So here we are with a new year and a new line up of movies to enjoy.  Did you hear that 2009’s box office beat the sales of DVD and Blu-ray?  Really, for true life it did.  We made a Movies You Should Have Seen In 2009 so it’s no wonder we have put together a list of Movies To See In 2010.  That is, the hope that these said movies live up to their hype or at least the expectations we have granted them.  On with the show this is it…

LOVELY BONES (January 15) [Trailer]

It feels like I have been waiting for this release for ages.  If you have read the book you know the expectation for this movie must be high.  Loyal readers of the book and critics of cinema will be sure to look at performances as well as what Peter Jackson has done with the set pieces. What will Heaven look like on the big screen?  The last time I was impressed by that sort of imagination was with What Dreams May Come.  I recommend a read and highly anticipate this film to be one of the best of the year.

SHUTTER ISLAND (February 19) [Trailer]

The trailer for Shutter Island was absurdly crazy; looking like we are back to Scorsese’s Cape Fear days.  Leonardo DiCaprio looks to be in top form in this one alongside the great cast including Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Jackie Earle Haley and Michelle Williams.  It was supposed to come out last year for Oscar consideration, but the studio decided to piss us off instead.  We might forgive you on February 19th.

CEMETERY JUNCTION (APRIL 9) [Trailer]

Fact check, Ricky Gervais has won all the awards he can for TV.  He has sold out comedy tours around the world, and continues to break world records with his podcasts.  He writes his own breed of children books and will be hosting the Golden Globes.  The next step for Ricky Gervais is to win an Oscar.  Cemetery Junction, a movie about becoming a man in working class Reading in the 1970s and the trappings of life in that period of England, where you were likely to be born, live and die in one town, in one household, this subject matter is of course his best chance to date.  I hope he stays moved away from big studio projects like the disappointing INVENTION OF LYING and sticks with his write what you know projects such as THE OFFICE.  This is my most anticipated movie of the year.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (April 30) [Trailer]

The original would make the list of all time favorite movies, and I was a little hesitant to place this remake on the list.  After the viewing of the trailer I am now pretty convinced this movie is going to be well done.  No promises.  Michael Bay’s remakes are hit and miss in my books, the FRIDAY THE 13TH remake was awful but I fully enjoyed the first TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE remake.  I heard this time around, however, the disfigured dream stalker will not crack any jokes. As a matter of fact, producer Brad Fuller has warned moviegoers “don’t fall asleep or you’ll die.” It will be interesting to see how the CGI and other new technologies will be used to explore the dream world. And, if Jackie Earle Haley manages to creep you out with his portrayal of pedophile Ronnie in LITTLE CHILDREN, be prepared to be kept on the edge of your seat.

IRON MAN 2 (May 7) [Trailer]

Aiming for similar response to the first critically and commercially successful Iron Man, Iron Man 2 comes at us with a lot more in store; such as hiring Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson and making the first appearance of the much-awaited War Machine is another one worth the wait.  In the superhero sequel tradition (remember Dark Knight?), it promises to be bigger and better, with the new friends, new foes and expectations. Scarlett Johansson is Natasha Romanov – Tony Stark’s replacement red-head assistant now that Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts has been promoted – she’s also secretly Russian superspy Black Widow. Mickey Rourke plays fellow Russian Whiplash, Iron Man’s nemesis along with Sam Rockwell’s Justin hammer.

PAUL (May 28)

What do you get when you can pair up the stars of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ with the director of SUPERBAD and ADVENTURELAND?  An opening day ticket.  Simon Pegg and Nick Frost team up with Greg Mottola in a movie about a couple of Comic-Con nerds who befriend an alien (played by Seth Rogen) at Area 51 and travel cross-country with him in tow.

TOY STORY 3 (June 18) [Trailer]

It’s been more than ten years since Woody and Buzz have their last big adventure, but come summer 2010, Disney and Pixar team up to bring Andy’s favorite toys to life one more time.  The first two movies have won people’s heart as proven from their box office performance, each has been among the top three highest grossing films of their years. And, with this one coming out in 3-D and and IMAX, it is not hard to imagine how big it may be.  Pixar is returning to their roots with the movie that made their name, Toy Story. Ordinarily sequels for animated movies are something to fear, but this time around knowing that TS2 was one of the best movies and sequels ever, we are in good hands.  I grew up with the first two Toy Story movies and TS3 will be the first I get to see in theaters.  I’ve kept all of my childhood toys thanks to these movies too, time to get them out and play me thinks.

INCEPTION (July 16) [Trailer]

Little is known about Inception, except that it has been described as “a contemporary sci-fi action movie set within the architecture of the mind”. Its previously-released teaser also didn’t help much to make sure what to look ahead to. So, there is no guarantee this movie will be a cult classic yet. Christopher Nolan is the mastermind behind The Dark Knight so I am not sure if any other evidence of possible greatness is needed.  Chris Nolan may be the director of the decade, beginning with Memento and ending with a movie that will surely go down as one of the greatest of all time with The Dark Knight.  Half the fun with Nolan is that he wants you to play the game with him. Memento and The Prestige were both puzzling movies and the clues from The Joker that hit the web had everyone scattering for something.   I sense another great one.

THE EXPENDABLES (August 20) [Trailer]

Sly blew us away with his comeback streak; ROCKY BALBOA and RAMBO.  These movies were awesome.  Now he has built a movie around the biggest action star of all time.   Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin and Randy Couture, gang up as a team of mercenaries who heads to South America in a mission to overthrow a dictator.  Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger are also in the movie somewhere we have been told.  The Expendables could well be the throwback action movie that dreams are made of. With a cast list that reads like someone just reading names off of their action movie DVD collection I am there.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART I (November 19)

I have a love hate relationship with this franchise.  I love the imagination that the books constructed and hate the catering to the readers I sense from watching the movies and being confused.   Harry Potter enters the final battle between good and evil in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I.  Coming out a year after Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince becomes the highest-grossing film of 2009, this movie is the first of two-part final installment of the Potter series. It will be interesting to see how director David Yates closes one of the biggest films in our history.

HEREAFTER (December)

Clint Eastwood is one of the greatest actors of the past and present.  Not many people can add Director to that claim as well.  Hearafter scripted by Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen) might be the film that most exposes Eastwood’s true feelings towards death.  The movie is billed as a quiet drama about three damaged characters trying to look beyond the landscape in front of them, to work out if anything exists after we die and it will be lead by Matt Damon. Eastwood’s movies are annually among my most anticipated each year, I can’t wait.