| << Back |  |
In Review: Sneak Peek: The 2010-2011 Winter Movie Preview
By Heather Turk
Although the holiday movie season may have officially kicked off Nov. 19 with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, there’s still plenty for moviegoers to unwrap this December and even into the new year. In fact, one of the most talked about films of 2010 will finally open in Las Vegas on Christmas Day: I Love You Phillip Morris.
Based on real-life events, I Love You Phillip Morris tells the story of Steven Jay Russell (Jim Carrey), a flamboyant white-collar criminal who falls in love with fellow inmate Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor) while incarcerated at the state penitentiary. Despite generating some positive buzz at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, no major studio would distribute the film due to its explicit gay content. After being re-edited, the movie was released earlier this year in select markets overseas before Consolidated Pictures Group announced that it would finally distribute the comedy-drama in limited release in the U.S. Sadly, Phillip Morris’ planned April release never happened, nor did its rescheduled July 30 release due to legal battles. Roadside Attractions eventually acquired the distribution rights, and now Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor fans can at long last rejoice.
Whether or not I Love You Phillip Morris will earn Carrey his long overdue Oscar nomination remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: fans will definitely see a side of the rubber-faced comic they’ve never seen before. Expect curiosity to get the best of moviegoers this holiday season and audiences to “come out” rain, sleet or snow to see what all the fuss was about.
More Coming Attractions
Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor fans aren’t the only ones getting what they want at the box office this holiday season. From a saved movie franchise to Hollywood’s hottest actors finally steaming up the screen together, here’s a look at four other flicks hoping to heat up the box office this winter.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Dec. 10): After Walt Disney Pictures dropped the Narnia series following Prince Caspian’s disappointing take at the box office, fans of the fantasy franchise thought they may never get to return to Narnia. Luckily, Twentieth Century Fox stepped in to save the day. The third installment of C.S. Lewis’ timeless masterpiece follows Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) as they return to Narnia and meet up with King Caspian (Ben Barnes) for an epic adventure across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Given that the book captures the spirit of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe much better than Prince Caspian, expectations are high that audiences will be aboard for this return to Narnia–especially in 3-D. If not, Narnia’s big screen journey could finally end here.
The Tourist (Dec. 10): Audiences looking for some sizzle this season needn’t look any further than this action-packed thriller, which stars not only the hottest actress in Hollywood (Angelina Jolie) but also Hollywood’s hottest leading man (Johnny Depp). Depp plays an American tourist mending a broken heart in Europe whose playful flirtation with a stranger (Jolie) leads to a deadly game of cat and mouse. Considering Depp and Jolie are two of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, there’s little doubt viewers will be lining up to see them star in a movie together. Jolie and Depp’s presence aside, The Tourist’s breathtaking shots of Paris and Venice are sure to make it one of the most visually captivating films of 2010, not to mention one of the most heart-pounding.
Yogi Bear (Dec. 17): It’s hard to take Justin Timberlake seriously as an actor when his next film after The Social Network is this live-action/CGI piece of fluff, although having another potential blockbuster on his resume might not be so bad. Of course, there’s always the chance Yogi Bear could end up being the next Marmaduke and not the next Alvin and the Chipmunks. Warner Bros.’ big screen adaptation of Hanna-Barbera’s classic cartoon character focuses on a documentary filmmaker (Anna Faris) who travels to Jellystone Park and meets Yogi Bear (voiced by Dan Aykroyd), Boo-Boo (Timberlake) and Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh). In an attempt to distract longtime Yogi Bear fans from the film’s simplistic plot, Warner Bros. is projecting the movie in 3-D. Whether or not that’s enough to make Yogi Bear’s life at the box office a pic-a-nic, only time will tell. Let’s just hope that Hollywood hasn’t made a serious boo-boo.
The Green Hornet (Jan. 14): One of those projects that’s been in developmental limbo for almost two decades, The Green Hornet may finally be hitting theaters (in 3-D, no less), but it still doesn’t seem like Columbia Pictures has faith in the classic superhero. A slimmed-down Seth Rogen (who also co-wrote the film) plays the titular newspaper publisher-turned-vigilante, although you might not realize it simply by looking at the film’s early posters. And unless you’ve been following the making of the movie online, you probably wouldn’t even know of the other big names attached to it: Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz…even acclaimed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry. Still, with little competition at the box office, The Green Hornet might just become the first hit of 2011–that is, if it doesn’t end up becoming the year’s biggest bomb.
