Happy New Year.
#10 Hesher - At the age of 28, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is already a veteran indie actor. It started with 2001's Manic, 2004's Mysterious Skin, 2006's Brick, and last year's 500 Days of Summer, which was my favorite movie of 2009. The guy has been making some pretty good moves with his career, so I'm guessing that Hesher is going to be entertaining. Gordon-Levitt plays the main title character who hates the world and everyone in it. He has long greasy hair and poorly drawn homemade tattoos. He likes fire and blowing things up. One day, he meets a 13-year-old boy who Hesher becomes a mentor and tormentor to. Natalie Portman also stars and produces.
Release date: TBA 2010
Trailer: Not released yet.
#9 Looper - I'm a fan of Rian Johnson having enjoyed The Brothers Bloom and really liking his first film, Brick. Johnson's latest project is called Looper and it deals with time travel; something that definitely appeals to me. The movie involves a group of hitmen that are sent back in time to Kansas for their victims from the future. Only big organized crime groups are going to be using time travel because it is such a serious offense. It doesn't sound like a Rian Johnson film since he says it'll be quite violent and very dark. Still, I like the guy enough to anticipate this movie.
Release date: TBA 2010
Trailer: Not released yet.
#8 Tron Legacy - Call me crazy all you want, but I'm looking forward to the new Tron movie. The old one is a classic because of its never-before-seen visual style. Of course now they look cheesy, but at the time, they were fun. Tron Legacy should be nothing but that: Fun. Technology has improved enough that we should see some really cool CGI. Put as much of it as you want in there, guys! It's supposed to be CGI heavy. And they actually got Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner to come back! Amazing. Watch the trailer.
Release date: December 17, 2010
Trailer:
#7 Boy - Boy is a Michael Jackson-obsessed 11-year-old who lives on a farm in Waihau Bay, New Zealand. He has a younger brother named Rocky who thinks he has magic powers. Boy has always imagined heroic versions of his father, but when his father finally appears out of the blue, he must come face-to-face with the real version. Boy is written and directed by Taika Cohen who did the critically acclaimed Eagle vs Shark which starred The Flight of the Conchord's Jemaine Clement. And it is for that reason, and the cute trailer, that I'm looking forward to it.
Release date: TBA 2010
Trailer:
#6 The Last Airbender - M. Night Shyamalan is 50/50 with me. I enjoyed his first three big movies, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs. I didn't care for The Village, Lady in the Water, and The Happening. It has been 3-on, 3-off, so I hope the pattern continues and The Last Airbender will be good. The movie is based off of the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and it's the first of a planned trilogy. The TV show is set in an Asian-influenced world of martial arts and elemental manipulation. It was popular with both audiences and critics, garnering 5.6 million viewers on its best-rated showing and receiving high ratings in the Nicktoons lineup. Shyamalan is reportedly a fan of the cartoon, so I know he'll respect the material.
Release date: July 2, 2010
Trailer:
#5 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - I'm not ashamed to admit that I am a Twilight fan, but I'd feel even prouder announcing that if they had actually made a better movie. Well, Eclipse just might be their best chance. I have a couple reasons for this. First off, it's my favorite book in the series. There is lots of action. Then, you have the director. David Slade directed Hard Candy, the twisted story about a 14-year-old girl (played by Ellen Page) who meets up with a 32-year old photographer on the Internet. So, he's good with psychological thrillers which is semi-close to what Twilight is all about. The only potential problem will be Melissa Rosenberg who I don't consider a very good writer.
Release date: June 30, 2010
Trailer: Not released yet.
#4 Paul - I'm looking forward to Paul more for the winning combination of the Frost/Pegg team with the Apatow team. I say "Apatow team", but Judd Apatow is not working on this film at all. Instead, people he has worked with like director Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland) and actors Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig are doing this film. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) wrote this film about two British sci-fi geeks who travel across the U.S. and encounter an alien outside of Area 51. If all goes well, it should be funny as heck.
Release date: TBA 2010
Trailer: Not released yet.
#3 Toy Story 3 - I have never been disappointed by a Pixar movie and Toy Story is one of my favorites. I'm really excited to see if they can carry on the franchise and strike gold again. Toy Story 3 follows Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang from the first two films as they are dumped in a daycare center after their owner, Andy, departs for college. From the trailer, it looks like Buzz has an accident and must be reset, which causes problems for everyone. I'm confident that Pixar will delight us all over again.
Release date: June 18, 2010
Trailer:
#2 Inception - The plot details are still a little thin for Christopher Nolan's movie Inception, which is due out this summer. But I've come to trust the writer and director so much, that I'm willing to put him at the deuce spot. The guy hasn't made a bad movie yet, so you can't really blame me. What we do know about Inception is that Leonardo DiCaprio plays a CEO-type character who can dive into people’s dreams to implant or extract information. I guess at some point, a murder occurs and things get crazy from there. It's confusing, but sounds oh so good.
Release date: July 16, 2010
Trailer:
Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for...
#1 - Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore - Sike!
#1 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - My frequent readers should not be surprised to see this film at the top of my list. I'm a big Scott Pilgrim fan, having read the graphic novel series at least four times now. I continue to discover new things that are funny in the books. I really can't think of anyone else I'd rather see direct a Scott Pilgrim movie than Edgar Wright. Wright, who has written and directed Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, will bring his quick cut transitions and humor to a series that deserves the extra special treatment. Trust me, no one knows what Scott Pilgrim is now, but by this time next year, most will.
Release date: TBA 2010
Trailer: Not released yet. But, you can enjoy this awesome photo of the main characters.
Runners-up: Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Skateland, Somewhere, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Hereafter, Rapunzel, Unstoppable, The Social Network, Despicable Me, The Town, The Other Guys, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Date Night, Kick-Ass, MacGruber, Brooklyn's Finest, Let Me In, Micmacs, and The Three Stooges.
Just like last year, I want to mention that if Arrested Development was confirmed to be released in 2010, it would be my #1. Everyone says it'll be out this year, however there is nothing official yet, so I didn't want to waste a spot on my list.
Until next year. Don't worry... you'll see some other top/bottom movie lists throughout the coming months. I've barely did any in '09, so I'm due for some new ones.
prince of persia makes the runners up, but no mention of iron man 2?
ReplyDeletePrince of Persia is a runner up because I love movies that deal with time travel. Hopefully the movie will use this to its advantage. If not, it could be a dud. Also, it's directed by Mike Newell, who is quite capable of a big movie, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, which I don't think means much these days other than professionalism. If anything, it'll be fresh and fun and the effect of the sand and moving through time should look cool. I'm excited for it.
ReplyDeleteI liked Iron Man, and I think it even made my Top Ten of '08, but I still had problems with it. It was a fun movie, but not incredibly well-made. I think Iron Man 2 looks like more of the same, or possibly worse. Still looks fun, but where do you take the story from here? The trailer shows how Tony Stark is under pressure from the government on the technology behind the suit, but so what? And adding in not one, not two, but three adversaries (Whip Lash, Black Widow, and Justin Hammer) might not be a good idea. We'll see. Maybe I'll be eating my words at the end of the year. Keeping my expectations low could help.