45 Must See Films of 2014 - Part 4

The fourth and final installation outlining the 45 must-see films of 2014 is what I call the "wildcard" films. Twelve in all, these are mostly going to be late 2014 releases, if not 2015 or not at all. Most of them look extremely good on paper either because of cast, crew, or story. Here they are, with no release dates attached because it's purely speculation at this point.

The Gunman. Idris Elba, Sean Penn, and Javier Bardem in a spy thriller. Need I say more? Directed by Pierre Morel, one of the minds behind the Transporter and Taken franchises, and director of 2010's awful From Paris with Love. Could go either way, but with that cast, I'm hedging my bets for a strong action film.

Feed the Tree. I don't know much about this one except for the setting, and it hits close to home. "A group of close high school friends make their way through tragedy and a coming of age in 1990's Seattle, WA" (IMDB). If nothing else, might be a trip down memory lane. Except for the tragedy part.

Knight of Cups. Terrence Malick's mysterious next project featuring Christian Bale and Natalie Portman. Described only as "A man, temptations, celebrity, and excess" (IMDB). Might be an ethereal Tree of Life type film, or might be more mainstream like The Thin Red Line (mainstream being loosely used here - nothing Malick is mainstream). The strange thing is that if you look up this combination of cast/crew, there is another project titled "untitled Terrence Malik Project" that also has Bale and Portman, but also Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender, Rooney Mara, Benicio Del Toro, and Cate Blanchett. Either way, I'm intersted.

Carol. This Todd Haynes period piece finds Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett in a 1950's New York City department store love story. That's all.

Voyage of Time. Also Terrence Malick, so either this one makes it to the cinema, or Knight of Cups does. I'm betting that one will be pushed back quite a ways, maybe even to 2016. Anyhow, this one has Brad Pitt and Emma Thompson taking an existential look at the universe, and time, and space and everything in the universe. Sounds fascinating. Didn't we already see this in the Tree of Life? Maybe see this one in IMAX?

Inherent Vice. Paul Thomas Anderson is back after confusing and polarizing audiences with 2012's The Master. He brings Joaquin Phoenix back (I love him as an actor - so much emotion) to the 1970's as a drug-addicted detective investigating the disappearance of his girlfriend. Based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon, last time PT Anderson adapted a novel, it got him an Oscar nomination for writing, film, and a win for Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis). This will be in the awards discussions in the fall.

Foxcatcher. Bennett Miller's follow-up to Moneyball featuring the outstanding cast of Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum, and Steve Carell in the biopic of the Schultz brothers and the US Olympic wrestling murder scandal from 1996. Will be interesting to see how Tatum and Carell handle this type of film as it's going to test both of their limits. I have faith though, and think this could be an audience favorite.

Into the Woods. I'm not usually a big fan of the dark Disney fantasy spinoffs, but this one has some real star-power. Directed by Rob Marshall, who has some experience adapting from stage to screen with Chicago and Nine, it stars Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine, Anna Kendrick, and Emily Blunt. Intrigued?

The Homesman. I like Tommy Lee Jones despite some of his obvious mistakes. I also like Hillary Swank in her 3 good film roles and 1 good made for TV film role. Put them together in pioneer times and surround them with some quality actors (John Lithgow, Tim Blake Nelson, William Fichtner, James Spader, Hailee Steinfeld, Meryl Streep, Jesse Plemons) and you have the makings of something that might be a home run. Or a routine pop-fly. We'll have to wait and see.

Untitled Cameron Crowe Project. I cried at We Bought a Zoo. So sue me. I love Cameron Crowe movies (except Vanilla Sky and Elizabethtown, but those don't count). This one might be much more in line with his lighthearted fare. Bradley Cooper, Rachel McAdams, Emma Stone, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Alec Baldwin, and Danny McBride lead this love story surrounding a military contractor and his Air Force chaperone. At least it's something different.

Creed of Violence. I read this book a few years back when it first came out and it's pretty fun. Christian Bale leads Todd Field's charge toward gold statues in a story set in 1910 Mexico where an FBI agent enlists the help of a veteran assassin with a secret as they look to take down an arms cartel. Leo DiCaprio initially expressed interest in the role, but backed out to film Gatsby and Wolf of Wall Street.

Third Person. Three couples, three love stories, Rome, Paris, New York. Paul Haggis returns to behind the camera after a few years of making exceptionally average work. He wrote and directed Third Person, so let's hope it returns to the realm of magic that Crash inspired, and which catapulted his name to fame. He wrote Million Dollar Baby as well, and that was fantastic. Mila Kunis, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Liam Neeson, Kim Basinger, Adrien Brody, and Maria Bello are the big names. I'm not expecting much to come of this, but you never know with Haggis.

And, the bonus film which is almost a lock to be America's darling in 2014, Nailed. I mentioned it in my Golden Globes recap, but it's David O. Russell's next film and will be on the Academy's radar, particularly Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal, Catherine Keener, and James Marsden. Or, Russell's luck could run out with American Hustle. We'll find out next year.

While we're dreaming of the future, my most anticipated, yet unlikely to be adapted film remains Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. Ridley Scott, Todd Field, and most recently James Franco have expressed interest in the challenge of adapting the novel, but it just doesn't seem feasible. Ridley Scott, a longtime fan of McCarthy and collaborator on The Counselor this past year, when asked if he would be able to make the film with an NC-17 rating, said "It would have been rated double-X." That seems to be the problem. The novel is so visceral in its graphic description of violence that to do it justice would essentially ostracize 99% of audiences. It's not a profitable move, and won't ever see the silver screen, but I get excited when I hear that a director is thinking about giving it a try. Except James Franco. My challenge is for one of our better film makers to buck the system and make the film the way it is meant to be made. Be a trailblazer. Be like Kubrick. My dream writer/director would probably be Paul Thomas Anderson. With Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Matt Lauria, Jackie Earl Haley, Tom Hardy, and Michael Shannon in the lead roles. A boy can dream, can't he?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the 2014 preview - there are some good ones for sure. Until next time...