The Departed (trailer): The first of two must-sees this weekend, as it’s apparently the “best Scorsese film since [fill-in-the-blank].” Personally, I’ve always thought that Bringing Out the Dead was extremely underrated, but the more common choices seem to be either Casino or Goodfellas.
The Last King of Scotland (trailer): Director Kevin Macdonald last made the quasi-documentary Touching the Void, which was probably the best movie released in 2004. See it if you haven’t.
Renaissance (trailer): Looks pretty good, I guess. Even with the Weinsteins gone, I find myself reflexively skeptical of Miramax stuff. Any chance that any of our European correspondents can shed some light on this?
49 Up (trailer): The latest of Michael Apted’s 7 Up documentaries, wherein he chronicles the lives of a group of folks every seven years. I haven’t seen any of the previous installments, but really ought to someday.
Employee of the Month (trailer): Dane Cook: not funny. Granted, I only have two episodes of “Saturday Night Live” to go on here, but I feel pretty confident about that assessment nonetheless.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (trailer): Will be better than The Descent: true or false? I’d give even odds, but I doubt heavily that I’ll find out.
Keeping Mum (trailer): Didn’t even watch the trailer for this. That probably seems harsh, but I can’t stand Maggie Smith. Or Rowan Atkinson. And the presence of Patrick Swayze sure as hell isn’t going to change my mind. Plus I hate the title.
America: From Freedom to Fascism (trailer): From the IMDB, this film “explores the connection between income tax collection and the erosion of civil liberties in America.” Proving that the fringe right-wing in America is far loonier than the fringe left.
Gone Elsewhere 
I agree about Bringing Out the Dead, it seemed a little more of a U-Turn/Natural Born Killers-ish Oliver Stone movie than a Scorcese picture but it was a very good one.
Dane Cook sucks, I’ve seen a lot of his standup and his ultra-unfunny SNL apearances are no different. And Jessica Simpson is kinda like a barbie doll, but less intelligent. Dax Shepard is the only thing that kept me from driving to Austin to see Idiocracy. So..yeah…Employee of the Month is the debil.
Renaissance does look interesting but I really don’t think I’m gonna pay money to see another Weinstein flick for a while.
I’ve always ben very interested in the “up” series, I think I might netflix the first few installments.
I agree about Bringing Out the Dead, it seemed a little more of a U-Turn/Natural Born Killers-ish Oliver Stone movie than a Scorcese picture
Quite so. This is probably because Scorsese was working with Robert Richardson, who was Stone’s DP on those pictures (and many others).
Much more restrained than either of those two, however.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t automatically think Maggie Smith is a great actress. I’ve always found her very ‘mannered’ in her acting style and frequently irritating.
Man, Departed arrives here in December. *sigh*
Will be better than The Descent: true or false?
Ha! I laughter myself to death on your preposterous claims. Response late, but forthcoming.
As for Renaissance, a friend who saw it at a festival said it was “pretty but soulless.” This from a guy who loves Blade Runner. Still, not surprised considering the trailer. But reviews haven’t dismissed it entirely, might still be worth it if you love weird little sci-fi’s.