I’ve been very lax in my blog this year.  I’ve got a half dozen “year end” and “preview” type posts from January that I never scheduled to be published, so the next couple of weeks will be a bit of a clearing house of stuff that I’m moving from Draft to Published.

2009 turned out to be a fantastic year for movies. Not only were box office records broken, but at least ten amazing flicks were released in 2009, with about 10 more top notch movies also coming out.

One of the crappy things about living in London is that we don’t get the smaller films, and even middle of the road openings will only be here for a couple of weeks (see “Moon” and “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnasiss” as examples). The good thing is that of the 41 screens in London, the same half dozen movies are playing in all six theatres.

Sooooo, there’s a good chance I’ll never get to see most of these movies in theatres.  However it’s a great list, and it’s chock full of trailers!

Adele Blanc-Sec

In my opinion Luc Besson is at his best when he’s doing really out there stuff.  See The Fifth Element as the case in point on this one.  He’s directing this one in his native France, and it looks trippy and freaky.

Trailer:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqiHR3bDpCc

Alice in Wonderland

I think the words “Trippy” and “Freaky” are synonymous with Tim Burton.  This one’s coming in 3D and from the trailer it looks to be full of 3D tricks and gags.  Still it looks fun and stylish as can be.

Trailer:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjMkNrX60mA

The A-Team

The trailer for this just looks spectacular, with inspired casting, and great explosions. This could be one of the few cases where a cheezy 80’s TV property turns out to be a decent movie.

Trailer:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z93AADd2Dpo

Cop Out

I love Kevin Smith. Yes his movies are juvenile, they’re pedantic, they’re sophomoric…but for some reason I just dig the guy.  He’s not a great filmmaker by any stretch of the imagination, but I identify with him for some reason, and so I’m excited about seeing him direct someone else’s stuff.  He directed the pilot episode of Reaper, and I thought it was the strongest episode of the first season, so I’m interested in seeing what he can do with this stuff.

Trailer:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAqej4v6WCc

Clash of the Titans

This does not look good. I don’t even have fond memories of the original…but how can it not be? I’ve got a soft spot for the Greek pantheon, and I think this will be a fun little movie. It won’t be good though.  It will be cheese, popcorn, and light on story. In other words, a perfect summer flick.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6CJenNMsb4

The Expendables

Holy “who’s who” casting Batman. The cast looks spectacular, and Sylvester Stallone got his neck broke by Steve Austin, how’s that for great?  Directed by Sylvester Stallone and featuring: Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Trejo, and Charisma Carpenter, it’s like the who’s who of “almost superstars”.

No Trailer

Inception

Christopher Nolan’s between Bat films is a sci fi mystery thriller, which looks “Memento” like in complexity.

Trailer:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DwuVKfjctk

Jonah Hex

A comic book movie based on the story of a scarred bounty hunter who was once a confederate soldier.  Josh Brolin looks perfect as Hex.

No Trailer

Kick-Ass

Stardust and Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughn brings us this comic book movie about a bunch of kids who have no powers, but can kick ass.  The comic is violent fun, and I want to see this just to watch 13 year old Hit Girl in action.

Trailer:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krOzVRj9z88

Knight and Day

This one just looks fun, with Tom Cruise playing the role of super-spy.  It looks like just pure popcorn fun, but probably won’t be a very good movie.

Trailer:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kpYqtvKvyU

Iron Man 2

You’ve seen the trailer.  I don’t need to say anything more.  This will likely be one of the best action films of the summer.

Trailer:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siQgD9qOhRs

Robin Hood

Ridley Scott re-teams with Russell Crowe.  I’m not sure that any Robin Hood movie has ever been really “good”, but they’re usually entertaining.

Trailer:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSqL9ygBCck

Tron Legacy

I don’t even particularly like the original Tron, but this flick looks like it’s got a ton of style, and that teaser trailer had me wanting more.

Teaser Trailer:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AwvuirSEAA