TOP 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2006 - A LIST Thread

[NEON MERCURY]

inland empire:  this is what being a film buff is all about...the announcement of the new film by your favorite director...going through all the pre-release hype then finally seeing the finished product on the screen...cant wait to pick apart another mystery about "a woman in trouble"....i was watching eraserhead the other day and while looking through the booklet about the screenplay... its pretty damn astounding reading the beginning of the screenplay and seeing what lynch imagines and brings it to life...alot of his writing is simplistic [imo] but the ways he transforms this words to images and sound is why he is the fucking shit....that shit comes from deep man...i cant wait till he legitimizes the dv medium...i cant wait to see new imagery from him...i wonder if angelo has anything left in him to rival the mulholland dr. "love theme"...i cant wait to see theroux achieve cult star status and irons back from the dead...go back again and read mod's first post..

the fountain:  after years of buildup we finally get to see it...although lynch is my fav-aronofsky planted the seed into my brain that "hey, maybe i can direct films too"...although i know i will not be a filmmaker.... in my spare time i watch pi and requiem and i get all motivated again....i am curious to see how darren silences his critics who say his two flaws are.....1.]gimmicky camera tricks....and...2.]bad/poorly written/no character development....this film should shut those fuckers up...from what we know-gone are the flashy shit and here comes a story/script dealing with life, death, and the afterlife....if he pulls this off and i know we are all rooting for him...then the Kubrick comparisons are justified...plus libatique and a fresh new score...

hostel:  from david lynch's protege to tarantino's bitch....i still love cabin fever and think its the best horror/comedy film...[imo] it shits on the evil dead series.....and this fucking film looks gruesome..i've seen clips on the net...seen the alternate trailers...and read shit....i hope it lives up to my hype...i dont ask for much either...

world trade center:  this is a big one...i hope stone does this jfk style...gimme some mythos, conspiracy, and do it tasteful for the victims and their families....and do America justice oliver...if done right this should be the Oscar's best pic....and i never doubted stone...fuck...i thought alexander was great....[nice new banner]........

miami vice:  love the show..i am tearing up those dvds...the 80's nostalgia is incredible...i still get chills during the pilot when sonny and tubbs are cruising at night to "in the air tonight"...i am fucking so happy that michael mann is behind this..he was the stylistic force for the tv show..so why not direct the film...and the tv show creator yerkovich is producing...so, we are all family ...i like colin as sonny....but i hate Jamie fox...i wish they casted some no name...but i hope its slick as hell..mann does this shit so right..and i always thought he's underrated....go back and watch mohicans, heat, and insider..

apacolypto:  wow!, riggs made my must list...after watching passion...he single handedly devastated me, and renewed, and empowered my faith..i owe him first in line day 1....plus..i like the comparisons of the picture being of a little bit of malick w/ a little bit of aronofsky....

babel:amores perros, 21 grams....even though douche pitt is  in it...innaritu deserves/[has earned] me there...

da vinci code:  history does repeat itself....few years back howard's beautiful mind...lynch's mulholland dr....both directors received oscar noms and howard walks away w/ the trophy...now, here we are again....i really like th cast.....awesome trailer....the story should work as a great film..and i finally get to see amelie speaky english...

a scanner darkly:  this just looks cool....but i still dont know why people put keanu "whoa!" reeves in films..maybe linklater can do what no other director could...make him act believable

zodiac:  downey and ruffalo..dont give a shit about jake..but fincher back to serial killer material....word

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Hot Fuzz and Hail Caesar are still in pre-production so I'm not sure if there's any way they can be out this year.  if they are put Hot Fuzz at #4 and Hail Caesar at #10 on my list. 

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

1. V for Vendetta.  I'm not thrilled about the direction, I guess I'm just anxious to see what happened to one of my favorite graphic novels.  Sin City had the same effect (and turned out rather well).  If this isn't a direct translation of book to screen, it has very low chances of not fucking it up entirely.  This is #1 on my must see list simply because the wait is killing me.

2. Inland Empire. Have you guys heard of this yet?  Lynch's new film.  Looks good.

3. A Scanner Darkly. I'm curious to find out if Rotoscope is more than a one trick pony in a feature length film.

4. The Fountain. I loved Pi and Requiem, but they followed a very similar technique.  I want to find out if Aronofsky can handle more aspects of directing than stylized eye candy.  They were both great films, but I hope he doesn't apply this to all his films and it gets played out.

5. Thank You For Smoking. It's been a while since I've seen a good comedy, and this sounds like it just might be it.

6. Bubble. I follow Soderbergh as much as I can and am yet to really be let down.  (Ocean's 12 wasn't great, but otherwise very consistent.

7. Science of Sleep. Gondry is one of the most imaginative directors out there.  I'm excited to see what he'll do with what he's written.

8. Tideland. I've only heard bad things about the Brothers Grimm, but since Garam just compared this to Brazil, I have to see it.  Thanks a lot.

9. Zodiac.  Sounds a lot like Se7en, but no matter how many times I've seen it, it still creeps me out a little.

10. Oliver Stone (9/11). Very off and on for me.  His pieces on recent conspiracies or untold stories usually seem to be my favorite of his.  JFK, Nixon, The Doors, Platoon... and my favorite which doesn't fit those two categories Natural Born Killers.  Since my favorite of his movies seem to be those that uncover hidden meanings (with credence or not) this one looks like a winner to me.

[killafilm]

4. The Fountain. I loved Pi and Requiem, but they followed a very similar technique.  I want to find out if Aronofsky can handle more aspects of directing than stylized eye candy.  They were both great films, but I hope he doesn't apply this to all his films and it gets played out.

From what AICN and other websites were reporting back in late summer, it sounds like Aronofsky has left his visual "tricks" behind for this film.  In interviews he was all about doing what works best for the story. 

[ono]

In interviews he was all about doing what works best for the story.

Zzzzz...

Elaborate on that buzzsawin'?  Sure.  Aronofsky was one director filmmaker who got it.  He was making films that did more than just tell a story, and has seemingly bowed to some sort of perceived criticism that his visual trickery is just that.  But it's more.  And if he cops out, pulls back, and does without all that style in The Fountain, we'll be left with just-another-storytellin' film.  He knows film is more than that.  I was anticipating great things from The Fountain, and still am, but his desires to "grow up" are admirable yet misplaced.

Inland Empire - Because Lynch can't tell a story to save his life (not that that's even important all the time, mind you), but he sure knows how to make films that are works of art.  Here's hoping he'll eschew some of the obfuscation that plagued Mulholland Drive.

Science of Sleep, V For Vendetta - Just because their premises sound extremely promising.

Southland Tales - Because Richard Kelly is either the next Aronofsky (closest comparison I can think of) or the next Ratner, and this one will let us know which it is.

Cars - Pixar.  That's my reason.  That's all that's needed.  One word.

The Black Dahlia - DePalma + Johansson =

All The King's Men - Sean Penn + Robert Penn Warren = Well, I'm intrigued.  The book said so much.  Will the movie be able to encapsulate it?  No, but still, there's hope when Penn's involved.

[cron]

ono, since when did you become a story hater?
it makes no sense at all.

[ono]

Not a hater, but I just don't see it as some holy grail.  I realized film is capable of much more than telling a story.  Given it a lot of thought.  Most filmmakers who think this way are theorists who have little to show for it yet.  You told me yourself Tulse Luper was one of the most important films you've ever seen.  Whether it's great still remains to be seen.  Worth a look?  Definitely.  Greenaway is one of the biggest advocates of this philosophy.  I'm not a fan of most of his work, but am a great admirer of how he approaches it.  ZOO is decent, and Tulse is his best attempt by far (of what I've had a chance to see).  He's said if you want a story, read a book.  I'd have to agree.  Film is still a young medium with much yet to be discovered, and it's too limiting to insist that a story be told for a film to be a worthwhile endeavor.  I'm more interested in character and in juxtaposition of images and sound to evoke feeling.  That's more powerful than any straightforward story, and more challenging a task to take on.

All stories have already been told.  What it comes down to is a matter of "how."  That's why most films that just tell a story are uninteresting, and the ones that break the mold (Kaufman's work comes to mind), have to be careful.  He forged new paths, and you can see the evolution of his work, from Malkovich (a mess by the end), Adaptation. (a mess by the end), Eternal Sunshine (brilliantly written, yet directed coldly [and I will elaborate on what this means if needed], leaving it lacking that extra umph).  This is why Kaufman is of such value to the film industry.  He's shaken up the very idea of "story."  Diaz, though a bit of a ditz, said one smart thing (on Malkovich), though who knows if someone told her to say it: "it's been said that in Hollywood there are only 14 different scripts. Well, this is number 15."

[modage]

that was like a very coherent GT post.

[cron]

Since I realized film is capable of much more than telling a story.  Given it a lot of thought.  Most filmmakers who think this way are theorists who have little to show for it yet.  You told me yourself Tulse Luper was one of the most important films you've ever seen.  Whether it's great still remains to be seen.  Worth a look?  Definitely.  Greenaway is one of the biggest advocates of this philosophy.  I'm not a fan of most of his work, but am a great admirer of how he approaches it.  ZOO is decent, and Tulse is his best attempt by far (of what I've had a chance to see).  He's said if you want a story, read a book.  I'd have to agree.  Film is still a young medium with much yet to be discovered, and it's too limiting to insist that a story be told for a film to be a worthwhile endeavor.  I'm more interested in character and in juxtaposition of images and sound to evoke feeling.  That's more powerful than any straightforward story, and more challenging a task to take on.

All stories have already been told.  What it comes down to is a matter of "how."  That's why most films that just tell a story are uninteresting, and the ones that break the mold (Kaufman's work comes to mind), have to be careful.  He forged new paths, and you can see the evolution of his work, from Malkovich (a mess by the end), Adaptation. (a mess by the end), Eternal Sunshine (brilliantly written, yet directed coldly [and I will elaborate on what this means if needed], leaving it lacking that extra umph).  This is why Kaufman is of such value to the film industry.  He's shaken up the very idea of "story."  Diaz, though a bit of a ditz, said one smart thing (on Malkovich), though who knows if someone told her to say it: "it's been said that in Hollywood there are only 14 different scripts. Well, this is number 15."

peter greenaway can go to hell. i'm also a big big fan, but he has to eat his own words when you watch his films, even the narrator of the tulse luper suitcases acknowledges the fact that the trilogy is a story that can be told 'as a series of narrative episodes'.i don't mean to sound arrogant but i've been where you are about disdaining the story thing, and unless you're working plastic , it won't take you anywhere. what you say about juxtaposition of images, well, there's always great documentaries about nature, you know. and i'm not being sarcastic. see stuff by filmmakers like richard copans, paris garcia. and the fact that you implicitly talk about lynch as a member of the story haters club makes no sense, he has said stuff about moving from paintings to films because the canvas had not enough space for his ideas. and it's not an isolated thing cos all the masters talk like that. chris cunningham said it best when it was easy for him to do some abstract bullshit film as a first feature but he really does love stories, that's a quote.  why not  just read the vendetta grovel instead of watching the film, then ? and aronofsky will rape our butts this year, all of them.

[ono]

Never said Lynch was a story hater.  Said he can't tell a story well, and doesn't care to, which may be a boon for him, though it disappoints a lot of people.  Blue Velvet was a pretty mess, Lost Highway had some great ideas and imagery but didn't quite come together.  I hated Mulholland Drive when I first saw it, but my recent post in that thread explains where I stand on it now.

As for the "I've been where you are..." we'll see.  I could continue to hate on every film that is too caught up in its story, its plot, or I could offer solutions.  That's a big undertaking, one I am also giving a lot of thought to.  Most people here will agree that it's tiresome to predict where a film will go, that the three-act structure itself is tired, that they like to be surprised, that a series of episodes has much more potential to be effective and moving.  Hence, Magnolia.

Funny you mention documentaries about nature.  Some of those are more moving than films that try to pull at the heartstrings.  I'd rather watch Winged Migration, Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, or Rivers and Tides than Crash any day.

Also... "vendetta grovel?"  That s'posed to be graphic novel or something?

[pete]

how can you say that wild parrots of telegraph has no story?  you mean you hate studio narratives with contrived arcs and strucutres?  rivers and tides had a ton of storytelling--they weren't merely just images, each installation displayed the motivation, inspiration, the process, and the decomposition of his art.  winged migration, too, captured events over time, as the crew followed the journey of the birds in attempts to make their plights intriguing and accessible to humans.  I mean, unless you're talking about loving only films by Jon Jost and Stan Brackage and those "lyrical" experimental filmmakers, it's kinda silly to call documentaries "anti-stories".  I do think Hollywood's idea of "story" is severely narrow-minded, but that doesn't mean good non-Hollywood movies are storyless.

[ono]

I didn't say it had no story.  I said I'd rather watch it than Crash.  I said before that yes, I hate contrived arcs and structures.  Said it both here and in another thread a long time ago.  I said above I don't hate story.  I just don't think it's a holy grail, and that's why these other films I mention are so refreshing.  They're episodic, so you have no clue where they're going, no real clue when they're going to be over, and that's why it's so easy to get sucked in and enjoy them.

[Pubrick]

that was like a very coherent GT post.

without the substance.

despite GT's occasional lack of coherence and overwording, what i like about his posts is he talks as if people know something. he doesn't offer hackneyed  gems like this..

All stories have already been told.  What it comes down to is a matter of "how."

that's deep man.

ono's coherence must be why all his replies on the previous page were to clarify what he originally meant. i still have no idea what he means when he says Lost Highway "didn't quite come together", does he mean like a series of abstract ideas forming a rich tapestry of emotion, mood, and psychological intrigue? or does he mean like a 'story' (which he doesn't approve of anyway)?

he may well have solid ideas in his mind but he's not putting them in writing, he just decorates the space around them with vague indications of what he probably means. hence the neverending clarifications.. "i didn't say it didn't quite come together"

[killafilm]

I'll add:

The Children of Men

In 2027, as humankind faces the likelihood of its own extinction, a disillusioned government agent agrees to help transport and protect a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea where her child's birth may help scientists to save the future of mankind.

From Alfonso Cuarón with Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, and  Sir Michael Caine.

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julianne moore is on a pretty irrelevant streak, so i hope this is, like, a good movie.