wasn't the greatest, but it was cute and had some pretty funny bits. Glad I saw it for free (online, even -- didn't even have to wait for the DVD)!

PS I Love You (trailer)
Release date: December 21, 2007
I need one predictable, frothy romcom this time every year. Plus - Gerard Butler! Ok, ok...yes, this will probably be terrible, and I'll regret wasting my time. The concept is pretty ridiculous (he tells her how to live...after he's dead!), and the moments that are supposed to be funny in the trailer are the kind of "hilarious" romcom humor that no one actually laughs at, ever. But Gerry Butler! With an Irish accent! And it'll make this giant sap cry and cry. So I gotta go and roll my eyes through the tears. It's my thing.
Update: Damn movie got to me despite my best efforts to resist. I'm such a girl. But Hilary Swank's character was really annoying, so I had to focus on the pretty, pretty boys. Woe is me.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (trailer)
Release date: December 21, 2007
I'm still a little unsure of this one, but it's co-written and exec produced by Judd Apatow, and it stars John C. Reilly and Jenna Fischer, both really likable and talented actors who've been a part of some of my favorite movies/TV shows (Reilly's role in Magnolia is devastating, and he was hilarious in both Boogie Nights and Talladega Nights, and Jenna Fischer is not only accessible-pretty and a great actress, she genuinely seems like she'd be an awesome person to hang out with in real life). But! The first time I saw the trailer for this, it left me cold for some reason. I'll still see it, though - a Johnny Cash/Walk the Line parody seems right up my alley, and I have faith in all involved.
Update: not very funny after all; gotta learn to trust my instincts. A few silly, enjoyable scenes punctuated the lameness.

There Will Be Blood (trailer)
Release date: December 26, 2007
Speaking of Paul Thomas Anderson, this is his first movie in theaters since 2002's Punch-Drunk Love, and it looks...interesting. Sparse, yet violent. Dark. Complex. Daniel Day-Lewis can always be counted on for a compelling, nuanced performance, and Paul Dano (the mute-by-choice son in Little Miss Sunshine) is a really promising performer.
Update: Like most PTA films, I found this fascinating and impressive, but in a detached, almost clinical way. It did run a little too long, in my opinion. But there's no denying the brilliance of Daniel Day-Lewis; he's just breathtakingly good. I'd like to see this again to get my head around it a little more.

The Savages (trailer)
Release date: November 28, 2007
Another movie with intelligent, even virtuosic actors in lead roles - Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman. I think this one will be depressing, but funny and acerbic enough to be worth seeing. Tamara Jenkins, the writer/director, did Slums of Beverly Hills before this, so she knows how to craft a funny-sad dysfunctional-family film.
Update: Depressing, but very well done. I can see why Laura Linney was nominated for an Oscar. PSH was wonderful, too, as usual.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (trailer)
Release date: November 30, 2007
I can't wait to see this one. It's the incredible true story of French Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who is paralyzed after a stroke, leaving only his left eye able to move. He then uses that eye to BLINK OUT his MEMOIR. Yeah. And here I am sleeping until noon every Saturday and sitting on my couch all day, whining about how nothing exciting ever happens to me. Wow.
Update: A very moving, but commendably human story. The guy isn't a saint, just a human being, so the movie isn't sappy or rote, just...complex and emotionally stirring. I liked it.

No Country for Old Men (trailer)
Release date: November 9, 2007
From everything I've read, this is the best film the Coen Bros. have made since Fargo. Violence, drugs, Javier Bardem's "I'm a Little Lad" haircut...I'm definitely intrigued. It looks tightly paced, actually scary, and really well acted. I need to go soon, though, because it's only playing at one theater right now.
Update: Wow. What an excellent movie -- the buildup of tension was almost unbearable, and the film was lean and precise. Bardem's portrayal of the killer was truly, truly frightening.

I'm Not There (trailer)
Release date: November 21, 2007
I've tried to get into Bob Dylan, really I have. I just don't dig his music, not really. A couple of songs, sure, but on the whole? Ehh. But a film with six Dylans, from Richard Gere to Christian Bale to Cate Blanchett? Oh, sign me up. Todd Haynes, you had me at Cate. Dude.
Update: Cate was fab, but I was ambivalent about the film itself. Interesting concept, but it failed to hold my interest throughout. Could be my Dylan aversion, however.

Lust, Caution (trailer)
Release date: September 28, 2007
Not in theaters anymore, but despite mixed reviews, I'll definitely see this film. Political intrigue+sex=hot. Ang Lee knows his shit, that's for damn sure (Sense and Sensibility? Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Brokeback Mountain?). And it's a Focus Features film! I LOVE Focus Features! Atonement's another one. Seriously, check out their roster. They have serious mojo going on.
Update: Hot, indeed. That's all I'm gonna say.

Southland Tales (trailer)
Release date: November 14, 2007
Another one that's left theaters by now, and it got mostly terrible reviews, but the reviews only made me want to see it more. Richard Kelly is either a genius or a kookoopants (both?), but at least he puts ideas out there, makes you think (I'm still alternately confounded and blown away by Donnie Darko). And his movies have stellar, if odd casts. Sarah Michelle Gellar (yay, Buffy!) is in this one, which is reason enough to seek it out. But seriously, a freaking crazy cast in Southland Tales. Where else can you find Wallace Shawn in the same movie as Bai Ling and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? Kookoo Town, that's where!
Update: I regret wasting my time on this junk. The movie was interminable, the script laughable, and the plot incomprehensible. I hated (almost) every minute.

What movies do you want to see?