Loading ...What am I waiting for? The 2001 Edition
User Rating:
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...By Dale Nauertz
This year has sucked, as far as movies are concerned. Oh sure, we’ve had a couple decent flicks. We’ve had “Moulin Rouge”, which was an amazing movie and probably would have been head and shoulders above all others in ANY film year. We’ve had “The Tailor of Panama”, my second favorite film of this year, which was remarkably witty, powerful and daring. But for the most part, it’s been tough going at the cineplex. Even the other great stuff has been fairly overrated: “Shrek” was cute and pretty funny, but I am officially sick of hearing about it. “Memento” was a neat trick, but I still think that far too many people have been jizzing over it. It’s not bad, but it’s not as amazing as everyone else seems to think. And the great critical response to “A.I.” just proves how weak this year has been. Until the last twenty minutes, this is Spielberg (Kubrick?) at his best. But then you’ve got those last twenty minutes, which shoot the entire, intelligent and fascinating film directly in the foot.
So I eagerly anticipate the rest of the year. There is some promising stuff yet to come. Thank God. Perhaps, like last year, the greatest films of the year are still ahead of us. I sincerely hope so. I am getting tired of disappointment. These are the films that I have the most hope for. They are the ones that I am keeping my eye on with anxious anticipation.
So, without any further ado, here it is.
1. “The Gangs of New York”
Scorsese has been passionate about making this movie for years. That gives me hope. I mean, come on. When the man responsible for “Raging Bull” and “Taxi Driver” is passionate about something, it’s worth your time. Scorsese is one of the legends and it will be nice to see what he does with this story: the story of warring factions on the streets of New York City as it is born in the 1860’s. The cast is also worthy of note: Leonardo DiCaprio (who I believe is one of the best actors of his generation), Daniel Day Lewis, Liam Neeson, and Cameron Diaz. My highest hopes are riding on this film. Should be interesting, to say the least.
2. “Vanilla Sky”
I would line up to see anything that Cameron Crowe does. He has never disappointed me. In fact, the opposite is true. Each time he crafts a film, he puts such a wealth of heart, soul, humor and brains into it that it just reminds you how hollow eighty percent of other films are. This is said to be a departure for Crowe. It is Crowe’s stab at a Hitchcock type of movie, from what I hear. It stars Tom Cruise (who was never better than in Crowe’s amazing “Jerry Maguire”: “Magnolia” be damned!), Jason Lee, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz (not so thrilled about that) and Kurt Russell. In fact, early word that I have heard claims that Russell is so good in this that an Oscar might be in order. Don’t know about you, but any movie that might get Snake Plissken an award is definitely worthy of my time.
3. “From Hell”
London, 1890’s. Fog. Dark, cobblestone streets. Shadows. Gaslights. Jack the Ripper. Stylish direction. Johnny Depp. Sounds fine to me. I’m a sucker for Victorian England movies. Anything involving Sherlock Holmes, for example. So I’m waiting eagerly for this one. Plus, it had a cool trailer.
4. “The Majestic”
It’s by Frank Darabont, who batted his last two films (”The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile”) out of the park. So it should be interesting to see what he does with something that is not only not a Stephen King adaptation but is also a Capraesque comedy involving McCarthyism and amnesia. Plus, BRUCE CAMPBELL is in it! Yay! Oh, and Jim Carrey is the star of the piece. Martin Landau is here too, which is worth noting. But, uh, BRUCE CAMPBELL is in it! Would be higher on the list if not for the fact that Carrey looks like he’s trying to wrangle an Oscar again. It’s still got me excited.
5. “The Man Who Wasn’t There”
It’s by the Coen Brothers, two of the most original voices in modern cinema. It’s their return to their film noir roots. It’s got a laconic barber played by Billy Bob Thornton in it. Also on hand are James Gandolfini, Frances McDormand and Tony Shalhoub. Outta be fun.
6. “Monsters Inc.”
Pixar is back. Since Pixar have made movies that are both innovative and funny as hell with the “Toy Story” flicks and “A Bug’s Life”, I’ll see anything they have to offer. It also has the voices of Billy Crystal and John Goodman. I could use a good laugh, and this looks like the best chance for it.
7. “The Royal Tenenbaums”
It’s by the guys who made “Rushmore”! It’s got Bill Murray, Gene Hackman and Luke Wilson in it! It should be sharp and hilarious. Hell, “Bottle Rocket” was even excellent!
8. “K-Pax”
Jeff Bridges, meet Kevin Spacey. Kevin Spacey, meet Jeff Bridges. You two play nice now. Two of my favorite actors, one of them may be an alien. No, that’s the premise of the film. Though, you never can tell…..
9. “Heist”
David Mamet (”The Untouchables”, “State and Main”) wrote and directed this heist film starring the likes of Danny DeVito, Gene Hackman, Ricky Jay, Sam Rockwell, and Delroy Lindo. I’m a sucker for a heist flick, and this one certainly sounds promising.
10. “The Fellowship of the Ring”
Read the book, guess it was good. May as well see the movie. I just love it when a small, independent film like this gets a chance. If you can’t tell, I’m being sarcastic. I suppose I have to see this movie. May as well get it over with.
So there you are. Though something tells me that none of these movies is going to top “Moulin Rouge”. I don’t know, man, I just don’t see myself going to any of the ones I have just listed six times. But I do hope that I’m wrong. I just wanna be knocked off my feet by a movie the way that “Moulin Rouge” did. But I will settle for being marvelously entertained.
