FILM PREVIEW: SUMMER DRAMAS 2012
'Savages', 'Sparkle' & More - A Must-See List of Summer's Serious Side
Though the summer movie season is known for its action blockbusters, sci-fi mind-benders, and, as of the past few years, superhero movies, sometimes you're in the mood for something different. Buzzine has your summer previews for the aforementioned genres, as well as the heart-string tugging dramas -- and stay tuned for star-studded comedies and family friendly fare, all due out in the next few months of 2012.
Bel Ami (Magnolia Pictures) - June 8, 2012
With the tween beloved supernatural romance Twilight series nearing completion, Robert Pattinson has been cast in a plethora of distinctly un-vampiric roles to shake typecasting. With Cronenberg's body-horror drama/thriller Cosmopolis premiering at Cannes Film Festival this year, Pattinson's other post-Twilight role is in a period piece - an adaptation of the French novel, Bel Ami. This one will appeal to some of the quiet, British heartthrob's older fans, as it follows journalist Georges Duroy's rise to power through the manipulation of a series of mistresses.
The Woman in the Fifth (ATO Pictures) - June 15, 2012
Another French-inspired film, La Femme du Vème stars Ethan Hawke and Kristen Scott Thomas in a murder-mystery. Hawke plays Tom Ricks, a scorned American professor who flees to Paris, only to become entangled with deviously seductive widow, Margrit. Between a trail of murders, a missing daughter, and a deep, dark desire that threatens to overcome Tom's entire existence.
People Like Us (Walt Disney Pictures) - June 29, 2012
Besides Queen Michelle Pfeiffer, most of the cast of People Like Us can be seen in more comedies than dramas. Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde, Elizabeth Banks, Mark Duplass, and Jon Favreau make up the ensemble of this family-driven tearjerker. Pine, sci-fi action superstar of Star Trek, is given the heavy task of personally delivering his family fortune to an alcoholic sister he's never met, and her 12 year old son. If that's not an invitation for waterworks, we don't know what is.
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Savages (Universal Pictures) - July 6, 2012
Three young actors step it up in this action thriller from Oliver Stone, joining the ranks of the heavy hitters. Ben (Aaron Johnson, Kick Ass) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch, John Carter) not only share a marijuana business -- they also share a girlfriend, O (Blake Lively, Gossip Girl). When O is kidnapped, the two men face down a Mexican drug cartel, including the likes of Elena (Salma Hayek) and Lado (Benicio del Toro). Guns, drugs, and gangsters -- with an intensely talented cast, writers, and director -- and this could turn out to be more than just another crime thriller.
Sparkle (TriStar Pictures) - August 17, 2012
The late Whitney Houston was working on what was supposed to be part of her comeback, a modern remake of the 1976 film about a girl group in 1960s Motown Detroit. If that sounds like Dream Girls to you, you're not far off. The difference is, Sparkle features songs written by one of the kings of soul, Curtis Mayfield, as well as R&B singer (& director of hilarious music video, Trapped in the Closet) R. Kelly. It stars Jordin Sparks, Mike Epps, Cee Lo Green, and of course, Whitney Houston. Watching Houston portray a desperate single mother will only resonate deeper knowing what happened to the music legend.
Premium Rush (Columbia Pictures) - August 24, 2012
An unsuspecting New York City bike messenger gets more than he bargained for when an envelope he picks up turns out to be just the envelope a dirty cop would do anything to get his hands on. Sounds like, yet again, another high-octane, paint-by-numbers chase flick. Except, you know, the bike messenger is Joseph Gordon Levitt, and the dirty cop is Michael Shannon. The two bare-it-to-the-bones actors carry out a script by David Koeppe, writer (or co-writer) of a few little films you may be familiar with: Jurassic Park, Carlito's Way, Mission: Impossible, Stir of Echoes, Spider-Man, and the upcoming Men in Black 3. Sold.
Lawless (The Weinstein Company) - August 31, 2012
Prohibition-era Virginia. Three bootlegging brothers fight to save their business. That's all we know so far about the film from John Hillcoat. Based on the novel The Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant (The Road), the film has been chosen to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, and stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, and Guy Pearce. If there's a genre we need more of, it's Westerns, and with a cast like this, it's hard to imagine we won't have a sleeper hit on our hands.
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