The Nevada Sagebrush

This holiday season, many of the big box office draws will be recycling material from other sources. Whether they are sequels, remakes of classics, adaptations from books or a combination of the three, many movie studios will be releasing an updated version of well-known material just in time for Academy Award consideration and the winter holidays.

Nov. 6

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“A Christmas Carol”
Starring: Jim Carrey, John Cleese and Gary Oldman
Description: The story teaches a lesson in morality as a cruel, miserly old man is visited by three ghosts. The ghosts show him the harsh realities of his past, present and future on Christmas Eve in order to teach him the error of his ways before it is too late for him to change.
Genre: Animated, Holiday
Rating: PG
Predecessors: Numerous adaptations of the classic Charles Dickens novel include  “The Muppet Christmas Carol” in 1992, a silent film in 1908 and several made-for-TV versions such as the 1984 adaptation starring George C. Scott.
What’s New: This film will be released in Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D. It is directed by Robert Zemeckis (“Beowulf”), who has not worked with Disney since he directed 1988’s “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” Each of the actors portray multiple characters, including Jim Carrey, who plays Ebenezer Scrooge at all ages and each of the three spirits.
Verdict: The 2009 adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” will lack most of the magic and heart-warming tenderness that made its precursors successful. With Carrey carrying most of the film on his own with various special effects, it looks to be more disturbing than festive.

“Precious: Based on the novel push, by sapphire”
Starring: Mo’Nique, Paula Patton and Mariah Carey
Description: An overweight, illiterate young woman who has been abused by her family members enrolls in an alternative high school while pregnant with her second child in an attempt to turn her life around. The story deals with social issues such as incest, rape, HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy and education.
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Predecessors: The film is adapted from the 1996 novel “Push” by Sapphire and based on true stories encountered by the author during her work with underprivileged students in New York.
What’s New: The novel “Push” has received multiple awards from various literary and human rights organizations, and the film premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won several awards of its own. It also received promotion from Oprah Winfrey’s production company.
Verdict: The film has already won awards at several film festivals, and has been included in discussions about possible nominees for upcoming Academy Awards. Depending upon the execution of the acting, the film has the potential to become successful.

Nov. 20

“New Moon”
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner
Description: Unable to cope with the absence of her vampire lover, Bella Swan begins experimenting with dangerous activities such as motorcycle riding and turns to her werewolf friend Jacob Black for comfort, which tests her allegiance to Edward Cullen and his vampire brethren.
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Rating: PG-13
Predecessors: “New Moon” is the sequel to 2008’s “Twilight,” the first film in the Twilight series based on the hugely popular young adult books of the same name written by Stephanie Meyer.
What’s New: The first Twilight film grossed over $35 million on its opening day alone and the novels have sold over 70 million copies worldwide. This time around, “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke of “Thirteen” fame has been replaced by Chris Weitz, known for working with his brother Paul Weitz on popular films such as “About a Boy” and “American Pie.”
Verdict: While “Twilight” received relatively mediocre critical reviews, despite its fiscal success, the change in directors for “New Moon” leaves potential for improvement over the first film.

Nov. 25

The Road”
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall and Charlize Theron
Description: A father and his son struggle to survive and make their way to the coast in search of food, shelter and other survivors of an unnamed apocalyptic event, encountering many obstacles and few resources to help them along.
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rating: R
Predecessors: “The Road” is based on the 2006 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy, who also wrote “No Country for Old Men.”
What’s New: Filmmakers went to great lengths to recreate the apocalyptic settings depicted in the novel, shooting in locations including run-down parts of Pittsburgh, a recently burned down building and parts of New Orleans that had been decimated by Hurricane Katrina.
Verdict: The haunting imagery, unique story and track records of lead actors such as Viggo Mortensen (“Appaloosa”) make chances of success for “The Road” rather promising.

Dec. 11

The Lovely Bones”
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon
Description: After a young girl is murdered during the 1970s, she ascends to a heaven-like plane of existence from which she is able to watch her family grieve and observe her killer as he plans his next attack.
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Rating: Not yet rated
Predecessors: The film is an adaptation of the 2002 bestselling novel of the same name written by Alice Sebold, inspired in part by true events in the author’s life that are also chronicled in her 1997 memoir “Lucky.”
What’s New: “The Lovely Bones” is directed by Academy Award winner Peter Jackson (“District 9”) and was intended to be released earlier in the year but was delayed in order to have a more dramatic release during awards season and to give Jackson more time to capture some larger shots.
Verdict: Although a young and relatively unknown author wrote “The Lovely Bones,” it became a surprise hit, selling over one million copies and remaining on the bestsellers list for over a year. With a reliable cast and director, it is likely that the film adaptation will achieve similar critical acclaim to that of the novel.

Dec. 25

“Sherlock Holmes”
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams
Description: The film follows the story of the legendary detective and his sidekick Dr. John Watson as they attempt to stop a cult conspiracy trying to destroy Britain.
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Rating: Not yet rated
Predecessors: Created in the 1800s by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson have appeared in numerous on-screen incarnations dating back to the early 1900s in addition to the 56 short stories and four original novels written by Doyle.
What’s New: Employing updated technology and special effects, director Guy Ritchie (“RocknRolla”) will transform the classic literary heroes into modern day action movie stars.
Verdict: Rather than rehashing a classic story, “Sherlock Holmes” looks to update the franchise with the help of modern special effects, which may or may not go over well with action and literature fans alike.

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel”
Starring: Jason Lee, Justin Long and Matthew Gray Gubler
Description: The trio of singing chipmunks heads off to attend a human school while an old enemy discovers a group of female chipmunks and strives to make them famous in order to destroy the career of Alvin and his cohorts.
Genre: Animated, Family, Comedy
Rating: PG
Predecessors: The animated musical chipmunks were created in the 1950s and have subsequently released numerous novelty albums and been featured in cartoons and films, including the 2007 live-action adaptation starring Jason Lee as Dave Seville, the songwriter who discovers the chipmunks.
What’s New: “The Squeakuel” is the live-action/CGI animation sequel to the 2007 adaptation of the classic cartoon. The film will feature performances from the winners of “America’s Best Dance Crew” as well as voice acting from contemporary comedians such as Justin Long (“Funny People”) as Alvin and Anna Faris (“Observe and Report”) as Brittany.
Verdict: Despite receiving generally negative critical reviews, the first “Alvin and the Chipmunks” film earned more than $200 million. The “squeakquel” looks to be a lot of the same material that composed the first film; apparently someone enjoys this series.

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