2010 Movie Preview

1. Daybreakers (January 8)

Lineup: Directed by Michael and Peter Spierig; starring Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, Willem Dafoe.

The Pitch: Its 2019, and a virus has turned nearly all humans into vampires. Faced with a diminishing blood supply, the vamps scheme for a solution. Meanwhile, the few remaining humans scheme for survival.

Outlook: Remember that scene in Blade: Trinity where Blade discovers the blood farm? Well, imagine that as a whole movie. Vampire fatigue is high, so this one really needs to dig deep if it hopes to wake us from the dead. (Willem Dafoe with a crossbow? Good start...)

2. Youth in Revolt (January 8)

Lineup: Directed by Miquel Arteta; starring Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Ray Liotta.

The Pitch: Based on the novel of the same name, Youth stars Cera as a meek teen (of course) trying to make the sticky leap into manhood. In the process, he develops a Tyler Durden-esque alter ego who gets him into all sorts of trouble.

Outlook: Despite staying firmly in Cera's safety zone, Youth seems to have a nastier edge than some of his other movies and that's more than welcome.

3. The Book of Eli (January 15)

Lineup: Directed by Albert and Allen Hughes; starring Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, Gary Oldman.

The Pitch: Denzel journeys through a post-apocalyptic landscape rife with murderous bandits and psychopaths. At least he packed some light reading.

Outlook: The Hughes Brothers have been off the radar since 2001's From Hell, so let's hope all that time off has refreshed their batteries. Eli looks to be more Mad Max than I Am Legend, and we are stoked to see Gary Oldman return to a looneytoons villain role. You've been missed, Gary.

4. Legion (January 22)

Lineup: Directed by Scott Stewart; starring Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Charles S. Dutton.

The Pitch: God has decided he's bored with humans so he sends his less-than-cuddly angels down to wipe us out. Rebellious archangel Michael (Bettany) disagrees and comes down to give mankind a fighting chance.

Outlook: Don't let the angel stuff fool you, this ain't Oh God, You Devil. These angels are demonic, and Bettany's Michael is armed to the teeth like a celestial Terminator. Not to mention that seeing the humans holed up in a desert diner while Biblical plagues rain down on them is like some odd mixture of From Dusk Til Dawn and The 10 Commandments.

5. The Tooth Fairy

Lineup: Directed by Michael Lembeck; starring Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd, Julie Andrews.

The Pitch: A tough hockey player (Johnson) is somehow forced to take over the duties of the tooth fairy until such time as life lessons are learned.

Outlook: No. Sorry, but no. Next?

6. Edge of Darkness (January 29)

Lineup: Directed by Martin Campbell; starring Mel Gibson.

The Pitch: Gibson's homicide detective hunts for clues and conspiracies following the death of his activist daughter.

Outlook: In Gibson's first real starring role since 2002's Signs, questions abound whether he's still a viable on-screen presence. And a grieving Mel Gibson on screen can be a task to watch (Signs, The Patriot). But an asskicking, revenge-seeking Mel Gibson is always a treat.

7. The Wolfman (February 12)

Lineup: Directed by Joe Johnston; starring Benico Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt.

The Pitch: Del Toro is a nobleman who returns to his family estate after the mysterious disappearance of his brother. Someone gets hairy at midnight, but hopefully refuses to take up basketball and/or boxing.

Outlook: Has suffered innumerable delays, and the hype power has definitely dwindled. And although Benicio is usually great, will he be credible as a gentlemen in Victorian England? Let's hope so, because we'd love to see someone forcibly take the werewolf mantle from the Shiba Inu pups posing as lycanthropes in Twilight.

8. Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Lineup: Directed by Chris Columbus; starring Logan Lerman, Kevin McKidd, Steve Coogan.

The Pitch: A shameless (and kinda late) attempt to out-Harry Potter Harry Potter-- they even snagged the director of the first two Potter films. Percy Jackson is about a kid who discovers he’s related to the Greek Gods.

Outlook: When did the words "based on the beloved book series" become such a red flag? Probably around the time no one bothered to really look into that whole "beloved" part. Percy is late to the game, and will probably bow out quickly. For our Greek God fix, we'll wait for Clash of the Titans.

9. Shutter Island (February 19)

Lineup: Directed by Martin Scorsese; starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley.

The Pitch: DiCaprio and Ruffalo are detectives investigating an inmate's disappearance at a mental institution. Once on Shutter Island, things go all helter skelter.

Outlook: Although bogged by delays like Wolfman, this is hard not to see as a safe bet. The trailer is genuinely creepy and looks to build atmosphere like a champ thriller. We just hope it doesn't (as we suspect) give away the whole thing.

10. I Love You Phillip Morris (February 12)

Lineup: Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa; starring Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor.

The Pitch: After a life-changing traumatic event, Steven Russel (Jim Carrey) decides to come out of the closet and disregard the law. While in jail, he falls in love.

Outlook: Fun with Dick and Dick? No Jane this time around, but hopefully they handle gay comedy better than I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry. Carrey is surprisingly good when he stretches (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and McGregor is solid.

11. Cop Out (Formerly titled A Couple of Dicks) (February 26)

Lineup: Directed by Kevin Smith; starring Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan.

The Pitch: A buddy cop comedy pitting Willis' stone cold growl against Morgan's wackiness.

Outlook: This is the first time Smith is directing a movie he didn't write--and since he's not known for his cinematic skills (put camera on tripod, have people stand around talking. Cut. Repeat), that's a dicey proposition. Not to mention we've seen this comedy set-up a million times. We expect more from Morgan than Chris Tucker's leftovers.

12. Alice in Wonderland (March 6)

Lineup: Directed by Tim Burton; starring Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska.

The Pitch: quirky-fantastical duo Burton and Depp take their trip down the rabbit hole.

Outlook: Seems like a no-brainer, but let's hope Burton doesn't try and get too fancy and over-Burton himself like he did with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. [ trailer]

13. Green Zone (March 12)

Lineup: Directed by Paul Greengrass; starring Matt Damon.

The Pitch: Damon gets in on the Iraq War movie rush with this story about a rogue U.S. soldier who decides he's going to find the weapons of mass destruction his damn self.

Outlook:The Bourne Insurgency? Damon and Greengrass struck gold with the forgetful spy adventures, but is this one going to fall victim to our country's war fatigue? (We’ll still be first in line to see it.)

14. Season of the Witch (March 19)

Lineup: Directed by Dominic Sena; starring Nicolas Cage, Ron Pearlman.

The Pitch: Cage stars as a 14th century knight who has to transport a suspected witch to a monastery in an effort to end the Black Plague.

Outlook: Cage as a knight? C'mon. We already know he has a low tolerance for Medieval tortures.

15. Clash of the Titans (March 26)

Lineup: Directed by Louis Letterier; starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes.

The Pitch: a remake of the ultimate fantasy epic, complete with Olympian gods.

Outlook: Almost regardless of execution, a movie with Medusa, Zeus, Hades, giant scorpions and flying horses promises to be at least moderately entertaining. We understand the need to update it for a contemporary audience, but don't get too fast and furious on us. Letterier (The Incredible Hulk), Worthington (Avatar) and Neeson (Taken) are all coming off wins, so let's hope they keep the streak alive.

16. Date Night (April 9)

Lineup: Directed by Shawn Levy; starring Steve Carell, Tina Fey.

The Pitch: A boring married couple momentarily assume a new identity, which leads to all sorts of hijinks. Many of which threaten hilarity.

Outlook: Trite set-up, but we have to think that the combined comedy might of Carell and Fey is enough to garner at least a few solid laughs.

17. The Losers (April 9)

Lineup: Directed by Sylvain White; starring Idris Elba, Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

The Pitch: Based on the comic book series of the same name, The Losers is about a badass black ops unit that is betrayed and left for dead. They reunite to exact some firey revenge.

Outlook: If the comic is any indication, this could be the sleeper action hit of the year. A great cast and a can't-miss set up, this could be the quotable explosion-fest we've been lacking for a while. (At least since Wanted.)

18. Kick-Ass (April 16)

Lineup: Directed by Matthew Vaughn; starring Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong, Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

The Pitch: A nerdy high-school student, bored and lonely, decides to become a super-hero. Apparently, skills/powers aren't required.

Outlook: Nic Cage pops up again, but this time his lunacy may actually serve him well. Kick Ass is based on an ultra violent comic book that relies heavily on pitch-black humor. This could be just off the beaten path enough to work.

19. MacGruber (April 16)

Lineup: Directed by Jorma Toccone; starring Will Forte, Kristin Wiig, Val Kilmer

The Pitch: The Saturday Night Live spoof of MacGyver gets its own movie.

Outlook: <cough>

20. Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps (April 23)

Lineup: Directed by Oliver Stone; starring Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf.

The Pitch: Stone returns to one of his finest hours, this time pitting LeBeouf's young trader against a fresh-from-the-joint Gordon Gekko amid the 2008 stock market crash.

Outlook: If Charlie Sheen cameos in some depraved form or another, we might be in. Otherwise, it's not like Stone and Douglas are on the top of their games and LaBeof all too often equals LaBad. Plus, these days people are only interested in seeing stock market traders on the end of spikes.

21. A Nightmare on Elm Street (April 30)

Lineup: Directed by Samuel Bayer; starring Jackie Earle Haley.

The Pitch: Yes, a remake of a horror film. Surprise! This time, we're forced to revisit Freddy Kreuger - but don't worry, fans, this remake is careful not to change anything. Not even the color of Freddy's sweater. Whew. Almost had brain overload for a second, huh? Just relax...

Outlook: Enough. Stop remaking classic horror movies without so much as changing a line of dialogue. It's pointless, shameless, and is the reason horror movies are back in the crapper after a brief resurgence.

22. Iron Man 2 (May 7)

Lineup: Directed by Jon Favreau; starring Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson.

The Pitch: When we last left him, Tony Stark shocked the world by quitting the weapons trade and revealing himself as Iron Man. Now, he has to deal with a nefarious gun-peddler looking to fill the vacuum (Rockwell), his new assistant with possible spy links (Johansson) and a Russian baddie with his own suit of whip-wielding armor (Rourke).

Outlook: Downey Jr.'s charisma and timing can do no wrong, and the addition of hulking lunatic Rourke is exciting. Not to mention that the track record for superhero part 2's (X-Men, Spider-Man, Blade, Batman) is usually excellent. In fact, they tend to be better than the first.

23. Stone (May 7)

Lineup: Directed by John Curran, starring Robert De Niro, Edward Norton.

The Pitch: Norton plays a prison inmate to De Niro's parole officer. Norton's wife (Milla Jovovich) seduces De Niro in what looks like some serious blackmail.

Outlook: A return to deadly serious subject matter could be just the right career moves for both Norton and De Niro. Or this could be like The Score and making its debut on Cinemax by mid-June.

24. Robin Hood (May 14)

Lineup: Directed by Ridley Scott; starring Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett.

The Pitch: Take from the rich and give to the poor, damnit!

Outlook: Just as Scott and Crowe erased all memories of godawful sword and sandal epics with Gladiator, so they should forever make amends to the spirit of Robin Hood for the bludgeoning it took from Kevin Costner. [ trailer]

25. Shrek Forever After (May 21)

Lineup: Directed by Mike Mitchell; starring Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz.

The Pitch: Shrek is back for blah blah blah blah [money].

Outlook: You'd think afer the diminishing returns from Shrek the Third (at least critically) would halt the franchise, but no! Not when they have perfectly good pun titles to use. Looking forward to Shrek: Fi Five Fo Fum or Shrek Takes the Fifth.

26. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (May 28)

Lineup: Directed by Mike Newell; starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton.

The Pitch: Based on the popular video game, Gyllenhaal plays the princely aerialist who trapezes through Persia fooling around with time.

Outlook: This looks to be a visual banquet, but don't expect the plot to blow your mind in a good way. Video game movies are cinematic widowmakers, and the main cast is so ethnically out of place that this will infuriate Persians in a way that'll make 300's ten-foot drag queen Xerxes seem quaint.

27. Marmaduke (June 4)

Lineup: Directed by Tom Dey; starring Owen Wilson.

The Pitch: Remember the comic strip about the comically-oversized Great Dane and his misadventures that barely had enough story to warrant more than a single panel? Well, it's a movie now.

Outlook: Wasn't Marley and Me enough? Apparently, Wilson has now decided to commit career suicide instead.

28. The A-Team (June 11)

[For you kids out there, this obviously isn't the trailer for the movie. It's the TV show opening and it's epic. Shut up.]

Lineup: Directed by Joe Carnahan; starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, Quintin "Rampage" Jackson.

The Pitch: The 80s action/comedy about a bunch of vets on the run doing good deeds finally comes to the big screen after many false starts. Smokin' Aces and Narc director Carnahan takes the reins.

Outlook: If they maintain the right balance between jokes and action, this could work. And the cast is, for the most part, spot-on. Neeson as Hannibal? Check. Cooper as Face? Perfect. Copley as Murdoch? He's going to surprise a lot of people. The only question mark is Jackson. The ultimate fighter is tough enough for B.A., but can he act?

29. Toy Story 3 (June 18)

Lineup: Directed by Lee Unkrich; starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen.

The Pitch: The long-anticipated third outing for Buzz and Woody finally arrives. Let's just hope the batteries are still fresh enough.

Outlook: Doubting Pixar is a fool's game. We'd be surprised if this one is terrible. Odds are it will work on us yet again.

30. Jonah Hex (June 18)

Lineup: Directed by Jimmy Hayward; starring Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox.

The Pitch: Brolin plays mutilated former Confederate soldier-turned-bounty hunter in this adaptation of the DC Comics character.

Outlook: After No Country for Old Men it's clear Brolin was born to suffer his way through the West. And nobody does villains with quite the same quirky intensity as Malkovich. And Fox is hot. So far, we're not seeing a downside.

31. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (July 2)

Lineup: Directed by David Slade; starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.

The Pitch: Brooding, Brooding, heartbreaking 2-minute encounter, more brooding. After hearing about Stewart's chain-smoking habit we think she should light up in the movie. What better brooding accessory?

Outlook: Millions of tweenage twihards embark will stampede. Guys ponder how to possibly exploit fantasizing girls for their own ends. Mothers will act like it’s a chore to attend this with their daughter, but hoot and holler when greasy topless boy-wolfs make an appearance. Men and the literary-minded will avoid.

32. Predators (July 9)

Lineup: Directed by Nimrod Antal; starring Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, and Danny Trejo.

The Pitch: A group of international criminals go head-to-head with the butt-ugly manhunters. But this time, they're on the predator's home world.

Outlook: Who Knows? But, c'mon - Trading in Arnold, Jesse Ventura, and Carl Weathers for Adrien Brody and Topher Grace has to be a joke, right? Do the Predators attack a Death Cab for Cutie show?

33. The Sorcerer's Apprentice (July 16)

Lineup: Directed by Jon Turtletaub; starring Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel.

The Pitch: Cage is a wizard living in modern-day New York who takes a kid under his wing and shows him how to do magic wizard things. Like Harry Potter, if instead of going to school Harry dropped out and hung around with the guys living underneath Penn Station.

Outlook: Cage's approach to 2010 seems to be: "One of these movies has to hit, right?" Let's hope he's right. Those European castles aren’t going to pay for themselves.

34. Inception (July 16)

Lineup: Directed by Christopher Nolan; starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph-Gordon Levitt.

The Pitch: The actual plot is being guarded more heavily than our nation's secrets, so we have no idea what, exactly, this is about. The first teaser trailer has a Matrix-y feel to it.

Outlook: After Memento, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight, expect Nolan to blow your mind out of your a**hole.

35. Salt (July 23)

Lineup: Directed by Phillip Noyce; starring Angelina Jolie.

The Pitch: Jolie plays a CIA agent on the run after she's accused of being a Russian spy.

Outlook: It's hard to not feel like Matt Damon covered this territory. Successfully. Three times. Although we're willing to let Jolie have some fun just as long as we get to watch.

36. The Expendables (August 20)

Lineup: Directed by Sylvester Stallone; starring--yes, we're serious--Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, Randy Couture, Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, with rumored cameos from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Pitch: The REAL A-Team travel to South America to overthrow an oppressive dictator.

Outlook: This is the Ocean's Eleven of aging action heroes, and we can't wait for the massively entertaining ridiculousness to come fast and furious.

37. The Ward (September 24)

Lineup: Directed by John Carpenter; starring Amber Heard.

The Pitch: Heard plays an amnesiac who wakes up in a psychatric ward with no recollection of why she's there. Things go awry from there.

Outlook: John Carpenter doing Memento in a mental institution? Could work. Could also be Gothika.

38. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (November 19)

Lineup: Directed by David Yates; starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson.

The Pitch: The now young-adult wizards battle a strengthening Voldemort. Again.

Outlook: The moves have only gotten better with each new installment. But do we really need two movies to wrap everything up? Probably.

39. Tron Legacy (December 17)

Lineup: Directed by Joseph Kosinski; starring Jeff Bridges, John Hurt.

The Pitch: In this sequel to the 80s classic that pretty much birthed CGI, Bridges enters a dangerous virtual reality where real and digital collide.

Outlook: The trailer is as visually thrilling as Speed Racer with a plot we care about. Actually, make that "a plot."

40. The Green Hornet (December 22)

Lineup: Directed by Michael Gondry; starring Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz.

The Pitch: Newspaper publisher Rogen moonlights as the maked crimefighter. Based on the old timey radio, comic book, and TV character.

Outlook: The most head-scratching assembly of talent we've ever seen. Rogen as a comic book hero? Gondry (Science of Sleep, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) doing action? We haven't seen a single frame of film but we're interested.

41. Hereafter (December 2010)

Lineup: Directed by Clint Eastwood; starring Matt Damon.

The Pitch: Damon plays a psychic who can contact the dead, but prefers to do so only when necessary.

Outlook:The Ghost Whisperer vibe isn't encouraging, but we're always willing to give both Damon and Eastwood the benefit of the doubt. Speaking of which, how the hell does a 200 year-old man churn out so many high-quality movies? He truly is the greatest human being to have ever lived.

42. Love and Other Drugs (2010)

Lineup: Directed by Edward Zwick; starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway.

The Pitch: A pharmaceutical salesman works to market a new male performance enhancement drug. Based on the memoir "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman," by Jamie Reidy.

Outlook: Viagra pills are odd subject matter for the youthful Gyllenhaal and Hathaway. But we like the pairing of up-and-coming dramatic actors. If there's a Hugh Hefner cameo, however, we're leaving.

43. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)

Lineup: Directed by Edgar Wright; starring Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans.

The Pitch: based on the comic book series, Cera stars as Pilgrim, a garage bander who must battle a legion of ex-boyfriends before he can get the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flower. And we mean, literally, "battle."

Outlook: Mixing young-adult fantasy-reality friction with the comic book aesthetic could be pretty cool, and Wright's past work (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) has us expecting very good things.

44. The Social Network (2010)

Lineup: Directed by David Fincher; starring Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake.

The Pitch: It's about the origins of Facebook. Yes, really.

Outlook: We still think this one is some sort of elaborate joke. Fincher is an amazing director--Fight Club, Seven, and Zodiac, anyone?--but does the birth of a Website geared towards baby pictures and "reconnecting" with high school classmates for 15-seconds have enough dramatic meat for him to sink his teeth into? We're very doubtful.

45. The Beaver (2010)

Lineup: Directed by Jodie Foster; starring Mel Gibson.

The Pitch: A man walks around with a beaver puppet on his hand that he treats like a living thing.

Outlook: We're just...um....well...you see....who the hell knows?