Stardust

Release Date: August 10th, 2007
Matthew Vaughn (dir.)
Claire Danes
Charlie Cox
Sienna Miller
Ricky Gervais
Trailer

Fantasy/Adventure movies have been experiencing a renaissance of sorts, with the Tolkien films, Mirror Mask, Pan's Labyrinth and Narnia being superb examples of how things should be done the right way. This movie looks like it will fall into that category as well. The special effects don't appear to compete with the story, and the movie has a really great look to it overall. Plus, there's this part of me that really wants to see Claire Danes do something that doesn't pale in comparison to her debut on My So Called Life more than a decade ago.

Anticipated Rating: 9/10 (I'd give it a 10, but that's always a setup for disappointment)

First Snow

Release Date: March 23, 2007
Mark Fergus (dir.)
Guy Pearce
Piper Perabo
Trailer

The first part of the trailer almost had me thinking this was a U-Turn remake, but after the first few seconds, the similarities fade. The movie seems to have character and a good story to tell, with suspense building towards an inevitable conclusion. Probably not something I'd see in the theatre, but it looks good enough to watch at home, for sure.

Anticipated rating: 7/10

Iraq in Fragments

Release Date: ???
dir. James Longley
Trailer

Another great Iraq documentary, but this time from the POV of the Iraqi. I'd definitely go see this in the theatre when it gets wide release. I don't think the general populace of America thinks about what's going on in Iraq on a daily basis. Americans probably don't even consider the human element, apart from US soldiers, when they do. I don't think that it is possible to actually outrage Americans anymore, but this film will probably get closer than anything else.

Anticipated Rating: 8/10

Martian Child

Release Date: June 29, 2007
John Cusack
Trailer

This isn't the actual poster for the movie, but nobody seems to have it yet. The movie looks like it has good potential for jerking tears and making the audience feel good. Definitely in the date movie category. Every girl I know loves John Cusack as well. This movie looks like it wants to be the serious version of Adam Sandler's Big Daddy, and I'd bet that it succeeds.

Anticipated Rating: 7/10

Harry Potter 5: The Order of the Phoenix

In Theatres: July 13th, 2007
David Yates (dir.)
Daniel Radcliffe
Rupert Grint
Emma Watson
Trailer

Before I say anything, it's a foregone conclusion that I'll be going to see this. The trailer kinda sucks though. It gives some tantalizing glimpses of the scrip and the locations, so I guess it does it's job, but for some reason, it didn't really grab me or excite me. It looks like they have some really cool location work in London this time, so that should be fun. We'll see.

Anticipated rating: 7/10 (I'm a fan of the series, but I don't really think they're great movies)

Bridge To Terabithia

In Theatres: February 16th, 2007
Gabor Csupo (dir.)
Josh Hutcherson
Annasophia Robb
Robert Patrick
Zooey Deschanel
Trailer

I don't normally review a lot of kids movies. I'm too prejudiced against the CGI stuff that comes out and against Disney in general. I feel like their stuff is too slick, too watered down, too easy and too one dimensional. But, this movie looks good. Children's fantasy/adventure films are something I like, and this one looks pretty decent. Lots of special effects, but it doesn't look like a digital wankfest for the animators. It seems to be as surreal as it needs to be without getting in the way.

Anticipated rating: 9/10

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

In Theatres: June 15th, 2007
Tim Story (dir.)
Ioan Gruffudd
Jessica Alba
Chris Evans
Trailer

Hmm, looks like somebody's decided to get a little more mileage out of the Terminator 2 metal-guy special effect. This teaser has a lot of promise. There's no plot elements to speak off, just two guys chasing each other through the airspace of NYC. It'll probably be a pretty fun summer movie, but I don't think it'll be anything revolutionary. It might actually suffer from overdone special effects, but I won't really be able to tell until I see the release trailer in a few months.

Anticipated rating : 6/10

Grindhouse

I don't normally review stuff that I can't find on Apple.com/trailers, but this one deserves all the attention it can get. Rodriguez and Tarantino join forces for an exploitation double feature. There's a girl with an m-16 for a leg. Need I say more?

Update 4/13/07: After seeing the movie, I am still impressed. The first feature (Planet Terror) is definitely trashier and grittier than the second (Tarantino's Death Proof). One of the best parts of the film are the trailers for the fake films. Definitely worth a look and the DVD promises to be a treasure trove of bonus footage, I think.

Anticipated rating: 10/10
Actual Rating: 9/10 (Death Proof wasn't exploitational enough)

Curse of the Golden Flower

In Theatres: December 22nd, 2006
Yimou Zhang (dir.)
Jay Chou
Yun-Fat Chow
Li Gong
Trailer

Wow.

I'll admit that I'm a sucker for the new kung fu movies that have come out starting with Crouching Tiger, but this one seems to raise the bar once again. And it's so damned colorful!

Anticipated rating: 10/10

The Breach

In Theatres: February 16th, 2007
Chris Cooper
Laura Linney
Ryan Phillippe
Trailer

I probably learned all about this case in my US Intelligence class in college. The class I got a C in. Yeah, so I really don't know what true events this film is based on. Maybe Aldrich Ames? Get back to me on it, please. The trailer looks halfway descent, but the cast seems to be made up entirely of supporting actors. I suppose that isn't a bad thing, but it will put the burden of success on the shoulders of the script. I kind of like all the spy stuff that's coming out now. I hope subsequent films will eventually focus more on tales of historic CIA misdeeds.

Anticipated rating: 6/10