Top Ten Movies

The release of Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” have induced the chain of a long series of movies that were among the most awaited among fans and critics alike for quite sometime. Here is a selection of what can be considered to be the cream among the entire array of films likely to hit the theatres within the next six months.

• Invictus – Scheduled to be released in December, this Nelson Mandela biopic directed by the iconic Clint Eastwood has succeeded in capturing the attention of millions around the world. With Eastwood’s growing reputation over the past decades as a thoughtful and intense director, the film is already being discussed as a potential forerunner in the Oscar race. With Morgan Freeman playing the role of Mandela one can always expect certain sparks that was previously evident in the Freeman-Eastwood ventures like Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby.

• Shutter Island – Talking about Oscar race and actor-director partnership, the only thing that can offer stiff competition to the aforementioned is the legendary Martin Scorsese and his highly productive and creative partnership with Leonardo DiCaprio. This thriller cited by many as being in same vein as Cape Fear, is among the most anticipated films to hit the theatres in February 2010. With a strong supporting cast of Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Max Von Sydow, Shutter Island will certainly carry forward the success story of Gangs of New York, Aviator and The Departed.

• Avatar – One doesn’t have to waste words regarding the anticipation of a film which comes from a director after a gap of 12 years along with the fact that his last outing with a fiction film earned him 11 Academy Awards. Movie goers around the world are eagerly waiting for James Cameron’s comeback vehicle to be released mid-December. An unprecedented application of motion capture technology that has been in the R&D for the last decade has been the primary reason for the air of expectancy surrounding Avatar’s release.

• The Lovely Bones – The film has already been tagged as the Trial by Fire for director Peter Jackson whose unquestionable reputation for silver screen spectacles faces a stiff challenge with the question about his capabilities for treating for sensitive issues of a human nature. Yet another mid-December release, the film starring Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon deals with the rape and murder of a young girl and the plight of her parents and loved ones following this event.

• Nine – One of the biggest Christmas releases in recent years, this Rob Marshall film is a musical retelling of Federico Fellini’s celebrated 8½. While Marshall’s flair for musicals is already established and recognized after the critical and commercial success of Chicago, the primary thing to watch out for would be the orchestration of the various characters in the narrative played by a dream star cast of Daniel day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench and the legendary Sophia Loren.