Coming Attractions: Must See Movies

There are a host of very cool movies out there to be seen - some have already been released and some are still to come. Many seem to have an end-of-the-world apocalyptic theme (why? don't know) - Here is my list of the ones to watch:

1. 9 - An animated feature starring Elijah Wood (Frodo, Lord of the Rings) and Produced by Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). 9 rag dolls are brought to life and given the mission to save a humanity that it is near extinction. A heroic tale with a story reminiscent of the Ring Trilogy quest of fate and the Matrix's  humanity vs technology storylines. It stands out, like all Burton's work as different, imaginative and very likely with a strong message.

Release date: September 9, 2009

2. Let The Right One In - Critically acclaimed world wide is this simple but profound Swedish-made vampire story. A young boy strikes up a friendship with girl who happens to be a vampire. One can imagine the ensuing complications. There won't be anyone you know in this film and there are subtitled and dubbed versions. The former is recommended.  The fact that it is not a product of Hollywood may account for the fresh take on a very old genre. It's on DVD and iTunes now.

3. The Book of Eli - Denzel Washington returns to the big screen as a man with a mission - with something that can save a post-Apocalyptic world. That something is valuable enough to die and kill for and a bearded and greying, gritty and grim Denzel crosses a savage wasteland to fulfil his calling. I anticipate lots of beat-em-up action scenes, long periods of silence  and rapid fire action toward the end.

Release date: January 15, 2010

4. Avatar -  Directed by James Cameron (Aliens, Terminator 2, Titanic) we should be guaranteed a great ride. Tons of CGI, mechanised combat suits, sexy aliens and a touching story with a conscience. Earth men (apparently only Americans inhabit Earth) visit an alien land where one Earth man in particular (a paralysed scientist I think) takes control of an alien's body - effectively his avatar. War, love and CGI galore ensue. Sigourney Weaver is the big name in the movie which was apparently conceived some 14 years ago. The first link has a great trailer, but this one is cool too.

Release date: December 18, 2009

5. The Last Airbender - Directed by the unlikely M. Night Shyamalan (The 6th Sense), the writers of the cartoon series are behind the live action feature length version. Yes! Live action. Quite frankly it looks like it's going to an excellent interpretation of the cartoon you know and love. Unfortunately, being American-made the characters seem to be fairly white and American (we must remember that in movieland most human are such). Nevertheless, I think this one is going to be good. The trailer is certainly  convincing. Still, there are a bunch of Asian actors in it including Aasif Mandvi (The Daily Show) and Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) as Zuko.

Release date: Juy 2, 2010

Other movies to look out for:

6. Daybreakers (another vampire flick)

7. Zombieland (gore comedy in the Shaun of the Dead tradition)

8. 2012  (End of world film that sparked interest in the Mayan calendar and will no doubt cause panic until December __ when the world will end...again)

9. Where The Wild Things Are (live action version of a classic children's tale - looks like the real...illustrated thing)

10. Tron Legacy (If you're old enough - you know)

Thanks to Colin Young (my Bro) for sharing his movie plans!