Wreck-It Ralph
Release Date: November 2nd
Directed by Rich Moore; Starring John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Sarah Silverman, and Alan Tudyk
Wreck-It Ralph looks more interesting than any non-Pixar animated feature Disney has produced since…hmm…Lilo & Stitch? That’s probably an apt comparison, as Lilo was the last animated Disney film that wasn’t an adaptation of a preexisting story or a return to familiar Disney archetypes. It was a kind of film the studio had never done before, and from what we’ve seen so far, the same can be said of Wreck-It Ralph.
The film is set in the world of video games, something Disney has never explored before, and that alone gets me excited. But the plot – title-character Ralph is a video game villain who escapes his arcade console to find a place he can be the hero – really is a creative one, and Reilly seems perfect for the material.
I don’t know how the rest of the cast will fare – I worry Lynch, cast years ago when Glee was actually relevant, will just be playing Sue Sylvester – but I like the look of the animation and tone of the trailer.
All in all, I think this could be a very pleasant surprise from a company that hasn’t had many to offer in a long time.
The Man With The Iron Fists
Release Date: November 2nd
Directed by RZA; Starring Russell Crowe, Cung Le, Lucy Liu, Bryon Mann, and RZA
Oh boy.
There really isn’t a whole lot I can write about this one. The trailer itself is such a crazy, no-holds-barred visual and aural powerhouse that I have no idea how to sum it up. It looks like the craziest Kung-Fu mash-up movie since Kill Bill, unsurprising since Quentin Tarantino produced the project, and RZA, the man who scored those films, directs, co-stars, and co-writes with Eli Roth.
This is a group of talent with limitless affection for and knowledge of the genre, and that passion is clear in every frame of the trailer. I cannot wait to set eyes on this one and to see this wonderful cast in action and witness the glorious mayhem RZA has concocted.
Flight
Release Date: November 2nd
Directed by Robert Zemeckis; Starring Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood, Don Cheadle, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, and James Badge Dale
Robert Zemeckis! You’ve returned! To live-action! I thought we’d lost you forever in the dark, computer-generated landscape of uncanny valley! I believed your creepy attempts at animated photorealism had consumed you! But here you are, back in the land of the living!
In all seriousness, it is exciting to see Zemeckis return to live-action filmmaking after over a decade away, especially with such a fascinating project. Flight stars Denzel Washington as a commercial airline pilot who successfully lands a crashing plane without any casualties. He is treated like a hero until it turns out he had alcohol in his system at the time of the crash, broadening the scope of the investigation.
The trailer is simply fantastic, an expertly structured primer that hints at compelling characters and intriguing mysteries. Washington appears perfect for the part (as he always does), I always enjoy watching Don Cheadle work, and the rest of the cast is equally talented.
Zemeckis seems to have returned to the land of the living in style, and that makes me very, very excited.
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