Ten Deep 01.07.09: The Most Anticipated Performances of 2010

Posted by Mike Gorman on 01.07.2010

From Jackie Earle Haley in A Nightmare on Elm Street and Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland to Russell Crowe in Robin Hood and Josh Brolin in Jonah Hex, 411’s Mike Gorman breaks down his most anticipated performances for 2010!

I am definitely ready to be done with 2009 and all the celebrating of the new year. Have you made a resolution? Good, now keep it to yourself. Instead I am ready for the next 12 months to come and all the great films we will be treated to this year.


"The Top Ten Anticipated Performances of 2010"

It is award show season and everyone is talking about which actors and actresses will take home little gold statues. I would much rather look to the year ahead and identify the performances that I think we should be most excited about. The people made this list are not just who I think will be the best this year. They also include those who are surrounded in controversy, have a great challenge ahead of them or we have been waiting to see for a long time.

The first name on the list is playing a familiar role for the last time.



10. Daniel Radcliffe as "Harry Potter" in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

And so will begin the ending of one of the biggest fantasy franchises there has ever been. Radcliffe will once again be wearing the robes of the wizard Harry Potter come November and I cannot wait to see what he brings to the screen this time around. As an audience we have gotten to see him grow up literally and as the character. Now I am no obsessed fan of the series but I have enjoyed how each of the films has progressed. With each outing we have seen the storylines grow darker and the dramatic demands increase on the young cast. I think that the quality of the films has grown also. The two part finale will also be the biggest moment to date of Radcliffe's career as he gets to put his final touches on a character with whom he will long be associated.




9. Benicio Del Toro as "Lawrence Talbot" in The Wolfman

Enough with the teenage werewolves already! It is time to get back to basics as a classic horror film is being revived. The Wolfman is supposed to be sticking pretty closely to the film it is based upon while using modern techniques to intensify the effects. Benicio Del Toro is a natural for the lead because he is a big fan of the original and let's face it, he already looks like a wolf man to some extent. There is a feral, almost caged animal feel to many of his past performances and I really am looking forward to seeing how well he is able to funnel this energy as Talbot. His character is an American who travels to his ancestral home and ends up involved with a mystery beast attacking the locals. We all know what will happen for the most part so I am not expecting many surprises. What I am expecting is a tour de force performance as an icon is brought back to life.




8. Josh Brolin as "Jonah Hex" in Jonah Hex

If any actor has proven the past few years that he is able to subsume himself in a character's identity it is Josh Brolin with his turns in W and Milk. This year Brolin will be taking on DC Comic's scarred bounty hunter Jonah Hex and from the pictures they have released from the set it seems he is again going all out for a role. There is a metered madness to Hex that I have imagined will be challenging to translate to the big screen. I want to see what Brolin is able to do with this wild man.




7. Steve Carrell & Tina Fey as "Phil & Clara Foster" in Date Night

The first of two duos who made my list, Carrell and Fey will soon star as a married couple who have fallen into a rut and then fall into more action then they can handle in Date Night. I will be honest here; my extreme interest in this film has nothing to do with the plot. I, like many others, cannot wait to see if Fey and Carrell will be able to create together the magic they create individually each week on their respective NBC sitcoms. They are two of the funniest people working in television right now and they have the potential to be superstars of the big screen. I also wonder if this will be an absolute train wreck as they fail to live up to the high expectations resting on them both. I think it could go either way but regardless it will be something to see.




6. Kevin Smith as the director of Cop Out

Ironically this one is my own cop out. I am aware that Kevin Smith is not acting in the film Cop Out but I am greatly anticipating his performance as the director. I have been following the development of this film religiously on Smith's prolific Twitter account (Trust me, if you follow him expect a ton of posts, interesting posts but many). I am most interested to see the results of Smith directing a story by another writer. He himself has said that it was a test of his range as a director to faithfully bring to life another person's work. The film itself is at the core of a controversy over the title, which was originally A Couple of Dicks. The studio did not approve this title and made the announced change. Most fans have assumed that Smith would be riled up by these actions but he has taken a pretty mature stance. He spoke out and stated that as long as the writers of the story are ok with the change it is no problem to him.




5. Dan Aykroyd as "Yogi Bear" in Yogi Bear

Aykroyd will be voicing one of my favorite animated characters of all time and I cannot wait to see the result. I am not sure if he is the first member of the Ghostbusters cast I would have selected for this role; that distinction would go to Bill Murray. But I must say that a few weeks out from the announcement the idea of Aykroyd playing the titular bear has grown on me. He can harness the zaniness and dead pan needed to make this icon come to life. Now as for the casting of Justin Timberlake as Boo Boo, I cannot say I am on board. That is a performance that I will need to see to believe.




4. Russell Crowe as "Robin Hood" in Robin Hood

If you have my writing on 411Mania at all you know that I am not the world's biggest Russell Crowe fan. So it is a rare moment today when I state that I am actually excited for one of his upcoming roles. Robin Hood is character that has gone through many different permutations over the year but with Ridley Scott and Crowe involved I know that we will be in for a truly iconic presentation. I believe that Crowe will be able to play the heroism innate in Hood and balance it with the prideful swagger that has long been a part of the character's mythos. Crowe is often larger than life in his acting and I looking to see if he can find the right balance to bring this inhabitant of Sherwood Forest to life.




3. Nick Frost as "Clive Gollings" & Simon Pegg as "Graham Willy" in Paul

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg together again? I am there. Doesn't matter what they are doing, I know it will be awesome. Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are two of the best films I have ever seen mostly due to the amazing comic chemistry between these two actors. In Paul they are playing two British comic geeks who make a pilgrimage to the infamous Area 51 and come upon an alien voiced by Seth Rogen. Edgar Wright may not be along with them for the ride this time but I have faith in their abilities and cannot wait to see how much they make me laugh this time around.




2. Johnny Depp as "The Mad Hatter" in Alice in Wonderland

The film may be called Alice in Wonderland but let's face it, it is Johnny Depp's turn as the Mad Hatter that is the most anticipated thing about Tim Burton's new film. The pale skin, the yellow eyes, and crazy red hair you can see in the image from the film seem to conceal a deep seeded true madness in Depp's performance. He does off center characters like no one else as we saw in Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. I am hoping to see Depp truly fill the 3D Imax screen with this fairytale character and I am not just talking about his physical presence. Many fans I know are hoping that the focus on the Mad Hatter will not alter the core story of Alice but I for one am looking forward to him once again stealing the show.


And lastly…




1. Jackie Earle Haley as "Freddy Krueger" in A Nightmare on
Elm Street

Robert England's Freddy Krueger is more than just a horror movie icon. He is synonymous with the role. Characters like Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers have been portrayed successfully in my opinion by a variety of actors but Freddy has always been England. This is why I winced a little when I first heard that they were "reimagining" A Nightmare on Elm Street. Why are there no original ideas left in Hollywood? That however is a discussion for another day. I told myself that I had to give this idea a chance and decided to take the news of the production as it came with a grain of salt. Then I heard that they had cast the man who just brought Rorschach of Watchmen to the big screen as Freddy Krueger and I got excited. Jackie Earle Haley plays creepy mania so well that I cannot see how he will unsuccessful as the dream killer. Specifically look to the scenes where he is unmasked in Watchmen and see the insanity that boils beneath his skin. I am excited for a fresh take on a beloved character and from what I have seen in the trailers I do not think I will be disappointed. They are bringing the darkness back to Krueger and I look forward to getting my pants scared off me!


So there you have the performances I cannot wait to see in 2010. Who did I miss? Who has you chomping at the bit to buy your tickets? Let me know and come back next week for a new adventure Ten Deep!