My niece is finally asleep and my girlfriend Amanda is transfixed by the absurd sexual proclivities of the TLC cable channel, so after spending some time reading film critic Glenn Kenny's marvelous film blog (he's emblematic of the artistry that is film criticism), my thoughts drift to the awful-looking Kevin James film, Zookeeper, advertised on TV earlier today. I've never been a fan of the Summer blockbusters, the collection of multi-hyphenate genre films and crude comedies Hollywood churns out between May and August (though I'm not opposed to smart popcorn films like Inception or The Dark Knight and my love of DC Comics compels me to see Green Lantern), but when I saw the ad for James' Zookeeper, an unsavoury hybrid of Night at the Museum and James' 2009 opus Paul Blart: Mall Cop, I uttered a profane condemnation (along with an incredulous look I shared with Amanda).
I can accept the creatively-bankrupt need for sequels, reboots and reimaginings to fill Hollywood coffers, but do moviegoers really buy into such lowbrow fare? Yes, of course they do and I'm sure that Zookeeper will be a financial boon, but while I gnash my teeth in frustration, I must remember that there's hope for moviegoers who seek out more ambitious cinematic fare. Yes, there are alternatives to Transformers 3 and The Hangover: Part II (do Roman numerals really make sequels classier than their standard numeric colleagues?), but you just have to look for them; they can be found in arthouses and sleepy, neglected urban multiplexes. Here are some upcoming films with artier expectations (some are for Summer, the rest will likely be in the Fall):
The Tree of Life (June 2011, Terence Malick) It just won the Palm d'Or at Cannes and received both applause and boos from the audience. Malick, a notoriously shy filmmaker, has only made five films in forty years (Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World being the others) and every one of them has been an unforgettable experience (Dear Warner, could you please release Badlands on blu-ray? Or give it to Criterion?). A film that polarizes film audiences is a very good thing.
Midnight in Paris (June 2011, Woody Allen) Woody Allen has had a tumultuous decade making films, receiving high praise for Match Point (2005) and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), but testing the resolve of even his most ardent admirers with Anything Else (2003), Melinda and Melinda (2004), Scoop (2006) and Whatever Works (2009). With a cast headlined by Owen Wilson (playing the onscreen Allen persona) and Canada's Lovely Rachel McAdams, early reviews suggest that this is one of his best films in a very long time.
Melancholia (August 2011, Lars von Trier) Poor Lars, he can't keep his mouth shut and his infamous eccentricities, like spouting nonsense in interviews, has often offended some cinemaphiles. His recent persona non grata status in Cannes will turn some people off his depiction of the end of the world, starring Kirsten Dunst and von Trier's Antichrist muse, Charlotte Gainsbourg. The average moviegoer would likely be offended by von Trier's antagonistic storytelling techniques anyway, so his cinematic status quo is maintained.
Everything Must Go (June 2011, Dan Rush) Raymond Carver was a master of the short story; Will Ferrell is a master of short comic sketches. I have absolutely no idea if this film will succeed or not, but I like the bold pairing!
Crazy, Stupid, Love (July 2011) From the screenwriters of the brilliant black comedy Bad Santa (2003) and the directors of I Love You, Philip Morris (2009) and starring Steve Carrell and Julianne Moore (!), this has the potential to be a good darkly comical film.
We Need to Talk About Kevin (Fall 2011, Lynne Ramsay) Those who fell in love with Ms. Ramsay's considerable filmmaking talent in Ratcatcher (1999) and Morvern Callar (2002) (based on one of my all-time favourite novels), have been waiting patiently for her to direct a new film. The wait is over and her assembled cast, the always-fantastic Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly (refreshingly moving away from his current comedic success--not that I don't love Dr. Steve Brule--and back to his dramatic origins), punctuate a character study of a separated couple still reeling years after their son committed a killing spree.
The Skin That I Inhabit (Fall 2011, Pedro Almodovar) I've fallen a bit behind on Almodovar's work (I still haven't seen 2009's Broken Embraces), but hearing that this is his first horror film excites me greatly (his thriller Live Flesh (1997) was a masterful introduction to that genre). Almodovar has reunited with his onetime star Antonio Banderas and early images of the film remind me of the classic French psychological horror film Eyes Without a Face (1960), which is likely intentional.
A Dangerous Method (Fall 2011, David Cronenberg) It feels like it has been too long since Cronenberg unnerved moviegoers, so it's good to know that his latest film deals with the relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (current Cronenberg muse Viggo Mortenson) and a patient (Kiera Knightley) caught in the middle. A psychoanalytic sandwich, anyone?
Damsels in Distress (Fall 2011, Whit Stillman) Whit Stillman hasn't made a film since 1998's The Last Days of Disco, but his small cult of followers (myself included) are anxiously awaiting his latest examination of upper-class Manhattan ennui (and it has Greta Gerwig!).
Hugo Cabret (December 2011, Martin Scorsese) I think Scorsese is the greatest living filmmaker and if you don't agree with me, well, that's a problem. He's adapted a children's fantasy tale, so that should give his gangster-loving fans considerable pause.
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