84 Films will be released this Fall. For
an Italophile, 4 are a must see.
Those are (1) "Under
the Tuscan Sun", An American woman falls in love with and is revitalized
by Italy (2) a Bernardo Bertolucci film, "The Dreamers" (3)
a Quentin Tarantino film, "Kill Bill Vol. 1" (4) a Sofia Coppola
film, "Lost in Translation".
I will follow on with reviews on all the above except "Dreamers", which was forwarded last week.
A fifth film "Mambo Italiano" does not have Italian family values.
There are a number
of other films that feature Italian Americans in acting, writing, or directing
roles, like Nicolas Cage in "Matchstick Men", James DeBello in
"Cabin Fever", Christina Ricci, Danny DeVito in "Anything
Else", Writer Tony Grisoni of "In This World", Director, Danny
DeVito of "Duplex", Writers: Elio Petri, Ugo Pirro, Director:
Elio Petri of "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion",
Valerio Foglio Manzillo, Elisabetta Rocchetti in "The Embalmer",
Mark Ruffalo in "My Life Without Me", Drea De Matteo in "Prey
for Rock and Roll", Gary Sinise in "The Human Stain", Writer-director:
Don Coscarelli of "Bubba Ho-Tep", Story by John Romano of "Intolerable
Cruelty", Writer- Director: Mark Decena of "Dopamine",
Alessandra De
Rossi in "Small Voices", Vittoria Scognamiglio in "Porn
Theatre",
Chiara Mastroianni,
Angela Molina in "Carnage", Carla Gugino, Jon Polito in "The
Singing Detective", Mark Ruffalo, Nick Damici in "In the
Cut"
=============================================================
FALL SNEAKS
The flavor of autumn
Los Angeles Times
September 7 2003
Sept. 12, 2003
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Under the
Tuscan Sun
Romantic comedy--Touchstone
Pictures
With: Diane Lane,
Sandra Oh, Lindsay Duncan, Raoul Bova.
The idea: Mopey
divorceé treks to Tuscany, buys villa, finds herself.
Writer-director:
Audrey Wells, based on the book by Frances Mayes.
-Seductive.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) The Dreamers
Drama--Fox Searchlight
With: Michael Pitt,
Robin Renucci,
The idea: Three
youths explore their emotions and sexuality against the backdrop of political
turmoil of 1968 France
Writer: Gilbert
Adair, based on his novel.
Director: Bernardo
Bertolucci.
-Bertolucci's third
film shot in Paris, following "The Conformist" and "Last Tango"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) Kill Bill Vol.
1
Action--Miramax
With: Uma Thurman,
David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen.
The idea: Four years
after taking a bullet in the head, a woman awakes from coma and sets out
for revenge against a team of assassins.
Writer-director:
Quentin Tarantino
-Female fury, à
la Q.T.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4) Lost in Translation
Comedy--Focus
Features
With: Bill Murray,
Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, Fumihiro Hayashi.
The idea: Insomniac
American strangers cross paths in Tokyo hotel.
Writer-director:
Sofia Coppola.
-Stimulating.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mambo Italiano
Comedy--IDP/Samuel
Goldwyn
With: Luke Kirby,
Paul Sorvino, Ginette Reno, Stephanie Vecchio, Claudia
Ferri
The idea: Italian
immigrant parents in Montreal freak out when they discover their son and
his cop best friend are more than roommates.
Writer-director:
Emile Gaudreault.
-Gay family values.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matchstick Men
Comedy--Warner
Bros.
With: Nicolas
Cage
The idea: Arrival
of neurotic con man's daughter disrupts scheme.
-High-end angst.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cabin Fever
Horror--Lions
Gate
With: James DeBello.
The idea: Teenagers
head to a cabin in the woods, encounter a voracious virus.
-Throwback/homage
to '80s cult horror flicks.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anything Else
Comedy--DreamWorks
With:Christina
Ricci, Danny DeVito
The idea: New York
writer falls in love with unpredictable free spirit
Writer-director:
Woody Allen
-This time Jason
Biggs plays the nebbish, to whom Woody Allen's character serves as sort
of a mentor. Well-received at the Venice Film Festival, it probably ranks
as better than his most recent work but doesn't approach the level of his
best work.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In This World
Drama--Sundance
Film Series
The idea: Afghan
refugees try to make it to London.
Writer: Tony
Grisoni
-Starkly effective.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Duplex
Comedy--Miramax
With: Ben Stiller,
Drew Barrymore, Harvey Fierstein.
The idea: Young
couple's dream home comes with a drawback: a problem tenant.
Director: Danny
DeVito.
-High potential.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investigation of
a Citizen Above Suspicion
Drama --Sony
Pictures Repertory
With: Gian Maria
Volonté
The idea: Unhinged
police chief murders mistress and frames himself to test subordinates.
Writers: Elio
Petri, Ugo Pirro.
Director: Elio
Petri.
-1971 Oscar winner
for best foreign-language film.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Embalmer
Thriller--First
Run Features
With:Valerio
Foglio Manzillo, Elisabetta Rocchetti.
The idea: Middle-aged
taxidermist takes on handsome apprentice,
becomes jealous
when the younger man falls in love with a woman.
Director: Garrone.
-Unconventional
premise.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Life Without
Me
Drama--Sony Classics
With: Mark Ruffalo
The idea: Terminally
ill young woman doesn't tell her family and tries to live her final days
to their fullest.
-Weeper sleeper.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prey for Rock and
Roll
Drama--MAC Releasing
With: Drea De
Matteo,
The idea: Bisexual
punk-rocker and her band make one last stab at making it big.
-Engaging Gershon
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Human Stain
Drama--Miramax
With: Anthony Hopkins,
Nicole Kidman, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris
The idea: Classics
professor tries to rebuild his life after racism charges drive him from
his post.
Writer:Based on
the novel by Phillip Roth
-Miramax has high
ambitions for this prestige package
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bubba Ho-Tep
Fantasy--Vitagraph
With: Bruce Campbell,
Ossie Davis.
The idea: Elderly
Elvis and rest-home buddy who thinks he's JFK battle evil Egyptian entity.
Writer-director:
Don Coscarelli, based on short story by Joe R. Lansdale.
-High concept, low
budget.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intolerable Cruelty
Romantic comedy--Universal
With: George Clooney,
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Geoffrey Rush, Cedric the Entertainer, Edward Herrmann,
Richard Jenkins, Billy Bob Thornton
The idea: A divorce
lawyer and serial divorcee face off for an epic battle of the sexes.
Writers: Robert
Ramsey & Matthew Stone and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen; story by Ramsey
& Stone and John Romano
-George Clooney
and Catherine Zeta-Jones generate high-voltage on-screen chemistry on the
order of Hepburn and Tracy: screwball comedy with teeth and claws.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dopamine
Romantic comedy--Sundance
Film Series
The idea: Computer
programmer and kindergarten teacher test love through artificial intelligence.
Writers- Director:
Mark Decena
-Romantic facsimile.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Voices
Drama--Sky Island
Films
With: Alessandra
De Rossi
The idea: Idealistic,
young Philippine teache to teach in impoverished rural town.
-The Philippines'
submission for 2002 Oscars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Porn Theatre
Romantic comedy--Strand
With: Vittoria
Scognamiglio
The idea: Cashier,
customer and projectionist engage in a romantic roundelay, against a backdrop
of patrons' liaisons.
-Hard-core with
heart.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carnage
Drama--Wellspring
With: Chiara
Mastroianni, Angela Molina,
The idea: Recipients
of the various pieces of the carcass of a bull slain in a ring in northern
Spain are the basis for interconnected stories.
-Grim business.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Singing Detective
Musical--Paramount
Classics
With: Robert Downey
Jr., Katie Holmes, Carla Gugino, Jon Polito, Mel Gibson
The idea: The setting
for the bedridden novelist's musical fantasies is transferred to noirish
L.A.
-Interesting transition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"In the Cut"
Psychological thriller--Screen
Gems
With: Meg Ryan,
Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Damici.
The idea: New York
English professor embarks on a steamy, high-risk affair with a detective
investigating a brutal murder.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Rundown
Action-adventure--Universal
With: The Rock,
Seann William Scott, Christopher Walken, Rosario Dawson,
The idea: A mobster's
son and his henchman overcome enmity in the Amazon and combine forces against
evil mine owner.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
calendarlive.com:
The flavor of autumn http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/
cl-ca-sneakslist7sep07,2,4266781.story?coll=cl-suncal