July
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, and a truck load of fantastic British actors
Director: David Yates [HP 5, 6, 7]
Plot: In the second part of the final-novel adaptation, Harry Potter and co. need to destroy Lord Voldemort's remaining horcruxes but he catches wind and wreaks havoc of epic proportions at their beloved Hogwarts. Everyone who we have ever met in the Potter movies who is still alive will come together in a Battle of Hogwarts that takes up half of this entire final movie.
Hot Stuff? As a devout Potterhead from first novel to final film I was SO excited for this. This book is epic. This trailer is epic. This film is epic! The Battle of Hogwarts was very well done and performances from the best of British like Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters and co were simply outstanding - and everyone else really stepped up their game. Inevitable changes to the book left some things to be desired but on the whole a serious contender for the best in the film series.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, John Malkovich
Director: Michael Bay [Transformers 1 and 2, Pearl Harbour, Armageddon, Bad Boys]
Plot: A special spacecraft has been hiding on the moon in the final chapter of Bay's Transformer's saga promising more transforming, more sex appeal, and more mind-blowing CGI in battles of good and evil.
Hot Stuff? Oh my life does this trailer look fan-CGI-tastic! I have to admit that I have not yet seen the second Transformers film, but this trailer has tempted me to watch it because Dark of the Moon looks truly exciting. From what I hear though it's all CGI and no substance, which is to be expected, but then it's a question of whether the CGI and set pieces can make up for the lack of plot and character...
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, John Malkovich
Director: Michael Bay [Transformers 1 and 2, Pearl Harbour, Armageddon, Bad Boys]Plot: A special spacecraft has been hiding on the moon in the final chapter of Bay's Transformer's saga promising more transforming, more sex appeal, and more mind-blowing CGI in battles of good and evil.
Hot Stuff? Oh my life does this trailer look fan-CGI-tastic! I have to admit that I have not yet seen the second Transformers film, but this trailer has tempted me to watch it because Dark of the Moon looks truly exciting. From what I hear though it's all CGI and no substance, which is to be expected, but then it's a question of whether the CGI and set pieces can make up for the lack of plot and character...
Captain America: The First Avenger
Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Stanley Tucci, Dominic Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones
Director: Joe Johnston [Jurassic Park III, Jumanji]
Hot Stuff? Well Chris Evans is certainly looking bufftastic, and with stellar backups like Hugo Weaving and Stanley Tucci I'm thinking this film already can't go far wrong. It may be just another all-star American Hollywood battle of good vs. evil, but if the latest string of superhero success is anything to go by, this will be one to watch.
August
Cowboys and Aliens
Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Paul Dano
Director: Jon Favreau [Iron Man 1 and 2, Elf]
Plot: A spaceship arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys are all that stand in their way.
Hot Stuff? I want to see this purely because back in January the trailer gave me a shock - it actually is cowboys and aliens. I can almost hear you saying wellll duh! But no - since when has the wild west mingled with extra-terrestrials? This is no Back to the Future Part 3 - this is John Wayne meets Independence Day...starring James Bond and Indiana Jones - what's not to love!?
Super 8
Starring: Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler
Director: J. J. Abrams [Star Trek] AND producer Stephen Spielberg
Plot: In this sci-fi thriller, after witnessing a mysterious train crash a group of young friends begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small Ohio town, and investigate the creepy phenomenon. Set in the summer of 1979, dream team Abrams and Spielberg should come up with the goods on this one.
Hot Stuff? Spielberg's name alone is enough to get me jiggling in anticipation of anything movie-related, even if I've seen it far too many times to still claim that I have a life. But with Abrams' name stamped all over it as well, I'm surer than sure that this movie will be one to watch this summer. With Spielberg's knack of reigniting the childlike sense of adventure within us and Abrams under his masterful wing, there's surely not a lot that can go wrong. From the trailer you can see already that Spielberg's trademark coming-of-age theme has crept its way in, but after the immense success of Star Trek I hope Abrams has managed to make the movie his own. Early reviews are already looking positive.
Starring: Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler
Director: J. J. Abrams [Star Trek] AND producer Stephen Spielberg
Plot: In this sci-fi thriller, after witnessing a mysterious train crash a group of young friends begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small Ohio town, and investigate the creepy phenomenon. Set in the summer of 1979, dream team Abrams and Spielberg should come up with the goods on this one.Hot Stuff? Spielberg's name alone is enough to get me jiggling in anticipation of anything movie-related, even if I've seen it far too many times to still claim that I have a life. But with Abrams' name stamped all over it as well, I'm surer than sure that this movie will be one to watch this summer. With Spielberg's knack of reigniting the childlike sense of adventure within us and Abrams under his masterful wing, there's surely not a lot that can go wrong. From the trailer you can see already that Spielberg's trademark coming-of-age theme has crept its way in, but after the immense success of Star Trek I hope Abrams has managed to make the movie his own. Early reviews are already looking positive.
September
There's really not a lot going on this month! We're past the Summer blockbuster phase and we're a couple of months away from Christmas Flicks and Awards Season. So I guess this is the part of the year where we save our cinema pennies and start spending them on Christmas pressies... Though there is one film I'd like to see:
There's really not a lot going on this month! We're past the Summer blockbuster phase and we're a couple of months away from Christmas Flicks and Awards Season. So I guess this is the part of the year where we save our cinema pennies and start spending them on Christmas pressies... Though there is one film I'd like to see:
Contagion
Starring: Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne
Director: Steven Soderbergh [Oceans Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen, Erin Brockovich]
Plot: An action-thriller centred on a threat posed by a deadly disease by way of a lethal airborne virus and an international team of doctors who frantically try to deal with the outbreak.
Hot Stuff? The cast! 'Nuff said. It doesn't sound like anything we haven't seen before, but Matt Damon has really grown on me recently (he's so watchable!), I just love Kate Winslet in most things, Marion Cotillard is wonderful, Laurence Fishburne can't go wrong in my eyes simply because he is Morpheus, and although I'm not huge Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow fans it's always nice to have a familiar face isn't it? But what makes this movie different from every other contagion movie, other than the brilliant acting we can expect? Not sure.
October
If I'm being honest there's nothing I'm particularly enthused about for this month. We've got The Human Centipede II: Full Sequence (Tom Six's sequel which has actually been banned in the UK...), a remake of Footloose, a remake of The Thing, Paranormal Activity 3 (which I will be watching but probably not at the cinema), ANOTHER Johnny English movie (asif one was ever needed), and the latest Johnny Depp flick - The Rum Diary (which I may fork out a fiver to go and see if I'm in need of a cinema trip).
November
November
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner
Director: Bill Condon [Dreamgirls, Kinsey]
Plot: The Quileute and the Volturi close in on expecting parents Edward and Bella, whose unborn child poses different threats to the wolf pack and vampire coven.
Hot Stuff? I haven't read this book yet (and probably won't) but spoilers have been flying around all over the place hidden amongst unassuming articles that feel the need to SPOIL, so I feel like I've already seen the movie in some weird way. I don't feel like this will break any barriers or blow any minds, but I did enjoy Eclipse and I always enjoy topless men, so I'll be going.
Hugo
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jude Law, Sacha Baron Cohen
Director: Martin Scorsese [Shutter Island, The Departed, Gangs of New York, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver]
Plot: Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and a mechanical man.
Hot Stuff? "It's Neverland, Oz and Treasure Island all wrapped into one." How sweet. The reason I want to see it is because the driving force is the man behind some of the best directed films in cinema, but this film doesn't seem to fit in with Scorsese's usual feel. The trailer shows the film to be distinctly childlike and fantastical, featuring a heart-shaped key. A heart-shaped mystical key for a child adventure tale...from the man behind the blood bath of Gangs of New York and attitude of Taxi Driver? Hmm. I'm not doubting he can do it, but I'm just not sure how enthused I should be.
More for November...Hugo looks promising (Ben Kingsley and Jude Law), but then we've got another Happy Feet, another Harold and Kumar, Jack and Jill (Two Adam Sandler's and Al Pacino!?), Piranha 3DD (no that's not a typo, groan...), and Puss in Boots (from Shrek, but his own movie. Oh dear.) - it's not lookin' great!
December
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn
Starring: Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
Director: Steven Spielberg (and Producer Peter Jackson)
Plot: Tintin and his friends discover directions to a sunken ship commanded by Capt. Haddock's ancestor and go off on a treasure hunt.
Hot Stuff? We first heard about this film so long ago I'd forgotten about it. But this film was set in motion with Spielberg in the early 80s before I was even born! He's waited a while to get this one on board. Using the same motion-capture techniques as Avatar, the blockbuster master teamed up with Lord of the Rings whizz Peter Jackson for multiple-year project that promises to be a tad on the epic side. And wait there's more...Doctor Who writer and producer Steven Moffatt wrote one of the first drafts of the screenplay! Jackson convinced Spielberg that live-action wouldn't do the comic books justice, so this happens to be Spielberg's first directed animated movie, for his first comic book adaptation, and a very rare occasion of filming in digital (he's old school). Exciting stuff!
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Starring: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Hurt, Tom HardyTinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Director: Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In)Plot: Action thriller about a spy hunt in the British Intelligence Service set during the time of the Cold War. Espionage veteran George Smiley is forced out of semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent in MI5.
Hot Stuff? A whole parade of recognisable faces, not limited to the big wigs listed above, should promise a solid watch. It looks like a decent spy story with lashings of mystery, boasting of Britishness, and from the trailer it looks like a beautifully shot period film too. Could be really boring though. Great actor's certainly help but they're not everything.
Other than that, this month's not looking so bad on the movie front with the usual influx of Christmas cheer flicks...The Iron Lady is exciting (can't wait to see Meryl Streep channelling Maggie Thatcher), We Brought A Zoo looks promising (Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson), and the next Sherlock Holmes could be fun, but then we've got New Years Eve (kind-of sequel to Valentine's Day, which was a bad version of Love Actually), another Chipmunks movie, and ANOTHER Mission Impossible...
Final Thoughts
- Not a great year for horror maybe? ...Scream 4, Final Destination 5, Paranormal Activity 3, I'm noticing a pattern here...
- Olivia Wilde seems to be doing well breaking into movies from House!
- And Spielberg's been busy!
- Olivia Wilde seems to be doing well breaking into movies from House!
- And Spielberg's been busy!
Enjoy the rest of the Movie year!
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