The Darjeeling Limited
directed by Wes Anderson
A tribesman strumming a guitar, a few rogue punches thrown, Bill Murray taunting neighborhood children — see any of these and you might be watching a Wes Anderson movie. Whether they’re performing onstage renditions of Serpico or waging vendettas against giant sharks, Anderson’s characters can never be accused of following the crowd. Now Anderson takes on the story of three brothers (played by Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson) as they embark on a spiritual journey through India. This won’t be the cash cow of the fall, but fans of the director should come out in droves. Besides, if The Darjeeling Limited bombs, Anderson can always make another American Express ad.
Feast of Love
directed by Robert Benton
Quick, name Morgan Freeman’s best performance in a romance. Stumped? Freeman has done comedy, small indie roles, more than his share of drama, but he’s almost always a solitary figure on-screen. Here he plays a professor on sabbatical in a deep and loving relationship, guiding a young coffeehouse owner played by Greg Kinnear. Feast of Love is an ensemble romance, but it’s not entirely a breezy Love Actually. Freeman is worth watching in anything, and the hushed-up affairs and lesbian betrayals should offer some good dramatic thunder.
The Game Plan
directed by Andy Fickman
“I want something I can really sink my teeth into,” thinks Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and lo and behold we have The Game Plan. After showing some acting promise in Be Cool and starring in the solid Gridiron Gang, you have to wonder why The Rock would choose a movie that should be the Friday night special on ABC Family. Here he plays a star quarterback whose Super Bowl dreams hit the skids when he discovers he has a young daughter from a previous marriage. Fill in the blanks, and the movie will probably end with the little girl drawing up the winning Statue of Liberty play from the sidelines. Rock must get hundreds of these kinds of scripts a day; maybe he’ll pick something riskier than another The Pacifier for his next role.
The Kingdom
directed by Peter Berg
Jamie Foxx has already done his tour in Iraq, hoo-rahing his way through burning oil fields at dawn in Jarhead. And Chris Cooper has wrangled out the details of oil company mergers as a wildcatter CEO in the thrilling Syriana. So why would they return so soon to the Middle East, playing members of an FBI team investigating a bombing in Saudi Arabia? The Kingdom feels like it wants to be a roller-coaster action-fest while reminding us that Arabs are people too. Get ready for lots of gory jump-cuts offset with close-ups of sad little children, all set to the soundtrack of a woman wailing.
Lust, Caution
directed by Ang Lee
After hitting it big with Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee won’t take his foot of the gas; his follow-up, starring Wei Tang and Tony Leung, may outdo even his ambitious Western. During the 1938 occupation of Shanghai by Japan, a Chinese loyalist recruits Tang’s character for a crucial mission: Seduce Japanese ally Mr. Yee (Leung) so that he can eventually be killed. Leung has covered similar themes in his previous work, most notably Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love and 2046. Profit-wise, the movie has two kiss-of-death factors working against it — subtitles and an NC-17 rating. But with Lee’s name attached, you can probably bet the house on success.
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