Posted on: Friday, November 16, 2007
... And the artsy films
By James Ward
Visalia (Calif.) Times-Delta
Every holiday season, smaller films are released in the major metropolitan markets and then eventually trickle down, in January and February, to smaller markets across the country.
So what films will be this year's "Sideways," "Million Dollar Baby," "Brokeback Mountain," "Pan's Labyrinth" or "Letters From Iwo Jima"?
Here's a quick look at some smaller films with Academy Award buzz that have no set nationwide release date:
"Cassandra's Dream" — Woody Allen once again explores the criminal mind in this thriller with Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor.
"Elegy" — Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz star in this adaptation of Phillip Roth's novel about infidelity.
"Grace Is Gone" — John Cusack plays the heartbroken husband of a woman killed in Iraq.
"I'm Not There" — This one sounds, well, goofy. Several actors — including Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere and Heath Ledger — play music legend Bob Dylan during different points in his life. Todd Haynes ("The Velvet Goldmine") directs.
"Juno" — Director Jason Reitman follows up his brilliant "Thank You for Smoking" with this comedy about a teenager (Ellen Page) who gets pregnant and targets a couple (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) to adopt the child.
"The Kite Runner" — An adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's best-seller about two boys growing up in Afghanistan. Marc Forster ("Finding Neverland") directs.
"Margot at the Wedding" — Writer-director Noah Baumbach ("The Squid and the Whale") returns to the topic of family dysfunction, this time with an all-star cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Jack Black and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
"Rails & Ties" — Alison Eastwood (Clint's daughter) makes her directorial debut in this drama about a train engineer's (Kevin Bacon) relationship with an emotionally damaged boy.
"Redacted" — A fictionalized account of the rape and murder of 14-year-old Iraqi girl by U.S. Army soldiers. Brian De Palma ("Carrie" and "Casualties of War") directs.
"The Savages" — Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman and Oscar-nominee Laura Linney give strong performances as siblings who put their elderly father in a nursing home. It's a tough-minded and sad film.
"Sleuth" — Actor Kenneth Branagh goes behind the camera to direct Michael Caine and Jude Law in this remake of the famous cat-and-mouse thriller. Caine plays the role made famous by Laurence Olivier, while Law plays Caine's old part.
"There Will Be Blood" — Director Paul Thomas Anderson ("Magnolia" and "Boogie Nights") tackles Upton Sinclair's classic novel of greed and corruption in the turn-of-the-20th-century Texas oil industry. Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis ("My Left Foot") stars.
"Youth Without Youth" — After a decade's absence, legendary director Francis Ford Coppola returns to the big screen in this drama about Nazis and scientists. Tim Roth ("Pulp Fiction") stars.
Sources: Studios, www.IMDB.com; www.comingsoon.net.
