Upcoming Movies

A while back I did a rundown on movies I'd recently seen and movies I had yet to see. An update on those:

Rescue Dawn: See recent review.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Fun. Not any surprises, or complaints for that matter. About what you'd expect. The director is already signed on to do the final two films in the series.
The Simpsons Movie: About like three episodes of the show, strung together. Had it's moments, but nothing to scream about.
The Flying Scotsman: Still haven't seen it.
Ratatouille: I always love Pixar movies, they're everything a family film should be. This one is no different.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer: Still haven't seen it, still not expecting much.
Eagle vs. Shark: Somehow still haven't seen this one, which is almost certainly very funny.
1408: Never saw it, quickly forgotten.
Bourne Ultimatum: See review here.
Stardust: A fun fairy tale, don't take it for more than that. It did have a surprisingly overt message about sexual liberty, though.
Hot Rod: See review here.
Hot Fuzz: Very funny, very gory. I saw it edited, and it was still almost too much. But it was remarkably clever, and well put together. Those guys manage to take low-brow material and turn it into high brow comedy. Maybe it's the accents.

There are always more movies coming out. So without further adieu, here are the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Movies I DO want to see in 2008:

Be Kind, Rewind: The main reason I am writing this post. Jack Black is funny, Mos Def is good in everything I've seen him in, and I am a big fan of almost everything Michel Gondry does. Watch the trailer, looks to be very promising.

Hancock: I pretty much just want to see this because A) I like Will Smith (seems like a decent person, unlike many in Hollywood) and B) I saw him on set for this movie last summer.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: I'm so glad they're doing another one of these. I love the books, and couldn't help but like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, even though it had some real problems.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: But I'll have to read the book before it comes out.

Batman: the Dark Knight: Have you seen the trailers? There was a great one before I Am Legend. Batman Begins isn't even my favorite Christopher Nolan film, not by a longshot, and it was still really good. I don't know whose idea it was to give a Chelsea smile to the Joker, but that was a stroke of genius. I had my doubts about Heath Ledger, but if he at all lives up the how sick he is in the trailer, it should be good. They've also done some very extensive alternate reality viral marketing sites, lots of them. Lots. More than I can link to. Somebody over at Warner has it figured out. I have mentioned these kinds of sites before.

Ironman: Can't wait. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark is inspired casting.

The Incredible Hulk: How are they revisiting this story so soon after the last one flopped? Isn't there a grace period after the death of a franchise before you're allowed to resurrect it? I mean, this one has Edward Norton in it, so hopefully it will be as good a movie as he is an actor. See previous post for further comments.

The X Files 2: A full decade after the first one. Should be interesting.

The Day the Earth Stood Still: Loved the classic, ever since my roommates and I watched it MST3K style. Interested in the remake.

Where the Wild Things Are: Very little info on this one. I've only gotten one look at anything. But it's Spike Jonze, it'll be good.

Juno: I have heard only good things about this movie, and will likely see it before the Christmas break is over.

The Bucket List: Looks like a fun, happy movie.

Awake: With the recent resurgence of awful slasher movies, this looks like an innovative take on what terror really means.

Terror's Advocate: Watch the trailer and tell me that doesn't look intriguing. Sounds like something a clever writer would come up with, but it's a documentary.

The Counterfeiters: True story, prisoners in a Catch 22. Looks really cool.

King Corn: I'm always in the market for some entertaining, informative material. Looks to be in the same vein as Fast Food Nation (the book, never saw the movie) or Super Size Me. I loved both of those, and would like to see more of their kind.

And When Did you Last See your Father?: I think it just looks good.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Come on, how could I not see this one? Though the originals look campy by modern standards.

WALL•E: I love Pixar. I love robots. I don't know where this could go wrong.

Persepolis: Originality, that's what I keep looking for. This doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before, and simultaneously educational.

Strange Wilderness: I probably won't see this, but man, it looks SO funny. I love Steve Zahn. Watch the trailer, I couldn't stop laughing at the end. I'm still laughing at the end. UPDATE: Dec 28, 2007: I am still laughing at this trailer. Hard.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets: Looks absurd, I imagine it's like the second one, only more ridiculous. But it would probably be fun.

Sleuth: Michael Caine and Jude Law are the only two in the movie. Thats it. They're enough to hold my attention (with a good story). The preview reminds me of Deathtrap, another good Michael Caine flick.

Youth Without Youth: Francis Ford Coppola hasn't directed anything big for a long time. And it just looks interesting.

Jumper: Looks like a lot of fun, and from the same director of The Bourne Identity (my favorite of the series) and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Expect lots of action.

Man in the Chair: For a film fan like me, how could I pass up the dream of working with old pros?

The Band's Visit: Culture clash, always a good topic.

Starting Out in the Evening: Looks great, Frank Langella is a wonderful actor, and A.O. Scott really liked it.

The Mist: Why do I want to see this? I don't really like Stephen King. But I do. I want to see this. See my statements about 1408 in previous upcoming movie post.

City of Men: I've always heard a lot about City of God. If I see City of God, I might check out City of Men.

Valkyrie: As much as I think fame and fortune have made Tom Cruise a raving lunatic, he is a great actor. And the story is one that deserves telling.

Cloverfield: See previous post. I will ad this. After further viewing of the trailer and whatever footage I can find online, I appears that the camera is canted to the right in most of the shots. That might get annoying really fast.

NOTE: I am 99% positive I won't see all of these, just that I'd like to.

Movies I DON'T want to see:

Semi Pro: Honestly, do not watch the preview. Will Ferrell is just so sick. I never saw Talladega Nights, I only saw part of Anchorman as an in-flight movie (despite being a broadcast journalism major), and I don't intend on starting in on his humor with this one. One positive thing; Jason wrote an ad for Will, and said he was really nice and very funny.

The Great Debaters: Also known as, Remember When the Titans Debated? Not to be confused with Remember When the Titans Played Basketball?, Remember When the Titans Went Swimming? See also Meet the (Black) Parents.

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale: Uwe Boll is a sad excuse for a director, and anything he touches will become instantly more stupid and offensive. He is largely the reason the video-game-gone-movie genre can't go anywhere. I have more to say on that topic, but will hold it till a later post.

RAMBO: Looks gratuitous and mindless. There are action movies, and there is this.

Revolver: Don't know why this is listed as a new release on Apple. It was made two years ago. I saw part of it a few weeks ago, and it wasn't even coherent. Guy Ritchie has done some impressive, stylish stuff before, but this was just a dumb movie.

Horton Hears a Who: There isn't really any part of me that wants to see this.

No Country for Old Men: I love the Cohen Brothers. I feel like most of what they do is brilliant. I'd love to see this one too, but don't think I can stomach the violence.

There Will Be Blood: See comments from previous film, No Country for Old Men.

Look: Not interested in the story, but very interested in how the story is told. See Post on Home Video perspective.

There are several films that I don't want to see so badly, that I won't even mention them, because I don't want to contribute to their hype.