2010 Coming Attractions

2009 was a lousy year for movies, at least according to my specific tastes. The #1 movie of the year prominently featured the font Papyrus. Michael Bay continued to mock and mangle my childhood with his crappy Transformers franchise. And don't get me started on those sexy vampires and half naked Indian werewolves. 2010 looks much more promising. Because you are dying to know, here's a few films I have high hopes for:

Alice in Wonderland

Release Date: March 5
Tagline: You're invited to a very important date.

There are a few things you can always depend on when a new Tim Burton movie comes out. It will be visually stunning, with plenty of gnarled, swirly tree branches. And there will be some wild, new Johnny Depp character (in this case, the Mad Hatter). But Burton will also be exploring new territory in Alice in Wonderland, using a combination of live action and motion capture animation for the first time. Burton has never been a big special effects guy so I'm interested to see how he handles it. I'm also curious about the direction of the story, which isn't going to be a straight retelling of what has already been told countless times. It is actually being approached as more of a semi-sequel, taking place some years after Alice's original trip to Wonderland. Just as long as it's not another Hook.



The A-Team

Release Date: June 11
Tagline: There is no Plan B.

Here's yet another big screen adaption of a favorite childhood TV show that I am looking forward to against my better judgment, given the track record of similar properties (i.e The Dukes of Hazzard, Transformers, G.I. Joe). Surely Liam "Mentor" Neeson will lend some gravitas as Hannibal, the cigar-chomping leader of the A-Team. But if the movie doesn't feature countless rounds of ammunition being fired without anyone actually getting shot, or at least one scene where the bad guys roll their car half a dozen times only to climb out totally unscathed, I will be very disappointed. The first trailer does seem to have fully embraced the goofy spirit of the show. I have two words for you: Parachuting. Tank.



Inception

Release Date: July 16
Tagline: Your mind is the scene of the crime.

For months now, Christopher Nolan's follow-up to The Dark Knight has only been described as "a contemporary science fiction action thriller set within the architecture of the mind." Given the lack of details, many were speculating early on that Inception was actually Nolan's next Batman film. The trailers have been refreshingly vague, content to only hint at the overarching story while offering tantalizing glimpses of the mind-bending special effects. A recent feature in the L.A. Times further characterizes the film as part international thriller, part story of madness and lost love, and part metaphysical heist movie. Nolan also cites the globetrotting sensibility of the James Bond films—not just geographically, but within the dimensions of time and reality as well. Oh Christopher, you had me at metaphysical heist movie.