Gangster Squad |
A trip to the movies next year might make you think you've entered a time warp, what with indestructible '80s action heroes Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to form and the reprise of Stephen King's Carrie, last seen on the screen in the '70s. But there's something new, too: the Hollywood debut of two of Korea's hottest auteurs, Kim Jee-woon and Park Chan-wook. And there's the usual onslaught of enough horror movies to portend the end of civilization as we know it.
1. Gangster Squad:: January 11 :: Mob movies continue their hit-or-miss renaissance with this period noir from Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) about the LAPD's fight against a gangland takeover in the '40s and '50s. It stars Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone.
2. The Last Stand:: January 18 :: After a detour as governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger picks up where he left off, fighting the bad guys du jour, in this case the Mexican drug cartels. He plays the sheriff of a border town who must defend his turf against an invasion of really illegal aliens. It's the Hollywood debut of Korean auteur Kim Jee-woon of I Saw the Devil fame.
3. Warm Bodies:: February 1 :: So you think only vampires can have human girlfriends? Taking a tip from Twilight, this rom-com/horror fusion shows what happens when a young zombie falls for the girlfriend of one of his victims. A change of pace for Jonathan Levine (The Wackness), it stars Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, and, inevitably, John Malkovich.
4. Bullet to the Head:: February 1 :: Arnold isn't the only one who's back; so is Sylvester Stallone. He plays a cop who teams up with a hitman to avenge the murder of their buddies. Jason Momoa and Christian Slater also star in veteran auteur Walter Hill's first film in 10 years.
5. Side Effects:: February 8 :: A woman copes with her anxiety while waiting for her hubby's release from prison by binging on prescription drugs. Rooney Mara, of the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, stars, as does Channing Tatum and Jude Law. Director Steven Soderbergh says this may be his last film.
6. Stoker:: March 1 :: Korean director Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) takes on Hollywood in this thriller about a woman grieving her father's loss who takes a shine to a stranger claiming to be her Uncle Charlie. Sound familiar? So it should: screenwriter Wentworth Miller says, "The jumping-off point is actually Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt." It stars Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, and Matthew Goode.
