2010 Movie Preview
by Brian Eggert
01/03/2010
While every month features a list of Most Anticipated releases here at Deep Focus Review, the new year of 2010 offers a few choice titles—movies that glimmer possibility more than others. The monthly recommendations are based on the director, actors involved, or the prospects of the subject matter, but the list of films in this 2010 Movie Preview have a combination of these criteria, thus stand out as the best of the best in the upcoming year. These are the surefire box-office contenders, the award winners yet-to-come—the films that will no doubt prove to be the ones you remember come this time next year. There will be smaller, important films spread out in between the films on this list, but these are the benchmarks. Keep them on your moviegoer radar.
Shutter Island
Theatrical Trailer
Release Date: February 19
Delayed from last year due to an overcrowded fall schedule, Martin Scorsese’s thriller Shutter Island was moved to February 2010 to give it a better chance at the box-office, though many early reviews are saying this should’ve remained a late 2009 release for Oscar consideration—it’s just that good. The fourth pairing between director Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio, the film is based on the novel by Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River author Dennis Lehane. This thriller follows two U.S. Marshalls into an asylum for the criminally insane, only to become “rats in a maze” themselves. The result looks frightening, suspenseful, and like the Scorsese-DiCaprio pairing will turn out yet another phenomenal film.
Alice in Wonderland
Theatrical Trailer
Release Date: March 5
Tim Burton’s over-the-top version of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale Alice in Wonderland is dark and demented looking. Though, as it’s being distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film will inevitably sport a PG-rating to get the most bang for its buck. Filled with computer special effects made to implement a 3-D exhibition, the movie makes what looks to be overzealous use of its top-billed star, Johnny Depp, who plays The Mad Hatter, a role elongated to give the bankable actor more screentime. Despite looking like a sensory overload, Burton’s movie does have an impressive cast, including Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Fry, Christopher Lee, Alan Rickman, Michael Sheen, and newcomer Mia Wasikowska as Alice. Perhaps this impressive list of actors will distract from the not-so impressive effects presented in the trailer.
Clash of the Titans
Theatrical Trailer
Release Date: March 26
Louis Leterrier, director of The Incredible Hulk, thinks he can out-do Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion animated effects from the 1981 original movie of gods and mortals and everything in-between. Alas, the CGI in the new film probably won’t have the same childlike fantasy quality of Harryhausen’s work, but it sure looks like fun. That, and Avatar’s Sam Worthington certainly makes a more dashing hero than the original’s Harry Hamlin. Liam Neeson plays Zeus. Ralph Fiennes is Hades. Danny Huston is Poseidon. Throw in a big, scary Kraken (notably dissimilar from the one in POTC: Dead Man’s Chest), the flying horse Pegasus, and a freaky-looking Medusa, and you have yourself an early Spring blockbuster that shouldn’t be missed.
Kick-Ass
Theatrical Trailer
Release Date: April 16
Stardust helmer Matthew Vaughan brings Mark Millar’s comic series to the big screen, offering a new take on the traditional superhero movie. Lowly teenagers obsessed with superheroes wonder why they can’t become heroes themselves; knowing they have no super-powers, they resolve that being able to kick ass is enough (hence the various taglines, such as “I can’t see through walls, but I can kick your ass.”). Starring Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, this should prove to be a small but surprising hit.
Disneynature's Oceans
Theatrical Trailer
Release Date: April 22
Last year, Disneynature released Earth, compiling the footage from the BBC and Discovery Channel’s wonderful miniseries Planet Earth into a feature film documentary. This year, they’re repackaging the French documentary Oceans by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud for international distribution under the Disneynature name. The footage looks spectacular, and undoubtedly this will be an experience for the whole family. Best of all, for each ticket sold in the film’s first week of release, Disney will make a donation (reportedly a mere $.20 per ticket, with a minimum donation of $100,000) to help preserve the coral reefs of the Bahamas. They did a similar donation for Earth, planting one tree for every ticket in the first week; as a result, Disney helped plant 2.7 million trees in the rainforests of Brazil. Great cause. Great experience for the theater.
Iron Man 2
Theatrical Trailer
Release Date: May 7
What will surely be one of 2010’s biggest releases, the much-anticipated Iron Man 2 has a lot of expectation working against it. But since everyone from the first has returned (save for Terrence Howard, who was replaced by Don Cheadle after a fee dispute), the result will probably not disappoint. Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, who after exposing himself as Iron Man in the public eye earns an enemy or two: industry competitor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), Russian bad guy Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), and a whole slew of robots. Throw Russian spy Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and even more of the patch-eyed agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) into the mix, and you have an exciting blockbuster that adds to the ever-growing catalog of Marvel films slowly building toward 2012’s The Avengers.
Robin Hood
Theatrical Trailer
Release Date: May 14
Back in the 1990s, Kevin Costner fancied himself the more “realistic” Robin Hood, despite his shoddy British accent, Prince of Thieves’ corny scenario, and overacting all around. Ultimately, that project failed to outshine Errol Flynn’s 1937 landmark The Adventures of Robin Hood, which may take a more romantic storybook approach, but has yet to be beaten in terms of its iconic status. Costner’s version faded away and is now all but forgotten, whereas Ridley Scott’s upcoming Robin Hood seems to take itself very seriously, doing a spectacular job of playing the “realism” card. If ever there was going to be a period epic telling the “real” story of the legend, this would be it. Scott reteams with his Gladiator star Russell Crowe, along with costars Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow, William Hurt, and Mark Strong, to give us yet another version of the Robin Hood story. Question is, will audiences care about this umpteenth Robin Hood retelling or has the material been drained?
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Theatrical Trailer
Release Date: May 28
The bankability of Jake Gyllenhaal comes into question when considering the big-budget videogame adaptation of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Produced by the Pirates of the Caribbean team of Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures, the film has Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell legitimizing it. There’s also Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina in the cast, but they could be doing this for the paychecks—so could everyone else for that matter. But here’s hoping the movie does well, if only to validate other studios spending big bucks on those cancelled Bioshock and Halo productions.
The A-Team
Release Date: June 11
Gritty action filmmaker Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin’ Aces) brings the classic 1980s television show The A-Team to life with this movie. There’s something about the cast and the enthusiasm of the director that contains great action movie possibility. Bradley Cooper is Faceman, Liam Neeson is Hannibal, MMA fighter ‘Rampage’ Jackson is Bosco, and District 9’s Sharlto Copley is ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock. Very cool cast. But here’s a question: Will this be a corny based-on-a-TV-show movie like The Beverly Hillbillies, or will it be a serious take in vein of The Fugitive and Mission: Impossible? Let’s hope for the latter.
Toy Story 3
Theatrical Trailer
Release Date: June 18
Pixar Animation Studios returns to their most beloved group of characters for the third time with Toy Story 3. Andy is all grown up and off to college, leaving Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the toys to be donated to a local daycare. After they realize that the daycare’s children are bound to tear them apart, they embark on a perilous escape mission. Of course, there’s sure to be more to the story, which introduces one Mr. Pricklepants (voice of Timothy Dalton) to the cast of characters. With the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack, songs by Randy Newman, and Pixar’s ever-wonderful animation, this third foray into the Toy Story world should feel like returning to a warm blanket.
Predators
Release Date: July 7
Named as such to mirror how Aliens developed upon its predecessor, the original Alien, the sequel Predators pretends that Predator 2 and the two Alien vs. Predator spinoffs never existed (if only they didn’t), and takes place directly after the 1987 original. Nimród Antal (Armored, Vacancy) directs an ambitious screenplay by producer Robert Rodriguez. Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne, Topher Grace, Danny Trejo, and Alice Braga star. The effects will return to the original Stan Winston costumes, forgoing the lousy computer animation that’s been used to render the predator hunters in recent movies. And while the result probably won’t win any awards, it may revive a franchise that has all but died out due to Fox’s careless treatment.
Inception
Theatrical Trailer
Release Date: July 18
Easily the most anticipated release of 2010, Inception is the new film from The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan. The secrecy surrounding the project is high, enough so that explaining the plot is impossible. Suffice it to say that the film involves reality-bending imagery, a bravado heist plan, and plenty of smart, visionary action sequences based on what the trailer shows. The trailer reveals incredible imagery without spoiling the story; but let’s hope the marketing gurus at Warner Bros. can keep the details secret until we’re sitting in the theater. Best of all, the cast goes beyond merely impressive and proves to be monumental: Leonardo DiCaprio leads Ellen Paige, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Caine in an elusive, yet undeniably intriguing picture that can’t arrive soon enough.
The Expendables
Release Date: August 13
Sylvester Stallone sets out to make the ultimate action movie with The Expendables, wherein a roughneck team of mercenaries heads to South America to overthrow a ruthless dictator. Stallone wrote and directed the flick and gathered a whole slew of badasses to join him onscreen: Mickey Rourke, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, and Eric Roberts. He even convinced his Planet Hollywood pals Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis to make cameo appearances. Alas, no Jean-Claude Van Damme or Chuck Norris. Gratuitous action mixed with a gratuitous amount of testosterone, add equal parts blood and liquid nitrogen, then shake, and after the dust settles you have this movie.
Due Date
Release Date: November 5
Everyone’s favorite smart-mouthed star Robert Downey Jr. proved himself a versatile comedian on Tropic Thunder, and he’s doing so again under the direction of The Hangover and Old School helmer Todd Phillips. In Due Date, an expectant father (Downey) must drive across the country to get home to his due-at-any-moment wife. But antics ensue when, for whatever reason, he’s forced to ride with a human disaster magnet (Zach Galifianakis). This road trip buddy movie may seen formulaic, but the promise of the two hilarious stars and their inevitable chemistry make this one worth getting excited for.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1
Release Date: November 19
The financial decision made by Warner Bros. to split The Deathly Hallows, the final book in author J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, into two films is a curious one, especially when you consider that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was over 3-hours and remains one of the most successful films of all time. Couldn’t the studio have spared Potter fans the agony of having to wait the months between Parts 1 and 2 and released just one 4-hour movie? Of course, each Harry Potter film has made around $1 billion at the box-office worldwide, so not splitting this last book into two films is basically a billion that the studio would be giving up. Director David Yates (The Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince) promised a different visual style for these last two films, implementing hand-held cameras for a “road movie” aesthetic to support the plot—a chase to find pieces of Voldemort’s soul. Whether or not this style will benefit the film remains to be seen.
Rapunzel
Release Date: November 24
Disney proved 2-D animation was still valid with last year’s The Princess and the Frog, but they’re going back to a very hand-drawn-looking version of computer animation with Rapunzel, an adaptation of the classic fairy tale. Surely they’ve expanded on the original, rather brief story to fill out a feature-length running time, but the picture has an appropriate storybook appeal that Disney hasn’t explored in ages. This isn’t some modernized take or hip retelling—just an elongated version of a classic, which is great. What’s not great is that you’ll probably have to see this in 3-D, along with every-other children’s movie in 2010.
Tron: Legacy
Theatrical Trailer
Release Date: December 17
Twenty-eight years after the original Tron, Disney decides its time to bank on the cult status of their 1982 hit and make a sequel. So, audiences are given the wonderful looking Tron: Legacy. Jeff Bridges reprises his role as game designer Kevin Flynn, who is trapped in his elaborate game world when this sequel begins. His son (Garrett Hedlund) enters the dangerous cyber universe to rescue him, finding all sorts of dangerous programs that have had nearly thirty years of technological advances under their belts. Daft Punk is composing the techno-laden score. There’s plenty of wowing visual effects, and even a new light cycle design that looks amazing in the new trailer. If you’re a nerd, how could you not be intrigued?
Release Dates "to-be-announced"
Area 51
Using the “found footage” scheme of his previous film, Paranormal Activity director Oren Peli treads alien and government conspiracy territory with Area 51. As you can imagine from the title and the setup, the story involves some curious documentarians heading into Nevada to get a glimpse of the title’s top-secret airbase. While the plot remains a secret, expect to see quick flashes of aliens, bad behavior from men-in-black goons, and plenty of shaky-cam frustration. Those of you who can’t handle this visual style—and there are a lot of you—stay home. The rest of us will be enjoying the ride, until the disappointing last moment when the camera goes out and the film ends abruptly...
Cemetery Junction
The creators of Extras, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, wrote, directed, and star alongside Ralph Fiennes, Matthew Goode, and Emily Watson in the coming-of-age dramedy Cemetery Junction. A headlining cast of newcomers play the lead roles, but little is known about the plot, save for being about a working-class nobody who wants to break free from his drab life in 1970s Britain. Given the talent displayed by Gervais and Merchant on The Office, as well as Gervais’ great first directorial effort last year with The Invention of Lying, this one should be worth seeking out.
The Fighter
David O. Russell’s last film, entitled Nailed, had so many production troubles that it will probably never be released. However, despite working alongside moody actors Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg, the writer-director finished the boxing drama The Fighter largely without incident. Russell’s behind-the-scenes track record is notorious (look up “David O. Russell meltdown” on YouTube), but his output is phenomenal. His films Flirting with Disaster, Three Kings, and I Heart Huckabees remain some of the most original of our time. His latest concerns a boxer (Wahlberg) who enlists his ex-druggie brother (Bale, who once again loses a staggering amount of weight for his role) to help him train for a pivotal match.
The Ghost Writer
Say what you will about Roman Polanski the man, as a director, he’s an incomparable genius. Unfortunately, those who cannot see passed the man will likely overshadow The Ghost Writer’s quality as a piece of cinema and drive the film down with discussions of Polanski’s personal life. The plot involves a former Prime Minister of Britain (Pierce Brosnan) who hires a ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) to finish his memoirs, but upon researching the politician’s life, the writer uncovers a hidden scandal. Summit Entertainment purchased the distribution rights, but the media’s invariable debate about the director may put the kibosh on the film’s success commercially.
Machete
Remember that faux trailer from Grindhouse featuring Danny Trejo as a Mexican landscaper-turned-hired-assassin? They called it Machete, and it looked intentionally corny and stupid, just as director Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror was supposed to be. Now Rodriguez is continuing in the Grindhouse style and turning his three-minute trailer into a feature, filled with all of those cheesy 1970s action movie clichés. He’s even compiled a bizarre assemblage of stars to flesh out his scenario: Jessica Alba, Robert De Niro, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, and Lindsay Lohan (What?!) all have roles. Expect absurd, violent, riotous, mindless fun.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Cult favorite Edgar Wright, director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, brings an adaptation of the popular comic series by Bryan Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, to the big screen. Though the film’s star Michael Cera has officially worn out his welcome, he’ll make a good Pilgrim alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona V. Flowers. But neither the stars nor the plot of the movie is the most interesting aspect. Rather, it’s Wright’s signature frenetic direction, flashy editing, and ability to communicate tangible characters amid action that make this comic book movie worth your time.