be kind rewindRelease Date: January 23rd 2008
Writer/Director: Michel Gondy (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Science of Sleep)
Cast: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Melonie Diaz, Mia Farrow
The Buzz: Michel Gondry’s twisted comic tale of the magic of filmmaking. Jack Black plays Jerry, a junkyard worker who inadvertently causes his brain to become magnetized, leading to the unintentional destruction of all the movies in his friend’s (Mos Def) video rental store. In order to keep the store’s one loyal customer, an elderly lady with a tenuous grasp on reality, the pair re-create a long line of films, putting themselves and their townspeople into it. They become the biggest stars in their neighborhood. Rewind was originally scheduled for release in December 2007, but was pushed back to January. It is likely that the film was pushed back so that it can premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Gondry’s Science of Sleep and Human Nature also premiered at Sundance in 2002 and 2006 respectfully.
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iron manRelease Date: May 2nd 2008
Director: Jon Favreau (
Elf, Made)
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrance Howard, Leslie Bibb, Shaun Toub
The Buzz: Jon Favreau’s big screen adaptation of the popular Marvel comic book character. Robert Downey Jr. plays Weapons designer Tony Stark, who is injured by shrapnel in his heart while in Afghanistan to introduce his new missile design. His captors order him to assemble a missile for them, giving him access to a workshop. He puts his creativity to use by assembling a bulletproof set of power armor, complete with pacemaker and flamethrowers, and uses it to free himself. Back at home, he becomes Iron Man, developing a flying suit with the red and gold scheme and advanced weapon capabilities.
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star trekRelease Date: December 25th 2008
Director: JJ Abrams
The Buzz: JJ Abrams restarts the Trek series at the beginning. Not much is known about the film other than it will feature a young Kirk and Spock in the early days of the Enterprise. Casting of young and comedic actors has worried long time fans, but producers have stated since the beginning that they are trying to attract a new audience to the series. Zachary Quinto (Heroes) as Spock, Eric Bana as the villain Nero, Zoe Saldana (Drumline) as Uhura, Anton Yelchin (Charlie Bartlett) as Chekov, John Cho as Sulu and possibly Chris Pine (Just My Luck) as Kirk.
Trivia: Matt Damon called J.J. Abrams when he heard rumors that he was being considered for the role of Captain Kirk. The response from Abrams was a very polite “No”, stating that Damon was “too old” for the role.
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indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skullRelease Date: May 22nd 2008
Director: Steven Spielberg (Raiders, Jaws, Every great movie from your childhood)
The Buzz: Steven Spielberg directs the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series. Harrison Ford is back, and so is Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood. New to the production is Cate Blanchett as the bad girl, John Hurt as ??? and Shia LaBeouf as Indy’s greaser sidekick. Not much can be said about the storyline, as it is being kept tightly under wraps. George Lucas has said that Crystal Skull is more in tone with Raiders than any other film in the series. This makes us excited. If it’s on par with The Last Crusade, than I’ll be happy.
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get smartRelease Date: June 20th 2008
Writer: Peter Segal (Tommy Boy, The Longest Yard, 50 First Dates)
Cast: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, The Rock, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp, Masi Oka
The Buzz: Steve Carell stars as Maxwell Smart in the big screen adaptation of the classic Mel Brooks comic spy television series. Anne Hathaway plays Agent 99, Dwayne Johnson plays Agent 23, and Alan Arkin is the Chief. Tommy Boy helmer Peter Segal directs. We’ll try to forget that he once made Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. I saw abunh of footage from Get Smart at Comic Con, and was pleasantly surprised. I think this could be the next Austin Powers if done right.
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wall-eRelease Date: June 27th 2008
Director: Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo)
The Buzz: Wall-E is the film I’m most looking forward to in 2008. Yes, even over Indy 4 and Dark Knight. Andrew Stanton developed WALL-E before Toy Story was made: the original idea was, “What if mankind evacuated Earth and forgot to turn off the last remaining robot?” After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL•E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL-E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most exciting and imaginative comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen. Joining WALL-E on his fantastic journey across a universe of never-before-imagined visions of the future, is a hilarious cast of characters including a pet cockroach, and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.
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hancockRelease Date: July 2nd 2008
Director: Peter Berg (The Kingdom, The Rundown, Friday Night Lights)
Cast: Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron, Johnny Galecki
The Buzz: Will Smith portrays an alcoholic superhero despised by everyone. A publicist (Bateman) helps rehabilitate him, and the superhero eventually begins an affair with the publicist’s wife (Theron).
Trivia: Vincent Ngo’s 1996 spect script originally titled “Tonight, He Comes” has been in development in Hollywood for some time with various directors attached, including Tony Scott, Michael Mann, Jonathan Mostow, and Gabriele Muccino.
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hellboy 2: the golden armyRelease Date: July 11th 2008
Director: Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth)
Cast: Ron Pearlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor, Luke Goss
The Buzz: Guillermo del Toro returns with the second chapter in the big screen adaptation of the popular Dark Horse comic book hero. The story revolves around a mythical world that starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth, so Hellboy and his team must save the world from the rebellious creatures.
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the dark knightRelease Date: July 18th 2008
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: David S. Goyer (Blade, Batman Begins) and Jonathan Nolan (Memento, The Prestige)
Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine, Anthony Michael Hall, Aaron Eckhart
The Buzz: Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to the highly acclaimed Batman Begins. Batman (Bale) raises the stakes in his war on crime with the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart). Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker (Ledger). Can not wait.
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james bond 22Release Date: November 7th 2008
Director: Marc Forster (Stranger Than Fiction, Finding Neverland, The Kite Runner)
Writer: Robert Wade and Paul Haggis (Casino Royale)
Cast: Daniel Craig, Goran Visnjic, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Jesper Christensen
It’s Bond, what more can you say? Daniel Craig returns as agent 007. Not much is known about this film as of yet. All we do know is that this movie is going to be the first ever direct sequel to another official James Bond film (Casino Royale)
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the changelingRelease Date: November 7th 2008
Director: Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River)
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, World War Z)
Cast: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Riki Lindhome, Amy Ryan
The Buzz: Jolie plays a woman whose son is abducted but retrieved; she suspects, however, that the returned child is not hers. The woman must then confront corruption in the LAPD. The story is based on true events in 1920s Los Angeles. The film is being produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.
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harry potter and the half-blood princeRelease Date: November 21st 2008
Director: David Yates (Order of the Phoenix)
Writer: Steve Kloves (Wonder Boys, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
Cast: Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Jim Broadbent, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton
The Buzz: As Harry Potter begins his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he discovers an old book marked mysteriously “This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince” and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort’s dark past.
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the curious case of benjamin buttonRelease Date: November 26th 2008
Director: David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en, Zodiac)
Writer: Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, Munich)
Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Elle Fanning, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas
The Buzz: Based on the 1922 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Benjamin Button (Pitt) is born as a feeble old man, and ages in reverse until he becomes a baby at the end of his life. This causes complications when he falls in love with a 30-year-old woman (Blanchett). Fitzgerald has noted that “This story was inspired by a remark of Mark Twain’s to the effect that it was a pity that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst part at the end.” The film has a $150 million budget, and was shot back to back with Zodiac. Love him or hate him, Fincher always delivers an interesting film.
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body of liesRelease Date: October 10, 2008
Director: Ridley Scott,
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe
The Buzz: This film is an adaption of a novel with the same name by David Ignatius. The premise is as follows, a CIA operative (Leonardo DiCaprio) is sent to Jordan to find a high-ranking terrorist. While in Jordan, the operative forms an uneasy alliance with the head of Jordan's covert operations. Here is Ridley Scott's brief description of the movie "It's about Islam, where we are and where we're not, and it's a very interesting, proactive, internalized view of that whole subject."
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the incredible hulkRelease Date: June 13th 2008
Director: Louis Leterrier (Transporter, Unleashed)
Writer: Edward Norton
Cast: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson
The Buzz: Edward Norton stars as Bruce Banner, in a non-sequel sequel to Ang Lee’s The Hulk. The Incredible Hulk is on the run, and the action is more intense in Edward Norton’s screenplay (that’s right, Norton also wrote the screenplay).
info via
/Film
