Two types of motion pictures will be released between now and the end of the year: the big-budget, famous-face-laced, holiday movie, and the seriously funny or pensive Oscar contender that is not a movie but a film.
Sure, the two genres will cross - think 2006's The Departed - but for the most part, for every No Country for Old Men (a film by the Coen Brothers already receiving Oscar hype) there will be a National Treasure: Book of Secrets (produced by Mr. Blockbuster, Jerry Bruckheimer).
So what causes the clash between art and popcorn? To be eligible for the 80th Academy Awards ceremony held Feb. 24, 2008, a film must be released in Los Angeles before midnight on Dec. 31. Certain Oscar contenders already have been released (Into the Wild, In The Valley of Elah and Eastern Promises to name three), but the real push by studios is in the last two months of the year. On the other hand, movie studios know that millions of children are home for the holidays, and whole clans of families, tired of being nice to relatives, flood theaters around Thanksgiving and Christmas for a little release in the form of a movie.
So, with the slew of movies and films being released in the next 62 days, Sync attempts to separate the wheat from the chaff, showcasing the blockbuster movies from the Oscar-worthy films.
Release Dates (Certain films will have limited releases before slowly drifting into Little Rock theaters.)
Nov. 2
Movie: Bee Movie
Genre: Animated/Comedy
Cast: Voices of Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Matthew Broderick
Plot Summary: Jerry Seinfeld makes his return to the big time as an animated bee who discovers the honey created by bees is consumed by humans, so he decides to sue.
Movie, Film or Crossover? Definitely a movie, but should be worth it just because it is Jerry Seinfeld.
Movie: American Gangster
Genre: Crime drama
Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Plot Summary: The story of Frank Lucas, who rose to fame as a heroin dealer in Harlem in the '70s, and the pursuit of Lucas by police detective Richie Roberts.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Crossover. With Washington and Crowe, and direction by Ridley Scott, American Gangster has the makings of a serious film that resembles a movie. A Best Picture contender.
Movie: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Limited)
Genre: Drama
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney
Plot Summary: Two brothers - desperate for money - decide to rob a jewelry store that is operated by their mother and father.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Film. If anyone knows how to direct a serious film that is actually entertaining, it's Lumet, the director of the '70s classics Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon and Network, who hasn't lost his touch at 83. Both Hawke and Hoffman could find their names in the Oscar pool.
Nov. 9
Movie: Lions for Lambs
Genre: Drama
Cast: Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford
Plot Summary: A group of divergent individuals are drawn together following American soldiers being injured in Afghanistan.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Crossover. It's directed by and stars Redford, but also includes Cruise and the fabulous Streep, who is an Oscar favorite.
Movie: Fred Claus
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Elizabeth Banks
Plot Summary: Santa's little brother moves back to the North Pole and hilarity ensues.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Movie, but it's by the director of Wedding Crashers and stars the always lovable Vaughn and Giamatti.
Movie: No Country for Old Men (Limited)
Genre: Crime drama
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin
Plot Summary: Based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, three lives collide in west Texas over $2 million in drug money.
Movie, Film or Crossover: A film that should evolve into a crossover. Directed by the Coen Brothers, No Country ... is closer to their darker side (Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing) than their lighter side. A sure Best Picture contender while cast members should get multiple nods for Oscars.
Nov. 16
Movie: Beowulf
Genre: Animation/Fantasy/Drama
Cast: Ray Winstone, Crispin Glover, Angelina Jolie
Plot Summary: It's based on the epic poem, so you should know what it's about.
Movie, Film or Crossover: It's a movie that tries to paint itself as a film. Director Robert Zemeckis is Hollywood's best at cloaking his movies as films.
Movie: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
Genre: Children's fantasy
Cast: Natalie Portman, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Bateman
Plot Summary: A manager of a strange toy store must fight off darker forces when she is made owner.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Movie.
Movie: Southland Tales (Limited)
Genre: Drama/Comedy/Sci-Fi
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott
Plot Summary: Three lives converge in Los Angeles over a Fourth of July weekend, after a nuclear attack on Texas three years earlier has turned America into a police state.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Film. Directed by Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko), the production of Southland Tales has taken many twist and turns since it was loathed by many at Cannes in 2006.
Nov. 21/23
Movie: Enchanted
Genre: Family/Adventure/Romance
Cast: Amy Adams, Susan Sarandon, James Marsden
Plot Summary: A fairy tale princess is thrust into modern-day New York City by an evil queen.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Movie. This is the movie millions of children and their parents will go see the day after Thanksgiving.
Movie: Hitman
Genre: Action
Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Dougray Scott, Olga Kurylenko
Plot Summary: A hit man is chased by Interpol and the Russian military as he kills his targets.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Movie. Don't think too hard; just watch the bullets fly.
Movie: August Rush
Genre: Drama
Cast: Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Plot Summary: A musical prodigy searches for his birth parents.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Movie, but bring the tissues.
Nov. 30
Movie: Awake
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Cast: Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Lena Olin
Plot Summary: A man undergoing open heart surgery finds himself alert and awake, but unable to tell the doctors.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Movie. Come on, it stars Jessica Alba!
Movie: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Limited)
Genre: Drama
Cast: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josee Croze
Plot Summary: The true story of Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who is completely paralyzed by a stroke but uses his left eye to blink out his memoir and the torment of being trapped in an unresponsive body.
Movie, Film or Crossover: It's French so it's a film, but cast members might garner Oscar nominations as well.
Movie: The Savages (Limited)
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Cast: Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco
Plot Summary: Two siblings face life and their relationship head-on as they care for their ailing father.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Film.
Dec. 7
Movie: The Golden Compass
Genre: Action/Fantasy
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards
Plot Summary: Based on the Philip Pullman novel, the story of a young girl in a parallel universe who must save her friends from a secret organization.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Movie, and another children's movie for the holidays.
Movie: Atonement
Genre: Drama/Romance
Cast: Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Brenda Blethyn
Plot Summary: Based on a British romance novel, a man is convicted of a crime he did not commit and forced into combat during World War I, staying alive to return to his love.
Movie, Film or Crossover: It's an epic so it's a film, and another Best Picture contender.
Movie: Grace is Gone (Limited)
Genre: Drama
Cast: John Cusack, Shelan O'Keefe, Gracie Bednarczyk
Plot Summary: A man's wife is killed in Iraq, so he takes his two children on a road trip to find a way to tell them their mother is dead.
Movie, Film or Crossover: A film: It's by the Weinstein Company. But Cusack might get mentioned for a Oscar.
Dec. 14
Movie: Alvin and the Chipmunks
Genre: Family/Comedy
Cast: Jason Lee, Ross Bagdasarian Jr., Janice Karman
Plot Summary: You know what the Chipmunks are about.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Grab some popcorn and watch the trailer. This is definitely a movie.
Movie: I Am Legend
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Cast: Will Smith, Paradox Pollack, Sterling Wolfe
Plot Summary: New York City has turned into a world of zombies after a biological attack, and Robert Neville is the last man standing.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Movie, and even though it stars Will Smith, it is directed by Francis Lawrence, who once directed Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears videos.
Movie: The Kite Runner (Limited)
Genre: Drama
Cast: Khalid Abdalla, Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada
Plot Summary: Based on The New York Times best-seller, a native Afghan returns to his country after two decades to search for a childhood friend.
Movie, Film or Crossover: A film desperately hoping to crossover and garner Oscar nods.
Dec. 21
Movie: National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Genre: Action
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha
Plot Summary: Benjamin Franklin Gates returns to track down John Wilkes Booth's diary and stop a new worldwide conspiracy.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Did you even read the introduction?
Movie: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Genre: Comedy
Cast: John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, David Krumholtz
Plot Summary: A spoof of the recent music biopics, focusing on the musical legend Dewey Cox.
Movie, Film or Crossover: A movie, but co-written by Judd Apatow and starring Reilly.
Movie: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Limited)
Genre: Musical/Thiller
Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman
Plot Summary: The story of Sweeney Todd, a serial killing barber who might have existed during 19th century England.
Movie, Film or Crossover: A film that might be weird and entertaining enough to be a crossover. It is directed by the also weird Tim Burton. Depp might be good enough for another Oscar nod.
Dec. 25
Movie: Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem
Genre: Sci-Fi/Horror
Cast: Reiko Aylesworth, Steven Pasquale, Shareeka Epps
Plot Summary: Aliens and Predators fight it out.
Movie, Film or Crossover: The very definition of a movie. Plus, it's a sequel that is not The Godfather II.
Movie: Charlie Wilson's War
Genre: Action/Drama
Cast: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Plot Summary: The true story of Texas congressman Charlie Wilson who - along with the CIA - helped arm the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union.
Movie, Film or Crossover: A crossover, plus Mike Nichols directs so an Oscar nomination could be due.
Movie: The Bucket List (Limited)
Genre: Adventure/Comedy
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes
Plot Summary: Two men dying of cancer set off on an adventure to cross items off a Things to Do Before I Die list.
Movie, Film or Crossover: Starring Nicholson and Freeman, it has crossover written all over it ... and Oscar.
Dec. 28
Movie: There Will Be Blood (Limited)
Genre: Drama
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor
Plot Summary: The story of an oil prospector in early 20th century Texas.
Movie, Film or Crossover: A film. Why? It's being screened only in Los Angeles and New York before the end of the year to qualify for the Oscars and is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, one of the best directors walking the earth.