First up, “The Lives of Others” opens in limited release on Friday. It was nominated for the Oscar for best foreign film a week ago, and it earns the nomination by being an intelligent investigation of how surveillance can often bleed into sympathy. The film is set 5 years before the fall of the Berlin wall, and concerns a surveillance expert who spies on a playwright and his actress girlfriend.
“Breach” opens February 16th, and is director Billy Ray’s follow up to “Shattered Glass”. It stars another young actor who has yet to give a interesting performance, Ryan Phillippe. In Shattered Glass, Hayden Christiansen was able to breathe life in to his smarmy part, and hopefully Phillippe can do the same. “Breach concerns an FBI agent (Chris Cooper) who is suspected of being a traitor, and the young agent who must gather evidence to bring him down.
On February 23rd, two independent filmmakers release their first wide releases. “The Astronaut Farmer” comes from the Polish brothers, who usually make micro budget black and white dramas. “Farmer” stars Billy Bob Thorton as a former astronaut who tries to build a rocket in his barn. It is being marketed as a family film, but should prove an interesting and funny examination of a man’s mad dedication to his dream.
At the other end of the spectrum is “Black Snake Moan”, a southern drama about a bluesman (Samuel L. Jackson) trying to cure a nymphomaniac (Christina Ricci) by chaining her up to his radiator. Both actors haven’t had roles this juicy in a while, and director Craig Brewer should bring enough location detail to generate something new.
Finally on March 2nd, a movie opens that people have been waiting for a while, “Zodiac”. It is David Fincher’s return to a big canvas, after the small success of ”Panic Room”. “Zodiac” is the story of the San Francisco serial killer, and stars a who’s who of interesting actors, including Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and Brian Cox. It apparently works as a period epic, immersing in the changing feelings of the 1960’s and 1970s.
So along with the holdovers from the end of the year, these releases should satisfy you cinema fix.
• Alex Mechlin writes about the movie industry monthly, exclusively in Lumino Magazine. E-mail Alex at alex.mechlin@luminomagazine.com.
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Lives of others
Written by Guest on 2007-02-20 16:40:55
Saw Lives of Others and was very impressed. Beautifully acted and written. Very well made and emotional film examination of surveillance and it's effect on everyone, including the watchers. |
