Furious on Film 12.10.09: Coming Soon!
Posted by Arnold Furious on 12.10.2009
A look at the forthcoming releases in 2010!
Furious on Film 157: Coming Soon!
A look at the forthcoming releases in 2010!
Aka: Movies to start getting excited about now.
As 2009 draws to a close it's normally a time to reflect on a year gone by. At least that seems to be the standard. Everyone looks back at their favourite movies of the year, coughDistrict9cough, and recalls the highs and the lows. I'm sure you're used to it by now. So I'm going a different route and taking a look forward to 2010. A year of possibilities and hope. Of sequels, re-imaginings and, at times, originality. We'll see new movies from Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton, M. Night Shyamalan and Ridley Scott. Plus sequels to Iron Man, Wall Street, and Predator. Not to mention the latest instalments from Harry Potter, Toy Story, Shrek and the Chronicles of Narnia. In June we'll get the pleasure of seeing a new A-Team and Karate Kid as the 80s get plundered once again. Also we have new films from an assortment of talented individuals to get excited about ranging from Chris Nolan to Sylvester Stallone. So grab your popcorn…it's time for some trailers!
JANUARY
He's baaaaaack. Oh yes, Mel Gibson, the much maligned Hollywood megastar makes his triumphant return to acting with Edge of Darkness. On paper it looks like a riveting thriller. Based on the 1985 BBC mini-series of the same name it deals with a cop who loses his daughter to a shooting. This particular version was adapted by Oscar award winning writer of the Departed William Monahan. On top of that it'll be directed by Martin Campbell. He knows a thing or two about shooting thrillers having directed two of the best Bond films ever made; GoldenEye and Casino Royale. Gibson's co-stars include Danny Huston and Ray Winstone. Sold! Gibson hasn't made a film, as an actor, since the bizarre re-hash of Dennis Potter's Singing Detective in 2003. Seven years is an awfully long time to have been away. Perhaps he was just waiting for the right project. And if this can persuade Mel Gibson to get off his ass and onto a film set then it should persuade you to get off your ass and go to the cinema!
FEBRUARY
As a fan of Martin Scorsese it'd be fair to say I've been waiting since the release of The Departed in 2006 for some new Scorsese material. Hell, the adaptation of Shutter Island has been coming for a long, long time. It was originally conceived, from Dennis Lehane's book, as an action movie to be directed by Wolfgang Petersen. But the adaptation needed too much work to change it from a complex psychological thriller into an action blockbuster. So instead it went over to David Fincher who intended to make it with Brad Pitt. But it spent time in development hell and ended up in the hands of Scorsese and his latest muse; Leo DiCaprio. Originally slated for release in October of this year it got pushed back. Perhaps to keep it fresh in the minds of the Oscar voters? I hope so! Because if it's that good it's good news for everybody. Lehane already has a great history of adaptations. His previous works to make it to the big screen are Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone. Both excellent films. He also wrote three episodes of the acclaimed drama The Wire. DiCaprio's co-stars on Shutter Island include Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Jackie Earl Haley and Max Von Sydow. Sold!
Kevin Smith hasn't made a film written by someone else before. And perhaps A Couple of Dicks could benefit hugely from the originality of Smith directing someone else's words. If there's one thing Zack and Miri Make a Porno suffered from it was that Kevin Smith's sentiments on life were getting very, very repetitive. Don't get me wrong here. I'm a big Kevin Smith fan. But he needs a change and this is a great idea. And because he's changed his approach he's working with different actors too. Not only that but Scott Mosier isn't even on board. I hope the result will be a fresh challenge for Kevin Smith who's been riding along in his comfort zone for quite some time. Oh and by different actors I mean; Bruce Willis! His co-star is Tracy Morgan and the film also features an array of acting talent including Seann William Scott, Jason Lee, Kevin Pollak and Michelle Trachtenberg. Sold!
There's no trailer for A Couple of Dicks available yet so here's Bruce Willis singing "Devil Woman".
MARCH
I've never been the biggest fan of Tim Burton. I love Beetlejuice and thought he did an excellent job on Big Fish but everything else just seems to run together into a big Gothic mess in my mind. Maybe I've just spent too much time hanging around with Goths to enjoy anything they produce anymore. That or I'm just too darn upbeat. The closest to the forthcoming Tim Burton production in existence would be his version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Lots of bright colours and Johnny Depp being really wacky. The film in question is, of course, Alice in Wonderland. I would question the need for another version of Alice but when Tim Burton sets his mind to something there's no changing it. His latest Disney inspired picture includes the talents of Helena Bonham-Carter, Stephen Fry, Christopher Lee, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Michael Sheen and Alan Rickman. It certainly has a few heavyweights behind it.
Brooklyn's Finest has already seen limited release but doesn't come out officially Stateside until March. The film has 329 votes, at time of writing, on IMDB.com with an average rating of 8.9. That would suggest this is going to be quite the cinematic experience. It screened at Sundance way back in January and again in Venice in September. Returning to what brought him to the dance is Antoine Fuqua. The Training Day director has been all over the place since his big breakthrough and has returned to his roots. This promises to be a sprawling LA police epic with multiple strands and a massive cast including Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin and Vincent D'Onofrio. Hey, Wesley Snipes might actually be in a good movie. That'd be the first one since…shit, Blade? That's like 12 years ago! Plus it's weird to see Richard Gere playing a character with actual depth outside of a chick flick.
Paul Greengrass has made some killer films. He took over the Jason Bourne series at the first sequel and then stunned the cinematic world with the superb United 93. His latest movie is called Green Zone and you'd be forgiven for thinking it's the next Jason Bourne movie. It's directed by Greengrass and stars Matt Damon. And it is a thriller. But that's where the similarities end. You see Green Zone is an Iraq War film set post-invasion. Wait, wait, wait, don't go away! The sub-genre has actually started finding it's feet now. We've had In the Valley of Elah succeed. And this film has all the right elements. The screenplay comes from Brian Helgeland. He's the bomb with adaptations. Remember how great LA Confidential was? Mystic River? The guy can write if someone provides him with the great ideas in book form. Green Zone sees Damon's warrant officer in the US army go AWOL in search of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Co-stars include Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, Amy Ryan and Greg Kinnear.
Clash of the Titans was an early 80s classic. I guess it was only a matter of time until someone got around to re-making it. The good news is that unlike many other 80s films that are being re-hashed this one probably needs a decent re-make. After all, the original isn't great but has huge potential. I don't want to be hard on the guy but Harry Hamlin isn't a solid choice for a leading man (although when you think about it neither was Mark Hammill and that worked out fine). Here he's been replaced by flavour of the month and Jim Cameron leading man; Sam Worthington. He brought humanity to Terminator: Salvation and when Avatar comes out he'll be one of the most recognisable actors in the world. Behind the lens is Louis Leterrier who showed he understands the need for action when he shot Incredible Hulk for Marvel. I have concerns for Clash of the Titans as there's every chance it'll be campy and rubbish but the cast is terrific. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes are among the support. The trailer makes it look a bit like 300, which is probably deliberate. Best to distance itself from the original.
APRIL
Steve Carell seems to have a pretty good handle on his career. First he showed his comedic ability with 40 Year Old Virgin then he showed he could act a bit with Little Miss Sunshine. Now he's been working on the old comedy star vehicle pieces. Two years ago he did a surprisingly good job on Get Smart, which could potentially have gone very wrong indeed. It helped that he had Anne Hathaway and The Rock alongside him but he was good in that movie. It made me forget about Evan Almighty. Watching the trailer for Date Night should remind you why Carell has such a successful career. And its another good choice of co-star with the delectable Tina Fey. She's smart and can hold her own. Baby Mama may not have been a great movie but she showed she was capable of carrying a film. My only concern about Date Night is the director Shawn Levy who often forgets to include any depth in his films. See; Pink Panther, Just Married or Night at the Museum + sequel. I don't think he's made a good film yet. But this might be the one! Another slight concern is that writer Josh Klausner's only writing credit so far was a polish on the awful Shrek 3. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, you can't polish a turd.
Superhero movies are doing pretty well and when we get into May you'll see 2010 is not without the conventional superhero. But in April we'll get to see something a little different. Mark Millar is getting quite the reputation in Hollywood. After his comic book Wanted was made into a movie and did really well suddenly his back catalogue became wanted by Hollywood. First up is Kick-Ass. Young leading man Aaron Johnson will play the slacker turned superhero after he questions why there are no superheroes in the real world. One home-made costume later and he's "Kick-Ass". Among his fellow heroes is "Red Mist" played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse aka McLovin. The cast also includes Nic Cage, Mark Strong and Xander Berkley. Interesting to note that Cage doesn't appear in the trailer at all. I'm in the middle of reading some Mark Millar at the moment. His Ultimates comic book series has been a big success for Marvel. Although by re-booting their continuities they have somewhat screwed with the great work being done on the New Avengers book by the incomparable Brian Michael Bendis. His dialogue is just incredible at times. Millar however has the trump card of having Thor as a total nutcase (or is he? I'm just asking questions). Anyway, here's the trailer. Stardust director Matthew Vaughn behind the camera.
Remember Grindhouse? Tarantino & Rodriguez amusing themselves with two shonky productions to celebrate the cinema they grew up on? When it was released Grindhouse had a bunch of fake trailers on it. One of which really caught the imagination of those watching. So much so they've actually made it! And Danny Trejo isn't alone. He's got a superb supporting cast, which includes Robert DeNiro, Steven Seagal, Jessica Alba and Lindsay Lohan. I think this may be the first time in the history of film where a fake trailer ended up being made into a real film. But that's what happens when you fuck with the wrong Mexican.
There's no trailer available yet for this next film but due out in April is the sequel to one of the 80s most defining films; Wall Street. It brought forth the "Greed is Good" motto that made a lot of people on Wall Street very, very rich. Recently the same thing happened all over again causing an eventual global recession, which I'm sure the guys at the top care very little about because they're all still loaded. Oliver Stone is back. He directed the original Wall Street in 1987. Michael Douglas also returns as Gordon Gekko as does Charlie Sheen as Bud Fox. Shia The Beef fills out the main players and support also comes from Frank Langella and Susan Sarandon. Could be one of the heavyweight releases of the year as the original Wall Street remains as relevant today as when it was released. Those who do not pay attention to history are doomed to repeat it.
Speaking of which…those who attempt to re-make classic slasher movies are doomed to failure. Here's the trailer for the re-hash of A Nightmare on Elm Street. Seeing as they've retained so many of the classic visuals from the original it'd probably be easier to just go out and watch that instead.
MAY
The big comic book release of 2010 is undoubtedly Iron Man 2. Robert Downey Jr did a sensational job on the first film as did director Jon Favreau. Unfortunately Terrence Howard doesn't return for the sequel and is replaced by Don Cheadle. Who would have thought Don Cheadle would be a poor man's Terrence Howard? I do love Terrence Howard and enjoyed his performance in the first film. And if you don't love Terrence Howard then you haven't seen Hustle & Flow. You need to. Marvel have been accused of rushing their follow up to the very successful 2008 film Iron Man. And I think they probably have. I'm surprised they've gone from the armoured Obadiah Stane concept to Whiplash. It seems like a strange change of tack. Looking at Mickey Rourke's ridiculous outfit I think there is genuine cause for concern. It helps that Downey Jr is so immersed in being Tony Stark and that Rourke is a terrific and capable actor. But I'm concerned until the early reviews come back or I see a trailer with some convincing looking footage in it. This is, at the moment, the best footage available.
Ridley Scott's film about Robin Hood had been long rumoured. The original piece was entitled "Nottingham" and made the Sheriff of Nottingham out to be the hero of the piece. The policeman upholding the law while the outlaw Hood robbed from the good citizens. When Ridley Scott came onboard that all changed and the script was re-written by Brian Helgeland to make Nottingham "conflicted" rather than good or evil. There was an idea flying around that Russell Crowe would play both Robin Hood and Nottingham. Thus giving Nottingham a certain sympathy but in the end Matthew Macfadyen was cast as Nottingham. That concerns me. I think Nottingham will end up being very much the bad guy. Meanwhile Russell Crowe at 45 is a little old to be playing Robin Hood. Traditionally it's a younger man's role. Costner was only 36 when he portrayed Robin Hood in Prince of Thieves. That and Ridley Scott's record of late isn't what it should be. Body of Lies was at times very unremarkable and American Gangster wasn't the blowaway home run it should have been. And Robin Hood is a territory often explored. How will Ridley Scott's version differentiate itself from previous entries? The original concept seemed like a genius move but obviously the studios got nervous. Like when they asked Ridley Scott to take over the Alien prequel, which is slated for 2011.
As with most releases this far into the future there's no official trailer as yet for Shrek 4 either. Also known as Shrek Forever After and Shrek Goes Forth it threatens to continue the wilting Shrek series into a 4th film. Frankly the franchise overstayed its welcome into the 3rd movie. The first Shrek motion picture was quite excellent but the law of diminishing returns has hurt the franchise as time has progressed. Shrek the Third being the worst offender. They've lost sight of what made the first film so good and the idea has worn horribly thin. I've read the synopsis for the 4th movie and it's clear that the filmmakers feel the same way. It's like they've pressed the reset button with a "What If" style storyline. It'll either pan out quite well as there's a lot of potential there or it'll fail horribly and tank the series for good. Either way everyone wins!
JUNE
June seems to be all about re-visiting the 1980s. Two of the big summer releases are The A-Team and the Karate Kid. But before you write them off here are some details. A-Team will be directed by Joe "Smokin' Aces" Carnahan. So you know he can cope with some decent action stuff. Some of the casting seems like nailed on genius too. Sharlto Copley comes right out of District 9 to be Howlin' Mad Murdoch. While Quentin "Rampage" Jackson leaves the Octagon to become BA Baracus. Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper round out the main players and there's a genuine sense of fun about the production. Meanwhile the Karate Kid re-hash gave me hope when they named Jackie Chan as the replacement Mr Miyagi. Yeah, no one will ever replace Pat Morita in the role but Jackie Chan is as good a replacement as anyone. He can actually act yanno! They just don't let him do it in American movies very often. On the flipside Ralph Macchio is replaced by Will Smith's boy Jaden. Can he be as irritating as Ralph Macchio? Only time will tell!
Also in June is Toy Story 3. The first Toy Story MADE Pixar. It was their first feature and the first American animated film to really hit the big-time since Walt Disney was at his peak. Toy Story 2 came along four years later so why the long wait for the third one? Surely the Pixar well isn't getting dry? In many cases it's just nice to revisit old characters and see how life is treating them. After all the owner of all the toys is getting old. Andy has grown up and gone away to college and his Mom has helpfully given all the toys to a day-care centre. So Woody, Buzz and the gang have a new adventure. And there's even a trailer available! Enjoy.
And it wouldn't be summer without something from Adam Sandler. His 2010 film is called Grown Ups. It deals with five High School friends meeting up for their 30 year reunion. It co-stars David Spade, Rob Schneider, Kevin James and Chris Rock as the other 4 friends. Plus Salma Hayek, Steve Buscemi, Maria Bello and Gary Busey. The film promises to show the youth of today that nothing much changes when you get older. You just have to pretend to behave yourself more often. I like Sandler although sometimes (You Don't Mess With the Zohan) I think he's trying too hard. His down to earth films tend to be much better. This is more along those lines. So I think it might turn out ok.
JULY
The summer season wouldn't be the summer season without a potential disaster somewhere in the middle of it. I present to you…The Last Airbender. Based on the Nicolodean TV show M. Night Shyamalan's movie has ditched the "Avatar" precursor thanks to the distraction caused by Jim Cameron's movie of the same name. Shyamalan, as a filmmaker, has been going progressively downhill since he shot to the big time with The Sixth Sense. Every subsequent dip into the cinematic pot has come up worse than the one before. There's nothing worse than watching a celebrity just fall apart right in front of your eyes but someone in Hollywood must rate M. Night because he's got another shot at redemption. And so soon after the last failure!
July also sees the return of The Cruiser. James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line) directs Cruise and co-star Cameron Diaz in Knight and Day an action comedy. It's The Cruiser's first movie since making Valkyrie in 2008. When you think about it The Cruiser has been pretty quiet, for him, over the last 5 years. Maybe this is his ticket back to the A-list. Cameron Diaz is just coming off Green Hornet and The Box. Here's some footage of Tom falling off a roof as no trailer has been released just as yet.
Robert Rodriguez has a pretty busy 2010 slate. He's among the combined intellects who've taken over the Predator franchise. With Alien set to re-boot with an origin story in 2011 this franchise gets its chance to be reborn somewhat earlier. Predators is envisioned as a sequel to Predator like Aliens was a sequel to Alien. Vacancy director Nimrod Antal is behind the camera. Rodriguez wants to get away from the terrible AVP franchise and claims this film will be so entertaining that no one will want to continue the AVP films. Both AVP films were terribly flawed though and have doomed the franchise. The first because it ignored the historical strengths and weaknesses of the creatures and the second one because it had no characters in it. Predators stars Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga and Danny Trejo. It'll feature a group of highly trained humans battling Predators in their own environment. Here's Robert Rodriguez talking about Predators and how he makes movies cheap and that's why Hollywood is coming to him more and more.
July's biggest movie, potentially, is a collaboration between Dark Knight director Chris Nolan and Titanic star Leonardo DiCaprio. The two biggest grossing movies of all time! The trailer for Inception has this crazy fight scene in it where two guys run at each other down a corridor and the corridor starts to shift because it only exists in someone's imagination. I have no idea how this will play out but it is typical of Chris Nolan to make a film that's completely unexpected. His whole career has been one unusual project after another. The cast for this film is out of this world. Behind DiCaprio in the pecking order are Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Cilian Murphy, Michael Caine, Tom Berenger and Rock N Rolla star Tom Hardy. It'll be great to see a full trailer because the teaser is a bit of ‘wow'.
AUGUST
August has the bonus of featuring a film that could be the most buzz-worthy of the year. Just the cast alone has sent ripples through the movie industry who are now expecting the most amazing action film ever made. It's Sylvester Stallone's tribute to the Dirty Dozen. And it stars, along with Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Stonecold Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. This film is so manly that celluloid may not be able to contain it. I think I already love this film! Ladies and gents…The Expendables…
And it wouldn't be summer without a big and loud Will Ferrell comedy. Only this year he's gone for something very different. An all-star cast and he's not even top billed! The Other Guys stars Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Anne Heche, Steve Coogan, Paris Hilton and Ray Stevenson. No trailer for this bad boy as yet but it does come from director Adam McKay whose previous Ferrell back catalogue includes Step Brothers, Talladega Nights and Anchorman. Basically all my favourite Ferrell movies. Plus Samuel L. Jackson and The Rock in the same place? We may have a coolness overload.
And because I know the franchise has its fans mediocre zombie/video game adaptation series Resident Evil hits part four this coming Summertime. Milla Jovovich returns to kick some undead ass (T-Virus, whatever) in the fourth film called Resident Evil: Afterlife. But Steve Zahn is not playing a zombie.
With time running out on my column writing schedule this week September-December 2010 will have to wait for next week. There's still a bunch of exciting stuff in there including young Mr Potter and lots more besides. There's likely to be a lack of previews as most of the most won't have finished shooting yet but hey, you might learn something!
Until next time I'm Arnold Furious…and you're not.
