Movies Galore

I don't tend to write as many posts about upcoming movies as I should, but with all the hype and press that District 9 has been getting, it's gotten me excited for what else is on the horizon. I may have written about a few of these in the past but just deal with it. Nothing beats 30 minutes on Apple trailers every few weeks to see what else is coming up. I don't really buy Entertainment Weekly or any of those types of magazines so I don't necessarily read up on as many movies as I would like. So without further ado, here are some upcoming movies I look forward to and why they strike my fancy, click on the movie name to see the apple trailer:

District 9: August 14
This sci-fi thriller is based on aliens reaching our planet 20 years ago. They have been quarantined in South Africa and you may have seen some if their viral marketing with no alien signs etc... on park benches, buses. The renowned Peter Jackson (King Kong, Lord of the Rings) is the producer working alongside the major feature debut of Neill Blomkamp. It was rumored Neill was going to direct the currently scrapped project of Halo, but worked on this converted short film, Alive in Jo'burg, instead. Rotten Tomatoes currently has it rated as an 87% by Top Critics if that convinces anyone to go, but to me, reviews are useless.




Inglourious Basterds: August 21
Talk about a recipe for success. Quentin Tarantino. Brad Pitt. Enough said. An over the top film that takes place during World War 2. A secret band of soldiers that goes apeshit on Nazi Germany. Gratuitous violence? How can anyone say no. Guys will go for Tarantino and the bashing of Nazi soldiers. The girls will go to watch Brad Pitt.





Extract: September 4
Mike Judge is making movies again. Its been 3 years since his last film Idiocracy. I don't think it was a crowd favorite, and I will admit that I did not like it the first watch through, but after the second viewing, it was pretty damn smart. I have a lot of faith in his new project 'Extract' with the help of talents like Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristin Wiig, and J.K. Simmons. I never really liked Kristin Wiig at first, but she's really grown on me as a comedic actress. Jason Bateman was involved in the greatest sitcom the world has ever seen, Arrested Development. Mila Kunis seems to be transitioning well onto the big screen from her tv career. After watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall, its clear she can handle herself and carry a film with a supporting role. Oh yeah, and Ben Affleck is in it, but that doesn't really add much for me.



Law Abiding Citizen: October 16
Just recently came across this film mostly because I have a small man-crush on Gerard Butler. Most of you know of him as Leonidas from '300', but most recently you might have seen him in a preview for the romcom 'The Ugly Truth'. I normally watch films based on the actors included, and not always because of the story and I will definitely see more of Butler's movies. (Maybe not Gamer, which seems to be like Death Race in a different medium). The most recent film I saw him in was Shattered which was well done. But back to the point. Gerard Butler seems to be back to his bad ass role in 'Law Abiding Citizen' after his child was murdered and the judicial system doesn't work the way he wants it to. Jaime Foxx finally moves away from his most recent trend of 'Ray' and 'Soloist' roles into a lawyer or detective that needs to figure out what's going on and stop Butler. F.Gary Gray directs the film which also makes me think the movie will work out. He's come a long way from his award winning Waterfalls music video. He's directed other well known films such as 'Friday', 'The Negotiator', and 'The Italian Job'. Hopefully everyone reading this has seen each of those movies.

The Box: October 30
Although you might think so, this is not a porno film. It pains me to admit to it, but wanting to see this movie means that I want to see a film that stars Cameron Diaz. Getting over that hurdle, this has cool movie written all over it. The concept is fantastic, but executing it well might be tough. Richard Kelly writes and directs in this suspenseful supernatural thriller about a box that kills a random person in the world, but then betters their life. It seems to be from the trailer more of a movie about good and evil and how it plays out with humanity, but Frank Langella stars as what could be the devil. I think what really excites me about this film (again it has religious undertones) is that Frank Langella stars as the creepy old guy. I thought his role in 'The Ninth Gate' (a favorite Johnny Depp movie of mine) was fantastic which seems to have a similar genre to this upcoming film. We'll see how much press this movie gets in the upcoming month or two, but I wouldn't be surprised if it flops. Although Kelly also wrote and directed Donnie Darko, a cult favorite, he was also behind the movie 'Southland Tales' which was absolutely horrendous. I'll cross my fingers on this one, but wouldn't be surprised if I couldn't find anyone to head to the theater with me.

The Book of Eli: January 15
Since I was just talking about Mila Kunis, it seems fitting she made it onto a second upcoming film watch of mine. Denzel Washington stars as one of the few survivors after the end of the world. The trailer is pretty light in plot, but it seems has has a book that holds the balance of the fate of humanity (seems like a lot of movies use this plot). Gary Oldman stars as the evil villain, and to be honest, he plays this party so well. Other than his role as Sirius Black (if you don't know who that is, you should be ashamed) I can't really think of any 'good guy' roles hes played. He was an awesome bad guy in 'The Professional' and in 'The Fifth Element'. Both movies you should see immediately if you haven't done so already. Denzel has a good track record with movies. Especially with badass roles. 'Man on Fire' comes to mind, another film that's a must watch. I even liked his recent film 'Deja Vu'. So I think its pretty safe to say that even if this isn't an oscar worth film, you won't regret spending a couple hours to watch it.



Legion: January 22

I don't know what it is about me, but any sort of religious movie always gets me. I'm trying to think of examples, and they are few and far between, but movies like 'Stigmata', 'End of Days', and 'Constantine'. I went to catholic school as a little kid and although I'm not very religious, it all fascinates me a great deal. Paul Bettany plays the Archangel Michael who is out to save humanity from all other angels. You may recognize him from classic films such as 'A Knight's Tale', 'A Beautiful Mind' and 'Wimbledon'. Enough movie name dropping. It looks as though there is the typical special child that will save humanity and its a religious war to end all wars. Story seems simple, but I never get tired of it. Scott Stewart directs for the first time from a very successful visual effects career which leads me to believe this is going to be very fun to watch. And if you need another reason to go see it other than my backing (which I'm sure you all do), Kate Walsh is in it and what guy isn't in love with her?