Having emerged as somewhat of the frontrunner in the awards race in recent weeks, Zero Dark Thirty opens to special limited engagements this week before nationwide release in January. It’s a pretty strong week in terms of variety, with Judd Apatow’s latest, This Is 40, foreign drama powerhouse, Amour,and Walter Salles’ adaptation of On the Road. Add a natural disaster survival drama, a case of double-dipping with a popular animated feature, and Tom Cruise reaching for justice for a well-stocked long weekend of cinematic entertainment.
Zero Dark Thirty
Language: English
Rating: R
Genre: Action/Drama/History
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke
“The greatest manhunt in history” follows the decade-long efforts to find Osama bin Laden, spanning from the September 11 attacks to his death at the hands of Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011. See Clayton and Joey’s early reviews. Read more on Weekend Openings: (12/19-12/21)…
Categories: Weekend Openings Tags: Amour, Barbara, billy crystal, Ewan McGregor, Garrett Hedlund, Jessica Chastain, John Goodman, kathryn bigelow, kristen stewart, Leslie Mann, Michael Haneke, naomi watts, On the Road, paul rudd, Rosamund Pike, Seth Rogen, The Guilt Trip, The Impossible, This Is 40, tom cruise, Walter Salles, Zero Dark Thirty
 I’m sure I’m hardly the only one who never expected to see Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand share the silver screen, but that’s just what they do in ‘The Guilt Trip’, a harmless comedy that mostly works due to the chemistry of the pair. There’s not a whole lot to love here, but more often than not there’s something to smile at. The script by Dan Fogelman has the ingredients to be successful, and the team of Rogen and Streisand do their best, but the direction of Anne Fletcher bungles the tone. She really struggles with the transitions from comedy to drama, leading to a vague sense of dissatisfaction with the end product. I’m sure that it’s going to have a decent amount of fans now that it’s in theaters; a bit earlier than original scheduled, but one will have to keep their expectations low. I was hoping for a bit more than what I got, but those eager to just watch Rogen or Streisand do their thing (with the former more toned down than usual) will likely enjoy.
Read more on The Guilt Trip (**½)…
 The second half of the year is upon us. The race is about to heat up with big Oscar hopefuls coming down the pike. Our John Foote will be in attendance at the Toronto International Film Festival and many films will be unveiling themselves to critics alike. There is a very unclear yet still feasible shape to the race looking from ten thousand feet.
There are internet jitters building for Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master starring Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. With the trailers released and now the film being pushed up to September, it looks as though we may be in store for a master class in filmmaking. Phoenix also looks to be a lead contender for his first Oscar after delivering in his previous nominated works, Gladiator (2000) and Walk the Line (2005). Phoenix does have tough competition ahead of him including what looks to be a critical darling-type performance coming from John Hawkes in Ben Lewin’s The Sessions. Early word is very positive for the film and the turns by Hawkes along with co-stars Helen Hunt and William H. Macy. Since Hawkes’ initial nomination two years ago for Winter’s Bone, he hasn’t shown any signs of letting up. He was arguably left off last year in Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and will be seen later this year in Julia Dyer’s The Playroom and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. There seems to be a tremendous following and support for him in his current state. Speaking of Spielberg, we’re still awaiting some type of marketing material for his upcoming Lincoln biopic. No poster or trailer has been released with very few stills leaked online. One starts to think if it will even be ready in time.
Taking a look at the next couple of months, the circuit will begin to reveal itself.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: “It’s the time of the season”…
Categories: Article, Editor, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Predictions Tags: Amour, Amy Adams, ang lee, Anna Karenina, Anne Hathaway, Arbitrage, Argo, Ava DuVarney, Ben Affleck, Bill Murray, Bradley Cooper, Brave, bryan cranston, Carey Mulligan, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz, Christopher Walken, Clint Eastwood, Cloud Atlas, Colin Farrell, Daniel Barnz, Daniel Day-Lewis, David O. Russell, Django Unchained, Editor, Elizabeth Olsen, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Flight, Fun-Size, Great Expectations, Halle Berry, Helen Hunt, Hyde Park on Hudson, jamie foxx, Joaquin Phoenix, Joe Wright, John Goodman, John Hawkes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, judd apatow, Justin Timberlake, kathryn bigelow, Killing Them Softly, Laura Linney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Les Miserables, Liam Neeson, Liberal Arts, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Logan Lerman, Looper, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Martin McDonagh, Michael Haneke, Middle of Nowhere, Moonrise Kingdom, nicole kidman, Not Fade Away, olivia colman, Olivia Williams, Oscar Circuit, oscar predictions, Paul Thomas Anderson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Quentin Tarantino, Rian Johnson, Richard Gere, Rise of the Guardians, Roger Michell, Russell Crowe, Rust and Bone, Sam Rockwell, Seth Rogen, seven psychopaths, Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall, Steven Spielberg, the dark knight rises, The Grandmasters, The Guilt Trip, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Impossible, The Man with the Iron Fists, The Master, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Sessions, tom hanks, Trouble with the Curve, Viola Davis, Woody Harrelson, Wreck-It Ralph, Zero Dark Thirty
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