2007 is over. Gone. Kaput. It was a year with
great successes (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) and terrible failures (LICENSE TO
WED). No doubt 2008 will bring the same mixed bag. But instead of
looking at the movies we’re dreading in 2008 (which, now that I think about it
would make an interesting list), we’ve got our list of ten movies we can’t wait
to see. There are robots, superheroes, Mulders, Indys and a baby Brad
Pitt. Check out our list below and feel free to share anything you think
we might have missed. (Before you ask, FOOL’S GOLD was sooooo
close…)
Any movie that stars Ben Stiller as Tugg Speedman, Tom Cruise as
a fat, bald, studio executive and Robert Downey, Jr. as an over-intense method
actor in an over the top comedy, you can count me in. Add on to that Jack
Black, Matthew McConaughey, Jay Baruchel (KNOCKED UP) and Nick Nolte, you know
this thing is gonna be good. The film follows a group of actors who head
to Asia to film the most expensive war movie ever made. As they film, they
find themselves in a real-life situation and are forced to draw upon their
acting technique to save their asses. If you’re not convinced, the movie
will even be accompanied by a HEARTS OF DARKNESS-esque mockumentary about the
making of the movie. Opens July 11th.
Who knows what this one is about except that Mulder and Scully
return and, well, this.
But isn’t that enough? We’ve had enough X-FILES rip-offs since the heyday
of the series that it’ll be nice to have the originals back and doing what they
do best. Now if we only knew a little bit more about what it is they were
doing… Opens July 25th.
8. THE CURIOUS CASE OF
BENJAMIN BUTTON
Just to prove we’re not complete louts, the inclusion of
BENJAMIN BUTTON classes up the list. Fans of SEVEN and FIGHT CLUB will be
happy to see David Fincher and Brad Pitt working together again and fans of
really good movies will be happy to see, well, a really good movie. In the
film Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin Button, a man who is born in his 80s and is
aging backwards. Along the way he falls in love with a woman (Cate
Blanchett) and must deal with his “unusual circumstance,” as he puts
it. Already an early Oscar contender, this could be a film that fanboys
and film snobs can love equally. Opens November 26th.
It might seem odd to see a cartoon on our list but Pixar has
proved that they’ve made their films (not cartoons, films) for audiences
of all ages. WALL•E, the story of a single robot cleaning up a deserted,
futuristic Earth, is their latest entry and could possibly be their best
yet. Wall•E may be one of the most beloved animated characters to come
our way in a really, really long time. It’s six months away and my kids
are already making plans to see it. And their Dad can’t wait either.
Opens June 27th.
WANTED was a movie that was operating well under my radar for
quite a bit. But then the trailer hit and just like that, it was a
must-see for 2008. Despite surface similarities to THE MATRIX, I can’t
help but be intrigued by Angelina Jolie leaning out a hot ride firing a machine
gun. Not to mention that director Timur Bekmambetov (NIGHT WATCH) has
loaded the film with some insanely impressive visuals. Hot chicks, fast
cars, big guns, assassins and Morgan Freeman – sounds pretty good to me. Opens
June 27th.
5.
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN
ARMY
After the success of PAN’S LABYRINTH director Guillermo del Toro
took his newfound clout and jacked up the HELLBOY universe a few notches for THE
GOLDEN ARMY. It’s not often we get an Oscar-nominated director to make a
superhero sequel his next film but that’s what del Toro did and we love him for
it (we didn’t get nearly enough eyeless
creatures in LABYRINTH). He loves HELLBOY just as much as we do.
The film’s official synopsis perhaps says it best: He may be red. He may
be horned. He may be misunderstood. But when you need the job done right, it’s
time to call in Hellboy. Opens July 11th.
I suppose we should start out by acknowledging the awful
suckness of the 2003 HULK movie. To reboot a franchise so close to last
sucky entry is indeed a gamble but Marvel is producing this themselves and
likely will be poring over it with a fine tooth comb (i.e., no Hulk dogs).
Ed Norton adds some credibility and accountability as he rewrote the script
after he signed on to star. Take into account that Robert Downey, Jr. will
be making a cameo as Tony Stark/Iron Man and you’ve got yourself one helluva
superhero movie. Opens June 13th.
Iron Man was never one of my favorite superheroes. I never
got into his books and instead skewed towards “X-Men,”
“Spider-Man” and “The Fantastic Four.” But that
doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to the movie. The Comic-Con footage
made sure of that. Easily the best footage at the 2007 show, IRON MAN had
me convinced. With an impressive cast that includes Downey Jr., Gwyneth
Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard (all nominated for at least one
Oscar), Tom Cruise will wind up kicking himself for not getting this movie made
when he had the chance. Opens May 2nd.
DARK KNIGHT mania has reached a fever pitch and there are still
months to go before the film opens. Have we peaked too soon?
Hardly. Following the death of Heath Ledger, Warner Bros. is looking to
retool their entire marketing campaign which could mean one thing –
Two-Face. Rarely seen so far, the reveal of a brand new villain could only
mean more excitement for us Bat loving maniacs just when people thought it
couldn’t get any more crazed. Opens July 18th.
1. INDIANA JONES AND THE
KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
Despite the fact that the fourth installment in a movie
franchise usually blows (with the exception of POLICE ACADEMY 4, which was genius),
our passion buckets still runneth over for INDIANA JONES. Call me a fanboy
goon but just seeing Karen Allen in costume again has me giddy with
anticipation. I’m sure on opening day when I see that Paramount logo morph
into the first scene from the movie, I’ll squeal with glee, spitting out Sour
Patch Kids all over the head of the guy in front of me. This is probably
too much personal information for one brief write-up but hey, you asked…
Opens May 22nd.
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