 |
Property of Sony Classics Pictures |
After an alarming incident, a group of Trappist monks is urged by their government to leave a community where they have long lived in harmony with its Muslim residents. The persistent Christian brothers are torn between the ongoing political conflicts and the spiritual mission that sent them there. The film brought home Cannes 2010 Grand Prix and has received generally rave reviews. If you're in it for a foreign film night, this is the title to see for the year.
Tree of Life by Terrence Malick (May)
 |
screenshot from trailer of The Tree f Life distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Official plot reports have been scarce and its teaser trailer whets our curiosity by limiting itself to montage sequences and a grandiose score. And with a poster looks like a Flickr gallery as
this, it just makes things worse for us prying movie fans. But there are several things to be expected here: Sean Penn level acting, Brad Pitt in a period film (again?!), and a soul-searching theme. Malick himself points out the role of the family in the life cycle of human beings, and those other things that do not change, "
the eternal scheme of which we are part." Interesting, huh?
Water for Elephants by Francis Lawrence (April)
 |
Property of Fox. |
If we're really expecting something big from director Lawrence this time, let's not. Sure he has done an adaptation before in
Constantine and
I am Legend, but reviews were so-so. But there's hope in the visuals of
Water for Elephants, even though the trailer makes the film look like a ripoff of Tim Burton's
Big Fish and the romantic twist brings to fore what
Moulin Rouge! was acclaimed for, and yes, I'm not just referring to the
elephant love.
Kung Fu Panda 2 by Jennifer Yuh Nelson (May)
 |
Property of Dreamworks. |
Po, now the Dragon Warrior, loves kung fu, and kung fu loves him back. But now an evil one wants to take kung fu away forever. I trust Dreamworks to follow through their successful prequel as the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior would in defending the weak and Chinese world. With new characters and a
website of
awesomeness, this sequel is not expected to suck more than anything in the
history of sucking. It won't be as good as the prequel, as always, but the first sequel usually turns out better than the succeeding ones. And I won't even start talking about
Shrek series just yet. Ska-doosh!
The Hobbit by Peter Jackson (December)
 |
The Hobbit fan art. |
I'm a late bloomer in Tolkien. I've only just finished
the Hobbit when I heard that Jackson was on his way to making a movie and had just chosen an
actor to play Bilbo Baggins. This is exciting.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy has just made film history and it won't be surprising to see a well-placed mention of
The Hobbit as unofficially part of the Tolkien film series when it's shown.
War Horse by Steven Spielberg (December)
 |
Property of Dreamworks Pictures |
Adapted from the stage play that adapted a novel,
War Horse is now in post-production and is set to be a family-adventure war film just right into the holidays of this year. Film editor Michael Kahn has been heard gushing while in the cutting room about "gorgeous" shots of "beautiful scenery" and "beautiful" horses. And that's just about enough quote needed to get us watching it. #
0 comments