 |
Dec.12 - Dec.19, 2004 |
Big names and big budgets for winter
Early Oscar run marks the return of the Coens, Tarantino, Eastwood, Jackson and Minghella
By Angela Baldassarre
Originally Published: 2003-10-12
 |
|
A scene from Bad Santa
|
With the Oscars moved from March to February of next year, Hollywood studios are starting their Academy Awards campaigns earlier than ever, and many of the possible contenders are opening earlier as well.
We've already seen the release of Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, Gary Ross' Seabiscuit, the Harvey Pekar biopic American Splendor, Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, Disney's Finding Nemo, and Andrew Jarecki's documentary Capturing the Friedmans. This means that last year's phenomenon when all five best picture nominees were released in December's last two weeks, won't take place this time around. But the best is hardly behind us. Coming up this winter/holiday season is still some terrific material.
On the dark and serious side there's Robert Benton's adaptation of Philip Roth's novel The Human Stain, about a professor who has passed for white for most of his life (Anthony Hopkins) and who sees his career destroyed in old age; he finds comfort with a younger cleaning woman (Nicole Kidman). The movie also stars Gary Sinise as a reclusive writer and Ed Harris as an abusive husband.
Joel Schumacher's Veronica Guerin stars Cate Blanchett as the murdered Irish journalist whose death changes the way the judicial system in Ireland today deals with criminals. Also stars Brenda Fricker as Guerin's mother.
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's 21 Grams stars Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn and Naomi Watts as three very different individuals who are brought together during a freak accident.
Tim Burton's Big Fish is set in Alabama, where a salesman (Albert Finney) is dying of cancer. His estranged son (Billy Crudup) tries to piece together family history from legends his dad spreads, including tales of life in the circus. Ewan McGregor plays the dad in flashbacks; Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman and Helena Bonham Carter co-star.
Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain stars Jude Law as a wounded Confederate soldier who deserts his regiment to walk across North Carolina to his mountain home, where wife Nicole Kidman awaits. Renee Zellweger plays a mountain woman who teaches Kidman how to survive.
Page 1/...Page 2
|
| Home / Back to Top |
|
|
 |
|
|
</ td>
