Basically this is me right now:
But you might be thinking, "London Film Festival? I've heard of Cannes and Venice, but London has one too?" While not nearly as internationally prestigious as France and Italy's annual fests, the London Film Festival is making up for its microscopic reputation with a shitload of awesome-looking movies. All of which are playing mere minutes from my flat.
So what exactly is playing/who exactly will I be stalking on the red carpet? I'm glad you asked. Here's a rundown of the movies and stars hitting London in a fortnight (minus one day)....
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
The Movie:
Based on Roald Dahl's book and directed by quirkfest Wes Anderson, Fantastic Mr. Fox is about a war between farmers and a family of foxes. The trailer weirdly has a heist movie vibe to it, and the voices behind these adorable animated characters are pretty damn impressive.
The Stars:
Like I said, impressive. George "I make men, women and children worldwide swoon" Clooney. Meryl "15 Oscar nods" Streep. Bill "I'm in every Wes Anderson movie ever" Murray. Owen "I'm also in pretty much every Wes Anderson movie ever" Wilson. Adrien "hey guys I won an Oscar and kissed Halle Berry" Brody. And some other people I couldn't think of stupid, cutesy nicknames for.
The Trailer:
THE BOYS ARE BACK
The Movie:
A sports writer must raise his two boys alone when his wife passes away. He adopts the child-rearing philosophy of "just say yes," with allegedly hilarious and heartwarming consequences.
The Stars:
Clive Owen. Yes, that suave as hell Brit is in this movie. Now you understand why I'm stalking the premiere.
The Trailer:
BRIGHT STAR
The Movie:
The requisite fall period piece about poet John Keats and his romance with Fanny Brawne.
The Stars:
Up-and-comer Abbie Cornish plays Fanny, while the too cute Ben Whishaw takes on Keats. You may recognize him as one of the Dylans in I'm Not There or as the teddy bear-toting Sebastian in Brideshead Revisited. Paul Schneider of the prestigious "Drunk History" series, has a supporting role.
The Trailer:
AN EDUCATION
The Movie:
Coming-of-age tale about a '60s teen whose relationship with a much older man gives her an unconventional "education." (You see what I did there? "Education"...like the movie's title! I'm a genius.)
The Stars:
It may have received rave reviews, but don't expect a lot of star power. The lead girl is a relative unknown while the leading man, Peter Sarsgaard, is probably best known as Mr. Maggie Gyllenhaal. However, look out for Alfred Molina and Emma Thompson as Jack and "Headmistress," respectively.
The Trailer:
THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS
The Movie: A reporter investigating a secret government program meets a former psychic spy (or "Jedi warrior") and the two get into all sorts of wartime hijinks.
The Stars: Ewan McGregor plays the American journalist, while George Clooney makes his second London Film Festival appearance as the paranormal spy. Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges are also in the movie, as military men.
The Trailer:
UP IN THE AIR
The Movie: All I got from the trailer was that there's this guy who flies around a lot, and some relationships happen, so I turned to the imdb plot synopsis: Ryan Bingham is a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flier miles and just after he's met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams.
The Stars: Though one isn't actually a star, this movie has a double heaping of awesome people named Jason: director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking, Juno) and supporting actor Jason Bateman. There's also Vera Farmiga (a.k.a. the slutty shrink from The Departed), J.K. Simmons, Zach Galifianakis and Danny McBride. And, once again (with feeling), George Clooney.
The Trailer:
Atom Egoyan's new movie, Chloe, may make it onto my roster, but there's currently no trailer. There's also the new Coen brothers' movie, A Serious Man, and the long-anticipated Viggo Mortensen headliner The Road, but those bastards are dead to me, as they've already sold out. I probably wouldn't have been able to see them anyway, but it's the principle of the thing.
As of today, I will, however be seeing both Bright Star and Up in the Air! Not at the premieres, mind you (though I will be attending the red carpet to scream in Ben Whishaw and Jason Bateman's faces). I'm going the week after, to cheap matinee shows. Still! I'm officially attending two film festival events. So. Freakin. Exciting.
3 comments:
I HATE YOU I HATE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS DAMN WORLDDDDDDDDDD. I'm probably going to buy this to help me address my feelings: http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=397&book=9780713663334
Haha I do feel a little guilty about the mass amounts of Ben Whishaw coming into my life, when you're clearly the more devoted fan. But once Ben and I are BFFs, I'm totally going to set you two up.
That is all I ask.
Also, if you manage to bring along Clooney, and Ewan, and Clive, and Bateman, and every person ever involved with a Wes Anderson movie ever (including Wes Anderson)--that would be, you know, cool...
Post a Comment