Low expectations

LITTLE ROCK — Honestly, the first quarter of any given year is not the most promising time for movies. While there are still plenty of awards-seeking little movies yet to make it to Arkansas theaters - Andrew Jarecki’s All Good Things, Mike Leigh’s Another Year and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Biutiful among them - most of the rest are, at best, middling pictures.

Usually it’s a sign of trouble if a studio shifts a highly anticipated movie (like, say, what happened with Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island earlier this year) from a late fall date to an after-New Year’s release. To do sois to concede that the film has little chance of picking up any awards-season accolades. And though awards have a relatively loose correlation with quality, if the studio thinks a film is problematic, it’s probably problematic.

That’s not to say that I hold out no hope for these films.

I have seen very enjoyable movies that opened in January and February. I’m just having a difficult time remembering what they were. But really, there’s some good stuff here. Somewhere.

Since release dates change all the time, there are no guarantees - express or implied - in the following projections.

JAN. 7

All Good Things - Documentarian Andrew Jarecki’s first feature is a based-on-fact examination of a notorious unsolved missing person’s case in New York - allegedly with some newly discovered facts. Critics have generally approved of the lead performances by Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst.

Country Strong - Gwyneth Paltrow goes more than a little bit country. She proved she could carry a tune in Duets and on Glee. It remains to be seen whether she can carry a movie.

Season of the Witch - A 14th-century Crusader (Nicolas Cage) transports an accused witch (Claire Foy) to a remote abbey.

JAN. 14

The Green Hornet - The long-awaited film finally shows up, and it’s directed not by Kevin Smith but by Michel Gondry. And it stars the formerly schlemiel-ish Seth Rogen as the title crime fighter. Could be a train wreck in 3-D, but I’m intrigued.

The Dilemma - Vince Vaughn has to decide whether to tell his best friend (Kevin James) that James’ wife (Winona Ryder) is having an affair. Sounds more like a quandary to me.

Barney’s Version - I love the Mordecai Richler novel that serves as the source material for Richard J. Lewis’ movie. And I love the casting - Paul Giamatti and Rosamund Pike. I don’t like that it didn’t come out in November. (And that it probably won’t make it to Arkansas until February or March.)

JAN. 21

The Company Men - A very solid film that’s not completely undone by a couple of preachy moments. I’m surprised that it didn’t (according to the Internet Movie Database) get an Oscar qualifying limited release in 2010. It features Ben Affleck’s best performance ever, plus solid turns from reliable pros Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper and Maria Bello.

No Strings Attached - Raunchy rom-com stars Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman as friends with benefits.

The Way Back - Old-fashioned World War II prisoner-of-war escape movie with Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris and Colin Farrell. Peter Weir directs. (Limited release - so look for it to open in Arkansas a bit later.)

JAN. 28

The Mechanic - Remake of the old Charles Bronson movie about an elite assassin (Jason Statham) who takes on an apprentice (Ben Foster). Cool poster.

The Rite - Director Mikael Hafstrom’s supernatural thriller about an American seminary student who travels to the Vatican for exorcism school.

Biutiful - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s lovely meditation on a dying man (Javier Bardem) atoning for his sins in Barcelona. One of my favorite movies of 2010 should show up in Arkansas around Feb. 11.

From Prada to Nada - Nobody ever taught these two spoiled sisters (Camilla Belle and Alexa Vega) how to live out on the street. And now they’re going have to get used to it.

FEB. 4

Sanctum - Really, you’re calling it Sanctum? Sanctum? James Cameron-produced 3-D thriller about divers trapped while exploring a labyrinthine undersea cave system. But Sanctum? You’re really calling it Sanctum?

The Roommate - College student Minka Kelly gets a bad roommate (Leighton Meester).

Frankie and Alice - Halle Berry has multiple personalities. One of them is an ugly racist. (In limited release.)

FEB. 11

Gnomeo and Juliet - Disney imagineers act out Romeo & Juliet with lawn art and the voices of James McAvoy, Emily Blunt and Maggie Smith.

Just Go With It - Adam Sandler arranges for Jennifer Aniston to pose as his soon-tobe ex-wife so he can impress Brooklyn Decker. Hilarious, I’m sure.

The Eagle - In ancient Rome, a soldier (Channing Tatum) embarks on a mission to find his father - a commander who disappeared in the mountains of Scotland 20 years before - and restore the old man’s reputation.

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never - Never. Never. Never never never!

Cedar Rapids - Miguel Arteta directs an offbeat comedy about an insurance salesman (Ed Helms) trying to save his colleagues’ jobs.

FEB. 18

I Am Number Four - Teenage aliens seek sanctuary on Earth, only to discover their nemesis is still on their trail.

Unknown - A doctor (Liam Neeson) comes out of a coma to discover that someone has usurped his identity.

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son - FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) goes undercover at an all-girls performing arts school. You see what I mean about first-quarter movies?

Happythankyoumoreplease - One of the favorites from 2010’s festival circuit gets a limited release.

FEB. 25

Drive Angry 3D - Says here Nic Cage breaks out of hell to try to stop the cult who killed his daughter from sacrificing his granddaughter. See my blog (address at the end) for the trailer.

Hall Pass - Bobby and Peter Farrelly’s latest stars Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis as two married guys allowed by their wives to embark on a week of consequence-free extramarital affairs.

MARCH 4

Rango - Johnny Depp as a motion-capture chameleon in the American West. Directed by Gore Verbinski. Trailer is fun.

The Adjustment Bureau - A politician (Matt Damon) has a thing for a ballerina (Emily Blunt) but (literal) agents of fate conspire to keep them apart. From a Philip K. Dick story.

Apollo 18 - There was life on the moon. The blogs are buzzing about this one.

Take Me Home Tonight - A recent college grad (Topher Grace) in 1988 pursues his dream girl over the course of a party weekend.

MARCH 11

Battle: Los Angeles - Like Skyline, only with real actors like Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez and Bridget Moynahan.

Jane Eyre - Mousy Jane (Mia Wasikowska) discovers her employer is hiding a secret.

Red Riding Hood - Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke re-imagines the fairy tale as a live action horror film. Cool? With Amanda Seyfried, Lukas Haas and Gary Oldman.

Mars Needs Moms - Animated comedy about a kid who appreciates his mother more after the Martians come for her.

MARCH 18

Limitless - A copywriter (Bradley Cooper) discovers a secret drug that makes him smarter and stronger.

The Lincoln Lawyer - Matthew McConaughey is a beat down Los Angeles defense attorney who operates out of his car. He gets a big case - it could destroy him.

Beastly - A New York teenager is cursed by Mary-Kate Olsen, made grotesque and banished to Brooklyn in this updating of Beauty and the Beast.

MARCH 25

Sucker Punch - Zack Snyder’s much-anticipated fantasy about a girl confined to a mental institution who develops an alternative reality. Mucho hype.

The Beaver - OK, Mel Gibson plays a guy who will only communicate via the beaver puppet he wears on his hand. And Jody Foster directed.

Win Win - Thomas (The Visitor) McCarthy’s new movie stars Paul Giamatti as a lawyer who moonlights as a highschool wrestling coach. He also assumes - for devious reasons - guardianship of an elderly man. Expect an interesting movie.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules - A sequel to 2010’s semi-animated kids movie. (Produced by former Little Rocker Bradford Simpson.)

Miral - Julian Schnabel’s latest was originally scheduled for December release, but lukewarm festival reception sent him back to the editing room. The fact-based story is about the Jerusalem orphanage established by Palestinian Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbass) in the wake of the 1967 Mideast War. (Limited release.) E-mail:

pmartin@arkansasonline.com blooddirtangels.com

MovieStyle, Pages 33 on 12/31/2010

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