November's Most Anticipated Films
by Brian Eggert
November begins the winter moviegoing season where we see an influx of future award winners, arthouse gems, and big family movies ripe for holiday viewing. This month offers some powerhouse directors handling very different material, such as Martin Scorsese’s 3D children’s film or David Cronenberg’s costume drama. We’ll also see another controversial indie from Antichrist director Lars von Trier, the directorial debut of The Departed writer William Monahan, and the first commercial film in over a decade from visionary director Tarsem. But there’s plenty of broad holiday fare too, such as the hotly anticipated The Muppets and A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas.
The below list of films includes this site’s most anticipated releases of November. The choices—based on the quality of actors, director, story, and trailers—are pure guesswork and have no bearing on the inevitable review. For a complete list of upcoming releases and their respective movie trailers, visit the Calendar.
November 4:
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
An R-rated holiday comedy with plenty of pot and sex jokes? And what’s more in 3D? Why not bring the whole family to A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas! Could this be the next “instant Christmas classic” since Elf? This third entry in the Harold & Kumar series continues with a more lighthearted approach, poking fun not only at its own added-dimension gimmick but at recurring supporting actor Neil Patrick Harris’ sexuality. After a six year hiatus in which Kal Penn killed himself on House to work for the Obama Administration and Jon Cho became the Enterprise’s helmsman, they’re finally back—well into their thirties by now—and still getting into absurd trouble. As long as it’s less half-heartedly political than Escape from Guantanamo Bay, this casual fan of the franchise will be pleased. Click here for the trailer.
November 9:
J. Edgar
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the eponymous FBI chief in director Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar (a.k.a. Oscar Gold). Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black explores the rise of one of America’s most powerful figures, whose near 50-year reign earned him quite a reputation. Although said to only just explore Hoover’s suspected homosexuality, complete with The Social Network’s Armie Hammer as alleged lover Clyde Tolson, no doubt Eastwood will avoid anything scandalous—for his own sake, as Eastwood’s film was reportedly investigated by the FBI for its portrayal of Hoover. But everything about the film’s trailer looks like a typical biopic, one bound to earn DiCaprio another deserved Oscar nomination. But will he finally win, if only as an acknowledgement that over the last few years he’s released nothing but stellar films? Here’s hoping… Click here for the trailer.
November 11:
Immortals
Immortals is director Tarsem’s first voyage into commercial filmmaking since 2000’s The Cell, after taking several years to film (and finance) his lovely project The Fall (2007). The story here looks like 300 meets Clash of the Titans, except visually inspired and you know… good. Even in the trailer there are painterly references that make this art history buff giddy for Tarsem’s standard visual brilliance and his sumptuous, reference-laden visual palette. Tarsem himself called it “Caravaggio meets Fight Club”. Could he have teased us any more than that? Here, future Superman Henry Cavill stars as Theseus, a mortal chosen by Zeus to stop a ruthless king (Mickey Rourke) from destroying ancient Greece. If Cavill’s performance is up to snuff, chances are fanboys the world over will be anticipating Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel all the more. Click here for the trailer.
November 18:
The Descendants
In another one of writer-director Alexander Payne’s dramedies, The Descendants, George Clooney (fresh from his disappointing box office performance on The Ides of March) stars as a Hawaii-based land baron who discovers his late wife was having an affair. His first film since Sideways seven years ago, Payne adapts Kaui Hart Hemmings’ praised debut novel about a man who must reconnect with his two daughters is the absence of their “actual” parent. Robert Forster, Judy Greer, and Matthew Lillard (in a rare respectable role) also star. It looks like an awards contender, as well as an offbeat comedy that will likely draw mainstream audiences. Question is, will everyone be Hawaii crazy after this film, just like they were wine crazy after Sideways? Click here for the trailer.
November 23:
A Dangerous Method (Limited Release)
David Cronenberg takes another step away from his early-mid career themes of bodily horror for a period piece set against the birth of psychoanalysis. A Dangerous Method was written by Christopher Hampton, based on his play, and stars Michael Fassbender as Carl Jung, Keira Knightley and Vincent Cassell as disturbed patients, and Viggo Mortensen (in his third pairing with Cronenberg, after A History of Violence and Eastern Promises) as Sigmund Freud. Though he’s done raw dramas before—such as Dead Ringers, M. Butterfly, and Spider—this may be Cronenberg’s first title to receive widespread awards consideration. And though his devoted fans keep hoping for an original screenplay that returns him to his horror roots, Cronenberg’s work has always explored the mind-body relationship. And if there’s anything a study of psychoanalysis can provide, it’s how the unconscious mind shapes our bodily desires. Expect such themes to emerge here. Click here for the trailer.
Hugo
If your head didn’t start spinning when it was announced that Martin Scorsese would be making a children’s film in 3D, then you don’t know the director of Raging Bull and The Departed very well. Annoyingly abbreviated to Hugo from The Invention of Hugo Cabret , Scorsese’s film is set in 1930s Paris where an orphan (Asa Butterfield, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas) who lives in a train station finds a mysterious robot designed by his father (Jude Law). After seeing Scorsese’s gorgeous period pieces like The Age of Innocence and Kundum, I can’t wait to see how he renders the City of Lights from that era. And what’s more, if anyone can make effective use of 3D, it’s Scorsese, who labors over his presentations like few other filmmakers. This is a completely different project for the director, so who knows how it will play out. Regardless, call me intrigued! Click here for the trailer.
The Muppets
Numerous direct-to-video Muppet adventures in the last decade or more have left Jim Henson’s legacy slowly dying. That is, until Jason Segel performed a fictional puppet musical about Dracula in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and then personally pursued reinvigorating the Muppet phenomenon with a new movie. With an all-star cast including Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Jack Black, and others, Segel and his new Muppet pal Walter track down the former Muppet crew to take back their old theater and begin anew. Filled with nostalgia for Henson’s former glory but also imbued with “modern” humor that will bring in new audiences, The Muppets looks like incredible fun. And wouldn’t it be nice for kids to find the joy of these “real life” characters again, instead of the overstimulated animated dribble offered by Dreamworks Animation? Here’s hoping this movie rules its Thanksgiving weekend box office competition and establishes a whole new series of adventures for the Muppets. Click here for the trailer.
One Film You Shouldn't See
November 11:
Jack and Jill
Jack and Jill looks like one of those mock-trailers from Funny People, complete with Adam Sandler in multiple roles (a la Eddie Murphy) and a badly Photoshopped poster. Sandler plays a guy whose annoying twin sister, also Sandler, is visiting for Thanksgiving. Wacky antics ensue. Katie Holmes stars as the male Sandler’s wife. Somehow, Sandler convinced Al Pacino to take a supporting role. Perhaps Pacino is going the De Niro route and forgoing credible acting for paychecks courtesy of lame comedies. When I saw the trailer, at first I didn’t think Jack and Jill was real; I was waiting for the screen to tell me this was a joke. But the joke’s on the American moviegoing audience if they venture out to see this dud. Don’t believe me? It was directed by Dennis Dugan, helmer of Sandlers last few abominations, Grown Ups and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. What else can I say to keep you away from this movie? Click here for the trailer.