With only a few weeks left of this year,looking ahead to 2012 and the pop culture delights it has to offer us is not too premature. There will be the usual number of rock'em,sock'em films,along with other big tent pole features that strive to appeal to both guys and gals,yet what I'm curious about is the sort of strong females that are waiting in the wings for the coming year.
One tough customer that many are looking forward to checking is Katniss Everdeen,the female focal point of The Hunger Games.
For those not familiar with the popular YA trio of novels by Suzanne Collins,this story is set in a hopefully distant future where young people are chosen to compete in a kill or be killed contest televised all over their oppressive country.
Katniss volunteers in order to save her inexperienced younger sister and winds up fighting battles both emotional and physical,not to mention hazardous as hell. The fan base for this series is as firm in their loyalties as the ones for Harry Potter and Twilight,so a lot is riding on this first film. That kind of pressure is child's play for this leading lady,compared to what awaits her in the games of death and love ready to played out here:
Katniss isn't the only girl who knows her way around with a bow and arrow on the silver screen horison, as an animated young lady takes to the stage in a time far and away,Scotland in the tenth century to be precise.
In Brave, a Scottish princess named Merida decides to defy the conventions of her day and seek her own destiny. That choice causes a great deal of upheaval,with the addition of a magic spell making things that much worse.
Brave will be the first Pixar movie to have a female centered story line and with any luck,it shouldn't be the last. It appears to be more of an action film rather than a typical Disney Princess story,which is a nice change of pace indeed:
Speaking of change of pace,the second Snow White based film coming out in March of 2012 is far more lighthearted than the Charlize Theron/Kristen Stewart project due to arrive in theaters by June.
Mirror,Mirror does share a few themes with Snow White and the Huntsman,such as the targeted princess joining a band of outlaws in the woods and the formidable ambitions of the Evil Queen(played by Julia Roberts).
However,the villianess of this piece is merely content to banish her young rival and seeks to strengthen her power and fortune by marrying Prince Charming. Personally,I prefer the vindictive dark magic that Theron's Queen has to offer than the cougar antics of Miss Julia. The battle between these two sides of the well known fairy tale will not only be fought at the box office but in the hearts and minds of the audience as well:
If you prefer something a bit more realistic in your girl power films,fear not for Meryl Streep is on the way with another amazing portrayal of a famous female game changer. The Iron Lady will have a late December limited release(mainly to qualify for the upcoming Oscar race)but you'll have a better chance of seeing it after the New Year.
Streep plays Margaret Thatcher,the controversial British Prime Minister who was the first woman to lead a political party in England and their only female Prime Minister to date. Despite what you may feel about her politics,Thatcher was a figure of determination and distinction,whose rise to power is well worth exploring:
All in all,it looks like an interesting year for women on film is ahead of us. Not that we haven't had any decent showcases for the ladies this year( The Best Actress category is going to be rather crowded at the upcoming Academy Awards)but one does hope for the next level to open up as things move on.
So,let's keep an eye for those feisty heroines who manage to dazzle our heroes and villains with their brains and brawn,as well as their beauty. The first two are more essential as time is far more generous to them than the third component. Of course,it never hurts to be eye catching in more ways than one:
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