About
a month ago, we looked at the big movies premiering in October. Early October
saw the release of Ridley Scott’s surprisingly good The Martian. The Matt Damon starring film has led the box office
every weekend this month. The Stephen Spielberg-Tom Hanks collaboration Bridge of Spies was the biggest Oscar
bait of the month, with the famed duo reuniting, this time for an exploration
of the Cold War. The upcoming month of November is looking especially thin in
the film release department. On the one hand, there are two blockbuster
franchises that are either ending or perhaps ending their current iteration. On
the other, two needless extensions into well trodden cinematic territory. Since going chronologically also means going
thematically, let’s start from there.
November 6
Spectre: This is Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as Ian Fleming’s James
Bond. Rumors abound that this may be Craig’s last Bond film and his blunt
answers about not really being interested in the franchise anymore have fanned
the flames even further. Craig’s first Bond film, Casino Royale, reinvigorated the tired franchise that had been run
into the ground during the tail end of the Pierce Brosnan era. The second film,
the oddly named Quantum of Solace,
was bogged down by plodding plotting. Skyfall
took a more grounded approach to Bond, digging deeply into his past and
presenting a tired, broken man. Spectre seems
to promise more of the same with a figure from Bond’s past playing a central
role. It will be interesting to see the shift from Dame Judy Dench’s version of
M (Bond’s boss) to Ralph Fiennes.
November 20
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2: The final film in the franchise premieres right
before Thanksgiving, reminding everyone that oh yeah there’s still another one
of these movies. The 1st Hunger
Games movie was surprisingly good and helped catapult Jennifer Lawrence to
stardom. The 2nd one wisely built off the trauma of the first movie
and broadened the scope of the growing rebellion. The third one simply marked
time so the filmmakers could bilk an extra half billion dollars out of the
movie going public. Now it’s up to Mockingjay
Part 2 to deliver on the promised war that will overthrow the evil capital
of Panem and hopefully put a rest to the never ending wave of dystopian young
adult novels and movies that have overwhelmed theaters and bookshelves in
recent years.
November 27
Creed: Could also just be called Rocky VII? Rocky VIII? We’re about six
movies past any interesting story this character once had. Sylvester Stallone
still plays Rocky Balboa—whose brain is probably just a pile of jell-o at this
point---only this time he’s training the son of his onetime arch-nemesis turned
friend Apollo Creed. This movie might be worth it if it had Carl Weathers
playing the version of himself from Arrested
Development. But Creed was last seen getting murdered in the ring by Dolph
Lungren at the beginning of Rocky IV.
Victor Frankenstein: A sort of Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern Are Dead take on the Frankenstein legend, told from the
perspective of Igor, the doctor’s assistant. Igor this time around is just as
brilliant as the famed doctor, minus the medical degree. The presence of James
McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe are the only reasons to be interested in yet
another retelling of Mary Shelley’s famous novel. The story of Frankenstein and
his monster is one of the most used and overused stories in popular media. Plus
what can this movie have to say that Mel Brooks didn’t cover in Young Frankenstein?
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