The action-packed trailer for Coriolanus (2011) features another Shakespeare play set in modern-day

Ralph Fiennes is an exceptional actor, but he not only appears in this film but also directs it.  His modern-day update to the Shakespeare play Coriolanus (2011) looks to be a raw, action-packed powerhouse.  Opposite Gerard Butler, Fiennes looks as good as ever, if a bit melodramatic in the preview.  This film makes a modest appearance on my Most Anticipated Films list.

Michael Shannon has apocalyptic visions in the spellbinding trailer for Take Shelter (2011)

Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic film at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and winning the Critics Week Grand Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, Take Shelter (2011) has become one of my Most Anticipated Films.  The trailer seems to display a clever balance of hysteria and real, justified paranoia.  Critics have raved about the powerhouse performance given by the underrated Michael Shannon; this may be one of the last looks at him before he goes mainstream as General Zod in the Christopher Nolan-produced, Zack Snyder-directed Superman reboot Man of Steel (2013).  Ever since its early 2011 festival run, I’ve been anticipating its release and you should be at the very least aware of it as well, if not excited to see it too.

Film Review: The Tree of Life (2011)

The phrase “They don’t make them like they used to anymore” is only partly true for this film as the description should actually be “They never make them like this, ever.”  Not since the late great Stanley Kubrick’s challenging science-fiction masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) has a film been so ambitious, provocative and frustrating.  Reclusive auteur director Terrence Malick’s latest, winner of the 2011’s Cannes Film Festival coveted “Palme d’Or” award, is virtually a modern day masterpiece; it features some of the most beautiful images ever to grace the silver screen that are matched by profound, poignant themes relating to religion, family/parenting, growing up, and the beginning and end times.  However, not everyone will like or even appreciate it.  Actually, probably only a minority of the movie-going public will enjoy this unconventional film as it abandons the basic story structure/narrative style and will seem pretentious or boring to many.  Yet, if viewers are willing to be patient, reflective and open to something truly original and overwhelmingly ambitious, they may find that it is full of meaning and deserves if not demands multiple viewings and much contemplation.  Besides, audiences likely will never witness such a gorgeously-shot film in their lifetime as this one (without the price of or need for 3D!).  Even if it is not the most entertaining or easiest to sit through and understand, The Tree of Life (2011) is probably 2011’s best film thus far due to its epic scope and aspirations, character and thematic depth, honest performances, and magnificent cinematography; it may even change your life, outlook on the world, or help to explain the nature of existence and answer other universal, timeless questions.  After all, it is the closest thing to cinematic poetry one will probably ever behold.