We here at the Eagle are optimists. Sure, we have a cynical streak, but every year we’re just hoping that it’s going to be the best year ever — at least for the entertainment that will keep us distracted enough from our own lives. So in that spirit, here are a few of the films we’re most looking forward to losing ourselves in over the new year.
Scott Pilgrim Versus the World
The acting juggernaut that is Michael Cera will further expand his ever-elastic ability to transform into a role with yet another mumbling, bumbling teenager on the front lines of the long, unwinnable fight against awkwardness. Luckily for Cera, this may be the role that fits his sensibilities best. The comic series by Bryan Lee O’Malley follows the misadventures of the titular Scott Pilgrim, who, in order to win the heart of his new crush, must defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends (including a video game duel with a warlock and a battle to the death with a robot built by a pair of identical twins). The movie plans to combine the entire series into one epic struggle against this Legion of Doom for the Millennial set, hopefully with all of the indie rock and videogame references that made the comic an instant cult classic.
Alice in Wonderland
Tim Burton’s movies have often relied on their visuals over their substance. For every genuinely emotional film like “Edward Scissorhands,” there’s a sterile dud like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” to balance it out. The new “Alice in Wonderland” may well be the latter, but its promised visuals may be enough to carry along a bizarre story. Set more than a decade after the events of “Through the Looking Glass,” a college-age Alice now has to defeat the minions of the tyrannical Red Queen. The film features a great cast — including Burton’s typical muses Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter — who might just be able to breath fresh life into these classic children’s characters. And we can almost guarantee it will look fantastic.
Shutter Island
Martin Scorsese often falters when stepping away from his bread-and-butter crime movies, but “Shutter Island” has a great pedigree. Based on the Dennis Lehane thriller of the same name, Scorsese’s first feature since winning his first Oscar pays homage to the horror films that helped hone his sensibilities. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the director’s most prominent talent, the film looks to be the most visual of Scorsese’s films since “Gangs of New York” but with a much smaller scope limited to a mysterious asylum that holds a terrible secret. Paramount delayed the release so they wouldn’t have to spend money promoting it for last year’s Oscar considerations, but the extra time might give the movie’s stylishness an extra bit of polish before it comes out.
Hot Tub Time Machine
With a name like that, what could go wrong? But unlike the films “Snakes on a Plane” or “Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus,” the filmmakers behind “HTTM” are fully in on the joke, meaning that they will hopefully fall on the right side of the very fine genius/travesty line. Featuring John Cusack, Craig Robinson of “The Office” and Rob Heubel of “The Daily Show with John Stewart,” the main characters step into a hot tub for some relaxation and are sent far back into the past to a less civilized time — 1986. Supplementing such an admittedly stupid idea with a shamelessly crude script and some genuinely talented comic actors might just make this movie more than a head-scratching title.
Iron Man 2
Coming on the heels of the surprising success of the first “Iron Man,” the sequel once again promises the same mixture of impeccable action and wry humor that helped inject new energy into the current resurgence of superhero movies. Alongside Robert Downey, Jr. as mega-rich inventor and industrialist Tony Stark, the sequel will feature Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson. And now that the world knows exactly who is behind that iron mask, it can be expected that the film will include a whole new layer of intrigue and suspense for its characters.
Toy Story 3
Since Pixar made the first “Toy Story” 15 years ago, they have been on an incredible streak. After releasing movie after movie to critical ravings and great popularity, they are again returning to the characters that established them as the best name in animation. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are both back to voice Buzz Lightyear and Woody in a tale that sends the toys to a daycare center where they must avoid being smashed to bits by careless toddlers. While more movies should realistically feature small children as unrepentant and destructive villains, Pixar will surely inject their most precious creation with more of the wit and pathos that has widened the appeal of their animation to every generation.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part I
It’s the new and penultimate movie based on the last book of the Harry Potter series. It’s being helmed by David Yates, the same director who made the last two movies even better than the books they were based on. And it features all of the characters and actors you’ve grown to love over the last decade. Let’s face it: you probably already have your ticket.
The Green Hornet
While Iron Man 2 may be enough superhero for most audiences, there’s more than a few reasons to get excited for this often overlooked vigilante verde. First, it’s being directed by Michel Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Be Kind Rewind”), meaning that it will likely have the same campy, DIY aesthetics perfectly suited to an old-time radio show turned television series. The ever-thinning Seth Rogen plays the hero, but watch out for Christopher Waltz as the villain hoping to create a confederacy of crime syndicates in order to consolidate power. Waltz’s performance as the villainous Hans Landa in last year’s Inglourious Basterds was equal parts outlandish and horrifying, so here’s hoping he can give us a repeat performance that might be just as memorable.
You can reach this staff writer at mrichardson@theeagleonline.com.
