Well, if I knew how to count this would be 25 more films for my 2010 preview of 50 select upcoming films. However, my first day of previews was actually only 24 films, which means today you are getting one bonus preview. I know, it’s exciting, calm down. We’ll get through this together as long as we maintain a support system of you’ve got my back and I’ve got yours.
So, if you missed the first 24 films in my 2010 preview you can click here to check those out or wait until the end of this post where I have linked to it once again as well as all my other previews for each individual studio. And without any further delay or bothersome words from me I give you 26 more films to keep an eye on in 2010.
Director: Matthew Vaughn
QUICK THOUGHTS: Personally, I am not all that excited about this film, but the online masses are treating it like it’s the second coming. I do like Matthew Vaughn so that’s a plus, but after watching the trailer I was left with… “That’s what everyone’s so excited about?” Perhaps I will be happily surprised.
SYNOPSIS: Based on the ultraviolent comic by Mark Millar Kick-Ass follows Dave Lizewski, a high school dweeb who attempts to reinvent himself as a real-world costumed superhero named Kick-Ass who seems doomed to failure because he’s not athletic or coordinated until he runs into real bad guys with real weapons.
Director: Michael Winterbottom
QUICK THOUGHTS: Now this is a film I am a little more interested in and I just recently added the first batch of images featuring Casey Affleck and Jessica Alba to the gallery right here and watched half of the much talked about, not safe for work promo trailer in order to have something to say here. It won’t be long before we know how good (or bad) this film is after it debuts at Sundance on January 24, so keep your ears peeled for opinions.
SYNOPSIS: An adaptation of the Jim Thompson novel centering on a West Texas sheriff (Affleck) and his downward spiral from a boring small-town cop into a ruthless, sociopathic murderer. The cast also includes Jessica Alba as a prostitute and Kate Hudson as the sheriff’s schoolteacher girlfriend. Baker plays a county attorney looking to expose the sheriff as the killer.
Director: William Monahan
QUICK THOUGHTS: William Monahan made a big splash a little over three years ago with his script for The Departed. Prior to that he penned Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven, which proved to be much improved once we saw the director’s cut. Personally I enjoyed Body of Lies and am looking forward to Edge of Darkness, both were also penned by Monahan, but with London Boulevard we are looking at his latest script and one he is making his directorial debut on. Will I enjoy him behind the camera as much as I do when other folks are shooting his scripts? I hope so.
SYNOPSIS: Farrell will play a South London criminal who, after release from prison, tries to give up the gangster life by becoming a handyman for a reclusive young actress.
Director: Julian Schnabel
QUICK THOUGHTS: What is perhaps the least-known film on this 50 movie round-up is Julian Schnabel’s Miral, the director’s first film since the 2007 stand-out The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. He’s cast The Visitor co-star Hiam Abbass and 2009’s Slumdog Millionaire beauty Freida Pinto in the lead female roles with the likes of Willem Dafoe and Alexander Siddig (Syriana and Kingdom of Heaven) also playing a part. If he can tap into what made Diving Bell so great we may have another foreign language feature to seriously champion.
SYNOPSIS: An adaptation of Italo-Palestinian Rula Jebreal’s book about the real-life Palestinian woman Hind Husseini, who started the Dar Al-Tifl orphanage in Jerusalem in the wake of the 1948 partition of Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel. Pic will span the years 1948-94.
Director: Mark Romanek
QUICK THOUGHTS: Keira Knightley was absent from domestic screens in 2009, but in 2010 she has at least two films to look out for and the second one is Never Let Me Go, the first film from helmer Mark Romanek since 2002’s One Hour Photo. Romanek was supposed to direct The Wolfman but left the production due to “creative differences” only a couple of weeks before shooting was set to begin. Judging from the trailers for that film it looks like he made the right decision. I was always a fan of Romanek’s music video work, and while One Hour Photo didn’t necessarily appeal to me I have been waiting seven years for this one in hopes of something better.
SYNOPSIS: Revolves around a trio who grew up in a boarding school with no contact or knowledge of the outside world until they discover they are clones grown for the sole purpose of organ donation.
