Temperatures dipping everywhere mean at least two things for the cinema: arthouse and adaptation releases are gearing up for their end-of-year showcases, and this year is certainly no slouch when it comes to high-profile directors advertising their latest creations.
On the adaptation side of proceedings, Mike Newell's riff on Charles Dickens' classic “Great Expectations” has just landed with a new poster, and true to form it shows off the youthful cast in period décor surrounded by their British acting mentors. This time around featuring Jeremy Irvine and Holliday Grainger as Pip and Estella, who fall in love under the imposing presence of Miss Havisham (Helena Bonham Carter), the film also features the always-reliable Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch, the man who could provide some safety to the couple in jeopardy. Whether Newell's film will reach the heights of David Lean or Alfonso Cuaron's takes remains to be seen, but the newest version will have its UK release November 30th before making its way to the US thereafter. [Empire]
Sustaining his auteur status by remaining out of the spotlight since 2008, when the Michel Gondry/Bong Joon-Ho triptych “Tokyo!” first hit screens, director Leos Carax is at last back with the indescribable “Holy Motors.” It certainly is stirring up debate, as ever since its Cannes premiere festivalgoers (us included) have had difficulty pinning down the onslaught of ideas present. Regardless, with regular Carax collab Dennis Levant starring alongside Edith Scob, Eva Mendes and Kylie Minogue, the visually dazzling work just begs to be seen theatrically either way, beginning October 17th in limited release. [HitFix]
Also premiering at Cannes, but subject to a different shade of confused reaction, Abbas Kiarostami's “Like Someone In Love” finds the director in Japan with another take on relationships and love. Gorgeously shot and filmed with static, unbroken takes, the one-sheet certainly reflects that as lead actress Rin Takanashi gazes up at the city around her. IFC Films are releasing this one next year, but from our Cannes review, which called the film “Enigmatic and dull to a maddening degree,” you may just be better off watching “Certified Copy” again to satisfy your Kiarostami fix. [Criterion Corner]
