Award Contenders

   There’s a lot out this weekend!  Let’s begin with the films that will be in wide release.

   Jay Roach’s comedy,  Dinner for Schmucks, is my defaulted choice for this weekend (see my preferred choice in the limited release section after the jump).  Roach previously brought us Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, as well as the Austin Powers movies, so the pedigree for something wildly hilarious is there.  Throw in Paul Rudd (who is among the best straight-men in comedic roles), Steve Carell (The Office) and Zack Galifianakis (The Hangover) and you have a cast worth shelling out a few bucks to see.

   Rudd’s character is a young man rising quickly in an executive workplace, who finds himself invited to a special kind of dinner.  His task is to bring the biggest schmuck he can find (Carell) in order to gain special advantages at work.  If this is anywhere near as funny as the trailer indicates, Dinner for Schmucks will be well worth seeing.

   Also out in wide release this weekend are Charlie St. Cloud (sounds dreamy, doesn’t it?  …gag me) which stars Zac Efron (oh… now I get the overly cute titular name) as a boy who loses his brother in a car accident, only to discover that he can still communicate with his spirit; and Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore in which dogs and cats work together to trump an evil spy cat.  I am so not looking forward to when my kids are the age where they want to see this kind of movie.  God help me.  Hopefully they prefer the Descpicable Me’s and Toy Story 3′s when their time comes!

   See more new releases after the jump…
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   I make no secret about the fact that LOST is my favorite television series of all time.  I also have made it clear how much I love the original two Alien films (Alien, 1979 and Aliens, 1986).  So imagine how pleased I am to hear that Damon Lindelof, co-writer of LOST, has signed on to rewrite the prequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic, Alien.  I couldn’t be more excited for this one!!

   The story comes to us via Deadline.com:

In a development as vexing as a Lost plotline, studio insiders said that while Lindelof indeed met with Scott and the studio for that rewrite job, the exchange of ideas between them sparked a take that could well turn out to be a free-standing science fiction film.  The studio will decide when Lindelof turns it in.  Scott Free is producing and Lindelof’s CAA reps closed his deal last night.

Lindeloff is currently writing with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci Paramount’s Star Trek sequel, on which Lindelof is a producer.  He also teamed with Kurtzman and Orci to write the Jon Favreau-directed Cowboys and Aliens, which is shooting now with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford.

That’s plenty of action, but I’m told that Lindelof jumped at this opportunity because Scott’s 1979 space thriller Alien was such a seminal influence on him. Resuscitating the Alien franchise has been a big priority for Fox, which has a script by Jon Spaihts, who wrote the Gabriele Muccino-directed Keanu Reeves-starrer  Passengers for Morgan Creek, and whose drafts on the Alien film persuaded Scott to move from producing the film to directing it.

   This probably won’t be viewable for long, since I doubt it is an official release.  So see it while you can! 

   This is the footage for Thor that was released during Comic-Con last week.  Thor’s release date is set for May 6th, 2011.

   Official synopsis:

Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment present the epic adventure, Thor, which spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war.  Thor is cast down to Earth by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and is forced to live among humans.  A beautiful, young scientist, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), has a profound effect on Thor, as she ultimately becomes his first love.  It’s while here on Earth that Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

   I, along with many others I am sure, fell in love with Juliette Binoche in 1996 when she won an Oscar for her performance as the emotionally fragile nurse in The English Patient.  Check out the trailer to her upcoming film, Certified Copy, which was a hit at Cannes.  Binoche won best actress at the festival for her performance, and we should keep an eye on her for the upcoming awards season.

   It just may be the worst week for video you will see all year.  Or at least let’s HOPE that it won’t get much worse than this…

   Rather than spend this time talking about films like Clash of the Titans (Sam Worthington), Repo Men (Jude Law, Forrest Whitaker), or Rambo (the fourth in the series, Stallone), all of which do hit video today, I’d rather take a look at a film coming to Blu-Ray for the first time.

   That film is Ang Lee’s masterpiece, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.  And I say masterpiece regardless of how much love I have for Lee’s other film, Brokeback Mountain. 

   I am not an expert with foreign films, having only seen roughly around 100 or so in my lifetime, but I would place Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon among the best that I have ever seen. 

   The epic film stars Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeow as two warriors trying to track down a stolen sword.  The special effects and cinematography in Crouching Tiger are hard to match, both unforgettably beautiful and tragically poetic.  Tan Dun’s Academy Award winning score, featuring Yo-Yo Ma and his wonderful cello, provides the perfect element of extra tension during the fight scenes, as well as a somber melancholy tone to the forbidden love stories.

   Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an amazing movie for anyone who loves foreign language films, but is also recommended for those who enjoy fast paced action movies or dramatic love stories.  If you are not silly enough to let having to read subtitles interfere with your cinematic viewing, this is a film that everyone should see.

   Lee’s film was nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture of 2000 (losing, sadly, to Gladiator).  It did, however, win Best Score (Dun), Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Foreign Language Film.

   Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield star in Mark Romanek’s film, Never Let Me Go, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro (who also wrote The Remains of the Day).  This could be a real contender across the board this season.  Never Let Me Go is due out September 15th.

   The Writers Guild of America (WGA) will host its annual awards presentation on February 5th, 2011. 

   The 63rd annual awards banquet will take place just 22 days before the 83rd Academy Awards on Sunday, February 27th.

   Paul Bettany stars in Priest, a vampire thriller that has the look of a Mad Max meets Blade Runner world to it.  It is not due out until May 13th of next year, but have an early look at the trailer below.

   Official synopsis: 

Priest is set in a world ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. Paul Bettany is Priest, a legendary warrior priest during the last Vampire War, who now lives in obscurity among the other human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities controlled by the Church.  But when his 18-year-old niece is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires in the desolate wastelands outside, Priest breaks his sacred vows and ventures out to find her and seek vengeance upon those responsible, especially their brutal leader (Karl Urban).  Priest is joined on his crusade by his niece’s boyfriend, Hicks (Cam Gigandet), a local outpost sheriff, and Priestess (Maggie Q), a member of his former legion of vampire-killers who has otherworldly fighting skills.

   At Comic-Con this weekend, the entire main cast of the upcoming film, The Avengers, all gathered as Marvel announced their super-hero team.

   Joss Whedon is set to direct a lineup that includes Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Mark Ruffalo (The Incredible Hulk), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Clark Gregg (SHIELD Agent Coulson), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye). 

   Let’s hope the film is as exciting as the annoucement!

   OK… I’m starting to get REALLY excited for this one.  Tron Legacy’s new trailer premiered at Comic-Con this week.  Jeff Bridges reprises his role from the 1982 film, and Garrett Hedlund stars as the son seeking out his father. 

   Tron Legacy is in theatres this December 17th.