10 Movies I am looking forward to in 2013

2013 is officially off and kicking now. With Gangster Squad(2012) out last week, we even had our first notable release of the year as well. 2012 was a great year for cinema, one when the ticket sales went up for a change. Even though I am still scrambling to wrap-up the last year with some of the movies that have missed through the cracks, I think it is time to see if 2013 can be as good a year as 2012 was, it is look forward to what the next year has in store for us. So, today I give you the list of some of the movies that I am looking forward to this year. We have very limited information about most of the movies on the list right now. Some of them are bound to disappoint, some movies that are not in the list will probably surprise me as well but I think it will be interesting to see what do I think of these movies at around the same time, next year. Here we go.

Honourable Mentions: 

The Great Gatsby - I would have been much more excited for it, had it been released in 2012. And even though I loved Moulin Rogue(2001), Baz Luhrmann can be a hit or miss. 

Only God Forgives: After Drive(2011), Nicolas Winding Refn is teaming up with Ryan Gosling once again and is taking us into the kick boxing world of Thailand. What's not to like?

Gravity: I am not a big fan of Alphonso Cuaron or Sandra Bullock but I won't turn my head from them either. Story doesn't look half bad and Mr. Clooney is there. So, we have hope. Let's see how much it delivers.

Passion: In my opinion, Brian De Palma is an over-indulgent director who takes his movies a little too far. But after last year's Love Crime(2010), I have hopes from this movie. If De Palma can keep him in check, it can be something worth watching.

The World's End - Only reason this is in the honourable mentions and not in the actual list is because I still haven't seen Hot Fuzz(2007). But Shaun of the Dead(2004) is one of the best comedies I have seen and if it is anything like that, I am game.

And now, 10 movies that I am really looking forward to this year, in no particular order.

I'm So Excited: We couldn't have started with a better title. All I need to know about this movie is it's directed by Pedro Almodovar. All I DO know about this movie is it's directed by Almodovar and casts Paz Vega, Penelope Cruz and Antonio Benderas. Over the last couple of years, I have sat through a bunch of his stuff. Like Every movie Almodovar does, this will probably make me a lot uncomfortable and ask questions that I'll probably won't want to talk about openly. But despite knowing that, I go and watch Almodovar movies because I cannot deny the fact that each and every one of them is a real piece of art. This one won't be any different. 

The Wolf of Wall Street: Not only Martin Scorsese is back after endearing Hugo(2011) little over a year ago, this is Scorsese once again teaming up with Leonardo DiCaprio. Looking at their track record, this should be a good enough selling point. But off course, there is more. They have assembled quite a good cast however most important thing from my point of view, is they have an intriguing storyline. "Story of a Long Island Penny Stockbroker who served 20 months in prison for refusing to cooperate in massive security fraud case that involved the corruption on wall street, banking world and also mob infiltration" I am Sold. 

Inside Llewyn Davis: This is Coen Brothers returning to the scene after True Grit(2010) couple of years ago. Coen Brothers have tried some unconventional casts in last few movies they have done and more importantly, made every single one of them work perfectly. This is yet another unconventional cast of Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Justin Timberlake plus Coen Regulars like John Goodman. We still don't have a trailer or a poster or even a synopsis for this February release but if anyone can make this work, it will be Coen Brothers. Plus No Deakins who does play a major role in their movies. So that should be interesting too. 

Twelve Years a Slave: Discounting some of his shorts, Steve McQueen has only made two movies but they are Hunger(2008) and Shame(2011). I don't think I know any director whose first two movies are as good as these two. So, after that if he wants to shoot a movie about how to eat a matchbox, rest assured I will be there. But being Steve McQueen, he isn't. He is making a movie on slavery and even if look at the cast he has assembled, I am sure you will be as excited as I am - Chiwetel Ejiofor, Quvenzhane Wallis, Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch with Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson and many many more. 

The Monuments Men: Over the past few years, George Clooney has turned into a man who can do no wrong. Almost every project he has touched has become successful. Even his directorial efforts aren't any different. Following his usual line of movies with political background and a strong moral message, he is going into the holocaust period focusing on group of art historians and museum curators trying to save the renown pieces of art that Nazis have stolen from destroying. With a strong cast of Clooney himself, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Daniel Craig with Bill Murray, John Goodman and Jean Dujardin, this will be worth the wait till December.

Now You See Me: Up until the moment I saw the trailer for this movie, this was no where on my radar. I wasn't even aware of it's existence. Even now, I have no interest in any of the director's previous films but the trailer of this movie was one of the bests I have seen and got me really intrigued. The Concept of FBI agents tracking a team of magicians pulling of actual bank robbery during their performance sounds quite interesting. Also cast of Jessie Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Melanie Laurent, Dave Franco with Martin Freeman and Michael Caine should be worth seeing. 

Before Midnight: Third installment of Richard Linklater's trilogy following Before Sunrise(1995) and Before Sunset(2004). When I first heard about the possibility of such a film, I kind of shrugged it off. After all, it's 9 years after the second installment and there is no indication in Before Sunset that we need any follow-up of that. But then I realized there is a 9 year difference between first two as well and if someone asked me in 2004, I probably would've made the same argument against Before Sunset and guess what, I ended up loving it even more than Before Sunrise. So lesson learned. I am not going to write it off or at least till I have seen it.

Her: Like Wes Anderson or Quentin Tarantino, Spike Jonze movies are first and foremost Spike Jonze movies, if you know what I mean. Now I wasn't crazy about Adaptation(2002) neither was I head over heels for Being John Malkovich(1999) but I saw both these movies out of sheer curiosity based on the insane story lines. I also think they went a little too far delusional but still I can not deny how unique these movie are. Her looks like yet another venture in a similar direction. Plus, it has Amy Adams in it. I have seen every movies she has done in a last decade and I have no intention of breaking that streak.

Labour Day: Jason Reitman is another director who might have very few movies on his resume but I think the fact that every single one of them impressed me a lot makes up for that. It seems like he makes 1 film with Diablo Cody then one without her. This is his 'without' turn. So if it is anything like Up In the Air(2009) or even Thank You for Smoking(2005), even though for a strange reason it reminds me of Little Children(2006), I am ready to wait. From the looks of it this might be his most dramatic movie yet but he does have a great cast of Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin and Jacki Weaver along with others to carry it.

Lowlife: I have actually not seen any movie James Gray has directed. So, I am taking a kind of blind shot here as I am not sure what exactly to expect from this. But the first thing that caught my attention was its eclectic cast. Jeremy Renner, Joaquin Pheonix and Marion Cotillard is a really interesting cast which can do wonders together. Plus, what little we know about the plot makes me further intrigued. An Immigrant woman, dazzling magician, Ellis Island. I don't really know much about this movie right now but from what I do, It is safe to say I am excited for it. Hopefully by then I would seen some of the Gray's movies and it will be worth it.

So, what are you waiting for in this new year?

Love Crime

Couple of weeks ago, some of the first photos and a poster for a movie called Passion(2013) were released. Passion is going to be directed by Brian De Palma and stars Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace. This is going to be an American adaptation of a French thriller called Love Crime(2010) directed by Alain Corneau. This actually wasn't the first time I heard either Love Crime or Passion being mentioned somewhere since a fellow blogger, Alex Withrow @And So It Begins gave it a glowing review few months back and had been raving about it for quite some time now. Since it was available to stream on Netflix, it has been lying in my queue since I read Alex's review but like many other films in my queue, I did not get around to see it for whatever reason. However, after the smoking hot photos released couple of weeks ago, I finally sat down to watch it and Boy! Was I glad I did !!

I want to give as little of the story as possible because I think that it is best that you see it on screen and judge for yourself. So, Christine is a top executive in a company and has hired Isabelle, a competent young woman to assist her. Isabelle is actually really good at her job and she has proven her worth time and again by providing brilliant ideas that have helped them seal many business deals. However, she is quite naive for her own good and moreover Christine is extremely good at exploiting people, rather that is how she has reached where she is today. Isabelle is quite devoted to Christine, even though everyone who knows Christine at all describes her as selfish and cold-hearted and even chooses to ignore certain occasions in the past where she wasn't given credit for her own work. Film opens with a certain deal their company closes because of an idea Isabelle thinks of in the middle of night. However, Christine not only blatantly takes all the credit for it but also defends her doing so. ("You would have done the same in my position. At least I hope so" She says). Even though Isabelle is not really happy with her idea being used as Christine's, she is ready to let this one pass as Christine tries to convince her that she is trying to school her for making it big. However, couple of things happen at around the same time that make Isabelle change her decision and go for her own play. Unfortunately, things don't work as perfectly as she would have wanted and as a result obviously spite Christine. Christine, not the one to let go, uses every single opportunity to humiliate her, publicly and in person, professionally and personally. She even threatens Isabelle - "One little mistake in your work and I will use it to fire you". What happens in the remaining hour or so of the movie is something I will keep for you to see.

Most of the initial part of second half, Isabelle spends in doing presumably unrelated and weird things. We see her pruning her garden, visiting her doctor, walking to her office when it is pouring out and going to the movies. I was actually confused myself as to what exactly are they are trying to sell us here, apparently working their way towards climax but with no notion to viewer. At one point I even thought it is going in a direction I did not expect at all. But when it all comes together, and believe me It Does !!, it was worth all the wait. What I liked most about Love Crime is it is almost never clear what is going to happen next. Sometimes it even fools you to believe something you did not expect but then again it takes another turn and keeps going in different direction, keeping you glued to the screen at all times. There is also one climatic moment that appears at around hour mark and I was surprised to see 40 more minutes of movie. However, those 40 final minutes are easily most remarkable in the whole movie. Ludivine Sagnier was a revelation for me in this movie, especially brilliant in those last 40 minutes. She was perfect playing initial Isabelle almost worshiping Christine but she was even better as a psychotic Isabelle in the second half. Sagnier is just brilliant in this period. Kristin Scott Thomas is equally brilliant in her cold and heartless role of Christine. One of the very important things that make this movie work is their chemistry with each other. Right from the very first scene, there is a palpable tension and awkwardness in the frame and it just keeps on increasing with every turn of events and both these actresses deserve equal credit for that.

Without getting into the debate of whether a remake this early is warranted or not(I am usually of the opinion that it is not) or does this mean Hollywood is devoid of any originality anymore(an obvious exaggeration but something they need to think about), I am going to say that I am definitely interested in Passion. Association of Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace only adds to that. Rachel McAdams will be playing the role of Isabelle to Rapace's Christine. I am fairly confident that Rapace can be just as bad-ass as Kristin Scott-Thomas and hopefully just as nuanced. In case of McAdams, I can almost see her in initial dedicated but submissive protege. If only she can pull off cold, calculating Isabelle in second half, she can make this movie her's. I have always admired Rachel McAdams, and not just because she is really beautiful but because I do consider her to be quite good actress. Even though she is mostly known for her romantic roles, she has done quite a variety of roles in her career. And I know it is extremely premature to call anything yet, but from stills released, she looks right into the role which is always a good sign. However, none of them is my real concern. My only concern really is Brian De Palma 'Scarfacing' it, if only he can keep his flamboyance in check a little. As far as cinematography and camerawork is concerned, though lush, it is mostly very plain with no flairs in it. So, De Palma has a chance to try his hand and as long as he usually does, he doesn't overdo it, I think we will be fine.

Rating(out of 5):