Whats coming up in 2008

Hoodwinked 2 – Hood vs Evil – A teenage Red Riding Hood trains in a distant land with a mysterious, covert group called Sisters of the Hood. She is then called upon by Nicky Flippers — head of the Happily Ever After Agency — who teams her with the Wolf to investigate the disappearance of Hansel and Gretel.

SPRING

There will be
Blood

P.T Anderson’s
latest film, a partial adaptation of the Oliver Sinclair’s novel Oil! (and by
his own admission a nod to the classic The Treasure of  the Sierra Madre) is the story of the rise of
a Texas prospector Daniel Plainview from his early days seeking oil to Citizen
Kane-like status. Set in turn of the 20th century America, the film
deals with money, fate, power and greed.

 

In Bruges

After a botched job in London, hit men Ray
(Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are ordered by their boss Harry
(Ralph Fiennes) to
Bruges. Very much out of their element, the two are placed in ever
stranger encounters and forced to reconsider their life decisions along the
way. In
Bruges is Irish playwright Martin McDonagh’s first feature film after
winning the 2006 Oscar for Best Film Short. The film is already tipped as an
early favourite and was recently announced as the Opening Film for the 2008
Sundance Film Festival.

 

 

Be
Kind Rewind

In his latest comedy, Jack Black plays
Jerry, a junkyard worker who accidentally magnetises and erases every tape in
his friend’s video store. In an attempt to keep the business afloat the two men
go about remaking the lost films making everything from The Lion King to King
Kong. While some of you may be sceptical and wonder ‘who is renting videos
these days?’ you’ll succumb to the typical charm and whimsy that director Michel
Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep) brings to
his films.

 

Cloverfield

Some of you may have noticed an untitled
film trailer in the later months of 2007. It has finally be confirmed as
Cloverfield, the latest release from J.J Abrams (the executive producer of the
always enthralling ‘what’s in the hatch this time’ Lost). Still very much under
wraps, what is known about the film is that it centres on the lives of five New
Yorkers as they throw a going-away party for their friend Rob (Michael
Stahl-David). On that same night an unknown creature descends upon
New York. The film
is told from the perspective of their own video camera as they document their
attempts to survive.

 

Mister
Lonely

From the writer of the controversial ‘90s
film Kids, Mister Lonely is the story of a Michael Jackson impersonator living
in Paris who meets a Marilyn Monroe look-alike. Under her advice, he moves to a
commune of impersonators in
Scotland,
where he discovers everyone preparing for the commune’s first-ever gala,
including the Queen, the Pope, Madonna and Marilyn’s jealous husband Charlie
Chaplin and their daughter Shirley Temple…


SUMMER

Indiana Jones and the King of the Crystal

This latest and fourth instalment of
Indiana Jones series takes place in 1957, nineteen years after The Last
Crusade. Our hero is plucked from retirement and back to his adventures, this
time pitted against the
Soviet Union for the crystal skull. Indy’s journey takes him across New Mexico, Connecticut, Mexico City, and
the jungles of
Peru. Harrison Ford and Karen Allen revive their roles for the film and
new to the series is Cate Blanchett as the villainous Russian Agent Spalko.

 

Wanted

A fantasy film loosely based on Mark
Milliar’s graphic novel series of the same name, Wanted stars James McAvoy,
Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. After the murder of his estranged father, the
seemingly joe-average Wes Gibson (McAvoy) is recruited by his father’s partner
Sloan (Freeman) to follow in his footsteps as an assassin and seek revenge for
the murder.  

 

 Wall-E

Pixar’s latest film takes place hundreds of
years in Earth’s future. Pollution has caused man to leave the planet in the
care of robots, in the hopes that it will one day be habitable again.  After hundreds of years at this very task,
WALL-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new
purpose in his life when he falls in love with search robot EVE. WALL-E must
cross the galaxy in search of EVE which sets into motion one of the most
exciting and imaginative comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen.

 

The
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

One year has
passed in our world since the first adventure ended, but in Narnia over a
millennium has gone by. The tyrannical King Miraz prevents the rightful king,
his young nephew Prince Caspian, from ruling the land of Narnia. Caspian uses
Susan’s magic horn that was left in Narnia to summon the four Pevensies to help
him and a small army of Old Narnians reclaim his rightful throne.

 

Iron
Man

After being kidnapped and wounded in
Afghanistan Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr., is forced to build a
devastating weapon for his captors. Instead he uses this time to create an
armoured suit to escape to freedom. Once freed, Spark uses this suit to protect
man-kind as
Iron Man.

 

 

The Incredible Hulk

Bruce Banner is
on the run from the United States Army and attempting to cure the condition
which causes him to turn into the hulk. Banner comes close to a cure, but all
is lost when a new creature emerges: the Abomination.

 

Batman – The Dark Knight

Christian Bale is
once again the man behind the mask in this the follow on to Batman Begins. Our
hero, with the assistance of Lieutenant James Gordon and district attorney
Harvey Dent, is successfully combating crime in Gotham City but a new power is
rising that threatens to destroy their work: the Joker.


AUTUMN

Valkyrie

 Taking a break from fantasy, director
Bryan Singer recounts the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and
Operation Valkyrie, a plan orchestrated by several high-ranking German officers
to assassinate Adolf Hitler and seize power of the military command in order to
end World War II.

 

Frost/Nixon

Director Ron Howard adapts Peter Morgan’s
play of the same name for the big screen, focusing on the post-Watergate
television interviews between the two men. The film includes the original stage
actors to play former
US President Richard Nixon and British TV broadcaster David Frost
(Frank Langella and Michael Sheen respectively).

 

The
International

Directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Clive
Owen and Naomi Watts, The International is the story of one agent’s efforts to
expose the corruption of a high-profile financial institution.

 

Get
Smart

Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway stars in
this remake of classic comic spy television
series, with Maxwell Smart (Carell) and Agent 99 (Hathaway) teaming up to
battle the forces of KAOS.


WINTER

Bond
– Quantum Of Solace

Still in the early stages of production,
Bond 22 sees Daniel Craig return as 007.  Screenwriter Paul Haggis has hinted that the
film will pick up just two minutes after Casino Royale ended.

Revolutionary
Road

The stars of ‘Titanic’ Leonardo DiCaprio
and Kate Winslet are reunited on screen for the first time in this epic
adaptation of the 1961 novel by Richard Yates. This tale of lies and deception
is directed by ‘American Beauty’ director Sam Mendes.

 

Star
Trek

The original crew of the enterprise, albeit
a new crew of actors, are assembled for this quasi-prequel to the series.  Though little is known of Star Trek XI, it
has been confirmed that Chris Pine will play the role of James T. Kirk with
rumours that some of the original Star Trek actors may appear.  

 

The Day the Earth Stood Still

A remake of the
sci-fi classic, the alien Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) and his  robot counterpart arrive on Earth with a
warning to our leaders.

 

The
Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Based a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, this is the tale of a man
who ages in reverse. As he moves through time getting progressively younger,
Benjamin Button’s life becomes further complicated when he falls in love. In
the works since 1994, this film has seen its share of directors’ attempt the
project, finally Se7en director David Fincher has taken on the film, brining
his own unique style to the project. The film stars both Brad Pitt and Cate
Blanchett in the lead roles.