So far this year, I count two movies that actually grabbed my attention and made me want to go see them - Terrence Malick's
The Tree of Life and Woody Allen's
Midnight in Paris. Otherwise, the stuff that has been coming out of Hollywood has been pretty awful. Then again, I don't get to the movies much anymore. So for all I know,
The Smurfs could have been the shizznit. Anyway, here is a list (in chronological order) of ten flicks that will come out between September and the end of December that certainly seem like they have the potential for "decent status."
1)
Contagion (Sept. 9)
It is directed by Steven Soderbergh (
Traffic,
Out of Sight) and stars luminaries Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Laurence Fishburne. Soderbergh's recent output has been the definition of uneven (
The Informant!) if not WTF (
The Girlfriend Experience), but with a cast like this it is hard to believe that the medical outbreak thriller does not satisfy.
2)
The Ides of March (Oct. 7)
This film about an idealistic political newbie who gets involved in a perspective-shattering Presidential election has another virtual sh*tload of great actors in it (Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, et al), and it's directed by Clooney, who may not hit a home run every time (
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,
Leatherheads), but has come up with at least one sublime creation (the unfortunately punctuated
Good Night, and Good Luck.).
1) The Artist will shock absolutely no one by winning Best Picture. It’s a silent movie and there are a lot of old heads in the Academy who will feel really good about themselves by carrying it to a Best Picture Oscar.
