2006 Fall Preview: 10 – 1

Date:

Here is the top 20 with a recap from picks 20 to 11. Enjoy!

20. All The Kings Men
19. Tideland
18. Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles

17. The Prestige

16. Marie-Antoinette

15. Fur

14. Flags of Our Fathers

13. This Film is Not Yet Rated

12. Fast Food Nation

11. Volver


10. The Departed

Release date: Oct.06 Wide Release
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: Based on the trilogy of Chinese-language gangster movies of the same name (“Wu jian dao” a.k.a Infernal Affairs), this is set in the midst of the battle between Hong Kong police and the triads.

Fact: This is a 3rd straight reunion for Marty Scorsese and Leonardo.

See It: Don’t see it for Matt Damon or Leo DiCaprio but instead for Nicholon and Vera Farmiga.


9. Running with Scissors

Release date: Oct.20 Limited Release
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: This is an adaptation of Augusten Burroughs‘ novel, this is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist Ryan Murphy

Fact: Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy wrote the script and will make his feature directing debut.

See It: Two words: Annette Bening.


8. The Black Dahlia

Release date: Sept.15 Wide Release
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: This is an adaptation of James Ellroy‘s classic noir novel which is a fictional account of the notorious murder in 1947 of an actress in Los Angeles and the investigation into the case.

Fact: Brian De Palma offered the role of Madeleine Sprague to Eva Green but she turned down it because she didn’t want to be typecast as a “femme fatale” and the role went to Hilary Swank.

See It: De Palma + Film Noir + Swank as femme fatale = fun.


7. Little Children

Release date: Oct.6 Wide Release
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: Based on the novel, “Children” is described as matching the family dysfunction of American Beauty with the comedy of Perrotta’s “Election”.

Fact: Tom Perrotta wrote the book (then turned into a film) called Election.

See It: Director Todd Field is amazing.


6. For Your Consideration

Release date: Nov.17 Wide Release
Distributor: Warner Independent Pictures
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: Co-written by Guest and Levy, this revolves around three actors shooting a small indie film, titled “Home for Purim,” whose lives are turned upside down when buzz starts that their performances are awards-worthy.

Fact: Fred Willard rocks!

See It: A Mighty Wind fell short of expectations. Christopher Guest will rally the troops with a more contemporary storyline.


5. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Release date: Nov.3 Wide Release
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Ioncinema Preview: View here

The Gist: Jagshemash! Sacha Baron Cohen brings his Kazakhstani journalist character Borat Sagdiyev to the big screen for the first time.

Fact: This film was once to be directed by Todd Philips who left the project after Borat’s mangling of the U.S. national anthem at a rodeo in Virginia made headlines for its off-key tone, and for inciting the rodeo crowd by making inflammatory remarks about the war in Iraq.

See It: Forget the Ali G character – this is way more enjoyable.


4. Stranger Than Fiction

Release date: Nov.10 Wide Release
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: Written by Zach Helm, Will Ferrell stars as a obsessive/compulsive IRS auditor who begins to hear a voice that turns out to be an author who is writing a novel in which Ferrell is the ill-fated protagonist.

Fact: The screenplay was written well before Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

See It: This will become Marc Forster’s crowning achievement – and not the over-hyped Monster’s Ball.


3. The Fountain

Release date: Nov.22 Wide Release
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: This is the journey of one man (Jackman) in a quest for immortality – via a ”tree of life” found in Central America.

Fact: Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett were originally going to star in this film until the project fell apart.

See It: Darren Aronofsky’s smaller than previously announced budget should provide better results.


2. The Science of Sleep

Release date: Sept.22 Wide Release
Distributor: Warner Independent Pictures
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: Unable to bear the prospect of a waking world without Stephanie’s love, and with no satisfying solutions coming out of his dream world, Stephane faces a dilemma he may not be able to depend on the science of sleep to help him solve.

Fact: This is Gondry’s writing debut.

See It: “The Science of Sleep is a film that addresses the notion of an unhealthy crush – a fixture which will surely not be the case for Gondry-fans.”


1. Babel

Release date: Nov.10 Release
Distributor: Paramount Vantage
Ioncinema Preview : View here

The Gist: Written by Guillermo Arriaga, this is about chance encounters by complete strangers with sometimes harsh consequences.

Fact: This is the third part in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s trilogy (Amores Perros and 21 Grams) of the same theme / timeline story-structure

See It: This was the overwhelming ioncinema.com favorite.

Eric Lavallée
Eric Lavalléehttps://www.ericlavallee.com
Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist, and critic at IONCINEMA.com, established in 2000. A regular at Sundance, Cannes, and Venice, Eric holds a BFA in film studies from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013, he served on the narrative competition jury at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson’s "This Teacher" (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022, he was a New Flesh Juror for Best First Feature at the Fantasia International Film Festival. His top films for 2023 include The Zone of Interest (Glazer), Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (Pham Thien An), Totem (Lila Avilés), La Chimera (Alice Rohrwacher), All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (Raven Jackson). He is a Golden Globes Voter.

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