I didn’t do a “top ten” movies list for 2009, or the past decade, because I honestly couldn’t commit to making a selection. Having no actual education in film, aside from a strange class that made me want to beat up Mike Leigh, I can only say what I liked… movies that I was excited to see and that held up to that build-up.
Now that we’re into a new year, fresh with promise for film, I’d like to highlight a few films that have piqued my interest and gotten my hopes up for a fun year of movie-watching. Movies that haven’t broken my heart, yet, with opening weekend dates that I’ll pencil into my calendar.
Amer
Release date: 3 March
A Belgian film that seems to be a reinvention of the giallo film, popularized by directors like Dario Argento. The film is apparently mostly free of dialogue, and follows three stages in the life of a woman named Ana. We are shown her childhood, adolescence and adulthood, and in each time period, the most significant experience is that of being watched.
Shutter Island
Release date: 19 February
Martin Scorsese made a scary-looking movie. Drama is set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.
Inception
Release date: 16 July
Christopher Nolan is great. He made really cool movies like Memento, Insomnia, and Following. Then he directed two of the most lucrative movies of all time. Now he has really big budgets to work with. Enter, Inception. Corporations have developed a technology to enter dreams to extract information from certain peoples’ heads. A CEO dreams and things begin to escalate, taking a turn for the worst. The trailer… just… wow. Love it.
Paul
Release date: “2010”
A comedy about two sci-fi geeks who embark upon a pilgrimage in a RV to the center of America’s UFO heartland: Nevada’s infamous Area 51. While in the middle of that desert, the two friends encounter a fugitive alien by the name of Paul.
I like the idea of this because Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are in it… and it sounds something like Spaced: the Movie. Directed by the guy who did Superbad, and he brought some of his friends with him.
Piranha 3D
Release date: 16 April
Every year the population of sleepy Lake Victoria explodes from 5,000 to 50,000 for a single, wild weekend – the 4th of July, a riot of sun, drunken fun and sex-crazed mayhem. This year however, a tremor has caused the lake’s floor to open, setting free scores of prehistoric piranhas… OH NO!
This movie sounds so fun. And it’s in 3-D. And Christopher Lloyd plays a piranha expert.
The Expendables
Release date: 20 August
After years of corruption, murder of American hostages, and betrayal of foreign policies, the US – with the help of other Nations who secretly put together a squad of their most highly trained military personal – will finally attempt to overthrow the dictator who has caused devastation in South America for over 20 years.
Who makes up this team? Why, EVERYONE who has ever been in an action movie (except for JCvD, who turned down a role). Even Governor Schwarzenegger makes a cameo. Written and Directed by Stallone, ‘natch.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Release date: 27 August
Based on the great graphic novel series by the very talented Bryan Lee O’Malley (whose music is also great), Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend’s seven evil ex-boyfriends in order to win her heart. Rife with references to music, manga, and video games, this movie already makes me squee with nerd joy.
Iron Man II
Release date: 7 May
It won’t be as good as Iron Man, but you’ll still see it and swoon. OK, me too.
The Wolfman
Release date: 12 February
Great cast, classic plot, with a questionable director and worrying last-minute editing. I love the look of the trailer, and hope the film lives up to the iconic story.
Mother’s Day
Release date: 9 May
Remake of the Troma classic, Mother’s Day sees sadistic members of a villainous family return to their childhood home to terrorize the new home owners and their guests. Jamie King and Rebecca De Mornay play the mothers of each family.
Splice
Release date: “2010”
Two geneticists combine human and animal DNA to create an entirely new being, which grows from deformity into a beautiful female. It bonds with its scientist-parents, Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, but then things turn deadly. From the director of Cube, it’s produced by the always wonderful Guillermo del Toro.
