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Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2011: Nick Cassavetes’ Yellow
An indie addiction drama from the director who gave us My Sister's Keeper, The Notebook and John Q? Yup - the Cassavetes name can now be re-associated with independent film. Alpha Dog (the first time where I really took notice of Ben Foster) was Nick Cassavetes' more significant film of his filmography, and my thinking is with a rather large ensemble pitching in and a reunion with Foster for this to generate plenty of buzz.
Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2011: John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
A top 2009 Brit List project, John Madden's reunion with Judi Dench (Mrs Brown) should count for plenty and the rest of the cast (Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel and Tom Wilkinson) should elevate this into the status of a bold, full spirited adult dramedy. It could be the project that makes us forget about Madden's horrible track record and this includes everything from Shakespeare in Love and up.
Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2011: Aleksandr Sokurov’s Faust
I had this listed on last year's list, and the extra wait can only mean the auteur is fine-tuning the project. Here is what I wrote one year back: not a remake of Murnau's 1926 film, but the closing chapter in Sokurov's grouping of four films under the theme of corruption is an absolute must for film snobs.
Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2011: Rian Johnson’s Looper
Time travel films are more often than not a sub-genre that hardly work...but this might just be this or next year's Inception for art-house patrons. Re-teaming with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and casting a strong threesome in Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt and Paul Dano, what I like best about Johnson (and it's obvious in a filmography that only consists of a high school film noir debut and caper comedy) is the convergence of unique storytelling and an obvious passion for the 7th art, sort of like what we find among filmmakers such as Guillermo del Toro.
Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2011: Jean-Marc Vallée’s Café De Flore
Ask any French Canadian cinephile what are in their all-time top 5 films from Quebec and among the more popular choices you'll find C.R.A.Z.Y. After testing out the international film scene with The Young Victoria, Jean-Marc Vallée returns to French-language filmmaking and his specialty: films with a strong musical element. I'm looking for this film to further confirm the filmmaker's status as a viable export.
