At WU, we feel it’s never too early to begin planning where you’re going to spend your 2007 moviegoing dollar. So many decisions. Do you wait until the film comes out on DVD, or do you bite the bullet, say goodbye to a $20 bill (factoring in snacks), and hit the theatre?
Fortunately MSN News has published a list of some of the most anticipated movies of 2007. Fantasy and action will rank high this year, as will superheroes.
Another unfortunate trend for risk-adverse Hollywood is the insistence on churning out sequels. Don’t get me wrong, sequel quality has been on the rise in the last few years. I’ll most certainly haul my butt to the theatre for Pirates of the Carribbean 3, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and possibly Shrek the Third. Why? Because these movies delivered, time and again, and I didn’t feel like I was wasting my money seeing them in the theatre. But do we really need another National Treasure 2? Mr. Bean’s Holiday? I’m sure somewhere in Hollywood, someone’s taking a meeting to produce Garfield 3: Catacular.
One of the movies I’m most eagerly awaiting is New Line’s The Golden Compass, the first installment of Philip Pullman’s wonderful His Dark Materials trilogy. New Line is an imaginative studio and they have great novel as its base, plus an exciting cast headlined by Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman. It should be good. I’m also intrigued by The Golden Age–another sequel–but this time Cate Blanchett reprises her role as Queen Elizabeth and faces off against Samantha Morton’s Mary Queen of Scots. Bonus reason: Clive Owen will play Sir Walter Raleigh.
Flops I see coming: The Bee Movie (Jerry Seinfeld plays a bee–even he seems embarrassed), Transformers (will get lost among the glut of A-list fantasy films), Fred Claus (who cares about Santa’s brother) and Charlie Wilson’s War. The latter is a ‘prestige’ film: deep subject matter, lots of stars, very earnest screenplay. It’ll win a ton of awards and everyone will wait until it comes out on DVD.
Dark horse: Sweeney Todd. I dunno, I’ve seen this musical performed live and it was weird both times. Will it really be any better up on the screen? But maybe Tim Burton will inject some visual zestiness to this black comedy that will overcome my reluctance. However, Burton did manage to screw up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, so my hopes aren’t high.
But for the most part, 2007 looks like a stellar year for escapism at the movies, and what could be bad about that?
Which movies are you interested in seeing in the theatre? Which ones are relegated to your Netflix queue?
About Kathleen Bolton
Kathleen Bolton is co-founder of Writer Unboxed. She writes under a variety of pseudonyms, including Ani Bolton. She has written two novels as Cassidy Calloway: Confessions of a First Daughter, and Secrets of a First Daughter--both books in a YA series about the misadventures of the U.S. President's teen-aged daughter, published by HarperCollins, and Tamara Blake, for the novel Slumber.
Like you, nothing short of death (my own) could keep me from seeing Harry, Pirates and Golden Compass at the theatre. I want the whole experience – the larger than life visuals, the blasting music that craddles you and sweeps you away when you least expect it, the whoops of the crowd and the artery-blocking popcorn.
The others I’ll have to wait-and-see with. I rely quite a bit on the reviews I read at rottentomatoes.com, and I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed. In fact, I recently used Rotten Tomatoes’ Best Of page to fill up my queue at NetFlix. Looks like the moment’s must-see movie is Children of Men , and I’m already mentally waiting in line to see The Queen, which I think opens widely 1/19.
THE QUEEN has been at the top of my list for a while now. I also forgot to mention Spiderman 3 opens Memorial Day weekend, and though I like Tobey McGuire, I’m kinda eh on Spidey.
You mentioning Netflix reminds me that I need to add some selections to my queue….I’m heading over there right now!
one good thing about living in the d.c. area is that movies play around here!!! i saw ‘the queen’ and is nostril-flaringly great. ‘children of men’ made me cry. and if you know me, you’ll know what part set me off. i’m anxious to see ‘miss potter’ cause i just am!!
Miss Potter DOES look interesting, Thea, despite what I feel is an obvious PR stunt to gain attention just through using the name “Potter.” But, really, I guess that’s genius.
I can’t wait to see Pirates 3. Woo hoo! The last one definitely left us all on the hook. May cannot come soon enough.
Frank Miller’s ‘300’ and Grindhouse. The Invisible also looks interesting. Evan Almighty and Ratatouille should be funny. The Simpsons movie is coming out, and the 3rd Bourne installment Bourne Ultimatum.
Stephen King’s short story The Mist is supposed to be making a screen debut in the fall next year, though knowing how these things sometimes get pushed back I wouldn’t be surprised if it was 2008.