Opens: June 14 USA (and 40+ other countries in June)
Summary: A young journalist, Clark Kent, is forced to confront his secret extraterrestrial heritage when Earth is invaded by members of his race.
Based on the comic book superhero created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, and first published in 1933.
Rated: PG-13
World War Z
Starring: Brad Pitt, James Badge Dale, Mireille Enos
Director: Marc Forster
Opens: June 21 in USA (and in about 65+ other countries between June and August)
Summary: United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to decimate humanity itself.
Starring: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner
Director: Gore Verbinski
Opens: July 3 in USA (and in about 40 other countries between July and early August)
Summary: Native American warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice.
Based on the 1933 radio show written by Frank Striker, that led to a series of books also written by Striker; and then a TV series, comic books and movies.
If you're wondering what films based on books will release in early 2013 (Jan-April), BookBrowse has the answer!
Gangster Squad
Starring: Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Opened: Jan 11 in USA (opens in 40+ other countries between early Jan and late Feb)
Based on Journalist Paul Lieberman's 2008 seven-part series for the Los Angeles Times', "Tales from the Gangster Squad" which chronicles the true story of the secretive police unit that waged an anything-goes war to drive Mickey Cohen and other hoodlums from Los Angeles after WWII. The series was adapted into book form in 2012 in anticipation of the film's release.
Rated: R
IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
Parker
Starring: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis
Director: Taylor Hackford
Opens: Jan 25 in USA (and in about 25 other countries between late Jan and late March)
Summary: A thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist.
Based on the Parker novels of Donald E. Westlake, writing under the pseudonym Richard Stark; and apparently on Flashfire in particular, the 19th volume in the series, published in 2000.
Rated: R
John Dies at the End
Starring: Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti
Director: Don Coscarelli
Opens: Jan 25 in USA (UK in March)
Summary: A new street drug that sends its users across time and dimensions has one drawback: some people return as no longer human. Can two college dropouts save humankind from this silent, otherworldly invasion?
Based on the 2007 novel of the same name by David Wong which, according to Booklist, "spoofs the horror genre while simultaneously offering up a genuinely horrifying story."
Rated: R
IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
Warm Bodies
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich
Director: Jonathan Levine
Opens: Feb 1 in USA (and in about 20 other countries between late Jan - early April)
Summary: The comedic story of a star-crossed, post-apocalyptic romance starring a young zombie and his human love interest.
Based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Isaac Marion, about a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie in a post-apolcalyptic USA largely populated by zombies, who craves something more than blood and brains. Audrey Niffenger (author of The Time Traveler's Wife) describes the book as "elegantly written, touching, and fun."
Wondering what films based on books will release in Fall 2012?
BookBrowse has the answer!
(this blog was first posted on Sept 4 and was updated on Sept 24 to add additional films - which are indicated with *.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Starring:
Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller
Director: Stephen Chbosky
Opening: September 21 in USA (limited distribution)
Based on: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999)
About: An introvert freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors who welcome him to the real world.
Rating: PG-13
*Killing Them Softly
Starring: Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini
Director: Andrew Dominik
Opening: November 30 in USA (Sept - Dec 2012 elsewhere)
Based on: Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins (1974) - which is being republished as Killing Them Softly
About: Jackie Cogan is a professional enforcer who investigates a heist that went down during a mob-protected poker game.
Rating: R
*The Sessions
Starring: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William H. Macy
Director: Ben Lewin
Opening: September 19 in USA (early Sept 2012 - March 2013 elsewhere)
Based on: The life of Mark O'Brien, whose memoir, How I Became a Human Being was first published in 2003 and has just been republished by The University of Wisconsin Press
About: A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest.
Rating: R
*The Paperboy
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman and John Cusack
Director: Lee Daniels
Opening: October 5 in USA (limited distribution)
Based on: The Paperboy by Pete Dexter (1995)
About: A reporter returns to his Florida hometown to investigate a case involving a death row inmate.
Rating: Unknown
*Wuthering Heights
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman and John Cusack
Director: Andrea Arnold
Opening: October 5 in USA (limited distribution); available elsewhere from Oct 2011
Based on: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (1847)
About: A poor boy of unknown origins is rescued from poverty and taken in by the Earnshaw family where he develops an intense relationship with his young foster sister, Cathy. Based on the classic novel by Emily Bronte.
Rating: Unknown
Cloud Atlas
Starring:
Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Hugh Grant
Director: Lana and Andy Wachowski, and Tom Tykwer
Opening: October 26 in USA
Based on: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (2004)
About: An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.
Rating: R
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
Starring:
Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner
Director: Bill Condon
Opening: November 16 in USA (Nov 14-22 elsewhere)
Based on: The second half of the final book in the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer (Breaking Dawn, 2008)
About: Edward and Bella get married and raise their hybrid vampire child.
Wondering what movies based on books will release during Summer 2012? BookBrowse has the answer!
Late May
What to Expect When You're Expecting Starring: Cameron Diaz, Matthew Morrison and J. Todd Smith
Opening: May 18 in USA (release in 30+ other countries between May and Sept).
Based on: The bestselling non-fiction guide of the same name, with more 30 million copies in print.
About: The lives of five apprehensive couples become intertwined by the challenge of impending parenthood.
No reviews as yet at RottenTomatoes, but considering that a rather stunning 91% of those who've cast an opinion (over 8000 people) say they want to see it, it looks like it could be quite a hit!
Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, thematic elements and language.
The Intouchables Starring: Francois Cluzet, Omar Sy and Anne Le Ny
Opening: Limited release in the USA from May 25 (with subtitles). Opened in France and Belgium in Nov 2011.
Based on: A Second Wind by Phillippe Pozzo di Bargo (memoir), which is publishing in USA on May 22.
About: A French aristocrat becomes a quadraplegic after an accident and hires a hot-headed Algerian immigrant to look after him. The book was a #1 bestseller in France and the movie is considered a huge success in France where it took in about $14 million in its first week from just 508 screens.
Rating:
Not rated at time of writing
June
Snow White and the Huntsman Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron
Opening: June 1 in USA (release in 60+ other countries between May 21 and early July)
Based on: The fairy tale
About: This is the second Snow White movie this year, following the release of Mirror, Mirror which got a lukewarm reception.
Rating: PG 13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sensuality.
Bel Ami Starring: Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott Thomas
Opening: Opening on limited release in the USA on June 8. Opened in parts of Europe, including UK, in March.
Based on: Bel Ami, or the History of a Scoundrel by Guy de Maupassant (1903)
About: According to IMDB.com, this is the ninth movie inspired by de Maupassant's novel. The book chronicles journalist Georges Duroy's corrupt rise to power from a poor ex non-commissioned officer to one of the most successful men in Paris, most of which he achieves by manipulating a series of powerful, intelligent, and wealthy mistresses.
Rating: R
In the past couple of months, the young have enjoyed Dr Seuss' The Lorax; teens have piled into The Hunger Games; now it's the turn of the rest of us - the chronologically challenged but still young at heart - to elbow our way into a seat to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotelwhich opens in USA movie theaters on May 4.
Based on: Deborah Moggach's 2004 novel, These Foolish Things, which has recently been retitled and republished as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, the movie has already taken other countries by storm, including the UK where my friends and family report sell-out performances, even at the usually quiet mid-afternoon showings.
If you've missed the build up for this movie, in essence it's a feel good "rom-com" in which a group of retired Brits decide to outsource their retirement to Bangalore in India, where a little money goes a long way, where the climate is better, and where a former British hotel converted into a run-down retirement home can create a little island of Old England in the midst of a throbbing Indian city.
My friends tell me not to expect great depth or complex plot, but instead to sink into a warm and welcoming two hours with some of our best loved actors including Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy.
Think Love Actually with more wrinkles. I can't wait!
Wondering what books will be made into movies in Winter and Spring 2012? BookBrowse has the answer!
There's something for all ages and interests in this season's movies based on books. For the younger set, Danny DeVito, Taylor Swift and Zac Efron star in The Lorax. The YA crowd is already anticipating The Hunger Games. While adults with a political bent will likely be lining up for The Iron Lady. Personally, I'm pretty sure I'll be plunking down my money for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel!
January
Norwegian Wood
Starring: Ken-ichi Matsuyama, Kiko Mizuhara and Rinko Kikuchi
Opening: Jan 6 in USA. First released in Japan in 2010 as Noruwei no Mori
Based on: Haruki Murakami's bestselling novel of the same name (published 1987).
Opinion:
23 reviews at rottentomatoes.com, 17 of them positive, but the subtitles and generally languid plot are likely to limit the audience. As Jason Best at MovieTalk says "[Norwegian Wood] was long thought unfilmable, but Tran does an impressive job of translating the author's dense and poetic first-person narrative to the screen."
The Iron Lady
Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent and Iain Glen
Opening: Jan 13 in USA
Based on: John Campbell's two volume biography of Margaret Thatcher, the second of which is titled Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady.
Opinion:
The Tomatometer at rottentomatoes.com shows 21 positive reviews and 11 negative. The Hollywood Reporter rates it fresh saying, "playing both the staunch human battleship and the diminished old woman sifting through her past, Meryl Streep is riveting."
Coriolanus
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler and Vanessa Redgrave, and directed by Ralph Fiennes
Opening: Jan 20 in USA
Based on: Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name.
Opinion: Set in contemporary Rome, complete with tanks and AK-47's. A user reviewer on IMDB suggests that this is only for die-hard Shakespeare fans already familiar with Coriolanus.
A Smile as Big as the Moon
Starring: John Corbett, Jessy Schram and Cynthia Watros
Opening: Late Jan on ABC TV
Based on: Mike Kersjes' 2002 book subtitled A Teacher, His Class and Their Unforgettable Journey.
Opinion: A special education teacher and his class take an inspiring journey through U.S. space camp. I'll probably tune into this one simply for the chance to see John Corbett, perhaps best known for his roles as Aidan Shaw in "Sex and the City" and Chris Stevens in the 1990s comedy "Northern Exposure".
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