MILK

MILK

Dir. Gus Van Sant

Screenplay - Dustin Lance Black

Starring - Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, Lucas Grabeel, Eric Stoltz

Opens November 26, 2008 (limited)

Gus Van Sant was the perfect candidate to bring Milk, the story of historical gay politician Harvey Milk, to the big screen. And from the looks of things so far, Van Sant has hit his first home run since Good Will Hunting. I predict Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor Sean Penn, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay for Black.

This is a big one to watch out for, as Milk is poised to capture the gay rights movement in a way never before done in a major motion picture. If it's good, this film will go down in history. Check out the brand new trailer...

BURN AFTER READING

BURN AFTER READING

Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen

Starring - George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins

Opens September 12, 2008

Burn After Reading is the latest film from everyone's favorite modern maverick pros The Coen Brothers. The comedic follow-up to Best Picture winner No Country For Old Men is reminiscent of the way the Coen's followed-up the critical success of Fargo with the now classic comedy The Big Lebowski. The film recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Here is what Andrew Pulver of The Guardian UK had to say after the screening:

"Clocking in at a crisp 95 minutes, Burn After Reading is a tightly wound, slickly plotted spy comedy that couldn’t be in bigger contrast to the Coens’ last film, the bloodsoaked, brooding No Country for Old Men. Burn, in comparison, is bit of a bantamweight: fast moving, lots of attitude, and uncorking a killer punch when it can."

It doesn't seem that Burn has much Oscar potential, but if nothing else, this quirky screwball comedy should be a fun ride.

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

Dir. Jonathan Demme

Starring - Anne Hathaway, Debra Winger, Bill Irwin, Rosemarie DeWitt, Anna Deavere Smith, Tunde Adebimpe

Opens October 3, 2008 (limited)

The trailer for the new Jonathan Demme film Rachel Getting Married looks very, very promising. From the looks of Anne Hathaway's performance here, she could pull through with her first Oscar nomination. The buzz is definitely under way.

I love the Dogme-style approach that Demme seems to have taken with this film. Check out the fantastic trailer to see for yourself what could become a major player come Oscar time...