Friday, March, 26
“”How To Train Your Dragon””
Starring: Jay Baruchel
Plot: A Viking teenager befriends
a dragon.
Why you are interested: Because it’s directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. They’re not household names, but they both cut their teeth with Disney during the Golden Age, with work on “”Beauty and the Beast,”” “”Aladdin”” and “”The Lion King.”” However, DreamWorks’ animation studio has been somewhat unreliable. Sometimes they make “”Kung Fu Panda,”” other times “”Shark Tale.””
“”Hot Tub Time Machine””
Starring: John Cusack
Plot: Four men stumble upon a hot tub that is also a time machine.
Why you are interested: Because of the name, really. Also, supporting turns by Chevy Chase and Crispin Glover sound promising. I’m interested to see “”Daily Show”” alumnus Rob Corddry in an expanded role, but quite concerned as to why John Cusack is billed as starring in the movie, yet hardly appears in any of the trailers.
“”A Prophet”” (The Loft Cinema only)
Starring: Tahar Rahim
Plot: A young Arab man rises to become a mafia kingpin in a French prison.
Why you are interested: Because it won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for a record 13 Cesar Awards (the French Oscar). Furthermore, director Jacques Audiard’s previous film “”The Beat That My Heart Skipped”” was one of the decade’s best and “”Prophet”” is already drawing favorable comparisons to “”Goodfellas.””
Friday, April 2
“”Clash of the Titans””
Starring: Sam Worthington
Plot: Perseus makes a pact with father, Zeus, to stop Hades from taking over the world.
Why you are interested: Because the director of “”Transporter 2″” is making a 3-D movie about Greek mythology. Let that sink in.
“”Fish Tank”” (The Loft Cinema only)
Starring: Katie Jarvis
Plot: Fifteen-year-old Mia begins a strange relationship with her mother’s boyfriend.
Why you are interested: Because it won Best British Film at the BAFTA Awards and was called “”nearly flawless”” by A.O. Scott of The New York Times. You owe it to yourself to see one independent/foreign film every year and “”Fish Tank”” looks quite worthy.
Friday, April 9
“”Date Night””
Starring: Steve Carell and Tina Fey
Plot: A couple goes out on a date night and is mistaken for a different couple.
Why you are interested: Carell and Fey are supported by a knockout cast of Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Mark Ruffalo and Kristin Wiig. Even if the script is as tepid as the trailers make it out to be, that level of talent will certainly elevate the material. To what extent remains to be seen.
Friday, April 16
“”Kick-Ass””
Starring: Aaron Johnson
Plot: Typical teenager Dave decides to become a real-life superhero, despite having no special powers.
Why you are interested: Overwhelmingly positive reviews have been coming out since its first screening at the Butt-Numb-A-Thon film festival last December. With its wanton recklessness and gleeful hyper-violence, “”Kick-Ass”” looks to be one of the freshest films of the year, headed by a young cast and director Matthew Vaughn’s unbridled imagination.
“”Mother”” (The Loft Cinema only)
Starring: Kim Hye-ja
Plot: After her son is wrongfully accused of a killing, a mother undertakes her own investigation to clear his name.
Why you are interested: Because director Bong Joon-ho’s previous flick “”The Host”” was the best monster movie in decades, so you know he’s the real deal. “”Mother”” marks Bong’s first foray into the suspense genre, and he has proven to be capable of reviving any style.
Friday, April 23
“”The Losers””
Starring: Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Idris Elba
Plot: After being betrayed and left for dead, members of a black ops team seek revenge.
Why you are interested: Because you’re like me and will see any movie with Idris Elba in it. I’m cautiously intrigued by the film, as the trailer plays its cards close to the chest. Produced by the legendary Joel Silver (“”The Matrix,”” “”Die Hard””) and featuring an impressive list of character actors, this could be one of the year’s surprises. April is a month of wild card films, so anything is possible.
Friday, April 30
“”A Nightmare on Elm Street””
Starring: Jackie Earle Haley
Plot: Freddy Krueger kills people in their dreams.
Why you are interested: You aren’t, and neither am I. Haley will be incredible, as he always is, but the film is produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes. They are responsible for the terrible remakes of “”Texas Chainsaw Massacre,”” “”The Amityville Horror”” and “”Friday the 13th.”” Besides, director Samuel Bayer has never shot a film before, with his music video resume featuring the abysmal video for My Chemical Romance’s “”The
Black Parade.””
Friday, May 7
“”Iron Man 2″”
Starring: Robert Downey Jr.
Plot: Iron Man is back, with new enemies and new friends.
Why you are interested: Because the pedigree is too good to fail. Downey Jr.’s career renaissance has been outstanding thus far, and the addition of Mickey Rourke as the villain, Ivan Vanko, makes me giddy. Between War Machine and the suitcase suit featured in the trailer, my excitement is at a high water mark for any sequel. Yes, that includes “”The Dark Knight.””
Friday, May 14
“”Robin Hood””
Starring: Russell Crowe
Plot: Robin Hood returns to England to free the people from the corruption of the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Why are you interested: Because you want to see Robin Hood on an epic scale. Who better than the duo behind “”Gladiator”” to envision a sweeping tale of one of the most revered action heroes of all time? At the very least, this will erase all memory of Kevin Costner’s horrible portrayal of the Prince of Thieves.
