2009 movie lineup offers sequels, remakes, 3D and more
The film industry is about to honor its best movies of 2008, but we're ready to turn attention to some of the flicks that will make their way to Pueblo screens this year.There's no dearth of budget-busting exhibitions: "Star Trek," "Harry Potter" and the "Transformers" sequel, among them. Summer will be big.
An interesting - and overdue - development is the slate of kid/family movies due to come out this year - many of which look like they might even be worth the rising admission prices. (Get used to that supersized 3D ticket price, mom and dad; it's quickly becoming the norm for animated features.)
Among the actors who could have big years are Dwayne "no longer The Rock" Johnson, who has two live action movies coming out, as well as an animated one. Robert Downey Jr. will start the year with "The Soloist" and end it with "Sherlock Holmes." Christian Bale has two high-profile gigs, aside from his recent f-bomb spectacle: "Public Enemies" with Johnny Depp and "Terminator: Salvation." Hollywood still can't lay off the remakes. For 2009, we'll be treated - we hope - to "The Taking of Pelham 123," "Disney's A Christmas Carol" and "Fame," to name several.
Here we've included many of the big films scheduled for the year. Release dates are subject to change, however, as those awaiting "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" know all too well. That movie was bumped from last November to July 17.
If a trailer was available to view, I watched, and include my impressions here. You can check out the trailers at www.apple.com/trailers and www.comingsoon.net .
FEBRUARY-APRIL
"Duplicity" (March 20): Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, intrigue and sexy banter. Trailer: Interesting, although it's not really clear what the plot is. It might not matter with these two.
"Hannah Montana: The Movie" (April 10): Her TV domination complete, Miley Cyrus turns to the giant screen.
"Monsters vs. Aliens" (March 27): DreamWorks has the first big animated movie of the year, featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogen, Kiefer Sutherland, Jimmy Kimmel and others. The title tells the story: Monsters must save Earth from invading aliens. Trailer: Great animation, excellent voices, fun story.
"Race to Witch Mountain" (March 13): In this remake of "Escape to Witch Mountain," Dwayne Johnson plays a cabbie helping two kids - aliens - return to their spaceship. Trailer: Lots of action, but little else.
“17 Again" (April 17): Matthew Perry wishes he could go back in time to his successful high school years. Be careful what you wish for. Trailer: Entertaining, despite the worn-out plot. Zac Efron, as the 17-year-old Perry, is particularly good, and Leslie Mann ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Knocked Up”) is funny as always.
"The Soloist" (April 24): Based on a true story, Robert Downey Jr. plays a journalist who befriends a homeless musician (Jamie Foxx). Trailer: Bring tissues. You probably won't escape this one without tears.
"State of Play" (April 17): An impressive cast - Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams - in a thriller about a political murder. Trailer: Intense, but it's difficult to see how the film will improve on the excellent BBC miniseries on which it's based.
"Watchmen" (March 6): The world's not looking too good, especially for ex-superheroes. Trailer: Dark. Vivid. Menacing.
MAY-AUGUST
"Angels & Demons" (May 15): Tom Hanks is back as Robert Langdon, this time trying to prevent terrorism against the Vatican. Trailer: Tells viewers next to nothing, except that there's a lot of action.
"Bruno" (July 10): Sacha Baron Cohen in his first starring role since "Borat." Bruno is an Austrian fashion fiend.
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (July 17): The penultimate chapter in the Potter series gets a lot more serious as Harry and his friends get closer to a confrontation with evil Voldemort. Trailer: The darker the books get, the better the movies. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (July 1): Diego, Manny, Sid and Scrat (with his acorn) return for more prehistoric adventure.
"Inglourious Basterds" (Aug. 21): It's the Quentin Tarantino version of World War II. A group of Jewish-American soldiers is chosen to go behind enemy lines and kill as many Nazis as possible, in as brutal a manner as possible. Trailer: So this is why Brad Pitt has been sporting that disconcerting moustache. This is unquestionably a Tarantino film, with plenty of gore, banter and imaginative camera work.
MAY-AUGUST
"Julie & Julia" (Aug. 7): Amy Adams portrays Julie Powell, a woman who decided that in a one-year span, she would make every recipe in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Meryl Streep plays Child.
"Land of the Lost" (June 5): Complete with sleestaks and Chaka, it's a big-screen version of the old Saturday-morning series, starring Will Ferrell. Trailer: OK - doesn't give away much but doesn't bring much excitement, either.
"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (May 22): Ben Stiller returns; now he's guarding the country's biggest museum with his old friends in tow. Trailer: Lots of museum characters combined with the big exhibits, plus a talking Lincoln. Fluffy fun.
"The Proposal" (June 12): Sandra Bullock is a beast of a boss; Ryan Reynolds is her assistant. To keep her from being deported, they pretend to be engaged. Trailer: The only one that made me laugh out loud. Good chemistry between Reynolds and Bullock, and Betty White as grandma!
"Public Enemies" (July 1): Johnny Depp plays bank robber John Dillinger. Christian Bale is the agent trying to capture him.
"Star Trek" (May 8): Nothing else really needs to be said. Trailer: The gang's all here, even though many of the actors portraying them aren't well known. Loads of action and lots of details on Capt. Kirk's early years.
"The Taking of Pelham 123” (June 12): John Travolta and Denzel Washington star in this remake of a man who takes hostages in a New York subway train. Trailer: Decent - Travolta is reliably good when playing bad guys. "Terminator: Salvation" (May 21): Bale as grown-up John Connor, trying to save the world. Trailer: Sketchy, but ominous.
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (June 24): More children's toys back to wreak havoc. Trailer: Loud and busy.
"Up" (May 29): Pixar's newest, about a cranky old man who takes to the sky - in his house, aided by hundreds of balloons. Trailer: Literally uplifting, and funny. No one beats Pixar when it comes to trailers.
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (May 1): The history of Hugh Jackman's hairy superhero. Trailer: What a summer movie should look like - action-packed, but with a brain.
"Year One" (June 19): Jack Black and Michael Cera as cavemen. Trailer: Boring and not funny.
FALL/HOLIDAYS
“9” (Sept. 9): In this Tim Burton-produced animated movie, a group of bizarre dolls must save the future, because the present is toast. Trailer: Mystifying and gorgeous.
"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel" (Dec. 25): More singing chipmunks.
"Avatar" (Dec. 18): A new James Cameron-directed sci-fi blockbuster about a distant planet, its people and the Earthlings who defend them.
"Disney's A Christmas Carol" (Nov. 6): Jim Carrey stars as most of the characters in this animated version of Scrooge's story.
"Fame" (Sept. 25): Love and dreams at a performing arts high school.
"The Lovely Bones" (Dec. 11): An adaptation of Alice Sebold's heartbreaking novel, starring Rachel Weisz and Mark Wahlberg. Peter Jackson (“Lord of the Rings”) directs.
"New Moon" (Nov. 20): Part two of the "Twilight" series.
"Sherlock Holmes" (Nov. 13): Robert Downey Jr. again, this time as the legendary detective.
"Tooth Fairy" (Nov. 13): Dwayne Johnson as a hockey player who has to be the tooth fairy for a week.
"Where the Wild Things Are" (Oct. 16): A live-action adaptation of the children's book.
"The Wolfman" (Nov. 6): Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins star in this version of the classic tale.
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