In carrying out my duties over with George on The Right Hook, I got an email from Cork listener Brian Tennant: "Without including James Bond or Star Wars, can Philip name a dozen movie releases he is looking forward to between now and the end of the year?"
Interesting question, Brian, and here goes, anyway...
12. Legend (September 9th)
In which Tom Hardy plays both the 60s London gangsters the Kray brother (Reggie and Ronnie) for Oscar-winning writer/director Brian Helgeland.
11. Everest (September 18th)
An all-star, 3D, biographical mountain-climbing drama that recalls the 1996 Mount Everest disaster when eight people were caught in a blizzard and died.
10. 99 Homes (September 25th)
Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon in promising drama about a young father’s efforts to win back the home that his family has been evicted from.
9. The Martian (September 30th)
Directed by Ridley Scott with Matt Damon starring – the word on this is already very positive.
8. Sicario (October 9th)
A tough, crime picture from talented French-Canadian director Dennis Villeneuve that was well reviewed at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The always watch able Emily Blunt stars.
7. The Walk (October 9th)
A promising 3-D, feature, dramatisation of the story from the documentary Man On Wire, the Oscar-winning James Marsh feature about the French high-wire artist who walked between the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Centre in 1974.
6. Crimson Peak (October 16th)
Ghost story and Gothic romance that sounds similar to the Edgar Allan Poe stories which Vincent Price did for Roger Corman in the early 60s. Guillermo Del Tory directs, which is enough for me.
5. Mississippi Grind (October 23rd)
The excellent Australian actor Ben Mendlesohn stars with Ryan Reynolds in gambling drama by Ryan Fleck and Anne Boden, the pair who did Half Nelson.
4. Brooklyn (November 6th)
Adaptation of the Colm Toibín novel about a young Irish woman’s experiences in New York in the 1950s. Has been attracting Oscar support for the past few months. Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent and Julie Walters star for director John Crowley.
3. Steve Jobs (November 13th)
The story of computer pioneer Steve Jobs, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Danny Boyle, and told from the perspective of three product launches up to the iMac in 1999. In a big year for him, Michael Fassbender heads a super cast.
2. Black Mass (November 27th)
If this lives up to the promise of the trailer it could readily revive Johnny Depp’s career. Depp transformed himself for the role of Irish-American career criminal Whitey Bulger in a head-on account of his savage life.
1. Carol (November 27th)
Cate Blanchet is virtually certain to win another Oscar nomination for this tale of lesbian love in New York, though Rooney Mara took the prize in Cannes back in May.
I always run over with these lists, Brian, so I’ll just mention a few other releases coming late in November and December: the Tom Hanks-starring Bridge of Spies, Disney's The Good Dinosaur, Victor Frankenstein with James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe, and Ron Howard's In The Heart Of The Sea.
By the way, Spectre, the new Bond, is out on October 26th and Star Wars: The Force Awakens is released on December 18th. It's safe to expect they'll both be massive hits, and certainly worth a look.
Film critic and writer Philip Molloy presents The Picture Show, every Saturday on Newstalk from 6pm to 7pm.
