1. Harmony
Korine’s “Spring Breakers” starring Selena Gomez and James
Franco screening at Venice in
competition before TIFF. This is a
hot one! BFF four friends, Brit, Candy, Cotty
and Faith go way off track looking for something to take the edge off the
banality of dorm life. James Franco is remarkable!
2. Daniele Cipri’s drama “The
Son Did It” screening at Venice
on route to TIFF is a
directorial debut from this genius of cinematography. Set in Sicily, this
visually dazzling story with an outstanding performance from Toni Servillo, will transport you to
another world.
3. Walter Salles’ drama “On
The Road” is based on one of this centuries’ great works, the cult
classic novel by Jack Kerouac (1951)
that defined a generation. The cast includes Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, Kirsten Dunst and Viggo Mortensen. The story is based on Kerouac’s own experiences
and is considered a “defining work of the postwar Beat Generation.” The ‘Beat
Generation’ was inspired by jazz, poetry and drugs. “Experience is the
Best Teacher.”
4. Nick Cassavetes’ “Yellow”,
covers huge territory in the complicated life of LA beauty, Mary Holmes,
haunted by a dark past. This dark comedy
starring Sienna Miller, Gena Rowlands,
Melanie Griffith and Ray Liotta
is complex and riveting. This is what we might expect from a director who has
such an incredible list of credits as a director (The Notebook),
screenwriter (Blow), and many actor and musician credits to his name.
5. Bahman Ghobadi’s (Caméra d’Or–winner A Time for Drunken Horses)
“Rhino Season” stars Monica
Bellucci and Iranian superstar Behrouz
Vossough.
Ghobadi based the movie on the tragic story of his friend
and Kurdish poet, who was unjustly incarcerated during Iran’s Islamic
Revolution. This movie follows a mesmerizing, tragic love story over 3
decades utilizing the most beautiful and powerful cinematography that leaves an
indelible impression with the viewer.
6. Dante Ariola’s directorial debut “Arthur
Newman” stars Colin Firth,
Anne Heche and Emily Blunt. Ariola
has crafted a compelling story that allows us to experience the vicarious thrill
of doing something we may normally only daydream about - throwing it all away,
and living as someone else.
7. Directors Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) and Lana
and Andy Wachowski (Matrix) have teamed up for “Cloud
Atlas”, a movie based on the award winning post apocalyptic, sci-fi
novel by David Mitchell. This intriguing and complicated story knits together
characters across millennium in 6 interrelated stories. The characters are
reincarnations of the same soul, identified by a birthmark. Starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Hugh Grant
expect something thought provoking and original.
8. Directors Scott McGehee and David
Siegel (The Deep End,
Bee Season) turn the Henry
James novella “What Maisie Knew” into a contemporary movie, set in NYC.
“What
Maisie Knew” stars Julianne
Moore, Joanna Vanderham and child star Onata
Aprile. The story surrounds 7-year old Maisie
who is at the epicenter of a custody battle between her divorcing parents one
an aging rock star and the other a wealthy art dealer. “A grown-up film about childhood and a
scathing look at two childish grown-ups, wickedly amusing and cuttingly
insightful.”
9. Mike Newell (Four Weddings & A Funeral,
Harry Potter) brings a new dramatic adaptation by David Nicholls of Charles Dickens’ classic Great Expectations to the screen.
Starring Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch,
Helena Bonham Carter as Miss
Havisham, Jason Flemyng
plays Joe Gargery and Jeremy
Irvine is Pip. Filmed on location in Northamptonshire and Holdenby House
in the UK, will the handsome lovelorn orphan turned London gentleman survive
the tortures of Miss Havisham’s twisted mind?
10. Anurag Kashyap’s hindi gangster
crime thriller “Gangs of Wasseypur”, comes with in two epic films. Seasoned
Bollywood indie director Kashyap was spotlighted at Cannes and on myETVmedia for his bold approach to
filmmaking earlier this year. “Gangs of Wasseypur” is his first
‘commercial, mainstream Indian film’. Kashyap was at TIFF in 2010 with
actor/writer Kalki Koechlin for
their award winning film “That Girl In Yellow Boots.”
