Monthly Archives: January, 2012

Like just about everyone else we were huge on Sexy Beast back in Y2K and we thought his follow-up film, Birth was a well-intentioned misfire, so you could say it was a long eight year wait for Jonathan Glazer's third film. We were skeptical at first about this project, but then we're reminded of the video helmer/commercials' director skill at creating moody atmospherics and is a whiz with the camera. Sexual identity and humanity are major themes of this sci-fi book to film adaptation.

Fans of Kim can breathe a collective sigh of relief -- after back to back consecutive years on our Top Most Anticipated List (#53 in 2010, #27 in 2011) 2012 is the year of Paul Dano who reminds us why he is a sought after indie film lead. He has got Looper, He Loves Me, Being Flynn and this single parent drama in the can and he is working on Night Moves and gets to play Karl Rove in the blacklist favorite, College Republicans.

The Silver Bear (2009 Berlin Film Festival) and The European Film Academy's Discovery of the Year award winning Katalin Varga announced that the arrival of helmer Peter Strickland. I have a penchant for films about the filmmaking process and an important factoid worth mentioning is that Strickland has a background in sound effect/recording profession so this should be of interest twofold.

Unlike Gérard Depardieu, I can only picture a select few A-level French actresses who would be up to the challenge of working with someone such as Bruno Dumont and his emotionally devastating texts. It'll be a first for him (he usually works with non-pros) and in an odd karma alignment, Binoche is playing the same role that Isabelle Adjani played in 1988's titular Camille Claudel. Adjani's co-star was Depardieu. Binoche will kick butt.

2012 will be known as the year that Isabelle Huppert experimented with Asian auteur filmmakers and we're more curious about a potential relationship drama with Hong Sang-soo than the hostage Berlin preemed Captured by Brillante Mendoza.