BLUE JASMINE
The Skinny: Woody Allen’s latest is the story of the final stages of an acute crisis and a life of a fashionable New York housewife.
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Bobby Cannavale, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard and Michael Stuhlbarg
The Buzz: There is not much information about this story but if history is any indicator of recent success for Allen is the fact that his recent efforts have been mostly hit-or-miss. The good news is that Allen’s last two films have been critically-acclaimed, which means that this one will . . .
Opening: July 26
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LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED
The Skinny: A hairdresser who has lost her hair to cancer finds out her husband is having an affair, travels to Italy for her daughter’s wedding and meets a widower who still blames the world for the loss of his wife.
Starring: Pierce Brosnan and Trine Dyrholm
The Skinny: This story looks like a two-hour tourism ad for an Italian escape. Director Susanne Bier has cut her teeth making serious, difficult stories like Things We Lost in the Fire and In a Better World. Her latest effort once again appears to mine some difficult territory but has a lighter element – plus she’s got 007 as her love interest!
Opening: May 2
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THE EAST
The Skinny: An operative for an elite private intelligence firm finds her priorities irrevocably changed after she is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group known for executing covert attacks upon major corporations.
Starring: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård and Ellen Page
The Buzz: Director Zal Batmanglij and co-writer and star Marling went through some extreme depths to give their thriller a level of authenticity. Reportedly both principals spent two months with proponents of freeganism, which is a practice of “[eating] discarded food in their pursuit of a moneyless existence.” Hopefully all their sacrifices will not be in vain.
Opening: May 31
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THE KINGS OF SUMMER
The Skinny: Three teenage friends, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land.
Starring: Nick Offerman, Moises Arias and Nick Robinson
The Buzz: This unconventional coming-of-age story has summer sleeper all over it. The story’s message of rebellion, independence and self-reliance just feels like not only a message of our time but seems to be the attitude that is pervading the culture. This will not be the first film that catches a wave but our instincts indicate that this film may surprise.
Opening: May 31
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NOW YOU SEE ME
The Skinny: FBI agents track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo
The Buzz: By mixing The Incredible Burt Wonderstone with Prestige, you end up with this highly-evolved cinematic concept. It doesn’t hurt to reunite Batman Begins‘ Lucious Fox (Freeman) and Alfred (Caine) in a story that we could easily have seen Christopher Nolan helm. Terrific cast, intriguing concept and early buzz should be enough to separate this story from some of the summer titans.
Opening: May 31
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MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN
The Skinny: A pair of children, born within moments of India gaining independence from Britain, grow up in the country that is nothing like their parent’s generation.
Starring: Satya Bhabha, Shriya Saran, Siddharth Narayan, Anupam Kher, Shabana Azmi, Seema Biswas, Shahana Goswami, Samrat Chakrabarti, Rahul Bose, Soha Ali Khan, Anita Majumdar and Darsheel Safary
The Skinny: This film was a labor of love for both Director Deepa Mehta and author Salman Rushdie who’ve always wanted to work together. For such an elaborate film, the film was shot in only 69 days featuring Sri Lanka’s most original vintage cars and the best colonial type residencies in Colombo. Frequent collaborator Irrfan Khan was also forced to pull out due to conflicts with Life of Pi.
Opening: April 26
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UNFINISHED SONG
The Skinny: Grumpy pensioner Arthur honors his recently deceased wife’s passion for performing by joining the unconventional local choir to which she used to belong, a process that helps him build bridges with his estranged son, James.
Starring: Terence Stamp, Gemma Arterton, Christopher Eccleston and Vanessa Redgrave
The Skinny: This version of Quartet meets Calendar promises to be a tearjerker. The film was initially titled, A Song for Marion, when it was released in the UK but changed to the current title for it’s U.S. release. With the recent of success of elderly British comedies, it is hard to think that this sentimental story won’t find an audience this summer.
Opening: June 21
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THE BLING RING
The Skinny: Inspired by actual events, a group of fame-obsessed teenagers, Rebecca (the ringleader), Marc, Nicki, Sam and Chloe, known as the Bling Ring, use the Internet to track celebrities’ whereabouts in order to rob their homes. Victims included Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox, Rachel Bilson, Audrina Patridge, and Orlando Bloom.
Starring: Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Leslie Mann, Israel Broussard and Katie Chang
The Skinny: The stories of young vacuous people who aren’t willing to work for the American dream but would rather either steal it (Pain & Gain, Spring Breakers) or assume someone else’s identity (Identity Thief, Arthur Newman). Director Sophia Coppala’s story is just another brick in the continuing cinematic decline of facets of our society. The only upside to this disturbing trend is that they make GREAT movies!
Opening: June 14
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STORIES WE TELL
The Skinny: A film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.
Starring: Rebecca Jenkins
The Buzz: Kudos to actress and documentary filmmaker Sarah Polley, who was willing to expose her families dark, unknown secret to the general public for cinematic consumption. Despite what judgements that people may arrive at after seeing this jaw-dropping, yet humorous tale always remember there are skeletons in every family’s closet.
Opening: May 17
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VENUS AND SERENA
The Skinny: Ever since Venus and Serena Williams started playing in tennis tournaments, they’ve provoked strong reactions – from awe and admiration to suspicion and resentment. They’ve been winning championships for over a decade, pushing the limits of longevity in such a demanding sport. How long can they last? In Venus and Serena, we gain unprecedented access into their lives during the most intimidating year of their career. Over the course of 2011, Venus grappled with an energy-sapping autoimmune disease while Serena battled back from a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. Neither Venus nor Serena let their adversities hold them back. They drew their greatest strength from each other.
Starring: Venus Williams and Serena Williams
The Buzz: Funny to think that there is so much too learn about such public athletes such as the Williams sisters. Directors Maiken Baird and Michelle Major (Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer) have experience in digging for the truth and there are some wonderful nuggets that they will unearth with this documentary. Two Hall of Fame tennis stars raised in the same household, who would have thunk it?
Opening: May 10
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MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
The Skinny: A modern retelling of Shakespeare’s classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words.
Starring: Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Reed Diamond, Fran Kranz, Sean Maher, Spencer Treat Clark, Riki Lindhome and Ashley Johnson
The Buzz: One year after director Joss Whedon sent shock waves through Hollywood with his billion dollar baby, he is back with the anti-blockbuster with considerably less pressure. Reportedly, Whedon shot the film at his home, which was design and decorated by his wife in an astounding 12 days – while shooting The Avengers.
Opening: June 7
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