BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) FLIGHT
Every so often Denzel Washington reminds us that he is Denzel Washington. He’ll make some weird action type of movies or some feel good stuff and then BAM! He busts out the dramatic chops that make him one of the best of all time. He brings a screen presence that is pretty much untouchable. In this movie he plays a commercial airline pilot who is faced with the feat of flying and landing a damaged plane carrying over hundred people. He is deemed a hero by the most of the world while being under scrutiny for things he did before the flight. On top of the fact that Denzel is getting a good juicy acting role there is plenty about this movie to take in. Robert Zemeckis is directing and the supporting cast includes Don Cheadle and John Goodman so we should expect this movie to not suck. I hope no one is expecting “Training Day 2” or anything, but this will most likely be a good one.
(THREE) THIS MUST BE THE PLACE
I thought this movie was going to come out a long time ago, but I guess not. Sean Penn is a 50 year old rock star who still dresses “goth”, but lives a quiet loner life. He stays in Dublin and just lives off his royalties and misery. He ends up going back to New York when his estranged father passes away. This leads to him taking a trip across America. The interesting thing here is how crazy and sad Penn looks. I can’t imagine any music fanatic not instantly thinking about Ozzy or Robert Smith. It’s an artsy independent movie where Sean Penn wears eyeliner as the camera slowly eats up pretentious scenery shots. I’m all for that.
(TWO) HYDE PARK ON HUDSON
Bill Murray is playing President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Holy shit! That is awesome. I’ll only get interested in a period piece like this every so often. I really dug “The King’s Speech”, but a lot has passed since then. In this movie FDR and Eleanor are hosting the King and Queen of England at the Roosevelt home in Hyde Park. It’s 1939 so Britain is heading to war with Germany. They want FDR’s backing so that leads to another aspect to the first reigning monarch visit to America. There is family drama and hijinks going on as well to add an extra layer of interest. To be honest, I don’t want to know that much about this. I just want to see Bill Murray do what he does. That on its own is always worth the price of admission.
(ONE) LINCOLN
Shut up world! Daniel Day-Lewis is acting! Daniel Day-Lewis is easily one of the best actors of all time. He transforms himself in every role I’ve seen him in. He’s a true artist and makes any good movie great. A Steven Spielberg directed bio-pic of America’s 16th President Abraham Lincoln is going to be great. We know this because Spielberg doesn’t mess around with shitty movies and who doesn’t love Abraham Lincoln? I’d watch that movie if “The Situation” was cast as Honest Abe. Thankfully I don’t have to prove my honesty and they cast Daniel Day-Lewis instead. Then we sprinkle in the rest of the cast made up of Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook and Tommy Lee Jones. It’s an all-star cast, all-star director, and an all-star story subject. It’s not too big of a shocking prediction, but this movie is obviously going to clean up come award season.
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