With the announcement from CCI about Marvel’s Phase 2 of movies, the Thor sequel was kind of left in the dust behind some of the more enticing movies Marvel was planning. Captain America dropped the Winter Soldier bomb, along with the announcements of Ant Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy, so it’s pretty easy for Thor to get left behind.
But out of all the announcements, Thor: The Dark World is still left with the most mystery. We know which characters are coming back (pretty much all of them), and we know a villain will be Malekith the Accursed, played by Christopher Eccleston. What we don’t know is what the title references, general story ideas, or anything else really. Sure there is a lot of speculation out there, but the only concrete thing we know right now is that they are currently filming in Bourne Wood, England and have started constructing some sets.
So it’s time once again for next year’s Oscar class to begin the long journey off palm-pressing and baby-kissing in order to get enough critical swagger to garner a nomination. Cannes film festival has kicked off and Movie Drawer has tipped us off to some of the early front-runners. Let’s dissect:
On The Road
This adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s generation defining novel looks like it will definitely be a serious contender. It has the right mix of young stars like Tron 2.0‘s Garret Hedlund, a four-language speaking indie Director in Walter Salles, veteran character actors like Terrance Howard, Viggo Mortensen, Steve Buscemi and of course the all important period element, see old cars and Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss. I’m excited to see this movie as it’s one I can get away with on date night but will still have all the sex drugs and rock and roll you can handle. The biggest problem I see is Kristen Stewart. I applaud her for broadening her horizons and early reports are that she does a fine job but unfortunately like the Manning’s of the NFL she will always have the “Stewart Face” no matter how well she does.
Next up is another period piece based on a novel…
Lawless
Lawless used to be called “The Wettest County in the World” which was the name of the novel that it is based on but it got Hollywooded up a bit on the way as the producers quickly realized they needed a name that captured the violence of the story and that people would easily remember. This has another great ensemble cast including Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy who will be the hottest thing since sliced toast after The Dark Knight Rises and Guy Pearce who has begun to relish the bad guy role. The only potential stick in the spoke is the lead character being played by Shia LaBeouf. I don’t have anything against Shia personally but I don’t know if he has the depth needed to play a complicated tough guy like Jack Bondurant. Either way I’ve been excited for this movie to drop for a long time now.
Well you can forget about this next one as an Oscar nominee unless it’s in the foreign category because it’s so very French.
Laurence Anyways
Here is the modern tale of a cross-dressing man who wants to become a woman. I guess the twist is that he is in a heterosexual relationship but is still trying to become a woman. It looks pretty compelling and for the lead actor’s sake it’s too bad that it isn’t an American film because cross-dressing drama is Oscar Gold stateside.
Another French film has been garnering a lot of buzz apparently…
Amour
I guess this is on of those cases of “you gotta be there to see it” as the trailer doesn’t give away a whole lot except that it’s about aging relationships and the sanity of a crotchety old man.
One more foreign film being heralded as “Scotland’s Full Monty”…
The Angel’s Share
No subtitles on this one but you might need them as the scotch accent is thicker than the guy who tries to sell you the lawn seed. This seems like the classic feel good story of a neer-do-well that does good against the forces of classism. You may remember Director Ken Loach from such films as… well you porbably won’t remember Ken Loach from anything you’ve seen unless you are into the indie circuit but he is a talented and accomplished filmmaker who has surely produced a gem here.
That’s the early rub from Cannes so pick up your wine glasses, turn on your public radio and look forward to enjoying these “indie” films in your local art house not too long from now.
The role that Hugh Jackman, Johnny Depp and Viggo Mortensen all passed on has now been claimed by the Mighty Thor – Chris Hemsworth. He will star in Snow White and the Huntsman along with Kristen Stewart.
Hemsworth will of course play said Huntsman and Stewart will play perhaps the ugliest Snow White there could have ever been. She has the face of a rodent and I stand by that claim no matter what anyone says. So don’t anyone challenge me on it. Here is a plot synopsis, which of course could be completely different by the time a trailer is released:
An updated take on the Brothers Grimm tale, “Snow White and the Huntsman” follows Snow White (Kristen Stewart) after The Evil Queen (Charlize Theron) calls upon The Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), to try to kill her. The Huntsman, who is haunted by the death of his wife by a white wolf, goes off to kill the innocent princess but then has a change of heart. He decides to mentor her and teach her to fight off The Evil Queen, thus turning her into a legendary heroine. –MovieNewz
I’m not sure what to make of this movie at all, but I can’t blame Hemsworth for taking the role. After Thor he’s going to be all over the place. He’s already set to star in Joss Whedon’sCabin in the Woods and of course theAvengers. He is also starring in the remake of Red Dawn (filmed locally) which has already completed filming. The sky is the limit for this guy.
It would appear Viggo Mortensen is out of the running to play Zod, because Michael Shannon of recent Boardwalk Empire fame, has landed the job to portray the baddest Kryptonian of all. According to a report from Yahoo!, Director Zack Snyder had this to say of Zod and Michael Shannon:
“Zod is not only one of Superman’s most formidable enemies, but one of the most significant because he has insights into Superman that others don’t,” Snyder said in a statement to Deadline, which was first to report the superhero casting news. “Michael is a powerful actor who can project both the intelligence and the malice of the character, making him perfect for the role.”
Michael Shannon, who is also an Academy Award nominee for his turn in Revolutionary Road, can definitely play a sinister role. His character Nelson Van Alden in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire is calm and collected, but prone to outbursts of rage from time to time. It would seem with Shannon’s addition to the cast of Superman: Man of Steel, they have an all star lineup going. Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Amy Adams and Henry Cavill round out the rest of the cast of the Man of Steel. Now the only thing to wait on is the casting of all the minor roles for the movie, assuming they’ll cast Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. And who could forget Zod’s cuddly Kryptonian minions Ursa and Non. I vote for the WWE’s Kane to fill the role of Non if he is in the movie!
Non and Kane Comparison
So what say you, the reader about this most recent Man of Steel casting selection? Yay or Nay? Unleash your fury in the comments section below!
Grizzly Bomb 