Films I'd pay RM 10 to watch, on my DVD player.
The 2nd quarter of 2005 has past and we've only seen subtle sparks of brilliance from both the indie and mainstream film circuit. Could it be that Hollywood has finally run out of steam post-LOTR? George Lucas has certainly done himself proud by salvaging the American box-office. So now, what next? Here's a shortlist of what I would be booking tickets for if Lembaga Penapisan Filem doesn't fuck things up for the 9,999th time.
But actually, I'm putting my money on Datuk Ho to feed me with my intellectual pursuits. How ironic.
Gregg Araki's 'Mysterious Skin', Released on May 6 -
I remember Araki from his 'Doom Generation' trilogy days. He looks much older now and probably wiser. This new movie will definitely be a whole different ball park from what Araki has done in the past although I've only seen 'Nowhere' and 'Doom Generation'. 'Mysterious Skin' stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whom I think was a surprise inclusion after the departure of über-cool James Duval. Based on a novel by Scott Heim of the same name, the only startling difference for Araki fans would probably be the tone of the film. Where Araki worked with Lynch-like characters in his past work, threading closely to Heim's work would mean living inside another person's head. I don't think anyone as creative as him would find that an easy task.
Christopher Nolan's 'Batman Begins', June 15 -
Remember 'memento'? Things won't be a xerox copy of that movie. Funny when I think of WB, killing the franchise and now reattempting to bring the Bat back to its glory years by hiring an inexperienced and untested (in terms of marketability...hey Batman is HUGE you know?) director to helm this production. Darren Aronofsky, with his extraordinary talent, should not have walked off this one. Bright side from all this is that Warner Brothers have bucked up their marketing and promotion machinery for what film buffs expect to be this year's 'premium releases'.
Already showing its fourth trailer on its official website, I anticipate this movie with my fingers crossed.
Steven Spielberg's 'War of the Worlds', June 29 -
You don't need to be a rocket scientist to know that Spielberg has never failed in an attempt to capture films on a broad canvas. He's done it before in 'Saving Private Ryan', 'AI' and 'Empire of the Sun'. Never mind fact that we're all expected an anti-climatic ending to 'War of the Worlds' as quoted by spoilers all around the Internet. Spielberg's movies rarely need media attention as the pop-culture inventor needs no introduction after a long career spanning some 30 years now.
The movie is, of course, centred around the famous H.G. Wells book and this adaptation will certainly overshadow the TV series they had some 12 years ago on RTM.
