007 ’s Holiday Movie Guide
They call him Bond, James Bond. They also call him money, box-office money. Still charged from the near-$600 million that 2006’s “Casino Royale” has made around the world, the second Daniel Craig Bond film – “Quantum of Solace” – opens today, kicking off the 2008 holiday-movie season with the force of a V12 Aston Martin engine.
The likes of Pixar Animation Studios, Baz Luhrman and Nicole Kidman; Sean Penn, Jason Statham, Keanu Reeves (yes, Keanu Reeves) and Jennifer Connelly; Clint Eastwood, Frank Miller and Eva Mendes; plus Bryan Singer and Tom Cruise should help carry us through the new year.
That, of course, is when some of the year’s most expected films are now expected to open, including basically everything The Weinstein Company had planned on releasing except for Kevin Smith’s “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.”
Weinstein films now set for 2009 openings include “The Road” (based on Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel), “Killshot,” “Fanboys” and “Crossing Over.”
The whys of all this aren’t clear, though they no doubt involve the current economic crisis and Hollywood’s ongoing obsession with box-office grosses, not to mention Oscar eligibility.
Whatever the reasons, the Weinsteins aren’t the only movie producers/distributors bailing on 2008. Paramount is expected to hold back wide release of “The Soloist,” which stars Jamie Foxx as a musician with a mental disability and Robert Downey Jr. as the journalist who befriends him.
Paramount will do much the same with “Defiance,” the World War II epic that stars Craig, this time as a charismatic Polish partisan fighting German forces and trying to marshal Jewish resistance.
More important to “Harry Potter” fans, Warner Bros. decided to postpone the opening of the sixth in the boy wizard films, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” until June.
Some films, such as “Milk” (Sean Penn as gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk) and Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino,” will open in 2008 but might not get nation-wide releases until early next year.
Thus we offer the following schedule, noting that – as always – it depends on Hollywood second-guessing and availability of prints deemed worthy of sending to the hinterlands.
Today
“A Quantum of Solace”: This Bond adventure, directed by Marc Forster (“The Kite Runner”), picks up where “Casino Royale” director Martin Campbell left off in 2006 – with Bond in pursuit of the men responsible for the death of his lover Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). Aiding him is model-turned-actress Olga Kurylenko.
Next Friday
“Bolt”: John Travolta does the voice of the title character, a dog starring in a television series who thinks he really has super powers. When he escapes, Bolt teams up with cat (Susie Essman) and a hamster (Mark Walton) and tries to right wrongs, leaving lessons to be learned all around. Note: This is the film that Spokane’s Josh Staub (2005’s “The Mantis Parable”) joined Pixar to help make.
“Twilight”: Novelist Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series has scads of fans, many of whom are happy that this adaptation of the teen-vampire-romance series’ first installment was moved back from its Dec. 12 date (thank you “Harry Potter”). Kristen Stewart (“Into the Wild”) stars as Bella Swan, the girl who moves to the Northwest and meets the mysterious Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who ends up showing her the delights of … hmmmm, eternal love?
Nov. 26
“Australia”: The trailer for this romantic epic, which stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman as World War II-era star-crossed lovers, makes the film feel like a classic 1950s potboiler. But then this is a film by Baz Luhrman, the man who brought us the charged Shakespeare reimagining “Romeo + Juliet” and the operatic Kidman vehicle “Moulin Rouge!” So expect something different – and special.
“Four Christmases”: Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon star as a couple who specialize in avoiding all four of their divorced parents during Christmas. But when bad weather cancels their vacation plans, they are forced to do the unthinkable – celebrate what the title indicates.
“Milk” (limited, will expand over the next couple of weeks): Based on the real-life story of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), who became one of San Francisco’s first openly gay politicians, this Gus Van Sant movie co-stars Josh Brolin (“W.”) as the man, Dan White, whose destiny would become intertwined forever with Milk’s.
“Transporter 3”: Jason Statham returns as the man who drives for a living, though this time his love for his Audi A8 is more than aesthetic. If he gets too far from it, the explosive bracelet he’s wearing will shred him but good.
Dec. 5
“Frost/Nixon” (limited, will expand): In 1977, British television presenter/producer David Frost interviewed former U.S. President Richard Nixon, who had resigned – “in disgrace,” as his action is so often described – in 1974 following the Watergate revelations. Ron Howard directed this version of the event, based on a script by Peter Morgan from his 2006 play of the same title. Michael Sheen (“The Queen”) plays Frost, Frank Langella is Nixon.
“Punisher: War Zone”: Ray Stevenson, so good as half of the Roman-soldier duo of the HBO miniseries “Rome,” takes over in this version of the murderous comic-book vigilante hero.
Dec. 12
“The Day the Earth Stood Still”: Robert Wise’s original film, released in 1951, ranks as one of the great sci-fi films in history. This remake stars Keanu Reeves as an alien come to warn Earth of its impending destruction and Jennifer Connelly as the human to whom the alien takes a shine.
“Delgo”: This original animated film tells the story of a naïve teenager and his friends who insert themselves in the conflict between the people of the land and those who rule the sky. Among the actors providing voices is Anne Bancroft, who died in 2005.
“Nothing Like the Holidays”: A Puerto Rican family comes together in Chicago for what may be its last celebration. Starring John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Freddie Rodriguez and Alfred Molina.
Dec. 19
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”: David Fincher (“Se7en”) directs Brad Pitt as a man who is born old and becomes progressively younger as he ages. Also starring Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton.
“Gran Torino” (limited): Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this film about a Korean War vet who, despite his racist tendencies, becomes a hero to his Hmong neighbors when he stands up to a brutal Asian gang.
“Seven Pounds”: Will Smith stars as a man who, to atone for past mistakes, decides to help out seven strangers. His plans become complicated when he falls for one of the seven (Rosario Dawson).
“The Tale of Despereaux”: Another animated film, this one based on Kate DiCamillo’s children’s book about a mouse with a heroic spirit.
“Yes Man”: Jim Carrey stars as negative guy who, once he decides to say yes, finds himself unable to turn down anything or anyone.
Dec. 25
“Bedtime Stories”: Adam Sandler plays a guy whose life changes when the bedtime tales he tells his niece and nephew start to come magically true.
“Marley & Me”: Based on John Grogan’s best-selling book, this family comedy tells the story of a couple (Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston) who learn important stuff from their obnoxiously lovable dog.
“The Spirit”: Frank Miller, who had an important hand in helping direct Robert Rodriguez’s “Sin City,” adapts Will Eisner’s classic comic strip about a cop-turned-supernatural-crime-fighter for the big screen. Look for vampy Eva Mendes (“The Women”) as the ultimate femme fatale.
“Valkyrie”: Tom Cruise stars as Col. Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, the real-life German officer who led the ill-fated 1944 attempt to murder Adolf Hitler. Bryan Singer (“Superman Returns,” “X-Men”) directed from a script by Christoper McQuarrie, Oscar winner for writing Singer’s 1995 film “The Usual Suspects.”