Just like in the fashion industry, we start hearing about new films about two seasons before we get to spend our hard-earned money on them. Here’s a sneak peek at the movies we’ll be talking about next year — will we be mercilessly mocking them or lining up outside the theater for our fourth viewing? Take a look at photos of Mark Wahlberg, Kirsten Dunst, Ryan Gosling, Jerry O’Connell, Vanessa from Gossip Girl, John Cusack, Ben Stiller, and George Clooney from various sets and make your predictions now.
The Fighter – directed by David O. Russell
Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale star in the incredible true story of half-brothers Dickie and Micky, who lose themselves to drugs and defeat in the world of professional boxing, only to emerge years later, against all odds, to become champions. Also it looks like they’re both shirtless a lot.
All Good Things – directed by Andrew Jarecki (March 2010)
All Good Things is a romantic thriller starring the dreamy Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, and Frank Langella and set in glittery 1980’s New York. Gosling is David Marks, the son of a real estate tycoon who marries the working class Katie (Dunst) — when she disappears and her best friend turns up dead, David’s disturbing family secrets begin to reveal themselves.
Piranha 3D – directed by Alexandre Aja (April 16, 2010)
Even given the unlikely premise — a deep underwater earthquake shakes loose an army of prehistoric carnivorous fish that prey on casual boaters on Lake Victoria — the film sounds like our new guilty pleasure with Elizabeth Shue as the hot local cop and the newest 3D technology, which is worth checking out no matter what.
Shanghai – directed by Mikael Håfström (April 2010)
Shanghai stars John Cusack and international stars Gong Li and Ken Watanabe in an espionage thriller set in an ancient Chinese city the week before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Cusak is U.S. Secret Agent Paul Soames, who quickly becomes enmeshed in the city’s dirty politics while falling in love with Anna (Li), the wife of a Japanese intelligence officer (Watanabe). Soames must escape occupied China with his life and love intact before the city collapses. Really though, we’ll watch anything with John Cusack. Except Must Love Dogs.
Greenberg – directed by Noah Baumbach
Greenberg stars Ben Stiller as Roger Greenberg, a 40-something having a mid-life crisis that compels him to want to “do nothing” for a while – he goes out to LA to housesit for his significantly more well-adjusted younger brother and, after getting dissed by old friends he had hoped to reconnect with, he falls for Florence (Great Gerwig), his brother’s personal assistant, who is just as neurotic as he. We can’t take much more awkward romantics from Ben Stiller, but we’re willing to give it a shot.
Somewhere – directed by Sophia Coppola
Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) is a bad-boy actor filling his days with drugs, booze and the ladies and living in Hollywood’s famous Chateau Marmont Hotel until his 11-year old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) turns up to slowly bring him back to earth. Sounds like a modern Marie Antoinette to us.
The American – directed by Anton Corbijn
George Clooney plays a seasoned assassin on his last mission, which takes him to a picturesque Italian town. There, he overcomes his natural instinct to perceive everything around him as a potential threat, falls in love with some local talent and makes friends with a kindly priest. But a dangerous presence lurks at the edges – probably because he’s there to kill someone. Clooney’s tops at this kind of stuff, so we bet it’ll be cool.