Hereafter

At the end of January (28th january) legendary actro/director Clint Eastwood will release a movie that battles with death, the afterlife and the supernatural. This is certainly a new direction for Eastwood, but he has recruited favourite Matt Damon (who he worked on Invicitus with) to help him through the transition. LWith a screen play by the writer of ‘The Queen’ and ‘Frost/Nixon’ this has the potential to be an insightful and moving film.

Tangled

It is January, all the great winter celebrations are over and there is little to look forward to in the coming months but dropping temperatures and light daylight. In this dark time we can be thankful that Disney has decided to release its new film ‘Tangled’ on 28th January. As with their last motion picture Disney is sticking with the princess theme that it does so well and also reinventing an old story, this time it is Rapunzel. There will be singing and dancing, leading men and ladies and of course the clever animal companies. As with ‘Princess and the Frog’ and ‘Enchanted’ this film seems to make light of the golden age Disney mantra of air headed princesses who need to be saved and having this all in animated 3D will likely make it one of the most beautiful Disney films to date.

It’s Kind Of A Funny Story

Released soon in January (7th to be more precise) this looks like a real heart warming film. Adapted from the book of the same name it follows 15 year-old Craig Gilner as he spends some time in hospital to deal with his depression. With Zach Galifianakis playing his usual absurd role, but with a lot more heart we could see the actor that was promised after ‘The Hangover’. The film also has the young stars Kier Gilchrist ( from the US show ‘The United States of Tara) and Emma Roberts (from ‘The Wild Child’) who both seem, at least from the adverts, to really pull their weight.

The Queen 2-Back in the crown?

Well this is more of a prequel than a sequel, but the joke still stands-come the 7th January 2011 there will be another film based on the royal family and their effect on the country.

The film is set during the Second World War, during the reign of George VI (Colin Firth). Due to the adbication of his brother the king has only recently come to the position he was never meant to have. As his country goes to war he must be the voice of the nation and so he must also get rid of the stammer that has plagued him all his life; for that his wife, Queen Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), better known as the Queen’s mum, send him to speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush). ‘The Queen’ got Dame Helen Mirren her only academy award so hopefully this will do the same for Colin Firth.

127 Hours

After the Oscar, critic and box office acclaimed success of his last film, Slumdog director Danny Boyle’s  new project has a lot to live up to. Fortunately ‘127 hours’ certainly looks on paper as if it will. With James Franco as the leading role and critics at the Toronto Film Festival giving it great write ups, the biopic of Aron Ralston’s remarkable adventure certainly seems to be on its way to more Oscar gold. The movie will show the life changing 5 days of Ralston after a falling boulder crushes his arm and leaves him trapped and isolated in a canyon. The Uk release date is January 7th 2011.

Never Let Me Go

The film is based on the highly acclaimed novel ‘Never Let Me Go’ by Kuzuo Ishiguro and is set in the english countryside, at a boarding school called  Hailsham. The children at the school are called ‘special’ and kept on a very strict routine. They are given all the food they need, clothes to wear and friends to play with, but they are forbidden to leave the grounds. This all strangely changes when they reach 18 and have given their ‘3rd donation’. This baffling ritual, as well as the feel that the kids are being bred for something, shows the film has more to it than originally meets the eye. The film has gotten great reviews from critics at many film festivals, including the one in Toronto.

The three central characters are Tommy, Ruth and Kathy who are played by Andrew Garfield, Kiera Knightley and Carey Mulligan. It is exciting to see the love triangle that will form between them and also to witness the rising of two new stars. Both Mulligan and Garfield have shown their acting talents in previous films and I can’t wait to see them sink their teeth into these ones. Is also great to see Knightley  doing what I think really shows off her talent by taking part in a gritty drama, such as she did in ‘Atonement’ and ‘The Hole’.  I am greatly anticipating the release of this film in January 2011.

Here is an extra feature; an interview with Keira Knightley on her character Ruth and her dynamic within the film.