What's To Come

As is traditional, one looks at the coming year and what the highlights will be.

In TV land I've seen much that has piqued my interest. Currently there is only one show that I am very eager to see. Lost is the show that Seven is bombard-advertising and from what I read it is worth tuning in. Co-created by J.J. Abrams, who brought us the forgettable Felecity and messy Alias, Lost looks to be a drama-thriller-action-adventure-comedy. Which is how Alias began, then lost momentum and focus. Looks like it could be fun, so we hope for the best.

February 17
House of Flying Daggers
Large budget Chinese cinema is getting more and more deserving attention. After Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero, Daggers looks to be right at home. Just as beautiful as Hero, but without the fascist undertones.

February 24
Constantine
Another comic book adaptation, which sees Keanu Reeves play the title character who can see half breed angels and demons posing as humans. I am intrigued by the character and story, and am hoping Keanu tries to do the acting thing.

April 21
Serenity
Firefly is such a worthy series to be put on the big screen. Join the Browncoats resistance for fun stuff and a forum. This is a film everyone should go see.

June 23
Batman Begins
I've never been much of a fan of the Batman films, but this one looks like it's a little different from the others.

June 30
War of the Worlds
The cassette copy we had used to frighten me to no end when I listened to this growing up. I haven't seen the original 1953 version, so I may have to unearth a copy to see if Spielberg does it justice.

July 7
Fantastic Four
An appealing cast as the Four, Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis, with Julian McMahon as Dr Doom. Not a lot is known about it as of yet, but I'll keep my ears to the screen.

July 28
Bewitched
Who doesn't love Bewitched reruns. Things were looking good for this production. Nicole Kidman as Samantha, a solid supporting cast including Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine are a good start. The plug puller for me is that Will Ferrel is playing Darrin. I'll wait to see what the trailer is like.

September 1
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Tim Burton is trying out another 'reimagining' and I am hoping it is better than Planet of the Apes. With Johnny Depp as Wonka it's bound to be good anyway. View trailer.

November 10
The Corpse Bride
Tim Burton + stop motion animation = movie goodness. I watch The Nightmare Before Christmas a few times a year because it's so much fun and beautiful. The film is based on a 19th Century Russian folktale, where a man mistakenly weds a corpse. Whoops!

November 24
Wallace & Gromit Movie: The Curse of the Wererabbit
I have all the Wallace & Gromit eps on vid and Chicken Run was excellent. I've been waiting for a feature length Wallace and Gromit for years, and now I'll have one!

December 1
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
I can't help but be eager. It's a disease.

December 14
King Kong
How can I not look forward to Peter Jackson's next venture? With Andy Serkis playing Kong how could things go wrong? Will we ever see Serkis' face on film again?

December 26
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe
I grew up watching the BBC series and couldn't get enough of it. I've never read any of the books, but I'll set myself the challenge of reading them before the film is released. Sadly, it looks as though the other books aren't going to be produced. The art work looks pretty good.