Hollywood 2010

Here's something I wrote up for the benefit of my friends and acquaintances.

2010 is the beginning of a new decade where movies will take advantage of the meteoric rise of the advances in special effects that the 00s represented. It will also continue to make green while the super-hero sun shines. Unfortunately, this also means less original ideas. Most mainstream movies now tend to be adapted from or are sequels of a book, movie, blog &/or memoir. In fact, one upcoming movie is even about facebook! As each of us plan this year ahead – resolutions, family, vacations & holidays, career, etc – I have shortlisted some movies from the 200-odd that Hollywood will unload on us this year. The aim is to make you aware of the ones that are worth getting excited about. Some of these may be postponed, or even cancelled. Some may turn out to be duds (Transformers 2, anyone), and some that will surprise us may not yet be in the radar to be included here (like Hangover). I've sorted these as per US release dates, which is as good a sort-style as any. Read on.

Daybreakers (8^th Jan)
In a world inhabited mostly of vampires and fast running out of blood, Ethan Hawke leads a group of vampires who seek to save vampire- (and human-)kind. What works for this movie is a sleek trailer and the efferent presence of Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill coupled with a much-starved R-rating. Daybreakers may finally give the grown-up boys a vampire movie to talk about after Blade.

The Book of Eli (15^th Jan)
Denzel Washington plays a messiah-sort in a post-apocalyptic desolate America, where the only
hope is the eponymous book that can save the world. If Denzel Washington taking on a bunch of thugs by himself is not cool enough for you, Gary Oldman is back as the bad man. And he goes by the name "Carnegie".

Legion (22^nd Jan)
God (the Jehovah version) is fed up of us sinners. So he initiates apocalypse by unleashing an Army of angels led by the ever faithful Gabriel. But Michael has other plans – he believes Mankind can be salvaged by the messiah, except… the messiah is yet to be born to a pregnant waitress in a desolate truck-diner somewhere in Southwest America. This is action, horror and fantasy combined only as before in Constantine. Paul Bettany plays Archangel Michael.

Edge of Darkness (29^th Jan)
007 helmer Martin Campbell directs this thriller about a homicide detective, Mel Gibson, out to find his daughter's killer. After Rambo 4 and Die Hard 4, we know these men can still play action heroes and kick some serious ass. Last time Mel Gibson had a starring role, we got Signs. Last time Mel Gibson played a bad-ass, we got Payback. (If you haven't seen Payback, now is as good a time as ever!)

The Wolfman (12^th Feb)
The Wolfman is another retelling of the "origin" werewolf story, this one right on time for Valentine's Day. Normally this would not draw too much interest or attention, but names like Anthony Hopkins, Benicio del Toro, Hugo Weaving and Emily Blunt arouse a level of interest. And although director Joe Johnston hasn't given us much to enjoy lately, where this movie finds its mark is the excellent posters and moody trailer. Looks like a wonderful mix of horror and period-piece. And after Che, I'll watch any movie with Benicio del Toro in it.

Shutter Island (19^th Feb)
Scorsese is back with his muse, Leo DiCaprio. There are a bunch of names also in the movie, but what makes it exciting is the sinister plot: Leo is a US Marshal investigating a disappearance at an asylum for the criminally insane situated on a remote island. Not just is the movie based on another book by Dennis Lehane (Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River), it stars Ben Kingsley. As a doctor. For the criminally insane. Oh yes.

Alice in Wonderland (5^th Mar)
Honestly, Tim Burton is now boring. We've seen enough of his morphed reality. But it seems like he has finally found a story that can work with his skewed view. Why the sudden optimism with his latest movie? For one, Alice is now a 19yr old girl, returning to Wonderland to face the Red Queen of Hearts. Secondly, it's being shot and released in Digital 3D under the Disney production house, giving us a new experience of Burton's bizarre visuals. Lastly, it stars Burton's muse Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. Some more inspired casting apart from the obvious: among others, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts and Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar.

Clash of the Titans (26^th Mar)
Louis Leterrier, the director of 2008's Incredible Hulk brings us this FX heavy fantasy tale from Greek Mythology of Perseus' epic sea journey. In his third masochistic outing, Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation, Avatar) plays the hero who faces Medusa, Poseidon, Athena, Ares and a host of giant creatures. In an exciting match-up, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes play the feuding brothers Zeus and Hades.

Kick-Ass (16^th Apr)
When major studios did not approve Matthew Vaughn's faithful adaptation of a gritty violent comic book about a crime-fighting student, he decided to make the movie anyway – with his own company fully financing the project. It's also rated "R" (for Restricted - think violent!), though it is about teens in home-grown costumes fighting crime with no powers or skills.

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps (23^rd Apr)
Greed is good again. Oliver Stone revisits his 80s iconic movie. Shia LeBeouf continues his star-training under Michael Douglas. Charlie Sheen gets a shot at the big screen again. It should be a marvelous watch, especially with the recession dry-up. (Note: Make sure you've seen Wall Street)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (30^th Apr)
The new Freddy Kruger is played by Jackie Earle Haley. Who? He of Rosarch (read ink-blot mask) from Watchmen. While it is an interesting casting choice, it could be hard to up the original & superb Robert Englund. But… it's Freddy Kruger's origin! Plus, the director made Metallica's music video for Until It Sleeps. Now that's creepy.

Iron Man 2 (7^th May)
The title should be enough. To be sure, it has the same director and actor. Throw in Mickey Rourke as villain Whiplash and Scarlett Johansson as Russian spy Black Widow. Need I say more? Okay, here's more. The trailer shows War Machine in action. FTW!

Robin Hood (14^th May)
Another movie on the Prince of Thieves, but to be specific, this is Ridley Scott's version. Expect Gladiator-style swords & sandals action, powerful speeches and an epic framework. The master filmmaker might be growing old but, in all probability, he still packs a solid punch. To add, Russell "Maximus" Crowe plays the hero.

Shrek Forever After (21^st May)
Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss-in-Boots in an all-new adventure, this time in glorious 3D. It has been announced (for now) as the last Shrek movie. Rejoice!

Prince of Persia – Sands of Time (28^th May)
Yes, the same erstwhile 2D scrolling prince from the legendary video game. And while the effects look good, the trailer did not really do much. Yet, there is hope. This is from the studio and formula that brought us the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the prince.

The A-Team (11^th Jun)
Joe Carnahan (Smokin' Aces, Narc) brings us this legendary 80s TV series. If you didn't know the series, you knew Mr T. The success of this movie could start a race to adapt more TV series from its era. Notice the guy in the suit? That is Hangover's Bradley Cooper.

Jonah Hex (18^th Jun)
Josh Brolin plays Jonah Hex, a scarred bounty hunter from the Wild West tracking a voodoo practitioner who wants to raise an army of the undead to liberate the South. The voodoo practitioner is John Malkovich. The female lead with corset, boots and all is Megan Fox.

Toy Story 3D (18^/th Jun)
Pixar. Woody & Buzz. 3D.

Knight & Day (2^nd Jul)
From the director of Walk The Line & 3:10 to Yuma comes this big-star action-comedy (think Mr & Mrs Smith) about a fugitive couple. Although Cameron Diaz has started to look like my oldest aunt, I will endure this, because… Tom Cruise is playing a spy!

The Last Airbender (2^nd Jul)
M Night Shyamalan's name may not carry the "awe factor" it used to, let's not deny that he is a supremely talented craftsman. The Last Airbender benefits from a story already established through the popular animated TV series. With the Lord of the Rings cinematographer and a host of other eminent technicians in the crew, this looks set to become THE epic of the year. Have you seen the teaser trailer?!

Predators (7^th Jul)
Robert Rodriguez leaves kindergarten to return back to firm guy-movie mode to produce this movie. Predators finds are favorite hunters fighting who we like best – humans! The elite human warriors include among others Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus) and… Danny Trejo.

Inception (16^th Jul)
Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Memento, The Prestige) directs big-Budget mind-bending thriller, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (put that name to memory), Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe & Michael Caine. Inception is based on an original story that has been officially been summarized as "a sci-fi thriller set within the architecture of the mind." It also has the best teaser & full- trailer of any 2010 movie yet.

Salt (23^rd Jul)
In this action thriller, Angelina Jolie plays an accused-spy on the run from the authorities to prove her innocence. Angelina Jolie doing action! Knockout!!

The Expendables (13^th Aug)
Expendables, directed by Sylvester Stallone, is an 80's style action movie, a tribute to the era & genre. Read this line-up – Sly himself, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, Dolph Ludgren & (Stone Cold) Steve Austin. Look out for cameos by Bruce Willis & Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Priest (27^th Aug)
Paul Bettany is back in the same year again, with his director of the year's first major film (Legion). This time, he plays a priest disobeying the church's orders to track down the kidnappers of his niece. Except, the kidnappers are… vampires. And one of them is Karl Urban.

The American (1^st Sep)
It's fun to see George Clooney play suave and sophisticated characters. Even the sometimes quirky simple roles are fun. In The American, he plays an assassin hiding in Italy for his final assignment.

The Social Network (15^th Oct)
David Fincher could make a movie out of a phonebook and make it interesting. So he does almost that – he's making it on "facebook". Not much is known about the movie, but we do know that it stars Justin Timberlake as the founder of the popular social-networking site. Don't doubt it - it still is David Fincher! (Se7en, Fight Club, The Game, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows – I (19^th Nov)
Finally, the last book of the Harry Potter series. But wait, it's not the last movie yet – "Deathly Hallows" is a book long and detailed enough to be split into two films – "Deathly Hallows I" and "Deathly Hallows II". Even so, if the sixth movie is any indication, these could be good last two movies, measuring by HP standards. Quite importantly, most of the movie takes place outside Hogwarts, in and around present-day London with the three main characters in hiding and on the run.

Rapunzel (24^th Nov)
Since Disney has decided to come back to fairy tales with 2009's Princess and the Frog, it was a natural step to adapt one of the famous princesses that they haven't yet brought to us. They chose Rapunzel, which fits in perfectly with the others of their castle (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, etc). The aim is to make the movie as close to the Disney classics as possible in look (hand-drawn water-paintings), and to do so using the latest technology in 3D.

Tron Legacy (17^th Dec)
If you have seen the original Tron (1982), that is reason enough to get excited by the idea of a sequel. If you have not seen Tron (or even if you have), watch this:

Code:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I7NW5bW-Oo

This short-list of 30 movies is not meant to be a complete guide for what to watch out of Hollywood in 2010. It merely is an indication of the ones that have successfully aroused my interest. Look out for my views on these (and many more) as the year progresses. Happy watching!