Here’s the second part of my earlier post. Two of the last five have ‘fallen out’ of my anticipated list, but I might still check ’em out on DVD.
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6. Rum Diary (TBD, 2010)
Wow, this movie still has yet to find a distributor, despite having Johnny Depp and Aaron Eckhart as the lead actors. As I said in my previous post back in July with the on-set pics in Puerto Rico, the movie is based on a novel by Hunter S. Thompson with the same name, Depp plays an American journalist named Paul Kemp, which is loosely based on the author’s own life journey.
According to CinemaBlend, “…the rumor is that the movie may show up at Cannes or barring that, the movie’s producer may show up at Cannes looking for someone to distribute [it].” Well, I hope we get to see it this year yet.
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7. Robin Hood (May 14th, 2010)
Two of my favorite Aussie actors Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett in a movie that echoes one of my beloved movie Gladiator. What’s not to love? This is one of the few critics-proof movie for me this year. The second trailer wets my appetite even more!
8. The Town – September 10th, 2010
I think Ben Affleck is probably a better director than he is an actor, as proven by his excellent effort in Gone Baby Gone. He’s going to do both in this crime thriller set in his hometown of Boston. The plot: As he plans his next job, a longtime thief tries to balance his feelings for a bank manager connected to one of his earlier heists, as well as the FBI agent looking to bring him and his crew down. Based on the novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan, NOT to be confused with the Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood flick 🙂
The movie’s got two hot TV stars: Jon Hamm (Mad Men) as the FBI agent and Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) as Affleck’s troubled ex-girlfriend, who happens to be Jeremy Renner’s sister (fresh out of his Oscar nom for The Hurt Locker). Chris Cooper will play Affleck’s father and Rebecca Hall as the bank manager. Great cast, though I’m primarily curious to see how Affleck’s direction on this one will pan out.
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9. The Next Three Days – November 19th (replacing Leaves of Grass – I was stoked when I first heard about this almost a year ago, but as soon as I saw the trailer let’s just say I lost interest, double Ed Norton notwithstanding)
Per SlashFilm, this crime drama is a remake of a French film, about a husband (Russell Crowe) looking to break his wrongly imprisoned wife (Elizabeth Banks) out of jail. At least, she says she’s wrongly imprisoned.
The film also stars Liam Neeson, Olivia Wilde, Jonathan Tucker, Brian Dennehy, and RZA. Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby) pens the script AND directs the film, which is now listed to be in post-production. I hope this is more Casino Royale than Quantum of Solace, which were both written by Haggis, but I’m always up for seeing two great thespians (Crowe + Neeson) square off on-screen!
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10. The A-Team – June 11 (replacing Mel Gibson’s Edge of Darkness)
Suffice it to say the second trailer won me over. “They’re the best and they specialize in the ridiculous!” Jessica Biel’s FBI agent quips. Yeah, BRING IT ON! It’s the quintessential summer popcorn flick and this one looks darn entertaining! Love the part when BA whistles the A-Team tune before he blew off the skyscraper window. I find myself humming that tune every so often now 🙂
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Honorable mentions:
- The Expendables (August 20)
I know I’m going to get flak for putting this on the honorable mentions, but I was kind of meh about the trailer (which I said to Marc in the comment section of his post). I still might see this in the theater, I’m just not as psyched about it as when I first heard about it.
… - Knight & Day (July 2)
I’m not a huge Tom Cruise fan by any means, but the trailer of the action-comedy looks like fun. Plus, director James Mangold did Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma, so how bad can it be, right?
… - Paul (TBD)
Simon Pegg/Nick Frost team up again in this sci-fi comedy about two British comic-book geeks traveling across the U.S. encounter an alien outside Area 51. As a fan of Shaun of the Dead & Hot Fuzz, naturally I’m intrigued by this one. I’ll spotlight this project sometime soon.
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I have been waiting for Rum Diary for years! It better get a distributor. I couldn’t imagine that being a hard thing with Johnny Depp attached, especially after his Alice success.
Are you a big fan of the book, Luke? Yeah, I’m baffled by this myself. I mean, we haven’t seen even a teaser trailer or a poster for this and supposedly it’s been done months ago! You’d think that just having A-lister like Depp would make it easy to market it.
No, I haven’t read the book yet, but I read about the project and book years ago and got excited when I saw Depp cast. I was a kinda-fan of Fear and the Loathing.
Oh I see. Haven’t seen that one, but the story of Rum Diary really piqued my interest. Hope they find a buyer soon!!
You obviously know I’m already looking forward to Robin Hood but I never heard about The Next Three Days but obviously a Russell crowe flick with Elizabeth Banks will definitely have headed for the closest movie theater!
I’m not sure what to make of the A-Team, looks a bit too similar to The Losers. Probably worth a watch but I might wait for the DVD is the reviews are middling (or worse)
Ah, you like miss Banks I see, yes she is gorgeous isn’t she? I love her dress at the Oscar, too. Good for her to nab a role opposite Crowe, and man Liam Neeson is in one project after another… not that I mind, I like the guy.
Speaking Neeson, I kind of like him in a lighthearted role in the A-Team, as he usually go for darker stuff. Yeah, I was interested in The Losers for a while but for some reason I didn’t dig the trailer as much as A-Team. The Losers are pretty ‘rotten’ now according to RT. Hope A-Team is better than that.
I love how you say that Robin Hood is critics proof. It is for me, after all it does fall somewhere in my top 7. Even though I made that list months ago, I’m still anticipating it much. I too hope The Rum Diary gets distribution.
Hi Andrew, I say that because my gut tells me RH might not wow the critics. But no matter, I’m gonna see this on opening night and make my own opinion about it.
As for RD, fingers crossed they’ll get a distributor even before Cannes!
Hoping Expendables and Rum Diary are gonna be the bomb. Same goes for Inception, but I think that’s kinda of a gimme.
Expendables are probably going to be entertaining even on account of the cast alone, but I’m not rushing to the theaters to see it. Inception will RULE Summer, mark my words! 🙂
I really don’t get why they either Ridley Scott or Russell Crowe bothered making Robin Hood. It looks to me like Gladiator 2: From the Rich to the Poor.
🙂
Why? Well because people like me want to see it 🙂 I for one don’t mind the Gladiator comparison.
A-TEAM baby! All the way!!!!!
Ha…ha! I didn’t know you’re such an A-Team fan, Mike!
I had not heard of The Next Three Days until I read about it here. It sounds like a remake of Anything for Her staring Diane Kruger. The original was an excellent little film that came out here last summer, I don’t think it has had a US release yet, you should look out for it. You can see my review here.
Yeah it’s not in the news much for some reason, I first heard about it when Crowe was cast. With Neeson on board it’s even more intriguing. I’ll read your review over lunch later today. Thanks Andy!