OK, so a belated December post; school and work had me all busy and stressed and I tried to keep a semblance of a social life happening. But it's also an early January one! HA! New Year! Cinematically speaking, I'm pretty excited for 2010; Tim Burton's putting his spin on Alice in Wonderland, with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, naturally, as well as Anne Hathaway, Christopher Lee, Alan Rickman and slew of other top-notch talent. Ridley Scott is bustin' out his telling of Robin Hood with Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Matthew MacFadyen, Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes) and Kevin Durand (who will also feature in Legion with Paul Bettany). Iron Man 2 - between the looks and the talent, Robert Downey Jr. is most definitely my latest celebrity crush, grrrowl. Plus, a new flick from Christopher Nolan featuring a stel-lar cast, yet another Harry Potter coming (the first of the last!), a Tron sequel over a decade after the first, a Clash of the Titans remake and an A-Team movie (the latter two both featuring Liam Neeson). Yes, it looks to be a fun and entertaining year ahead. But, back to the present and what's coming out, or already out, that looks good.
December 2009
12/11
Invictus
Morgan Freeman portrays Nelson Mandela. In an attempt to unite his countrymen after the fall of apartheid in South Africa, during his first term as president, Mandela campaigned to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup event. Also stars Matt Damon. C'mon, who doesn't love Morgan Freeman? And this one is screaming for an Oscar, so we might as well see if the fuss will be worth it.
The Lovely Bones
Based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, Susie Salmon ("like the fish") watches over her family and friends from "the in-between" as they deal with the aftermath of her brutal rape and murder. Starring Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci and Susan Sarandon. Directed by the amazing Peter Jackson - yes, the same that brought us the phenomenal The Lord of the Rings trilogy! Good cast and excellent, visionary director; can't wait to see it!
12/18
Avatar
Director James Cameron's first film since Titanic, he ventures into space to bring us a band of humans exploring and then pitted in battle against a distant planet's indigenous people. Starring Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation), Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Zoe Saldana. Looks pretty cool and I'm terribly curious about all the hype...and Sam is smoking.
The Young Victoria
Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) portrays Queen Victoria in this dramatization of the turbulent first years of her reign. Along with Rupert Friend (Pride & Prejudice) as Prince Albert, this film also hits on the couple's enduring love. Written by Julian Fellowes, the writer behind the excellent film Gosford Park. Also starring Paul Bettany (Master & Commander), Jim Broadbent (HP and the Half-Blood Prince) and Miranda Richardson. From the trailer, this flick looks to be a cross between Elizabeth and Becoming Jane, both movies I enjoyed. Between that and the romance thread of the story, the hopeless romantic chick in me naturally wants to see this. Also, I loved Blunt in Prada and Paul Bettany is a favorite of mine.
12/25
Sherlock Holmes
Based on the classic mystery characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I was stoked to see this from the first teasers! Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes! With Jude Law as Dr. Watson, featuring Rachel McAdams and directed Guy Ritchie. Since this is a belated post in respects to December, I've already seen this one and would happily smack down another $10 to see it again. Rocked my socks off! Sherlock Holmes was already a pretty kick ass character, Downey Jr. (whom I love!), Ritchie and the writers have bad-assified him and I LOVE it! I especially dug the attention paid to Holmes's deductive skills. Law was a perfect counter to the quirky Holmes. And, as always, plot bricks were layed for a possible sequel (please, sweet jesus, yes!). Go. See it. NOW!
Nine
Based on Arhtur Kopit's book for the 1982 Tony-winning musical of the same name, which was derived from a play that was inspired by Frederico Fellini's 1963 film 8 1/2 - you still with me? Good. This emotional musical is about a famous Italian film director, Guido Contini (played by uber talented Daniel Day-Lewis), who struggles to find balance in his professional and personal lives. This is in special regards to the many women in his life; his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent and his mother. Directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha) and starring, as the females to Day-Lewis's character, Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson and Fergie (from the Black Eyed Peas), this promises to be a visually brilliant film, which is what should be expected for a film adaptation of a musical, but also holds the possibility of some top-notch acting, which is just a nice plus.
January 2010
1/8
Daybreakers
The year is 2017 and a plague has transformed most of the population in to vampires. With the human blood supply dwindling, the plotting for survival has fractured the now dominant race. Meanwhile, a researcher teams up with a covert band of vampires to try to save and restore the human race. Starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Defoe and Sam Neill. Interesting sci-fi plot + Willem Defoe...yeah, I'll watch it.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Heath Ledger. Johnny Depp. Jude Law. Directed by Terry Gilliam. Just watch the trailer and tell me when you want to go see it because you know you want to!
1/15
The Book of Eli
Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis and Ray Stevenson star in this post-apocalyptic flick in which a lone man (Washington) protects a sacred book which holds to secrets to saving humanity. Wowzers, this one is not based on a book, comic book, previously made movie or "actual events". It's actually an original screenplay. Holy creativity Batman! Or is it going to be Holy scraping-the-bottom-of-the-barrel Batman? Well either way, it'll be holy what with the apocalypse and a "sacred book". And don't I always want to see the post-/apocalyptic movies? And this does seem to be the time for them, what with 2010 and The Road out already and Legion coming out the week after this one. Besides I always like Gary Oldman. It will also be interesting to see Kunis try to pull a dramatic/ass-kicker role, I mean, she's mostly known for her comedy and while she's done some drama and action...well, can you name any of them that you've actually seen?
1/22
Legion
God has gotten "tired of all the bullshit" and lost faith in humanity. He sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. The Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) comes down and, with a group of strangers in a remote diner, protects a young preggo waitress whose unborn child is the only hope at survival humanity has left. Oh how I love apocalypse movies; they are just so fun! Also I love Paul Bettany. He and Ian McKellan are the only reason I even saw The DaVinci Code, and he was a crazy, albino zealot in that one. I know it's not going to be that great of a movie, but God will it be entertaining. :)
Tooth Fairy
This one from Disney, features Julie Andrews, Billy Crystal, Ashley Judd and stars Dwayne Johnson (you know, "The Rock") Johnson plays a mean hockey player (OK, I can buy that) who, being charged guilty of "killing dreams", must serve time as a tooth fairy...*snort* BA HA HA HAAAA!
1/29
When in Rome
OK, so I got tired and am admittedly copy-and-pasting this synopsis from imdb.com; "Beth is a young, ambitious New Yorker who is completely unlucky in love. However, when she impulsively steals some coins from a reputed fountain of love during a whirlwind trip to Rome, she finds herself aggressively pursued by a band of suitors." It stars Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. I have to say, I have not always liked Kristen Bell. I found that tele show she did (Veronica Mars) annoying and was perplexed as to her popularity. Plus, she spells her name wrong. However, Forgetting Sarah Marshall was hilarious and a few stints on Craig Ferguson's show has eased my dislike enough that I'm intrigued as to whether I could watch a movie with her as the protagonist. We will shall have to see.
There you have it friends! My end of '09 into '10 movie list. Which one do you want to venture to see with me? :)
