Films in 2009 part 3

Every year starts with promises aplenty. I’ve compiled a list of 30 films I’m currently looking forward to checking out in 2009. Most are true ‘09 releases, some just haven’t reached the US yet, and some might not reach these shores ’til 2010 even though they’ll debut elsewhere. Some will deliver the goods and some will disappoint, while there are undoubtedly a few not on my radar or without firm or even vague release dates that will come out and rock. Then there are probably a couple I’ve just plain forgotten about. Foresight is a tricky thing, but here I go anyhow.

Here is the last batch of ten films that I’ve picked out to highlight going into 2009.

Splice
Director: Vincenzo Natali

Executive produced by Guillermo del Toro, Splice stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polly as scientists who defy legal and ethical standards by engineering a new species from human and animal DNA. Needless to say, while the experiment is a success, it may be too successful as the new creature develops and presents an immense danger to not only its caretakers, but humanity as a whole. Vincenzo Natali previously directed Cube, which was a fun low-budget sci-fi flick, and combining him with del Toro’s supervision and a good cast, I’m hoping for something special here. Fangoria just reported that Splice will be hitting screens in September.

Taken
Director: Pierre Morel

This one’s already been released in most other territories and reviews have been pretty good. Liam Neeson plays a father whose daughter is kidnapped while vacationing in Europe. Unfortunately for the kidnappers, his former trade happened to involve being a spy and all-around badass, so he takes off to find his daughter and kill those who took her. Taken marks yet another story that Luc Besson wrote and handed off to a protege for directorial duties. Pierre Morel previously handled Besson’s District 13 (Banlieue 13) which was a pretty fun movie featuring loads of parkour sequences. I’ve seen a lot of really positive impressions of this one as a solid action revenge flick, and those are always welcome. Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace co-star. The trailer can be found at the official site. Taken hits the United States on January 30th.

Terminator Salvation
Director: McG

I was wary of this one early one, primarily because of McG, but damn, I’ve gotta say that the trailers look fun and absolutely nothing like his Charlie’s Angels movies. Besides, at this point virtually anything with Christian Bale is worth a look. Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, Common, Helena Bonham Carter and Michael Ironside co-star. Terminator Salvation is designed as the first of a new trilogy telling the story of the war between humankind, as led by John Connor, and Skynet, but a mysterious man named Marcus Wright appears from an unclear time period, shaking up what Connor had believed about their circumstances. The trailer can be found at Apple. Terminator Salvation hits the silver screen on May 22nd.

Thirst
Director: Park Chan-wook

Most known in the western hemisphere for Oldboy, Park Chan-wook reteams with frequent collaborator Song Kang-ho for a twist on the vampire genre. Song plays a troubled priest who gives himself up to test a new medical vaccine that ultimately transforms him into a vampire. Not only does he crave blood, but he also finds himself succumbing to other carnal pursuits, notably with a sick man’s wife. I’ve loved most of what I’ve seen of Park’s work, from the previously mentioned hit to Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Lady Vengeance and J.S.A.: Joint Security Area. I can’t claim to have seen I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK since it’s yet to receive a US release of any kind. Anyway, Thirst marks the first time Hollywood has invested in a South Korean film, with Focus Features co-producing. The film is set to hit South Korea in April, and rumors point to a summer release in the US courtesy of Focus.

The Tree of Life
Director: Terrence Malick

I have to admit to only having seen the recent Malick films (The Thin Red Line, The New World), so I don’t know how different The Tree of Life is for him, but it does not seem like it’d lend itself towards meditations on nature like the two aforementioned films, not that there was anything wrong with that. Brad Pitt stars as a father of three during the 1950s while his eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence. Sean Penn co-stars as the grown-up son. Terrence Malick and Pitt are about all I need to put this on my radar. Summit Entertainment is distributing this one, probably in the last quarter of the year.

Up
Directors: Pete Docter,  Bob Peterson (co-)

It’s Pixar’s latest, which instantly makes it one of my most anticipated of the year. Carl Frederickson, voiced by Ed Asner, is a 78-year old man fed up with not living his dreams, so one day he lifts his house off the ground with thousands of balloons and flies to South America. Russell, a young wilderness explorer, stows away and the two form a reluctant duo. Christopher Plummer lends his voice to another important character in the film. Pete Docter previously directed Monsters, Inc., while Bob Peterson, who’s been around Pixar pretty much from the beginning, writes and makes his debut as a co-director. The trailer can be found at Apple. Up debuts on May 29th, also in 3D if you’re into that.

Watchmen
Director: Zack Snyder

Watchmen, if you don’t already know, is an adaptation of the twelve-issue comics series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The series is widely considered to be one of the greatest comics of all-time. Zack Snyder is pretty much sure to disappoint the hardcore fans, but I must say I like what I see. I just hope that’s not too influenced by the fantastic music selections featured in the trailers thus far. I won’t even tell you what this is about. Either read the comics or wait for the movie. Actually, read the comics no matter what. Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earle Harley, Malin Ackerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode and Carla Gugino star. Trailers can be found at Apple’s site. Watchmen is currently set for release on March 6th, but that may be in danger of changing thanks to a major legal battle going on between Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. A judge is scheduled to rule on Fox’s requested injunction against releasing the film on January 20th.

Where the Wild Things Are
Director: Spike Jonze

This should prove to be one of the most interesting big films of the year for a number of reasons. Firstly, it’s based on the classic children’s book and it’s directed Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation). Secondly, the creatures are physical puppets/costumes aside from their faces which will be animated. It’ll be interesting to see how Jonze’s sensibilities meld with a children’s tale with some darker themes, all under studio guidance. I’m pretty psyched, but I have a slight fear audiences will react to this one similarly to Speed Racer. I hope I’m wrong, at least if the film is as good as I hope it will be. Where the Wild Things Are hits theaters on October 16th.

The Wolf Man
Director: Joe Johnston

I’ll concede that I was much more interested in this one back when Mark Romanek was directing, but the cast is still pretty cool in this update of Universal’s franchise. Benicio del Toro stars as the titular character, while Anthony Hopkins plays his father and Hugo Weaving appears as a detective. Plus we get to witness Rick Baker’s awesome makeup effects. Joe Johnston has a couple fun features to his credit, and Marvel’s given him their Captain America film, so confidence is certainly high in him right now. Hopefully he delivers here. The Wolf Man is scheduled to bow on November 6th.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Director: Gavin Hood

I’m a little iffy on this one, but I’ve got my fingers crossed. I’d love a good Wolverine flick, but I’m concerned by the large number of other mutants that appear in this one. It’s almost a who’s who of the comic universe, and it’d be a shame if this was some sort of episodic adventure where he roams around stumbling into this character and then another and so on. I also haven’t seen any of Gavin Hood’s previous films, leaving me indifferent on that front. On the upside, Liev Schreiber looks good as Sabretooth. Now if only they would drop the goofy X-Men Origins monicker. The trailer is over at MySpace. X-Men Origins: Wolverine will hit screens on May 1st.

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Films in 2009 part 1

Films in 2009 part 2