Thursday, September 11, 2008

THE SOLOIST trailer kills the ache and creates a new one


A couple of years back we had Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler play an unlikely duo in a film I enjoyed called REIGN OVER ME. Although it didn't have the duo dynamic going for it, PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS had a good heart to it. And this year, I believe FLASH OF GENIUS will also be of the same nature but this has something going for it that not even Greg Kinnear's charm can champion: Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx. Screw the Year of the Rat, we are all witness to this being the Year of the RBJ. I think that if someone was to tell Robert 10 years ago while he was on ALLY MCBEAL, that in a decade his career would take a 52 week steroid boost during which he would play a flying-suit wearing superhero and a black man back to back, I think he would've just hit the heroin harder. But look at the man now. To tell you the truth, the first big movie I ever saw him in was U.S. MARSHALS in which he play a corrupt FBI agent. After that, I would always see him as that limey fed. But then it wasn't until 2003 that I started seeing him in films that I actually liked him in. I went back and saw CHAPLIN in which he plays, you guessed it, Charlie Chaplin. Great film. Then afterward, NATURAL BORN KILLERS. It wasn't until 2005 and 2006 that I started seeing him in some memorable films. KISS KISS BANG BANG, GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK, A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS, A SCANNER DARKLY. Then, the underrated masterpiece that is ZODIAC really got me pumped to see what he would tackle next. Sure enough, 2008 rolled around and he was the talk of the town. This year has seen some great performances already but it's only September and we know that the Oscar attractions don't start making it to the theaters until October or so.
You saw the trailer above and yes, it does look to be gunning for Best Male Lead and Supporting Performance of the year. Still, there are several greats coming out before the year's end and the competition will be rigid. There's Oliver Stone's W, Clint Eastwood's CHANGELING, Baz Luhrman's AUSTRALIA, Van Sant's MILK, David Fincher's CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, Bryan Singer's VALKYRIE, and Ron Howard's FROST/NIXON. Oof, this is definitely going to make for a great year-end after all. THE SOLOIST opens wide November 21st.
BTW, I just had to post this video of Darth Vader below. Just had to.

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