With a new year here, I thought it'd be fun to look at the films coming our way in the next 12 months and see what we're looking forward/ dreading like syphillis.
Here's mine from a quick cursory look at 2008 films...
(As ever, these are just the higher profile films that I currently know of. I'm sure there'll be a stack of smaller films that surprise and impress along the way. Any suggestions on anything else to look out for welcome )
Not looking forward to: Ace Ventura 3 (after Son of The Mask and Dumb & Dumberer, you think they'd learn) Little Fockers Saw V Scary Movie 5 Starship Dave (could potentially be Pluto Nash 2) Untitled Brett Ratner Project (sounds bad, even before I knew Eddie Murphy was in it)
Looking forward to: The Bucket List Burn After Reading Charlie Wilson's War The Dark Knight Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Jumper Kung Fu Hustle 2 Righteous Kill Valkyrie WALL-E
The Bucket List looks ATROCIOUS. Possibly the worst trailer of the year, even worse than the one for Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Perhaps. I dunno- I kind of like those inspiring films from time to time. I realise it has the potential to be absolute flowery wank, but I'm hoping Nicholson will keep it from that course.
quote: The film I'm most looking forward to is The Dark Knight, but no one has yet mentioned by second and third: Iron Man and Cloverfield.
I seriously considered Cloverfield, but the way it's being built up it's reminding me a bit too much of Godzilla's advertising campaign and I'm kind of keeping my expections in check this time.
Also, why's it being put out in January? I realise it could be some brilliant marketing strategy no-one has seen the likes of before. Or it could be that the film isn't quite the big blockbuster it's purporting to be.
Iron Man, I have a strong feeling, is going to be this year's Fantastic Four (not a good thing in my mind). At least, I hope that's what it'll be- if not, the scene where Stark comes lumbering out dramatically in what appears to be a metal Michelin Man suit will probably rate as the most unintentionally funny scene of the year
Here are the movies and where I think they should be placed.
Looking Forward To: Dark Knight - Havent seen 'Begins' yet but I shall remedy that soon. Alice - Great Movie Idea and Gellar to boot. Should be a pleaser Be Kind Rewind - Can't wait to see Black's version of classic movies Cloverfield - The suspense is killing me Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel - Anna Faris and Time Travel, My 2 loves. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Who doesnt loves Indy? Get Smart - Should be a riot Scary Movie 5 - Sure its getting old...but its Anna Superhero! - Ok so I'm a comic book nerd
Could Do Without: Ace Ventura 3 - ZZZZzzzzz Anna Nicole - What more do we need to see? Back to School - Cedric is no Dangerfield Further Adventures in Babysitting - No Shue? No way! Wall-E - The voice in the trailer is so annoying Jack and Diane - I cant even remember the words to the song Jurassic Park IV - Blah Kung Fu Panda - Are they running out of animals to animate yet? Surfer Dude - Lame!
INDY 4, baby. And there's a tantalizing article in the current Vanity Fair which reveals a few little spoilies.
BTW, benj: the article also quotes both Lucas and Spielberg as being fans of the newest BOURNE movie, which you recommended in a recent thread. We watched it last weekend and had ourselves a whale of a time! Yet I couldn't forget George's comment, to the effect of, the cuts are so fast that you don't really know where anyone is. [True!] It just jacks up your adrenaline and that's how you enjoy it. [Way true -- after we were both rendered pretty much panting, I told Ms. Randall, it's only been :06!!!] INDY 4 will go back to that steadier pacing before digital. So some people may not like it, says George.
I think he's doing what smart politicians do, lowering expectations. I will be in my seat with a full tub of popcorn!!!!
Glad to hear you enjoyed Bourne 3. (Interestingly (or not), myself and Lisa went to see it the night prior to meeting up with you in NYC. The next night we saw The Invasion- ah well, you can't win them all) We watched it again as part of a 5 hour Bournathon into the New Year and it still got the pulse racing
I'd love to check out that article, but I really don't want to know *anything* else about the film until I see it, so I'll have to skip it for now. Glad to hear they're keeping it old skool though- it just wouldn't be Indy with slick CGI everywhere.
On a semi-related note, it's also good to see the poster is again by Drew Struzan- an artist whom I've admired greatly since the mid-80s. I was thinking recently, in a world of heavily Photoshopped posters, Struzan must be one of the last remaining hand-painted poster artists. Yep- he's *that* good!
quote:Iron Man, I have a strong feeling, is going to be this year's Fantastic Four (not a good thing in my mind). At least, I hope that's what it'll be- if not, the scene where Stark comes lumbering out dramatically in what appears to be a metal Michelin Man suit will probably rate as the most unintentionally funny scene of the year
Okay, I have no idea what could possibly prompt such a statement. That trailer is great.
As for the metal Michelin man thing, that's an early clunky design made by an injured man with very limited resources. I know that from the comics. The actual cool design comes later in the movie.
Seriously, it bothers me that you think the Iron Man trailer looks bad but The Bucket List -- which features one of the worst trailers I have ever, EVER seen -- on your "looking forward to" list.
One thing I'm not looking forward to is Expelled, Ben Stein's documentary that promotes the teaching of "intelligent design" (i.e. creationism) in university science classes.
Seriously, it bothers me that you think the Iron Man trailer looks bad but The Bucket List -- which features one of the worst trailers I have ever, EVER seen -- on your "looking forward to" list.
It's a whole different kind of bad. I accept The Bucket List could very well be lovey-dovey-ain't-life-great tosh, however Iron Man looks like effects tosh. I see nothing in that trailer that makes me think it will be anything but an effects overload for 90 minutes. Also Jon Favreau has so far made precisely zero good films (the last one being, of course, the plotless effects overload film Zathura). Contrast that with Rob Reiner, who has at least made some pretty decent movies of this type before (I can't believe I'm even trying to compare the two films here- it's two complete opposites!)
I'm well aware of the whole cobbled-together-prototype-in-order-to-escape-captivity storyline, but the whole storming through the doors in this oversized deep-sea diver outfit seemed a bit A-Team to me. It worries me that Favreau appears to know squat about how to shoot a dramatic action sequence without it looking comical.
I'm not saying The Bucket List won't stink, just that I'm oddly looking forward to it (granted I may be alone in this endeavour). However, I have a gut feeling Iron Man will be the blockbuster stinker of the Summer.
(I do hope I'm wrong, mind. I loved the recent Extremis storyline and it'd make a great sequel.)
One thing I'm not looking forward to is Expelled, Ben Stein's documentary that promotes the teaching of "intelligent design" (i.e. creationism) in university science classes.
Looks... interesting, but only in the sense that I'd love to hear the argument for intelligent design using only scientific facts.
One thing I'm not looking forward to is Expelled, Ben Stein's documentary that promotes the teaching of "intelligent design" (i.e. creationism) in university science classes.
Looks... interesting, but only in the sense that I'd love to hear the argument for intelligent design using only scientific facts.
I'm not sure how or if the movie is going to reconcile the biology with the theology. IMDb links to a trailer that looks like it is less about the science than about academic freedom. My feeling is that academic freedom is only a valuable concept if the standards of research are high. Academic freedom means that one is allowed to publish and speak about whatever conclusions the evidence leads one to. If the conclusions one reaches is not supported by the evidence, then it becomes quackery and the university is free to treat it as such.
I'm not sure how or if the movie is going to reconcile the biology with the theology. IMDb links to a trailer that looks like it is less about the science than about academic freedom. My feeling is that academic freedom is only a valuable concept if the standards of research are high. Academic freedom means that one is allowed to publish and speak about whatever conclusions the evidence leads one to. If the conclusions one reaches is not supported by the evidence, then it becomes quackery and the university is free to treat it as such.
Absolutely. From what I know of debate, the best argument for Intelligent Design has so far been to pick something in nature perfectly designed for it's purpose and say "Look at this- it performs it's job so well and is so perfectly constructed, there is no way it could have possibly happened by fluke". (Of course, anything can happen by fluke given a long enough timeline. If you throw enough variations/ genetic mutations on a theme at a wall, something's got to stick eventually)
However, in the trailer on the official site (not sure if it's the same one you saw, but it's a good few minutes long), there appeared to be some scientists who claimed to have DNA evidence in favour of Intelligent Design. I'd really love to hear that evidence (if only so I can pick holes in it) and it looked like this, if not the primary focus, might be detailed a bit more in the film.
On the subject of quackery, it's a shame we can't have quack-only schools for folks who believe in such (IMO) twaddle to send their kids to and then leave everyone else to regular fact-based schools, rather than trying to accommodate every belief into all schools. Afterwards, see which graduates get decent jobs and which don't. Evolution at work again!