


Movie Watch
Basically, this section has been set up so that I can keep track of all the movies I'm looking forward to in the coming years. I've rated each on my anticipation (from 6 to 10...because if it's below 6, it doesn't really deserve to make the cut), and organized them by impending release date. I've also included a lot of pictures to make this page more fun to check out, and I expect to update both the pictures and my anticipation as more information arrives. Until then, enjoy!
Movies I've Already Missed:
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2008: |
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October 10
Happy-Go-Lucky (Limited)

I know very little about Mike Leigh's
latest, except that it's enraptured some of my favorite reviewers. That
and Mike Leigh at the helm are all I need to know.
Anticipation: 7

It's about a journalist who was injured
in the Iraq War being hired by the CIA to track down an al Qaeda leader in
Jordan! Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe star! Ridley Scott
directs!
Anticipation: 7
October 17

I'm not sure how this festival-goer has been received, but
it's based on an infamous tell-all about an actual producer's experience in
Hollywood trying to get a movie made. Barry Levinson directs.
Anticipation: 7
October 24
Synecdoche, NY (Limited)

Phillip Seymour
Hoffman is a theatre director trying to get set to be a life-size replica of NYC
inside a warehouse. Michelle Williams, Tilda Swinton, Catherine Keener,
and Samantha Morton co-star, and Charlie Kaufman, as one would expect, directs.
Synecdoche is a literary device wherein a part represents a whole, which I'm
guessing relates directly to the life-size replica thing.
Anticipation: 8
October 31

Kevin Smith returns! Seth Rogen
and Elizabeth Banks star as friends strapped for cash who venture into amateur
porn. I can't wait.
Anticipation: 8

First, that's just an on-set picture,
since there aren't any images from the movie released yet. But anyway, I'm
honestly just glad Clint's not
doing another Paul Haggis script. This one's by J. Michael Straczynski (of
Babylon 5 and innumerable comics fame), and it sounds pretty cool.
Angelina Jolie plays a woman who prays for her kidnapped son to return home, and
when he does, she begins to wonder if it's really her son. It's a mystery,
not a drama or anything, so I'm intrigued.
Anticipation: 7
November 7

Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott play
two jerks sentenced to a big brother-like program mentoring kids including
Christopher Mintz-Plasse. I'm not sure if it's a straight-up The State
production, but David Wain directs and Ken Marino co-stars (as does Elizabeth
Banks). I don't know about you, but I like the trailer.
Anticipation: 7
November 14
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

I've heard great things about this
festival hit, a WWII Nazi film told through the eyes of a child. That
child? The son of David Thewlis' Nazi commander who makes friends with a
Jewish boy in the camp.
Anticipation: 8
November 21

Joe Wright directs
the story of a schizophrenic, homeless man who dreams of playing at the Walt
Disney Concert Hall. Robert Downey, Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener, and
more star.
Anticipation: 7
November 26
The Road

John Hillcoat (The
Proposition) directs the Cormac McCarthy Pulitzer-winner! Even better:
Viggo Mortensen plays Father, and Charlize Theron and Guy Pearce co-star!
Anticipation: 9

The true story of America's first openly
gay elected official, San Francisco Mayor Harvey Milk, with an all-star cast,
Gus Van Sant at the helm, and an awesome trailer.
Anticipation: 8

This is that
Australian movie by Baz Luhrmann with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Kidman
plays a British aristocrat who works with an Australia cattle driver (Jackman)
on a cattle drive as a last-ditch attempt to protect her land from a takeover
scheme, while WWII and the Japanese bombings of Australia occur all around.
Sounds like Gone with the Wind in Australia.
Anticipation: 7
November 28
Slumdog Millionaire (Limited)

Danny Boyle's latest, about an Indian
boy who makes it big on their version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, has
gotten raves at its festival screenings.
Anticipation: 7
December 4
Brothers
Jim Sheridan directs a Susanna Biers
adaptation wherein a young man comforts his brother's wife and children when he
goes missing in Afghanistan. Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, and Tobey
Maguire star.
Anticipation: 7
December 12
Doubt (Limited)

Clearly being positioned as an Oscar
pony, this is the adaptation of the acclaimed play about bad stuff going on at a
Catholic school. Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams star
in hopes of earning Oscar nominations. Add on producer Scott Rudin, DP
Roger Deakins, and a host of other Oscar-nominated technical heads, and I'm sure
this is prime Oscar bait. The only question is whether director John
Patrick Shanley, who wrote the original play and wrote/directed Joe Versus the
Volcano, is up to the task. Update: the trailer blew me away.
Anticipation: 8

Ed Zwick's newest
film is about three Jewish brothers, Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie
Bell, who escape Nazi Poland into a Russian forest, where they join the Russian
resistance and build a village. I freaking can't wait for a modern
resistance movement movie.
Anticipation: 7
The Reader
Stephen Daldry directs the post-WWII
story of a young man who learns "an awful truth" about the long-time object of
his affection at a war crimes trial. Nicole Kidman and Ralph Fiennes star
in this feel-good-movie-of-the-year.
Anticipation: 7
December 19
The Brothers Bloom (Limited)
Con-Men (Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo) are unprepared for
the resourcefulness of their millionaire mark (Rachel Weisz). That trailer
and all the reviews have me pumped, and it's release schedule might be good for
awards, but it's a shame we're having to wait most of a year since it was
originally going to be released.
Anticipation: 9
The Wrestler

By now you've heard: Darren
Aronofsky, Mickey Rourke, and a whole lot of festival buzz.
Anticipation: 8
December 25
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

David Fincher returns with this story of
a man who ages backward. The man? Brad Pitt. Cate Blanchett
co-stars. Color me excited.
Anticipation: 8

The adaptation of
the acclaimed play, starring original cast members Frank Langella and Michael
Sheen, two actors who blew me away in recent years. It's directed by Ron
Howard, written by Kevin Morgan (who wrote the play, The Queen, and Last King of
Scotland), and Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell, and Toby Jones have joined. YAY!
Update: That trailer is amazing, and I cannot wait to see Langella and
Sheen own the big screen the way they did Broadway.
Anticipation: 8
The Other Man
A man who
suspects his wife of adultery tries to track down the other man. Liam Neeson and Laura Linney
star while Richard Eyre (Notes on a Scandal) directs.
Anticipation: 7
December 26
Revolutionary Road (Limited)

The next
Sam Mendes film finally features not only his wife, Kate Winslet, but her
Titanic costar Leonardo DiCario. Now that both are finally considered by
the world at large as generally great actors, I think everyone'll be pretty
excited. Oh, and it's about a Connecticut couple in 1950s suburbia.
Anticipation: 8

Tom Cruise's Hitler
movie, about upper level Nazis trying to assassinate Hitler, looks fascinating. And utterly subversive in these times where no
political movie can't NOT reflect on the Bush administration.
Anticipation: 7
TBD 2008

The Argentine--Steven Soderbergh directs Benicio Del Toro as Che Guevara leading a revolution. See Guerrilla
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men--To me, it's as great a comedy title as Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, but with much greater promise. John Krasinski adapted the film and directs, which means, whether bad or good, I will definitely watch this some time. I can't find Jenna Fischer's film LolliLove anywhere!
The Colossus--"An ornithologist at the turn of the 20th century transports hundreds of songbirds to an ailing prime minister in South Africa and falls for a political activist trying to stop the impending Boer War." Ian McKellen, Susan Sarandon, Rachel Weisz, and Colin Firth star. Sold.
Guerrilla--Steven Soderbergh directs Benicio Del Toro as Che Guevara in 1964 when he comes to NYC to address the UN. See The Argentine, because this co-project (like Flags of Our Fathers/Letters from Iwo Jima) is awesome.
Genova--When a woman dies in a car accident, her husband moves their family to Italy, where the younger daughter sees the ghost of her mother and the older one discovers her sexuality. Michael Winterbottom directs, and the cast is: Colin Firth, Catherine Keener, Hope Davis, and Italians.
In the Electric Mist--Tommy Lee Jones plays a Southern detective who has a series of surreal encounters with Confederate soldiers. His co-stars include Peter Sarsgaard, Kelly Macdonald, Justina Machado, and John Goodman.
Open Hearts--this is supposed to come out in 2007, but I'm almost certain it'll get pushed back. Zach Braff directs this remake of a foreign film that sounds incredibly tragic and dramatic, with a woman reacting to her husband's recent car accident-induced paralysis, not nearly as fun as Garden State. Regardless, I will definitely be there.
2009 (Anticipation 8+):
3993--This is a Guillermo Del Toro that somehow connects the Spanish Civil War in 1939 and set in 1990's Spain (which I'm assuming will be 1993, as the title seems to suggest). Sounds interesting...wonder what it'll end up like.
Adventureland--Greg Mottola (Superbad) directs this comedy about a kid who winds up working at an amusement park for the summer
Assassination of a High School President--A Brick-like high school noir about missing SAT tests that scored big on the festival circuit.
Avatar--James Cameron's long-awaited project is about humans projecting their consciousness into avatars in order to survive on a dangerous planet with an enemy native population. If it sounds a lot like the New World but in the future and with sci-fi technology, then you are on the right track.
Blink--It's about how people make snap judgments of others in an intertwining series of stories. Leonardo DiCaprio co-stars. UPDATE: Stephen Gaghan is no longer credited as writer-director, so...I may stop caring about this project

The Box (March 20)--The next Richard Kelly, which I've written about too much, about a couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) who find a box on their doorstep which, if they open, will make them immensely prosperous, but at the cost of some person's life.
Bronte--OMG! Michelle Williams plays Charlotte and some chick named Nathalie Press plays Emily, and the plot description mentions moors and the girls' fantasy worlds! Jonathan Rhys-Meyers also stars. UPDATE: It's taken forever, and now Michelle Williams is out. But Evan Rachel Wood is in, so we'll see.
Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill--an aging rocker + a Hasidic Jew = a new band! Tina Fey wrote it and stars, and Sacha Baron Cohen is the Hasidic Jew!
Duplicity--Tony Gilroy's sophomore feature sees two corporate spies hooking up to pull off a con with a cast including Tom Wilkinson, Billy Bob Thornton, Julia Roberts, and Clive Owen.
Hail Caesar--this is a Coen Brothers comedy about a 1920s troupe performing Julius Caesar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - July 17, 2009

David Yates is back directing, and Harry
comes under the tutelage of two new teachers: Dumbledore, who begins
private lessons, and the Half Blood Prince, who helps Harry in potions.
Anticipation: 10
The History of Love--Cuaron's first film scheduled for 2009 is about a long-lost book that somehow connects an old man searching for his son with a girl seeking a cure for her mother's loneliness. Wanna bet the result will be two couples? Then you obviously don't know Cuaron.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus--Terry Gilliam's back! Something about a travelling theater. Heath Ledger, Tom Waits, and Christopher Plummer. And now, Colin Farrell, Jude Law, and Johnny Depp.
Inglorious Bastards--Tarantino's oft-delayed WWII epic. I'll believe it when I see it.
The International--Feb. 20, 2009

Tom Tykwer (Heaven, Run Lola Run,
Perfume) directs, and Clive Owen and Naomi Watts star in this thriller about an
Interpol agent trying to expose a financial institution's arms dealing.
Anticipation: 8, based almost solely on the director.
Interstellar--Spielberg doing a space adventure epic about wormholes? Is it too soon to call this the best movie ever?
John Carter of Mars--A Civil War soldier is transported to Mars in the Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptation
Killing Pablo--Christian Bale plays a US special forces guy trying to take out Pablo Escobar (Javier Bardem). The only if is director Joe Carnahan.
Lincoln--Spielberg's Lincoln movie starring Liam Neeson as the great emancipator. Sally Field may be Mary Todd, and that would be the best possible choice.
Love Ranch--Taylor Hackford directs a drama about a married couple (Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci) opening the first brothel in Nevada.
The Lovely Bones

Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan plays Susie Salmon, and Rachel Weisz and Mark Wahlberg play Mr. and Mrs. Salmon, which sounds amazing! Not to mention the book is one of the best I've read. March 13, 2009.
The Memory of Running--Cuaron's second 2009 feature is about...I'll let IMDb tell you: "The story follows an obese Vietnam vet who, still reeling from the death of his parents, finds out his sister has died in Los Angeles. He sets out on a cross-country trip on his bicycle in a bid to reclaim her body."
Mexico '68--Cuaron's final 2009 feature is about a violent student revolt in Mexico in, you guessed it, 1968
Public Enemies--Michael Mann's '30s gangster movie. Christian Bale is an FBI agent trying to take down Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger.
Rendezvous with Rama--An Arthur C. Clarke story about a spaceship hurtling toward the Sun directed by David Fincher!
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt--Not sure how official all this is, but Leo's supposed to play Teddy, pre-fat, up until his Rough Rider years! Not only is the Spanish-American War the best one, but Scorsese's directing it!
The Rum Diary
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World--Edgar Wright directing Michael Cera in a comedy about a kid who must defeat his girlfriend's seven evil ex-boyfriends!
Shantaram
Shutter Island--Martin Scorsese is directing this awesome-sounding book about escaped asylum inmates (investigating the age-old theme of, who's crazier, the inmates or their keepers?). Get a load of this cast list: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, Jackie Earle Haley, Max von Sydow, and Emily Mortimer! This sounds unstoppable, and it already has a release date of Nov 2, 2009. Be there.
Star Trek XI--May 8. Anticipation: 20...not a typo
State of Play--Kevin Macdonald (Last King of Scotland) directs this BBC miniseries adaptation about the investigation into the murder of a Congressmen's mistress. Check out the cast: Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman, Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Robin Wright, and Helen Mirren!
Suburbicon--The Coens are writing for Clooney to direct! No clue what it's about, but duh.
Tetro--The newest Francis Ford Coppola is autobiographical: it's about a family of artistic Italian immigrants to America. The cast includes Javier Bardem and Matt Dillon.
Tree of Life--The new Terrence Malick, starring Brad Pitt
Untitled Moon Project--Doug Liman's space movie! A crew has an action-packed lunar expedition in a time of frenzied colonization. Jake Gyllenhaal stars.
Watchmen (March 6, 2009)

Zack Snyder directs (eh). Malin Ackerman plays Laurie, Billy Crudup is Dr. Manhattan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is The Comedian, Jackie Earle Haley is Rorschach, and Matthew Goode is Ozymandias.
Y: The Last Man--Brian K. Vaughn is writing the screenplay for New Line...definitely my favorite comic series (I just like the story and the fact that it is limited and not infinite like most superhero comics), even over all the superhero lines I've read since I was a kid...this all amounts to me really wanting to see this movie. DJ Caruso directs.
2010 (Anticipation 8+):
Battle Angel
Boone's Lick--Headstrong wife Julianne Moore drags her family from Boone's Lick to the fort in Wyoming where her husband is stationed. Her husband's brother, Tom Hanks, escorts her on the dangerous journey and gradually falls in love with her. It sounds like the Oregon Trail with a dash of romance!
Silence--Scorsese has another one that may be coming out in 2008 about priests Sebastiao Rodrigues and Francis Garrpe who travel to 17th century shogunate Japan. Apparently, Japanese Christians are being persecuted and these priests travel the countryside wondering why God lets it happen.
Unknown Release Date (Anticipation 8+):
Arrested Development: The Movie--Jason Bateman and Jeffrey Tambor have confirmed that they have been approached about doing an AD movie, and their answers were both, "Hellz yes!" Mitchell Hurwitz and Ron Howard are in pre-pre-production, and Hurwitz says, while there's not even a single line written, he has an idea of what he wants to happen in the movie. Anticipation: 20.
Firefly Movies--I'm confident that Joss Whedon will release more Firefly movies, especially now that he's off Wonder Woman.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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