SHADOWS ON THE WALL | REVIEWS | NEWS | FESTIVAL | AWARDS | Q&A | ABOUT | TALKBACK
reviewsShadows trailers

Films that are coming soon...
archive reviews With random comments and links to both trailers and earlier reviews from festivals or foreign releases. ALL COMMENTS BY RICH CLINE

C O M I N G   S O O N
to the UK...
O N   T H E   H O R I Z O N
can’t hardly wait...
10 Jul
35 SHOTS OF RUM (Fr)
BRUNO
ECHOES OF HOME (Swi)
* FIRED UP
THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE
SOUL POWER  trailer
THREE KINGDOMS (dvd)
17 Jul
BURMA VJ
FROZEN RIVER
MOON
24 Jul
THE PROPOSAL
JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY
* SKIN
THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123
31 Jul
ADAM  trailer
* BIRDWATCHERS
* COCO BEFORE CHANEL
* KISSES
* THREE MILES NORTH OF MOLKOM

Aug
MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT (Richet, Fr)
* BANDSLAM trailer
MID-AUGUST LUNCH
SIN NOMBRE (Mex)
* DO99ING: A LOVE STORY
THE HURT LOCKER
MESRINE: PUBLIC ENEMY NO 1 (Fr)

Autumn
* BIG RIVER MAN
FISH TANK
THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE
* SHANK
* AWAY WE GO trailer
UP
VINYAN
WHITE LIGHTNIN'
* AN EDUCATION
* BLIND DATING

C O M I N G   U P . . .

coming soon! • HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. BROKEN EMBRACES. ANTICHRIST. LAND OF THE LOST. THE INFORMERS.
* ACHILLES AND THE TORTOISE. ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES. THE ATHLETE. THE BEACHES OF AGNES. BLACK DYNAMITE. COLD SOULS. THE COUNTESS. EASIER WITH PRACTICE. FEAR ME NOT. EL GENERAL. THE GOOD AMERICAN. HOLLYWOOD JE T'AIME. JAPAN JAPAN. KICKS. THE KING OF KONG. LIGHT GRADIENT. LITTLE JOE. LITTLE SOLDIER. THE MARKET. MARY AND MAX. MY ONE AND ONLY. OMG/HAHAHA. PAPER HEART. PARDON MY FRENCH. PASSENGER SIDE. SHIVER. SHORT CUT TO HOLLYWOOD. STORM. STRELLA. SWEET RUSH. TRU LOVED. UNRELATED. VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.
• BOYS ON FILM VOL 2. DUMBLAND. IMAGINATIONLAND. LYNCH (ONE). MAGICK LANTERN CYCLE. MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. REVANCHE. TRICKS. • CHRIS & DON. CRONICAS. DARLING! DECK DOGZ. END OF THE SPEAR. FOSTER CHILD. HEART OF THE BEHOLDER. PLAGUES & PLEASURES. SCOOP. THE TRAP. THE UNKNOWN. VAMPYR.
• ADVENTURELAND. ALIENS IN THE ATTIC. CHEVOLUTION. 500 DAYS OF SUMMER. IMAGINE THAT. THE UGLY TRUTH.


N O   U K   R E L E A S E   D A T E . . .

must see ADORATION
* BIGGER STRONGER FASTER
THE BROTHERS BLOOM trailer
CRAZY LOVE
* THE CREW
EDEN IS WEST
THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE (Fr)
THE GREAT DEBATERS
* HAMLET 2
I'M GONNA EXPLODE
LION'S DEN (Arg)
MANAGEMENT
THE MESSENGER
ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED
STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING
* TO TREASURE FOREVER
THE WORKSHOP

* films I've seen, reviews en route


See also:
SHADOWS FILM FEST

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

dir David Yates; scr Steve Kloves; with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Jim Broadbent, Robbie Coltrane, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters; Warner 09/UK
release UK/US 17.Jul.09
Things continue to heat up for the heroic teen wizard in this sixth film, which was postponed from its November release date to a more lucrative summer slot ... and to give the effects wizards more time to tweak the film. The actors are getting better (and older), and Yates is back as director; he's a less interesting filmmaker than some, but handled the action well last time, so let's hope he keeps it dark and a bit nasty. trailer

LAND OF THE LOST

dir Brad Silberling; with Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Anna Friel, Mousa Kraish, Todd Christian Hunter; Universal 09/US
release US 5.Jun.09, UK 31.Jul.09
Making a cheesy TV show into a silly movie comedy seems just a bit unnecessary, but never mind. The key elements here, besides Ferrell, are the gifted director and sidekick cast members McBride and Friel. There may not be much chance of this being a comical masterpiece, but it looks like the kind of movie that will be good for a few laughs. Hopefully. trailer

A PERFECT GETAWAY

dir-scr David Twohy; with Timothy Olyphant, Steve Zahn, Milla Jovovich, Chris Hemsworth, Marley Shelton, Kiele Sanchez, Dale Dickey, Wendy Braun; 09/US
release US/UK 14.Aug.09
Filmmaker Twohy is always good at coming up with something genuinely unpredictable, so this honeymooners-in-peril thriller looks more promising than most. It also has an intriguing cast, with relatively unusual roles for Zahn and Jovovich. And the scenery is gorgeous too. trailer

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

dir-scr Quentin Tarantino; with Brad Pitt, Samuel L Jackson, Diane Kruger, Mike Myers, Cloris Leachman, Michael Fassbender, Maggie Cheung, Daniel Bruhl, Til Schweiger, Eli Roth, Julie Dreyfus, Rod Taylor; Universal 09/US
release US/UK 21.Aug.09
Any Tarantino movie is worth looking forward to for a variety of reason (style, wit, energy, geek value). And this one looks like especially good fun, with its WWII setting and Euro-infused cast. Not to mention the terrific combination of up-and-coming stars like Fassbender with vetweans like Leachman and Tarantino regulars like Jackson. trailer

FUNNY PEOPLE

dir-scr Judd Apatow; with Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Leslie Mann, Jason Schwartzman, Norm MacDonald, Sarah Silverman, Andy Dick, Ken Jeong; Universal-Columbia 09/US
release US 31.Jul.09, UK 28.Aug.09
Apatow is back with another comedy that runs well over two hours long, and the trailer shows real promise in its story of comedians trying to deal with some serious issues. If it gets maudlin, we're all in trouble, but at least Apatow should be able to rein in Sandler, and Bana looks like he'll inject some serious spark. This is Apatow's third film as a director - can he make it a hat trick? trailer

THE SOLOIST

dir Joe Wright; scr Susannah Grant; with Robert Downey Jr, Catherine Keener, Jamie Foxx, Stephen Root, Tom Hollander, Lisa Gay Hamilton; DreamWorks 08/US
release US 24.Apr.09; UK 11.Sep.09
It had to happen: after a series of prestigious films, Wright was tapped to go to America and work with the big guys. The plot is intriguing, and will give the lead actors plenty of intriguing scenes to play, which makes it pretty unmissable. Although you can't help but wonder why the release date has been messed around so badly - with the UK's release pushed so far back. trailer

JULIE & JULIA

dir-scr Nora Ephron; with Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Linda Emond, Helen Carey, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jane Lynch; Columbia 09/US
release US 7.Aug.09, UK 11.Sep.09

Streep and Adams reunite for this comedy-drama based on two true stories: it's about a woman who works her way through Julia Child's cookbook-memoir. Yes, Ephron has a tendency towards over sentimentalising these kinds of girly stories, but hopefully Streep and Adams will keep it grounded through some layered acting and their intriguing chemistry. trailer

SHUTTER ISLAND

dir Martin Scorsese; scr Laeta Kalogridis; with Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, Jackie Earle Haley, Max von Sydow, Elias Koteas; Paramount 09/US
release US 2.Oct.09, UK 9.Oct.09
Based on a Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) novel, it's fairly impossible to imagine that this film could disappoint - not with the heavyweights in this cast and crew. The story also looks like great fun: a mystery thriller with supernatural overtones set in an isolated island hospital for the criminally insane. Scorsese film is unmissable, but in guilty pleasure mode is especially tantalising. And you can see Kingsley chewing the scenery all the way from here! trailer
Also on my want-to-see list...

Summer: FIRED UP trailer 44-INCH CHEST. ADVENTURELAND trailer ALIENS IN THE ATTIC trailer G.I. JOE trailer THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE. I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER trailer THE FINAL DESTINATION.
Autumn: REVANCHE. DORIAN GRAY. CREATION. MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS. JENNIFER'S BODY. UP trailer THE FANTASTIC MR FOX. THE INFORMANT. TAKING WOODSTOCK trailer THE WOLFMAN. 2012 trailer THE ROAD trailer trailer NEW MOON trailer
Winter: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. AVATAR. SHERLOCK HOLMES trailer THE LOVELY BONES.
Awaiting UK release date: THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD trailer THE LIMITS OF CONTROL trailer

Release dates: British film release schedules are much more fluid than American ones, so please be patient as I try to keep up with UK distributors. I'm working to keep this list up-to-date as they keep trying to outfox me. I'm sure it's personal.
Embargoes: Britain's Film Distributors Association asks us to hold reviews until the week of release, and some distributors are even more restrictive that that. Once the film is released publicly, or shown at a festival, the full review can appear on the site.

© 2009 by Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

HOME | REVIEWS | NEWS | FESTIVAL | AWARDS | Q&A | ABOUT | TALKBACK