November 2012
Books on Screen
November 2012
Winter is almost here, and while television shows are well under way, there are some highly anticipated movies about to hit the big screen this month. From historical to romantic, there’s something this month for everyone (though you might need to try to pry yourself from your warm bed first).
In Anna Karenina, the adaptation of the classic 19th century novel by Leo Tolstoy, Keira Knightley plays Anna, who is married to a very powerful man in Russia, but who finds herself in love with another man. Is she willing to risk it all for the one she loves, or must she forever be alone with the one she doesn’t? From 19th century Russia to 19th century America comes Lincoln, the long-awaited biopic of the 16th president of the United States as he leads the North into the Civil War, and everything he dealt with in between.
The Twilight Saga must come to an end sooner or later, and this month is it in Breaking Dawn, Part 2. Edward and Bella just had their baby, Renesmée, and the Volturi aren’t too happy about that. In order to protect their family’s life, they must enlist the help of other covens, and hopefully stop the Volturi from whatever evil plan they have in store.
In Life of Pi, a young Indian boy must survive in the Pacific Ocean after he finds himself stranded due to a shipwreck. He isn’t alone, though. Pi is accompanied by a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger, and must somehow survive in those dangerous waters.
Dreamworks is releasing its next animated movie this month with Rise of the Guardians. Classic childhood legends --- Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Jack Frost, Easter Bunny and the Sandman --- come to life in order to protect the children all over the world from an evil spirit named Pitch.
And in Silver Lining Playbook, Pat loses everything during an eight-month stint in a state institution, and must find his footing at his parents’ house. Eventually he meets Tiffany, a girl who promises to reunite him with his wife, but it seems that life may have other plans for them Pat and Tiffany that doesn’t include his wife.
Be sure not to miss the film adaptation of the favorite, MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN written by Salman Rushdie and directed by internationally renowned director Deepa Mehta, and telling the story of two boys switched at birth on the eve of India's independence.
Last but not least is Hitchcock the story of the making of Psycho and the killer that inspired Alfred Hitchcock's genre changing movie.
Finally, if you'd rather stay cozy in your bed, some of your favorite movies from this past summer are being released on DVD. You can watch Trishna, The Amazing Spider-man, and ParaNorman without even having to get bundled up to go outside!
Cast: Satya Bhabha, Shabana Azmi, Shanana Goswami, Shriya Saran, Siddharth
Director: Deepa Mehta
Distributor: Mongrel Media
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Release Date: November 2nd (Limited)
Based On: MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie
On Midnight of the night India declares independence, two boys are born. One to a wealthy couple and one to a poor couple. However, when the boys are switched in the hospital, they are fated to live one another's lives tied in with the new life of India as an independent country.
Cast: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Johnson
Director: Joe Wright
Distributor: Focus Features
MPAA Rating: TBD
Release Date: November 9th (limited); November 16th (wide)
Based On: ANNA KARENINA by Leo Tolstoy
The third collaboration of Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley with acclaimed director Joe Wright, following the award-winning box office successes Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, is a bold, theatrical new vision of the epic story of love, adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s timeless novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love). The story powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart. As Anna (Ms. Knightley) questions her happiness and marriage, change comes to all around her.
Lincoln
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field
Director: Steven Spielberg
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
MPAA Rating: TBD
Release Date: November 9th (limited); November 16th (wide)
Based On: TEAM OF RIVALS by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Steven Spielberg helms his long-in-the-making biopic of Abraham Lincoln for DreamWorks and Touchstone Pictures. Daniel Day-Lewis portrays the former head of state in the Tony Kushner-penned adaptation of Doris Kearns Goodwin's book, TEAM OF RIVALS, which chronicles the President's time in office between 1861 and 1865 as he dealt with personal demons and politics during the Civil War.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Director: Bill Condon
Distributor: Summit Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: November 16th (wide)
Based On: BREAKING DAWN by Stephenie Meyer
The epic love story between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen concludes in this final installment of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling series. The birth of their daughter Renesmee attracts the attention of the Volturi, and the Cullens enlist the help of their fellow covens to defend their family.
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Suraj Sharma, Gérard Depardieu
Director: Ang Lee
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
MPAA Rating: TBD
Release Date: November 21st (wide)
Based On: LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel
The story of an Indian boy named Pi, a zookeeper's son who finds himself in the company of a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean.
Cast: Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher, Jude Law
Director: Peter Ramsey
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG
Release Date: November 21st (wide)
Based On: The Guardians of Childhood series by William Joyce
When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world.
Silver Linings Playbook
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Julia Stiles
Director: David O. Russell
Distributor: The Weinstein Company
MPAA Rating: TBD
Release Date: November 21st (wide)
Based On: THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK by Matthew Quick
Life doesn't always go according to plan. Pat Solatano has lost everything - his house, his job, and his wife. He now finds himself living back with his mother and father after spending eight months in a state institution on a plea bargain. Pat is determined to rebuild his life, remain positive and reunite with his wife, despite the challenging circumstances of their separation. All Pat's parents want is for him to get back on his feet - and to share their family's obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles football team. When Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own, things get complicated. Tiffany offers to help Pat reconnect with his wife, but only if he'll do something very important for her in return. As their deal plays out, an unexpected bond begins to form between them, and silver linings appear in both of their lives.
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Toni Collette, Danny Huston, Jessica Biel, James D'Arcy
Director: Sacha Gervasi
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: November 23rd (limited, wide release later)
Based On: ALFRED HITCHCOCK AND THE MAKING OF PSYCHO by Stephen Rebello
The story of Alfred Hitchcock and his wife and collaborator, Alma Reville, during their most daring filmmaking adventure --- that of Psycho. The story of their love and marriage is interwoven with the trials and tribulations involved in changing the genre of horror forever.
On TV:
Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Jon Bernthal, Norman Reedus
Network: AMC
Air Dates: Sundays at 9:00 pm ET/PT
Based on: THE WALKING DEAD by Robert Kirkman
Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, written by Robert Kirkman, AMC’s The Walking Dead captures the ongoing human drama following a zombie apocalypse. The series follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually, Teachers, Strike Back), who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. However, instead of the zombies, it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead.
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Lana Parrilla, Jennifer Morrison, Robert Carlyle
Network: ABC
Air Dates: Sundays at 8pm ET
Based On: Various classic fairy tales
Emma Swan’s life has been anything but a fairytale. A 28-year-old bail bondsperson, she’s been taking care of herself since she was abandoned as a baby. But when Henry --- the son she gave up 10 years ago --- finds her, everything changes. Henry is desperate for his mom’s help and thinks that Emma is actually the long, lost daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Yes, the actual Snow White and Prince Charming. Even stranger, Henry believes that Storybrooke, the sleepy New England town he calls home, is really part of a curse cast by the Evil Queen, freezing fairytale characters in the modern world with no memory of their former selves.
Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Vélez, David Zayas
Network: Showtime
Air Date: Sundays at 9pm ET
Based On: Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay
He's smart. He's lovable. He's Dexter Morgan, America's favorite serial killer, who spends his days solving crimes and nights committing them.
Cast: Lucy Liu, Jonny Lee Miller
Network: CBS
Air Dates: Thursdays at 10pm ET
Based On: The Sherlock Holmes Mysteriesby Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
In a modern-day take on Sherlock Holmes, the iconic detective is taking on New York. Just out of rehab, he's been assigned to live with his worst nightmare-sober coach, Dr. Joan Watson. Holmes's unsurpassed skills of deduction and Watson's medical expertise come together to create a dream team for solving the NYPD's most impossible cases.
“Call the Midwife”
Cast: Jessica Raine, Jenny Agutter, Pam Ferris, Miranda Hart, Judy Parfitt, Helen George, Bryony Hannah, and Laura Main
Network: PBS
Air Date: September 30th to November 4th (Check your local listings)
Based On: Call the Midwife series by Jennifer Worth
Jenny Lee, a young nurse in 1950s London, arrives at Nonnatus House to live and work as a midwife alongside of the Sisters of St. Raymond Nonnatus.
On DVD:
Cast: Freida Pinto, Rizwan Ahmed
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Distributor: Sundance Selects
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: November 6th
Based On: TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES by Thomas Hardy
Trishna lives with her family in a village in Rajasthan, India's largest state. As the eldest daughter, she works in a nearby resort to help pay the bills. Jay is the wealthy son of a property developer. When he takes up managing a resort at his father's request, he meets Trishna at a dance and their fates cross. Jay finds every opportunity to win Trishna's affection and she accepts his efforts with shy curiosity. But when the two move to Mumbai and become a couple, Jay's deep family bond threatens the young lovers' bliss.
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifan, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen, Sally Field
Director: Marc Webb
Distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: November 9th
Based On: Spider-Man comics
The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker, an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy, and together, they struggle with love, commitment and secrets.
As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance --- leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors, his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.
ParaNorman
Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Directors: Chris Bulter, Sam Fell
Distributor: Focus Features
MPAA Rating: PG
Release Date: November 27th
Based On: PARANORMAN by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel and LAIKA
When a small town comes under siege by zombies, who can it call? Only misunderstood local boy Norman, who is able to speak with the dead. In addition to the zombies, he'll have to take on ghosts, witches and, worst, of all, grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits.
