After weeks of
seeing Hollywood flirt with it, we have finally reached a weekend
where every new movie is an Oscar hopeful. That, of course, does not
signify quality, but these are the types of films that campaign in
the industry hard for nominations and votes when it comes time for
the golden guy. Let's see what's lobbying for our rooting interest at
the awards ceremonies that will take place a few months from now. But you can always wait until after you celebrate Halloween.
Burnt
Director: John
Wells
Writers: Steven
Knight, Michael Kalesniko
Starring: Bradley
Cooper, Sienna Miller, Daniel Brühl
Bradley Cooper
plays a chef who is cracking under the pressure of his ambition to
open the “best restaurant in the world.” This is something Cooper
excels at, portraying the stressed-out handsome fella. Hopefully the
movie, from former ER showrunner John Wells, takes things to
their logical conclusions and Cooper is allowed to give himself a
panic attack on screen.
The one thing that
is majorly conspicuous in the trailer, at least, is a seeming threat
from Daniel Brühl's character that people will try to kill Cooper
for opening a restaurant. There is enough drama in the unraveling of
someone's dream. There is no need for a weird mafia subplot in
something that could be simple and elegant as it is. Maybe Brühl is
referring to the people who will try to beat Cooper in the business?
Right? Maybe?
Our Brand is Crisis
Director: David
Gordon Green
Writer: Peter
Straughan
Starring: Sandra
Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie
Based on a 2005
documentary of the same name, Our Brand is Crisis has director
David Gordon Green continuing his bizarre career trajectory –
lyrical indie dramas like George Washington to mainstream
stoner comedies like Pineapple Express and back again with Joe
– with what looks to be a crowd-pleasing picture for adults. A
knockout cast portrays the Americans who were hired as campaign
consultants during a South American election during a time of great
turmoil.
All this sounds
fascinating, but the movie has not gotten good buzz so far. There's
something of a “white knight” quality to the story, with a
handful of brave white people from abroad coming to “save” the
people of this poor country. If the context works, then that can
theoretically be all right, but this seems like one of those films
where everything is in the trailer, and the arc does not look
particularly smooth for these characters – it's all “I'm in this
for the money, but oh, look at that sad person, let's be nice and
help them be better.”
Suffragette
Director: Sarah
Gavron
Writer: Abi Morgan
Starring: Carey
Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Meryl Streep
One that is getting
a better, but still mild, reception is Suffragette, about the
push for women's right to vote in England in the early 20th
century. Carey Mulligan plays a fictional/composite character among a
bunch of real figures of the movement, including two played by the
ever-watchable Helena Bonham Carter (who blows stuff up!) and Meryl
Streep.
Maybe I'm
neglecting my duties in writing this preview, but I'm not sure why
this one is getting such lukewarm reviews. I just see that they are
lukewarm (thanks, Rotten Tomatoes). Don't let that stop you from
catching this wonderful cast tell an important story, though.
Truth
Director: James
Vanderbilt
Writer: James
Vanderbilt
Starring: Cate
Blanchett, Robert Redford, Dennis Quaid
You know what
sucks? Being wrong. You know what sucks even more? Being wrong in a
way that all the world knows about it. That's the basic story behind
the CBS News team, including former anchor Dan Rather (played by
Robert Redford), who got into hot water about a decade ago for
reporting on a story involving former President George W. Bush's
military records. People resigned, bad blood continues to this day,
etc., etc., so on and so forth.
Truth covers
the story being the kerfuffle that led to the ouster of Rather and
some of the producers behind CBS at the time, including Cate
Blanchett's Mary Mapes. There's a sense that maybe the journalists
were right all along and did the right thing. The reality is probably
a little trickier than that, but, you know, this is the movies so
“print the legend” and all that.
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