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Are you looking forward to these future movies?
It’s not New Year’s yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to look at 2009’s movies.
I received an email from Movietickets.com, and according to a poll of theirs, these are the most highly anticipated movies of 2009. And to my mind, some of these choices are highly suspect.
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” - Not gonna argue that one. (July 17, if they stick with that date)
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” - Makes sense. Jackman was one of the best things about the franchise, but I dunno if I’d put it on the list. The choice of director Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Rendition) is … interesting. (May 1)
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” - Blah. First one was overrated. I’m not convinced Michael Bay’s skills have magically improved somehow. (June 26)
“Public Enemies” - Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. Sold. (July 1)
“Angels & Demons” Zzzzzzzzzzzz. Oh, I’m sorry, I was reminded of watching The Da Vinci Dud, one of Ron Howard and Tom Hanks’ worst movies. (May 15)
“Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian” - Didn’t care for the first Night, but two names have me interested in the sequel: Amy and Adams. She plays Amelia Earhart. (May 22)
“The Informant” - The U.S. government decides to go after an agri-business giant with a price-fixing accusation. Steven Soderbergh directs Matt Damon. Sounds a little Michael Clayton-ish, but I trust the star and director. (Sept. 18)
“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” - I’m not a great fan of these movies, but I must admit, the teaser trailer is funny. I’m still waiting for a movie with Scrat as the star. (July 1)
“The Day the Earth Stood Still”- I’m more willing to give this a chance than most movie geeks, but this doesn’t belong on the list. (Dec. 12)
“The Taking of Pelham 123” - The original is a nifty little thriller. With Denzel Washington starring and Tony Scott directing, this remake has a chance of being better than decent.
There are a few solid choices in there, but these folks overlooked some of the movies I most want to see. These include:
In no particular order:
“Avatar” - You mean you’re NOT anticipating James Cameron’s return to directing features with some supposedly mind-blowing 3D technology? What the heck is wrong with you? (Dec. 18)
“Up” - Anything by Pixar automatically goes on the list. (May 29)
“Shutter Island” - Anything directed by Martin Scorsese automatically goes on the list. This omission stuns me, quite frankly. For shame! (Oct. 2)
“The Lovely Bones” - Peter Jackson directs and adapts the highly acclaimed novel. That’s all I need to know. (May 29)
“The Princess and the Frog” - Disney returns to hand-drawn animation. The Mouse House’s output lately hasn’t been the best, but how can any self-respecting animation fan not chomp at the bit for this? I can’t wait. Merry Christmas! (Dec. 25)
“Star Trek” - Like director JJ Abrams, I’m really more of a Star Wars guy than a Star Trek guy, but never discount Abrams ability to bring something fresh to the table. (May 8)
“Funny People” - I’m always in for a movie directed by Judd Apatow, even if it does star Adam Sandler. (July 31)
“Julie and Julia” Amy and Adams again, this time reteaming with Meryl and Streep. That trumps the same day’s GI Joe easily. (Aug. 7)
“Where the Wild Things Are” - The film has a troubled production history, but still - the idea of director Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adapation) taking on Maurice Sendak is irresistible. (Oct. 16)
“A Christmas Carol” - I kind of wish Robert Zemeckis would go back to making live action movies, but I still want to see what he does with his animated motion capture take on Dickens, with Jim Carrey in multiple roles. (Nov. 6)
“The Fantastic Mr. Fox” - Wes Anderson directs an animated version of a Roald Dahl story? Um - whoa. (Nov. 6)
Call me biased, but I like my list better. Did anybody miss anything?
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Coming Attractions
Comments
By Kim
November 13, 2008 11:13 AM | Link to this
Wow - they are resurrecting Star Trek??? Somehow I managed to not hear about that. I am a bigger fan of Star Wars - but liked Trek as well. Your list definitely intrigues me more, Eric! But I absolutely dying for Harry Potter - can’t wait for that one!!!By SRCputt
November 12, 2008 9:37 PM | Link to this
About Day the Earth Stood Still: if this is a 2009 list, why is it there? Why not put Twilight and Australia on the list while they are at it?By SRCputt
November 12, 2008 9:35 PM | Link to this
Yep, your list is much better, even though I am looking forward to The Informant and Harry Potter. The omission of Avatar is stunning. I’ve also been a huge Peter Jackson fan since Heavenly Creatures, so that’s high on my want to see list. And anything by Pixar immediately goes to the TOP of the list. Right now I am anxiously awaiting my delivery of the Wall-E DVD next week.By ME
November 12, 2008 2:25 PM | Link to this
Looks like to me I can honestly say I’m really looking forward to Potter - in fact I want it to come out this month I’m ready!! As for the rest maybe the Informant because I respect and like Damon so much. Maybe once I see a trailer for Depp’s movie I will anticipate that one too. That’s it for me. I’ll just wait for your reviews ER and then maybe I’ll anticipate more of these movies ;0) …