13 Reasons to love 2009

As great a year as 2008 was for movies, there is a lot to be looking forward to. And since the first worthwhile movie will be released in March, looking forward is all we will be doing for a while. However, next summer is going to be one of the biggest blockbuster years in a long time (granted this is due to several of this fall's blockbusters being pushed back, like Star Trek and Harry Potter).

This is my complete (mostly, I don't know how much hope there is of a release of The Good, The Bad, and the Wierd the Korean Kung-fu Western homage whose trailer made my mouth drop) list of movies I'm looking forward to this year.

Watchmen
Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson and Carla Gugino star in this adaptation of the famed graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Which is now locked in a legal battle between the soulless stain of a corporation (Fox) and the one hope for superhero movies (Warner Bros.). This may never be seen, and for those of us who dearly love the comic, maybe we should just breathe a sigh of relief, now that we don't have to fear our hopes being crushed.

Star Trek
"Lost" creator J. J. Abrams reboots the beloved sci-fi franchise in this prequel exploring the early days of Kirk and Spock. Hey everybody! This movie features Randy Pauche, in what will be the final (and only) acting performance of his lifetime. Seriously though, this looks like Star Wars-esque popcorn fun, who knows, maybe Lucas will grow a brain and hire Abrams to direct the final trilogy. Although I'm not really sure I'd want to see that happen.

Terminator Salvation
Christian Bale stars in this film which is both a sequel and a prequel to the wildly popular time-travel/killer robot action franchise. Finally, the only terminator sequel that ever needed to be made. Too bad it's being made by a guy with one name.

Up
Pixar follows up on their movies about gourmet rats and lonely robots with this flick about a grumpy old man and his balloon-powered floating house. Which, like most Pixar premises, makes you say huh? But hey, with their track record, if they made a promotional video for vacuum cleaners I'd see it in theaters.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Granted, the first one was ho-hum (how do you make a movie with robots this pretty and then have all their action sequences pale in comparison to...wait for it...the military? Seriously, the epitome of the entirety of this "robot action" movie was Optimus Prime's brief bit of swordplay). Still, Michael Bay has yet to do a sequel, he has also yet to make a movie with enough maturity to warrant a second viewing, but we can only hope.

Public Enemies
Johnny Depp stars as legendary bank robber John Dillinger and Christian Bale is the G-man on his tail in this true crime drama directed by Michael Mann. Michael Mann doing a period crime movie? From the director that brought you Heat, Collateral, and Miami Vice...enough said.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry, Hermione, Ron and friends return to Hogwarts and face Lord Voldemort again in this sixth installment of the series. The last one was the best film realization yet. Perfectly captured the agonizing finality of Sirius' death, will this manage to elevate the puzzling finality of Dumbledore's?

Inglorious Basterds
After a string of films with female leads (Jackie Brown, Kill Bill, Deathproof) QT has managed to ignore his foot fetish long enough to shoot a WWII all male mercenary team movie (Alternate title: The Really Dirty Dozen). What can I say? I'm under the age of 30, and therefore I must love Quentin.

Shutter Island
Martin Scorsese directs Leonardo DiCaprio for the fourth time in a thriller about U.S. Marshall's pursuing of a female escaped convict. That brief synopsis leaves out the fact that he's adapting another of Dennis Lehane's books, which usually make great movies (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone).

Where the Wild Things Are
Director Spike Jones brings to life Maurice Sendak's classic children's book about a boy transported to a world of monsters. I'm no Spike Lee fan, but Where the Wild Things Are needs to be seen.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox
An animated telling of Roald Dahl's beloved novel from director Wes Anderson ("Rushmore" and "The Royal Tennenbaums"). One of my favorite directors, whether this will be CG or not remains to be seen (or rather, researched on the internet). My second most anticipated kids movie.

Sherlock Holmes
Robert Downey Jr. brings the legendary London sleuth to life, with Jude Law as the faithful Dr. Watson and directed by Guy Ritchie. Okay, if you had asked me a few years ago which part of that equation would worry me most, Guy Ritchie wouldn't have been it. But after a slew of absolute crap, I am praying he doesn't screw what looks like my most anticipated movie of 2009 (Watchmen is a close second, however, the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were one of my first loves).

The Road
The second Cormac McCarthy movie in as many years is a post-apocalyptic tale of father and son crossing a burned out United States. I really liked No Country for Old Men and this movie deals with subject matter much closer to my own interests, plus it's directed by the guy who made The Proposition (almost like an Australian Unforgiven).