By Owen Schaefer princetonian 'street' wrtier
A few films to watch out for in the weeks to come:
Kingdom of Heaven
(May 6)
Still riding on the success of 2000's "Gladiator," Ridley Scott returns to the historical epic scene with the first true blockbuster of the season. Set during the 12th century crusades, "Kingdom of Heaven" is the story of a blacksmith-turned-knight, played by Orlando Bloom, who must defend Jerusalem against invaders. It remains to be seen if Bloom will finally shake off the effeminate stigma that has haunted him since he played the elf Legolas in Lord of the Rings. But the film's strong supporting cast — including Brandon Gleeson (who will play a crusader not unlike his Menelaus from last year's "Troy"), Jeremy Irons and Liam Neeson — a setting previously unexplored on the silver screen and, of course, Scott's strong direction make this film a must-see.
Star Wars: Episode III (May 19)
As legendary Star Wars villain Darth Vader once said, "The circle is now complete." 38 years after the premiere of George Lucas's fantastic space opera, the galactic battle of good against evil will finally come full circle. Many have been disillusioned by Episode I and II's less-than-stellar quality, but hey, third time's the charm. We all know how it has to end: Anakin betrays his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, turns to the dark side, and proceeds to systematically wipe out the Jedi as the Galactic Empire rises to power. Expect more light saber battles than any of the previous episodes, as well as epic space fights and cameos from original trilogy characters Chewbacca, Grand Moff Tarkin and others — not to mention the chilling voice of James Earl Jones behind Darth Vader's sinister mask.
"Cinderella Man," starring Russell Crowe (last seen on the high seas in "Master and Commander") as Depression-era boxer Jim Braddock, was originally supposed to be released last year, but Crowe suffered an onset injury that has delayed the production until this year. The overall story seems like a Rocky remix with historical accuracy: a washed-out underdog gets another chance at glory in the ring, simultaneously winning the hearts of millions of down-and-out fans. Such films often endear themselves to audiences, especially if the leads have enough charisma and appeal; and with Renee Zellweger as Braddock's wife, Crowe might just soften up enough to make "Cinderella Man" more than a typical underdog story.
By now we are hardly strangers to run-of-the-mill Batman films and TV shows, but the franchise is given an extreme makeover with "Batman Begins." Christopher Nolan ("Memento") directs this decidedly dark and harrowing tale of the origins of the Dark Knight. Far from the altruistic, goody-two-shoes superheroes like Superman and Spiderman, Batman is to be portrayed here as he was always meant to be: a gloomy individual haunted by a desire for revenge. Christian Bale ("Reign of Fire") plays the title character, supported by a host of A-list actors: including Michael Caine ("Miss Congeniality") as Alfred the butler, Ken Watanabe ("The Last Samurai") as a ninja cult leader and Gary Oldman ("The Fifth Element") as the future Commissioner Gordon.
With the largest budget in film history and Steven Spielberg at the helm, "War of the Worlds" could easily be the highest-grossing film of the year. Tom Cruise ("Collateral") plays Ray Ferrier, an average-Joe New Jersey family man who is thrust into a battle between Earth's current residents and a nefarious Martian invading force. Despite the epic budget, the only other major star attached to the project is Tim Robbins. Details of the plot are vague, and it's a good bet that the story strays quite a bit from H.G. Wells' book of the same name, but it is certain that rampant destruction and heart-pounding action will characterize this film. The producers may be hoping that excitement over the sheer scale of the production will be enough to garner widespread interest.
After a strange cosmic accident, four astronauts are endowed with some very nifty superpowers and set about battling the evil Doctor Doom. One can stretch like elastic (Mr. Fantastic); one can turn invisible and create force fields (The Invisible Woman); one turns rocky, orange and strong as hell (The Thing); and one can control flame at will (The Human Torch). Indeed, these powers are disconcertingly close to those of the super-family in "The Incredibles," which spoofed such comics as The Fantastic Four. "The Fantastic Four," however, is cast entirely by relative unknowns; its main appeal is the CGI effects, which promise to be nothing short of spectacular. We'll see if this turns out to be just another ho-hum superhero flick or a truly worthwhile foray into the world of Marvel Comics.
Johnny Depp ("Finding Neverland") will undoubtedly steal the show in this remake of the 1971 classic "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." He plays eccentric candy bar mogul Willy Wonka, who leads a lucky group of children through his outrageous funhouse of a chocolate factory. Freddie Highmore (who also appeared in "Finding Neverland" with Depp) stars as Charlie Bucket, the young hero who finds one of five golden tickets which allows him to tour the facility with four rather naughty children. With the zany direction of Tim Burton ("Big Fish"), the film will probably be every bit as crazy and madcap as Roald Dahl intended in the book. With all the makeup he puts on, though, Depp's character bears an eerie resemblance to Michael Jackson...
"The Island" is this year's requisite surrealist sci-fi extravaganza. Some 50 years in the future, the film follows the efforts of Lincoln Echo-Six (Ewan McGregor, "Big Fish") and Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson, "Lost in Translation") to escape a dystopian nightmare. Residing in a contained facility cut off from the rest of the world, Lincoln and Jordan realize that they have been living in a deception. They make a desperate attempt to escape, relentlessly pursued by "The Island's" security team. Director Michael Bay ("Pearl Harbor," "Armageddon") certainly knows how to deliver a hit, so this seemingly convoluted plot will likely be accessible to audiences.
Yet another remake, "The Pink Panther" places Steve Martin ("Bringing Down the House") in the shoes of blundering Inspector Jaques Clouseau. This film is chronologically a prequel to Peter Sellers' 1963 film of the same name; Inspector Clouseau is called in to investigate the murder of a soccer coach and subsequent theft of a ring from the body. Keeping tabs on the inept inspector's activities is Kevin Kline, as Clouseau's boss, Chief Inspector Dreyfus. Jean Reno also takes center stage as Clouseau's new partner, Gendarme Gilbert Ponton. Neither Kline nor Reno are known for their comic abilities, so "The Pink Panther" is purely Martin's show. He may not be as popular a comic as Will Farrel or Ben Stiller these days, but Martin may bring a level of maturity to this film that is absent from other modern comedies.
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