{"id":1506,"date":"2008-12-22T01:43:24","date_gmt":"2008-12-22T00:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/blog\/?p=1506"},"modified":"2015-03-26T14:51:26","modified_gmt":"2015-03-26T14:51:26","slug":"oscar-winners-and-wannabes-in-uk-february-releases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/?p=1506","title":{"rendered":"Oscar winners and wannabes in February film releases"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"vicky-cristina-barcelona<\/a>By Ray Bennett<\/p>\n

Everything comes in pairs in the United Kingdom\u2019s February film releases. Two Oscar-winning veteran filmmakers show how it\u2019s done with Clint Eastwood\u2019s \u201cGran Torino\u201d and Woody Allen\u2019s \u201cVicky Cristina Barcelona\u201d (pictured above).<\/p>\n

Two famous characters from the past, one bringing chills and the other chuckles, also return \u2014 Jason Voorhees in a remake of \u201cFriday the 13th\u201d and Inspector Clouseau in \u201cPink Panther 2\u201d.<\/p>\n

There are two serious awards contenders in John Patrick Shanley\u2019s drama \u201cDoubt\u201d and the second part of Steven Soderbergh\u2019s biographical saga, \u201cChe\u201d. And a new film titled \u201cBrothers\u201d from Irish director Jim Sheridan is about two conflicted brothers played Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire.<\/p>\n

Not content with just\u00a0\u201cChangeling\u201d with its highly praised performance by Angelina Jolie in 2008, 78 year-old Clint Eastwood stars in as well as directs \u201cGran Torino\u201d (Feb 20, Warner Bros.). He plays an extremely grouchy veteran of the Korean War whose racism undergoes a change when he defends his mixed-race neighbours from a local gang. Lean and gravel-voiced, the four-time Academy Award winner is said to deliver a performance that could finally win him a best actor award.<\/p>\n

Woody Allen has three Oscars on his mantlepiece, two of them for writing, and he\u2019s in the running for at least a third screenplay nomination for \u201cVicky Cristina Barcelona\u201d (Feb. 6 Optimum Releasing). Given a rousing welcome at this year\u2019s Festival de Cannes, the picture sees British actress Rebecca Hall (daughter of director Peter Hall) and Scarlett Johansson as two young American women, Vicky and Christina respectively, on a vacation in Spain. There, they meet a suave and disarming artist played by Javier Bardem who charms them each into relationships that are heavily complicated when his flamboyant and dangerous ex-wife, played by Penelope Cruz, shows up.<\/p>\n

Steve Martin got a mixed reception when he dared to step into the late Peter Sellers\u2019 shoes as the bumbling French detective Clouseau in the 2006 remake of \u201cThe Pink Panther\u201d. The film made enough at the box office, however, to tempt him back in \u201cPink Panther 2\u201d (Feb. 13, Sony Pictures). This time Clouseau teams up with a team of international sleuths targeting a thief who steals historical artefacts. Jean Reno and Emily Mortimer return from the first remake with John Cleese replacing Kevin Kline as the much-abused Chief Inspector Dreyfuss.<\/p>\n

The cast also includes Andy Garcia, Yuki Matsuzaki, Alfred Molina and Aishwarya Rai. Jason Voorhees was also known for creating havoc but accompanied by screams and he\u2019s up to his old tricks in a remake of the 1980 original \u201cFriday The 13th\u201d (Feb. 13, Paramount). The machete wielding maniac, played by Derek Mears, causes mayhem when a group of young adults spend a playful weekend at Camp Crystal Lake, site of the first nightmare.<\/p>\n

\"doubt<\/a><\/p>\n

Meryl Streep, who has been nominated 14 times for an Academy Award and won twice, has two performances in possible contention this year. First there was her crowd-pleasing role in the global smash hit musical \u201cMamma Mia!\u201d and now in a film version of the 2005 Tony Award winning play \u201cDoubt\u201d (Feb. 6, Walt Disney). Directed by playwright and screenwriter John Patrick Shanley, the story is set in 1964 at a Roman Catholic school in New York\u2019s Bronx. Streep plays the domineering Sister Aloysius, a traditionalist who rules with an iron fist and who instigates a furious campaign against Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) based on flimsy suspicion of child molestation. Amy Adams, pictured with Streep, co-stars.<\/p>\n

The second part of Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh\u2019s epic \u201cChe\u201d (also known as \u201cGuerilla\u201d, Feb. 20, Optimum Releasing) is also likely to win plaudits from prize-givers. It finds the Argentine revolutionary in Bolivia participating in a failed coup. Puerto Rican-born Benicio del Toro continues as Che with cameos from Matt Damon and Franka Potenta. Jim Sheridan\u2019s \u201cBrothers\u201d (Feb. 27, Lionsgate UK) is a remake of a 2004 Danish film with the same title directed by Susanne Bier. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Toby Maguire, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepherd and Mare Winningham, it tells of a young man who looks after his older brother\u2019s wife and children when he is reported missing in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

Other coming attractions include:<\/p>\n

Feb. 6: \u201cHe\u2019s Just Not That Into You\u201d (Entertainment) is a romantic roundelay set in Baltimore with Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, and Drew Barrymore involved with the likes of Justin Lon, Ben Affleck and Kevin Connolly (from TV\u2019s \u201cEntourage\u201d). It\u2019s directed by Ken Kwapis, who helmed the US television version of \u201cThe Office\u201d. \u201cPush\u201d (Icon) is a science-fiction adventure about a group of attractive young Americans with telekinetic and clairvoyant powers hiding from a sinister government agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Secret of Moonacre\u201d (Warner Bros.) sees Dakota Blue Richards (\u201cThe Golden Compass\u201d) as a young woman in a strange enchanted place with costars including Ioan Gruffudd, Tim Curry and Natascha McElhone. \u201cThe Soloist\u201d (Universal) is directed by Britain\u2019s Joe Wright (\u201cPride And Prejudice\u201d, \u201cAtonement\u201d) and stars Robert Downey Jr. as a journalist who gets involved with a homeless and disturbed but talented musician played by Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx (\u201cRay\u201d).<\/p>\n

Feb. 13: \u201cBolt-3D\u201d (Walt Disney) is an animated adventure about a superdog with a voice that sounds like John Travolta. \u201cCirque du Freak\u201d (Universal) has John C. Reilly as a leading member of a very strange and scary troupe travelling entertainers. \u201cHotel For Dogs\u201d (Paramount) stars Don Cheadle, Emma Roberts, Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon (from TV\u2019s \u201cEntourage\u201d) in a tale of two kids who make a home for stray animals in an abandoned building. \u201cThey Came From Upstairs\u201d (20th Century Fox) involves aliens, mind control, dumb parents and smart kids.<\/p>\n

Feb. 20: \u201cConfessions of a Shopaholic\u201d is based on the popular books by Sophie Kinsella and tells of best friends Rebecca (Isla Fisher) and Suze (Krysten Ritter) as they go shopping for great accessories and boyfriends. The cast includes Hugh Dancy, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, and Kristin Scott Thomas under the direction of P.J. Hogan (\u201cMy Best Friend\u2019s Wedding\u201d). \u201cOutlander\u201d (Momentum Pictures) pits Vikings against Aliens in 10th century Norway in a rousing and entertaining adventure featuring Jim Caviezel (\u201cThe Passion of the Christ\u201d), Jack Huston, John Hurt, Sophia Myles and Ron Perlman. \u201cSpread\u201d (Delanic Films) is a sex comedy starring Anton Kutcher as a serial womaniser and Anne Heche as the woman he lives to regret jilting.<\/p>\n

Feb. 27: \u201cHamlet 2\u201d finds Steve Coogan as an over-the-top teacher at a high school in Arizona. \u201cPaul Blart: Mall Cop\u201d (Sony Pictures) features Adam Sandler sidekick Kevin James as a security guard fighting a crime spree. \u201cThe Unborn\u201d (Universal) is a horror tale about a woman possessed with Gary Oldman playing a helpful Rabbi.<\/p>\n

This article appeared in Cue Entertainment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ray Bennett Everything comes in pairs in the United Kingdom\u2019s February film releases. Two Oscar-winning veteran filmmakers show how it\u2019s done with Clint Eastwood\u2019s \u201cGran Torino\u201d and Woody Allen\u2019s \u201cVicky Cristina Barcelona\u201d (pictured above). Two famous characters from the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,10],"tags":[471],"class_list":["post-1506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film","category-notes","tag-cue-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1506"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6106,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506\/revisions\/6106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}