The Movie Overdose’s newest, and essentially lone writer Chris Inman outlines his most anticipated movies of the coming year. Listen to Sam, Tom and John’s choices on Episode Number 48.
The Rum Diary
Why the buzz? : Johnny Depp has been a little disappointing of late, starring in major films where he seems to play a caricature of himself, so a return to a more intimate character-driven role will hopefully see a return to form. His performance in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas shows that he is able to ply his trade in supposed ‘unfilmable’ Hunter S Thompson adaptations. Giovanni Ribisi and Aaron Eckhart also star in this story of a freelance journalist writing for a paper in the Caribbean who develops a fixation for rum and a businessman’s fiancée.
When’s it out? : No confirmation as of yet, but some sources say it could be out as early as March.
Jonah Hex
Why the buzz? : Christ! What am I doing?! I am anticipating a film starring Megan Fox! After showering in bleach when realizing this, I am being the eternal optimist and lets be honest, she’s playing a prostitute so it’s virtually meta. Also take look at the other cast members Josh Brolin, who was a revelation in No Country for Old Men, Michael Fassbender and John Malkovich.
It’s being directed by Jimmy Hayward who directed the massively underrated Horton Hears a Who and also worked on Toy Story 1 & 2 and Finding Nemo. On a personal note, being a big rock and metal fan I am very excited by the news that Mastodon will be providing the score to the movie. They aren’t your typical Clash of the Titans trailer metal and I think they will be able to create very atmospheric music for the film.
It’s not all good though – McG was linked with the project at some point and also Josh Brolin turned down the role originally because he hated the script, hopefully he changed his mind because of a rewrite and not just because money was drying up.
When’s it out? : 18 June 2010
Edge of Darkness
Why the buzz? : Looking at the trailer, the film looks pretty solid. Mel Gibson doesn’t take a lot of roles nowadays and so he must have seen something in this and despite his personal life, Mel Gibson is someone who I look forward to his movies, whether he is acting or directing. On the subject of directing, the film is being directed by Martin Campbell who also directed to Casino Royale.
When’s it out? : 29 January 2010 (USA)
Legion
Why the buzz? : This film is certainly going to cause some controversy, what with the plot being about God killing humanity. It stars Paul Bettany, who is a fantastic actor and if they are able to successfully display the stakes involved, this could be a massive hit.
When’s it out? : 22 January 2010 (USA)
The Expendables
Why the buzz? : This film should just be called ‘SSSMMMMAAAAASSSSHHHH!!!!!!’ This film is going to be ridiculous – there is a character actually called Hale Caesar in it, but look at who is in it – Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Trejo! To not look forward to this film would be a crime. There is a rumour going around at the moment that Sly Stallone fractured his neck in one of the scenes in the film and to be honest, I don’t care if it’s true or not, I will have to see this film just for the line-up.
When’s it out? : 13 August 2010 (USA)
Inception
Why the buzz? : Let’s be honest, no-one has a clue what this film is about, but kudos to the trailer for making me want to see a film I know nothing about. If you put Leonardo Di Caprio and Christopher Nolan in a movie, I am immediately sold. Dileep Rao must either be the greatest actor or the luckiest man alive (and seeing his acting, I don’t think it’s the former!) – he has managed to bag roles in Drag Me to Hell, Avatar and now this. If he asks if you want to go halves on a lottery ticket, I would accept.
The internet naysayers are saying it looks too similar to The Matrix, which as far as I am concerned is the most ridiculous negative comment ever. It’s like saying “I don’t like your wife, she looks a bit too much like Kelly Brook”. Out of all the films in this feature, I believe this will take the most money at the box office, and just on the buzz after The Dark Knight, I am going to stick my neck out and say this will be in the top 15 movie takings of all time.
Supporting roles by Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt obviously won’t harm this films pulling factor.
When’s it out? : 16 July 2010 (USA)
Shutter Island
Why the buzz? : With this and Inception, it could certainly be a good year for Leonardo Di Caprio – either that or it’s Nicholas Cage’s year. Like Inception, Shutter Island features Leo teaming up with another great director, Martin Scorsese. While the pairing is nothing new and the plot seems very predictable, I think it may have a few surprises up its sleeve. I get the feeling the trailer is a red herring and it is implying the film will unfold in a certain way, when in actual fact it will be slightly surprising. Visually the film looks impressive and it’s an adaptation of a Dennis Lehane, who also wrote Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone.
When’s it out? : 19 February 2010 (USA)
Kick- Ass
Why the buzz? : There has been a huge amount of buzz for this Matthew Vaughan directed movie, but I have to be honest, I knew nothing about it until I stumbled across the red band trailer. A trailer has never raised my interest in a film as much as this one has. This is possibly my most anticipated film of the year because it just looks a huge amount of fun, the script looks fantastically written, it’s very self-aware and it’s got Nicolas Cage in. SOLD!
When’s it out? : Not soon enough! 16 April 2010 (USA)
The Movie Overdose 
[…] January 19, 2010 in Lists | Tags: aaron sorkin, alejandro gonzalez innaritu, allen ginsberg, andrew garfield, anton corbijn, biutiful, black swan, bruce robinson, carey mulligan, casey affleck, darren aronofsky, david fincher, david o russell, david strathairn, elle fanning, emily blunt, george clooney, greg motolla, gregg araki, howl, inception, Ip Man, james franco, javier bardem, jeff daniels, jesse eisenberg, jessica alba, jim thompson, jodie foster, johnny depp, jon hamm, justin timberlake, kaboom, kazuo ishiguro, keira knightley, kick-ass, lynne ramsay, mark romanek, mark wahlberg, mary louise parker, matt damon, mel gibson, michael winterbottom, mila kunis, most anticipated films 2010, most anticipated movies, most anticipated movies 2010, natalie portman, never let me go, nick frost, paul, philip k dick, scott pilgrim vs the world, shutter island, simon pegg, sofia coppola, somewhere, stephen dorff, terence malick, the adjustment bureau, the american, the beaver, the fighter, the grand master, the killer inside me, the rum diary, the social network, the tree of life, thomas dekker, tilda swinton, tony leung, toy story 3, vincent cassell, we need to talk about kevin, wong kar wai | by Sam Unsted Not ranked, but just sixteen movies I picked out for my enthusiasm to be aimed at this year. Just a note the following have been excluded for a variety of reasons: Kick Ass/Shutter Island (both coming out pretty soon), The Tree of Life (was on last year’s list and may still not come out this year), Inception/Toy Story 3 (too big to need my advocacy) and Scott Pilgrim vs The World (purely because Tommy was always going to choose it). Also, remember to check out Chris’ list here. […]