General Chat / Films to anticipate in 2004

*picks up Infocus Magazine with 2003-2004 listings all the way up till december 24th and movies from March and September of 2005. like Robots - March 11th, and The Wallace and Gromit Movie Sept 30th.

Ask a month of 2004 I can tell you what it holds in store. Sorry for the brag crap if it seems that way but be happy that there are no Pokemon movies, just 2 to be afraid of.

Sponge Bob The Movie in 3-D and Yu Gi Oh...

I was hoping you'd get to july.



*drools*

I'll get there eventually...

I'm definately looking forward to King Arthur.

You know my problem, no motivation. I never finish anything I start.

Finish this thread, I love reading about movies.

This is coming along slowly but surely.

May

Van Helsing - 5/7/04

Premise: Set in the late 19th century, monster hunter Dr. Abraham Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is summoned to a mysterious land in East Europe to vanquish evil forces... evil forces with names like Count Dracula (Roxburgh), the Wolf Man (Kemp), and Frankenstein's Monster (Hensley). Assisting him once he gets there is Anna (Beckinsale), the heir of a long-running family committed to hunting down and destroying Dracula. (Anaya, Colloca and Maran play Dracula's brides; Wenham plays a friar, Carl, who escorts Van Helsing through the dangerous wilderness) The movie gets its start as Dr. Van Helsing is hunting down a mysterious monster called Mr. Hyde who has some sort of tie to a chemist, Dr. Jekyll...

The trailer is supposed to come in front of Along Came Polly so I will link it then. This is from Director Steven Sommers, who directed Universal's camp hit The Mummy. Coupled with Hugh Jackman fighting The Wolfman, Frankenstein, and Count Dracula, it should be fun as helsing.

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Troy - 5/14/04 (click title for trailer)



Cast: Brad Pitt (Achilles), Eric Bana (Prince Hector of Troy), Orlando Bloom (Prince Paris of Troy), Diane Kruger (Helen of Troy), Peter O'Toole (King Priam of Troy), Sean Bean (Odysseus), Saffron Burrows (Andromache), Rose Byrne (Briseis), Julie Christie (Thetis), Brian Cox (Agamemnon), Brendan Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund (Patroclus)

Premise: In 1193 B.C., Prince Paris (Bloom) of Troy stole the beautiful Greek woman, Helen (Kruger), away from her husband, Menelaus, the king of Sparta, setting the two nations at war with each other, as the Greeks began a bloody siege of Troy using their entire armada, led by Achilles (Pitt), that lasted over a decade... (Bana plays Hector, the leader of the Trojan forces; Byrne plays Briseis, a Trojan slave and cousin of Hector and Paris who is given to Achilles as a gift.)

When an epic film is done right, I feel there is nothing more worthwhile. It is moviemaking with a capital M. With an allstar cast, Wolfgang Peterson directing, a huge budget, and a script that got rave reviews, you have my most anticipated film of the year.

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Shrek 2 - 5/21/04 (click title for trailer)



Cast: (voices) Mike Myers (Shrek), Eddie Murphy (Donkey), Cameron Diaz (Princess Fiona), Antonio Banderas (Puss-in-Boots), Julie Andrews (Fiona's Mother, the Queen), John Cleese (Fiona's Father, King Harold), Rupert Everett (Prince Charming), Larry King (The Ugly Stepsister), John Lithgow (Prince Farquaad), Jennifer Saunders (The Fairy Godmother), Conrad Vernon (The Gingerbread Man); other voice cast not announced yet.

Premise: Picking up exactly where the first movie left off, this movie takes us to the kingdom of Far, Far Away (which looks a lot like Beverly Hills), as Shrek and Fiona return to her homeland to tell her parents (Cleese, Andrews) the good news. Not everyone is happy to find her married to an ogre, with the most irate in this group being Prince Charming (Everett), who was supposed to be the one who lifted Fiona's curse. We're also introduced to the mysterious Fairy Godmother (Saunders), and a bar called the Poison Apple, where the villains of the fairy tale world hang out, including the great ogre-slayer... Puss-in-Boots (Banderas).

For me and many others, Shrek was one best, most fun films of 2001. Now there is a sequel more akin to Toy Story 2 than The Lion King 2, meaning it should actually be damn good. With new cast members John Cleese as Fiona's father, and Antonio Banderas as the hilarious new Puss-in-Boots (see the picture), it should be another hit for CG animation.

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The Day After Tommorow - 5/28/04 (click title for trailer)

Premise: This movie takes a big-budget, special-effects-filled look at what the world would look like if the greenhouse effect and global warming continued at such levels that they resulted in worldwide catastrophe and disaster, including multiple hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes (I don't quite get the science of that one), tidal waves, floods and the beginning of the next Ice Age. At the center of the story is a paleoclimatologist (a scientist who studies the ways weather patterns changed in the past), Professor Adrian Hall (Quaid), who tries to save the world from the effects of global warming while also trying to get to his son, Sam (Gyllenhaal), who was in New York City as part of a scholastic competition, when the city was overwhelmed by the chilling beginnings of the new Ice Age. In addition to all of the other challenges Dr. Hall faces, he's also going against the flow as humanity races south to warmer climes, and he's nearly the only one going north... (Rossum plays another student, and Gyllenhaal's romantic interest; Ward plays Quaid's wife and Gyllenhaal's mother; Serrano plays Quaid's boss)

This is a mystery so far... first of all, Roland Emmerich is very inconsistent. He follows up the awesome popcorn fun of Independence Day with the almost offensively PC film The Patriot. The premise sounds really interesting, in only because in this film, the disaster actually happens and it's about how people deal with the aftermath. The trailer was amazing, but one should always be a little wary of a film like this with an amazing trailer. Still, not taking my own advice, I'm semi-excited.

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Next up, the Harry Potteriffic month of June.

June
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban - 6/4/04 (click title for trailer)



Cast: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), David Thewlis (Professor Remis Lupin), Emma Thompson (Professor Sibyll Trelawney), Peter Best (MacNair), David Bradley (Argus Filch), Julie Christie (Madam Rosmerta), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), Alfie Enoch (Dean Thomas), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Pam Ferris (Aunt Marge), Dawn French (The Fat Lady), Michael Gambon (Professor Albus Dumbledore), Jimmy Gardner (Ernie Prang), Richard Griffiths (Uncle Dursley), Joshua Herdman (Gregory Goyle), Matt Lewis (Neville Longbottom), Hugh Mitchell (Colin Creevey), Devon Murray (Seamus), Katharine Nicholson (Pansy Parkinson), Chris Rankin (Percy Weasley), Alan Rickman (Professor Snape), Fiona Shaw (Aunt Petunia), Maggie Smith (Prof. Minerva McGonagall), Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew), Jim Tavare (Tom, the Leaky Cauldron Innkeeper), Julie Walters (Mrs. Weasley), Jamie Waylett (Vincent Crabbe), Paul Whitehouse (Sir Cadogan)

Premise: Starting during the summer before Harry's third year at Hogwarts, this is the adventure that happens when he has to go on the run after an incident where he was unable to control his anger... getting on a bus, he hears about Sirius Black, a renegade wizard who was a Prisoner at Azkaban. What Harry doesn't suspect is that Black escaped to look for... him.

The first Harry Potter was flawed, but a magical film none the less as we were introduced to this interesting world. The second was an exercise in mediocrity thanks to the pedestrian work by Chris Columbus (HP1, Home Alone). The third looks to have new life breathed into it by director Alfonso Cuaron (the genius behind "Y Tu Mama Tambien"). With Gary Oldman and David Thewlis joining the cast, and the best source material in the Harry Potter universe to use, this could be a the magical film that everyone who's read the books know they can be.

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The Chronicles of Riddick - 6/11/04 (click title for trailer)


Premise: The further adventures of Riddick (Diesel) continue five years later, as the escaped convict with the ability to see in the dark finds himself caught in the middle of a galactic war between two opposing forces, with the key figure being the Lord Marshal (Feore), the leader of a sect called the Necromongers waging the "10th Crusade" in the 26th century. Helping Riddick is Aereon (Dench), the Ambassador of the "Elemental" race, who helps Riddick unearth the secrets of his origin and Kyra (Davalos), who has grown up since Riddick knew her as a preteen girl in the first movie. Attempting to free himself and Kyra from a subterranean prison, Riddick ends up on board the Necromonger flagship, where he gets his chance to face off against the Lord Marshal in a battle over the future of all beings in the galaxy, both living... and dead.

Honestly, this is just something I'm mildly interested in. It looks like a fun sci-fi adventure film (it looks sort of like Dune). I have no problem with Vin Diesel, and here he comes back as his most interesting character (Riddick from the underappreciated Pitch Black). If this does well at the Box Office, it will spawn 2 more films set in this universe to create a trilogy with Pitch Black as a prequel film.

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The Terminal - 6/18/04

Cast: Tom Hanks (Victor Navorski), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Amelia), Chi McBride, Stanley Tucci (Frank Dixon), Diego Luna, Michael Nouri, Zoe Saldana, Jude Ciccolella, Eddie Jones, Kumar Pallana (Gupta Rajan). Directed by Steven Spielberg

Premise: An immigrant (Hanks) fleeing the war that ravages his tiny Eastern European homeland finds himself stuck in the terminal of one of New York City's airports when the time of his landing coincides precisely with the point at which the war causes his nation of origin to no longer exist, meaning that his passport and paperwork are no longer valid. As a man without a home, he takes up residence in the terminal itself, befriending the staff of the airport, and falling in love with an airline flight attendant (Zeta-Jones)... (McBride plays a baggage carousel worker who uses his job to run a private business on the side; Tucci plays an Immigration and Naturalization Dept. representative; Nouri plays CZJ's love interest)

Not much aside from the basics is known about this, but it's Spielberg, and the man has been on an absolute tear recently with his films. They've all been awesome.

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Others that might be worth watching:
The Stepford Wives (6/11), Garfield (6/18), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (6/25)

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Everything is good, except for Troy.

The preview is the most horrible thing I have ever seen. Soooo bad.

Oh, and I think that Harry Poter comes out in June?

I thought Hidalgo was going to be about the Spanish guy in Mexico, there.

But I was wrong.

Has anyone seen a preview for Sky Captain? It looks preatty cool.

Has anyone seen a preview for Sky Captain? It looks preatty cool.

Looks over done.

Everything is good, except for Troy.

The preview is the most horrible thing I have ever seen.  Soooo bad.

Oh, and I think that Harry Poter comes out in June?

Except it's not. What was your problem with the Troy trailer. It's fucking awesome.

Yes, Harry Potter does come out in June, which is exactly where I put it.

Looks over done.

Now you're just pissing me off. It's supposed to look overdone, it's a throwback.

The Troy trailer was amazing - the way it slowly panned out revealing all the ships...woah!

Everything is good, except for Troy.

The preview is the most horrible thing I have ever seen.  Soooo bad.

Oh, and I think that Harry Poter comes out in June?

Except it's not. What was your problem with the Troy trailer. It's fucking awesome.

Yes, Harry Potter does come out in June, which is exactly where I put it.

It said July. I was just helping you out.

The Troy trailer just looks like shit. Sorry. And the fact that they took the Gods out of that movie is horrible.

CG in that movie is so bad.

Anyways, people are entitled to thier opinions.

It said July.  I was just helping you out.

Yeah, I realized that I accidentally wrote July after I replied to you. Sorry about that.

The Troy trailer just looks like shit.  Sorry.  And the fact that they took the Gods out of that movie is horrible.

Taking the Gods out might have been the best thing they could have done. You want it to look like Clash of the Titans all over again?

CG in that movie is so bad.

What movie are you talking about?

Troy. No worries vTd, I still love your movie stuff. Fun to read.

What movie are you talking about?

He's talking about Shrek 2.

Troy.  No worries vTd, I still love your movie stuff.  Fun to read.

Aside from the opening shot of the ships (which looks and feels much more real on the big screen), I'd bet you can't name another shot that has "terrible CG" in it. Hell, the ship shot, I'm almost certain, wasn't eve finished yet anyway.

I'm not being an ass or anything, just spurring discussion. This is why I'm doing it 2 months at a time rather than all together.

The Mask 2: Son of Mask looks hilarious, the commercial slowly shows the mask , then a baby flips out of a high chair all crazy like and it says "The Mask is Back"

The Mask 2: Son of Mask looks hilarious, the commercial slowly shows the mask , then a baby flips out of a high chair all crazy like  and it says "The Mask is Back"

The Mask 2 looks like an offense against God. In fact, I'm sure it says something in Revelations about Mask 2 being one of the signs of the Apocalypse.

Worst trailer ever.

Please tell me you're fucking kidding, because if you're not... I'm going to have to kindly ask you to stop destroying my thread with such filth.

The Mask 2 looks like an offense against God.  In fact, I'm sure it says something in Revelations about Mask 2 being one of the signs of the Apocalypse. 

Worst trailer ever.

Please tell me you're fucking kidding, because if you're not... I'm going to have to kindly ask you to stop destroying my thread with such filth.

Offence to God? Wtf are you talking about...