The movie season for the fall and winter has a little something for every movie fan: big-budget action, resurrected franchises, ensemble drama, family comedy, an Oscar-chasing musical, and films directed by noted auteurs Emilio Estevez and Joey Lauren Adams.
Here are 10 (or so) films to watch for as the end of 2006 approaches; keep in mind that release dates are subject to change:
<ro>1. "Casino Royale"
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Nov. 17; Rated PG-13.
The reinvention of the longest running film franchises is not something to be taken lightly, which is why the new Bond, Daniel Craig, has come under such scrutiny. Whether it’s a problem with his blond hair, a false rumor that he didn’t know how to drive stick, or that he’s not the same pretty boy handsome that Bond has been since Sean Connery left, Craig can’t catch a break. But early signs point to a harder Bond, like the one in Ian Fleming’s novels, of which "Casino Royale" was the first (the rights were held up in legal battles for years).
The beginning is the best place to start. The film will document Bond’s first mission as a 00 agent as he takes on an international terrorist in a high stakes poker game — with the help of a beautiful woman, fast cars, alcohol and plenty of action, but no Q or even an R.
Pierce Brosnan's last Bond, "Die Another Day," was the top grossing Bond film ever and one of the most over-the-top. The real question about Craig is if people really want a harder, more down-to-earth Bond?
<ro>2. "Dreamgirls"
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Dec. 21; Rated PG-13.
Who knew the director of "Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh" was going to one day lead the revival of the Hollywood musical?
Bill Condon's ingenious restructuring of 2002's "Chicago" earned him a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination and the film the 2003 Oscar for Best Picture. There are faint echoes of that musical in "Dreamgirls" — dueling divas, slick male co-stars, brassy torch songs — but the 1981 Broadway production was less about merry muderesses than about simmering Supremes; the all-girl singers whose rise and fall are at the heart of the musical and movie .
Like any supergroup, "Dreamgirls" will succeed or fail on the strength of its stars: Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, and especially Jennifer Hudson of "American Idol" in the essential role of Effie. The really exciting news is that Eddie Murphy has finally taken a break from hack children's movies and bad sci-fi comedies to try and steal the film as aging R&B singer James "Thunder" Early.
<ro>3. "Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan"
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Nov. 3; Rated R.
Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen brings his hapless character of Borat to the big screen, somehow continuing to convince unsuspecting Americans he is a reporter from Kazakhstan, documenting American culture. Cohen has an uncanny ability to stay in character no matter how absurd his surroundings, such as a rodeo where he is singing the national anthem incorrectly or a fine dinner where he invites a prostitute, all under of the guise of not understanding American culture.
Cohen, as Borat, gives one of the funniest performances of the year, especially after a disappointing summer of comedy.
<ro>4. "Rocky Balboa"
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Dec. 22; Rated PG-13.
Go ahead — keep lying to yourself that you don't feel a jolt of nostalgic excitement when you hear Bill Conti's legendary theme and see Sylvester Stallone back in the ring, facing odds as long as he is in the tooth.
Sly directs himself in this fifth sequel to 1976's "Rocky," this time battling reigning heavyweight champ Mason "The Line" Dixon, whom a computer simulation claims would have lost to Balboa in his prime.
<ro>5. "The Good Shepherd"
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Dec. 22; Rated R.
Matt Damon was one of the best things about one of the best films of the year thus far: Director Martin Scorsese's "The Departed." In the historical drama "The Good Shepherd," Damon's under the direction of Marty's boy Robert De Niro, playing a spy for what would eventually become the CIA. De Niro plays the man who recruits him, and Angelina Jolie plays his wife.
The cast alone makes this film worthy of attention; the fact that it's written by Eric Roth, whose previous works include labyrinthine triumphs like "Munich" and "The Insider," piques that interest.
<ro>6. "Flushed Away"
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Nov. 3; Rated: PG.
The CGI animation style in "Flushed Away" may remind you more of the classic clay animation style in "Wallace and Grommit" than the latest talking animal CGI fare. That’s because the same production company, Aardman Animations, made it — instead of their traditional animation style they used a program they developed which mimics the "imperfections" of clay animation. Their excuse for doing this is the amount of water in the film, which is incredibly hard to animate using clay, but it might just be that their hands got tired of moving the tiny clay figures.
<ro>7. "Fast Food Nation"
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Nov. 17; Rated: R.
How do you take a non-fiction book about the fast food industry — and its myriad of offensive business tactics and health issues — and make it into a fiction film about the fast food industry and its myriad of offensive business tactics and health issues. You hire Richard Linklater to write and direct, then you hire an ensemble cast that includes Greg Kinnear, Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette. The end result should be something like Linklater’s 1993 classic "Dazed and Confused," which captured the ideals of a generation in a humorous, plotless mishmash of stories and characters.
<ro>8. "The Pursuit of Happyness"
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Dec. 15; Rated PG-13.
The last time the Fresh Prince was trying to conquer an Academy Award, it was with a dead-on Muhammad Ali impression. With "The Pursuit of Happyness," Will Smith takes on a much more personal role: that of a father struggling to make a good life for his five-year-old son (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, Will's real-life child). By struggling, we mean the boy's mother leaving, terrible financial hardship, and the father and son being evicted from their apartment and forced to sleep in shelters, bus stations and bathrooms.
You know...Oscar stuff.
<ro>9. "Night at the Museum"
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Dec. 22; Rated PG-13.
The good news: any movie in which the exhibits in New York's Museum of Natural History come to life to terrorize a rent-a-cop on the graveyard shift has the potential for "Jumanji"-like special effects whimsy.
The bad news: the rent-a-cop is Ben Stiller playing Ben Stiller, and Robin Williams is starring as Theodore Roosevelt — appropriate when you consider Robin hasn't made a funny movie since construction on the Panama Canal was completed.
<ro>10. The Rest
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"Déjà Vu" (Nov. 22)
"Déjà vu" sees Denzel Washington hopping through time in order to solve a crime. Expect something good since Tony Scott is directing, and the last time he and Washington got together the incredibly underrated "Man on Fire" was the outcome.
"Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny" (Nov. 17)
Jack Black and Kyle Gass bring their comedic rock band to the big screen. But are the D funny when they aren’t singing?
"Stranger Than Fiction" (Nov. 10)
Will Ferrell takes a more serious turn in this comedy about a man whose life is being written as he lives it. Can Ferrell handle a character with a bit more depth than Ron Burgundy?
Babel (Nov. 3)
With "Oscar Buzz" practically screaming all over it, "Babel" will be getting its D.C. area premiere in November. While the film isn’t unanimously loved, it does wield some pretty big star power and a hot director.
F_ _k (TBA)
A documentary on the word, its history and use. Fill in the blanks (hint: it's not "fork").