A-List: Most Anticipated Films of 2010
By Josh Spiegel
January 7, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Of course, this week's A-List isn't about what movies will disappoint us in the coming year. Though this resolution may soon be broken, the A-List is going to start the new year in a positive fashion. The following highlighted films are ones that your humble writer is already mentally in line for, but these five aren't the only ones worth getting excited over. Some other highly anticipated 2010 releases include "The Wolfman", "Shutter Island", "Alice in Wonderland", "Hot Tub Time Machine", "Kick Ass", "Get Him To The Greek", "Dinner for Schmucks", "The Expendables", "Your Highness", "Due Date", "Rapunzel", and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One". As you prepare to fire up your preferred online ticketing service to reserve spots in line, take a look at the top five anticipated movies of 2010, courtesy of the A-List.
Green Zone
With each of the movies on this list, there's a hook. The other four films on this list are either sequels to popular franchises, or feature interesting actors or directors. "Green Zone" falls squarely in the latter category, reuniting the two key players of the Jason Bourne franchise of action films while not being a Bourne film. Directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Matt Damon, "Green Zone" is yet another major studio picture set around the Iraq War of the past decade. If, unfortunately, this film performs like the rest of the recent spate of war films, Universal Pictures is looking at a relative wash at the box office. However, movies such as "The Hurt Locker" and most of "In The Valley of Elah" have proven that topicality doesn't automatically mean that a movie can't be good. With Greengrass, who hasn't made a bad film, from 2002's "Bloody Sunday" to the Bourne films to "United 93, and Damon, whose work is, at the very least, unpredictable, heading the film, I've got high hopes.
"Green Zone", which is slated to open on March 12, focuses on Roy Miller (Damon), a warrant officer helping in the ill-fated hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Baghdad, and choosing to go on his own in some key aspects of the hunt. The film boasts a strong supporting cast, including Amy Ryan, Brendan Gleeson, Greg Kinnear, and Jason Isaacs. But, I imagine that, for some of you Jason Bourne fans (I like the series, but don't love it), all I needed to tell you was Matt Damon starring in an action drama from Paul Greengrass. Though I doubt that Damon's lead character will have the same badass fighting moves as Mr. Bourne, his starring in a potential twin to "The Hurt Locker" is about all I need to plop down a few bucks.
Iron Man 2
If I was being lazy, I'm not sure I'd even write a description of why this movie is highly anticipated by anyone, let alone me. Frankly, even though I'm not lazy (another New Year's resolution I'm trying on for size), is there anything I can write here that would sway you, if you haven't already been hooked by the first "Iron Man" film, from 2008; or the casting choices of Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, and Scarlett Johannson; or the Comic-Con footage from last summer; or the completely awesome trailer that can be found online or attached to prints of "Sherlock Holmes"? I doubt it. The first film in this series, also directed by Jon Favreau, grossed over $300 million at the box office and kicked off the summer of 2008 with snarky panache. In that film, cocky billionaire (is there another kind?) Tony Stark turns into a modern-day superhero by creating a suit of iron to wear so he can fight off terrorists and other baddies.
The second film, opening on May 7, has Stark face off against another cocky rich guy, Justin Hammer, a Russian scientist who turns himself into the deadly Whiplash, a sexy assistant-cum-spy, and lots of other conflicts that began in "Iron Man". If all goes well, "Iron Man 2" may be able to stand alongside "Spider-Man 2" and "The Dark Knight" as a comic-book sequel that does things right. The star of the film is, of course, Robert Downey, Jr., who continues his comeback tour where it all began. Gwyneth Paltrow returns as his assistant, Pepper Potts. The major casting change is with Stark's friend, James Rhodes, who was played by Terrence Howard in the original, but was replaced here by Don Cheadle, who'll get to don the suit of War Machine, fighting alongside Iron Man. Seriously, if none of that encourages you to buy a ticket, what will? "Iron Man 2" looks to kick off the summer again with that same panache and style.
Toy Story 3
How is it that a film studio is able to produce consistently awesome movies but make its audience cautiously optimistic about future projects? Maybe it's just me, but when you first hear about a movie where a rat tries to be a chef in Paris, or a movie with two lead character who only speak robot, or a movie where an old man lifts his house up on balloons, it doesn't sound like it can work. Of course, "Ratatouille", "WALL-E", and "Up" were all great, and successful. The latter is likely true of Pixar's upcoming film, "Toy Story 3", the follow-up to the 1995 and 1999 classics; however, will "Toy Story 3" be great? I know, people were rightly cautious about the second film, but that one goes alongside "The Empire Strikes Back", "The Godfather, Part II" and a few other sequels as surpassing the original in quality. So why am I so nervous about "Toy Story 3"?
The current trailer only makes me more optimistic, and confident that, as with "Up", the good folks at Pixar are dedicated to making its audience weep by the time the first 15 minutes are through. The film, which comes out on June 18, is about how Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and all of Andy's favorite toys deal with being sent to a day care center after Andy goes to college. Leaving Andy and the house behind seems to be where a lot of the initial teary emotion will lie; once the toys get to the day care center, it seems like being left in Andy's basement to slowly rot for years is a better future than being manhandled by toddlers. The original cast is back, though Slinky the dog is being voiced by Blake Clark, not Jim Varney, who passed away some time ago. New cast members include Michael Keaton (as a Ken doll), Timothy Dalton, Ned Beatty, Bonnie Hunt, and Whoopi Goldberg. As with the other films on this list, the hook is simple: a Pixar movie, and a "Toy Story" movie. I'm there.
Inception
Christopher Nolan. Oh, sorry, Christopher Nolan writing and directing a new movie. That's enough, right? OK, for those of you who don't know who Christopher Nolan is (and among the people reading this Web site, that number must be low), I'm talking about the director of, among other films, "Memento", "Insomnia," "The Prestige", "Batman Begins", and, of course, "The Dark Knight". So, that guy writing and directing a new movie. Are you with me now? Like the first three films on that list, "Inception", which opens on July 16, is not a Batman movie. Also, technically, it's Nolan's first completely original film, as those former three films are all based on previous works. The plot of "Inception" is being closely guarded, but from the two teaser trailers, this much is apparent: this is a sci-fi movie with lots of action that's easy to compare to "The Matrix", what with two guys fighting each other in a rapidly rotating hallway, a creepy top, and a tilting glass of water.
Whatever the plot is, if Nolan's name doesn't get you excited, the film's cast is, as with the director's previous films, impressive. The lead is Leonardo DiCaprio, and is flanked by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine, and Cillian Murphy, among others. Though "Inception" doesn't have the advantage of being a sequel of a well-known franchise, these actors, plus Nolan's involvement, plus the film being released in IMAX theaters, should lead to a hefty box-office take. Of course, after "The Dark Knight" made over $500 million in North America, Christopher Nolan would probably have been able to make a movie of himself reading the phone book, and Warner Bros. Pictures would have green-lit the project. However, the footage and buzz of "Inception" has only gotten more and more exciting. Why can't it be July yet?
The Social Network
As with Christopher Nolan or Paul Greengrass, when a guy like David Fincher directs a movie, a lot of people pay attention. When David Fincher directs a movie written by Aaron Sorkin, people pay attention, but maybe with quizzical looks on their faces. When that movie is about the creation of...Facebook, those same people probably just throw up their hands in confusion. David Fincher. Aaron Sorkin. Facebook? What? Confusing or baffling as it is, "The Social Network" is happening, and it's happening soon.
This real-life drama, scheduled to open on October 15, is also adapted from Ben Mezrich's recent book "The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal". Yes, that the book's title was changed is shocking, but let's all calm down. Unlike Fincher's previous films, such as "Zodiac", "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", or "Fight Club", there aren't a lot of familiar faces here, with one notable exception. The cast includes Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Joseph Mazzello, and Justin Timberlake. Like I said, one notable exception.
Still, this cast isn't exactly box office gold (unless the value of gold is equal to what "The Love Guru" made). What will likely sell the film isn't even having Fincher or Sorkin involved. As you have probably guessed, all it will take is one word: Facebook. This social networking service has become insanely, ridiculously popular since it hit the mainstream in 2004. Millions upon millions may use it, but will those people pay to see a movie about its creation? Is Facebook that interesting? Can Fincher and Sorkin make Facebook that interesting? Will anyone care? Unlike the other films on this list, there are a lot more questions here that may sink the film (and there's also no trailer yet, so it's all just guessing), but having read the book, and knowing how talented David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin are, I'm willing to have a little faith in "The Social Network".