November 10th brings “Harsh Times”. The directorial debut of David Ayer, this crime drama stars Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez. Ayer is the writer of “Training Day”, and “Harsh Times” mines the same gritty territory of the LA streets. Bale takes over the Denzel Washington role from “Training Day,” in what should be the second in a string of memorable, dissimilar roles in the last quarter of 2006. Between this, “The Prestige” and “Rescue Dawn” (Werner Herzog’s Vietnam POW adventure) Bale is at least choosing some of the most interesting roles of the year. Given Bale’s track record of late, the movies should deliver. “Casino Royale” opens on Novmber 17th, in what represents a turn of direction for the franchise. Daniel Craig has taken on the secret agent role from Pierce Bronsan. Brosnan was really taking over the role, and as the films got worse, his confidence in the role expanded. Craig is a very good actor, and showed he had enough screen charisma to handle Bond in the British crime flick “Layer Cake.” With the director of “Goldeneye,” Martin Campbell returning, “Royale” should at least produce some exciting stunts. It will be up to Craig to carry the suave intrigue of the series.
For a name that was based on a Marv Albert catch phrase, Tenancious D has endured for quite some time. The pet project of Jack Black and Kyle Glass is half parody and half legitimate rock band. Their movie, “Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny” opens on November 17th. Black has become a star, and with that the power to get a movie like this produced. There is no doubt Black and Glass will be quick witted in their roles, and the music will be great, but I’m a little worried about the overall movie. The director is Liam Lynch, who shepherded Sarah Silverman’s first concert film. That film was basically Silverman’s stand up bits thrown together with awkward sketches. Hopefully Black, Glass, and Lynch will improve on that and will deliver a coherent and hilarious movie.
Two intriguing movies open in limited release on the 17th as well. The first is “Fast Food Nation,” director Richard Linklater’s latest. It is a sprawling, multi character study of the Fast Food industry, based on Eric Schlosser’s book. This is the kind of movie Linklater does best – a dramatic telling of an overall theme that touches many different people, developed with a terrific cast (which includes Ethan Hawke and Catalina Sandino Moreno).
“For Your Consideration” is directed by Christopher Guest, and reunites him with many of the same cast he has been working with on his last 3 movies. This time around Guest chooses to go without the mockumentary format, staging a more conventional narrative. The comedy will be much the same however – laughs mined from people taking themselves way too seriously. “Consideration” focuses on a small indie movie that gets picked up for awards consideration, and sweeps everyone involved along with it. Even though Ricky Gervais takes a role in his first Guest movie, the actor I will be looking forward to most is Fred Willard, once again pushing his character’s confidence and clueless-ness to the extreme.
Finally, on the 22nd, Darren Aronofsky’s latest, “The Fountain”, opens wide. The movie is made up of three stories, each starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. The stories are set in three different time periods, but all concern the quest (sometimes metaphorically) for the fountain of youth. The most exciting story looks to be the one set in the future, whose trailer images brings to mind “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Aronofsky has only made two other films, but both showed a clear, innovative vision of movies, even if they weren’t entirely successful. It looks like he may have hit the jackpot here – his ideas may have expanded enough to fit perfectly with his technical command.
Enjoy the films!
• Alex Mechlin writes about the movie industry monthly, exclusively in Lumino Magazine. E-mail Alex at alex.mechlin@luminomagazine.com.
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Written by Guest on 2006-10-18 13:34:27
I thought Jack Black was funny for awhile with his band -- but I think it's worn out. I wouldn't see this movie. I would rather see an Olsen Twins movie |
Can't wait for "The Fountain"
Written by Guest on 2006-10-19 04:20:21
After reading the review at chud.com I think this is a 'must-see' film.
Come on 11/22
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Written by Guest on 2006-10-23 10:31:08
Looking forward to "For Your
Consideration", saw a preview and it looks hysterical. Didn't know about Harsh Times and The Fountain, also sound good.
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