There’s some great stuff coming out at your local movie house this season and I thought I’d post a few trailer links just to whet some movie-lover appetites (release dates are subject to change):
Zathura opens November 11th and is an outer space version of Jumanji that just looks fantastic. It looks to be a great movie for the family and for the science fiction geek as well…I mean what sci fi geek hasn’t dreamt of suddenly being in outer space. I hope it lives up to its hype as it looks to be great fun. Trailer here.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire opens November 18th. I must profess that I have not read any of the HP books and have only seen one of the movies…the second installment I believe…and thus have not been caught up in the HP phenomenon. I am thankful, however, for the impact J.K. Rowling has had on bringing children back to reading. Despite not seeing the other films I have to say that this film looks incredible. The kids are more grown up which appeals to me and the film looks to be more adventure laden on the lines of films like LOTR. I wouldn’t mind seeing this one and though one might be slightly lost on minute details without having an introduction to the universe this film looks to me like it was made to stand alone and attract first time viewers. This film will no doubt be a fall blockbuster. Trailer here.
The Ice Harvest opens November 23rd. This isn’t a movie I plan to see in the theatres but it is one I’m interested in for a number of reasons, the strongest being that it is a John Cusak film. I became a Cusak fan in college and have rarely been disappointed by his work. This film looks to be a black comedy along the lines of Grosse Point Blank and has the added fun of being set in Wichita and Kansas City. Its from the guy who made Groundhog Day and Analyze This so it has the potential of being quite entertaining. Trailer here.
Rent opens November 23rd and is the movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical of the same name. I have not seen the musical and know nothing about it but as a fan of musicals I’d really like to see this one. The trailer looks really good (I recommend trailer 1 for quality) and I really like the song they feature in it. Looks interesting.
Aeon Flux opens December 2nd and is the movie adaptation of the bizarre MTV animated series. I haven’t seen the series but I’m really looking forward to this movie. Looks like a great blend of science fiction and action with a hot chick (Charlize Theron) doing some major butt-kicking…what more could a sci fi geek want? Opening the main site in the above link will start the trailer automatically.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe opens December 9th. With the end of Peter Jackson’s epic Lord of the Rings series I had been lamenting the fact that Christmas would not be bringing a similar quality of movie…until I heard about the Narnia film. While I don’t expect it to occupy the same place in my affections I do think it looks to be a fantastic film based on a wonderful piece of classic children’s literature. The trailer page is here and I recommend watching the newest trailer, trailer 2, as it is incredible! I can’t wait to see this one.
King Kong opens December 14th. Since PJ’s dominating hold over the box office for the past several years who hasn’t been looking forward to his next big film? I remember seeing both versions of King Kong as a child but have little remembrance of either and I’ve been psyched about this ever since the trailer first hit theatres. It looks incredible and I hope it is the blockbuster everyone expects it to be. Not wanting to wait to begin cashing in on his masterpiece Peter Jackson is releasing a DVD extravaganza called the Production Diaries loaded with extra geek appealing items. Check it out here (scroll to bottom of page). I can’t wait to see dinosaurs and a big monkey on the big screen!!!
The Producers opens December 16th. Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane reprise their roles of the hit Broadway musical of the same name. I really enjoy both of these stars and, again, I love musicals so this is a must see. I saw Matthew Broderick in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on Broadway several years ago and he was fantastic and I have no doubt this will be as well. Trailer here.
Mrs. Henderson Presents opens December 23rd. “Set in pre-World War II London, Mrs Henderson Presents tells the remarkable true-life story of one of England’s most prominent and eccentric society figures, Laura Henderson, who founded the historic Windmill Theatre.” I really enjoy Dame Judi Dench and this looks like a fun, entertaining period film. Despite the risque nature of some of the theatrical productions at the Windmill Theatre I would imagine that this will be a mostly tasteful, tongue in cheek reimagining of said shows. This may be another that I don’t catch until it comes on DVD, but it looks enjoyable. Trailer here.
Underworld: Evolution opens January 20th, 2006. The first one was terrific vampire/werewolf goodness and the sequel promises to be just as cool. The website is still pretty barebones but there is a link to the trailer here.
Well, that’s all for now. I’ll soon be applying for loans so I can afford to see all the movies I want to see this season.
Can’t wait for these movies. There are a few out now I want to see – I just haven’t had the time. I have a week off at Thanksgiving and at Christmas so I hope to get caught up then. Thanks for the “previews.”
Carl, you really should see the third movie, Prisoner of Azkaban! It’s much darker than the first two. I just went to see it at an IMAX theater last week (probably my 4th viewing of the movie), and wow! The dementors alone are worth going to see and the werewolf, too…damn good scene!
I’m also looking forward to seeing King Kong…not that this has anything to do with the movie, but did you see how much weight Peter Jackson has lost? I think I liked him better hobbity 🙂 altho healthwise, it’s better for him.
I need to work more just so I don’t have to take out a loan to see all these cool movies. I have all the HP films on DVD if you want to borrow them so you can get caught up before the Goblet of Fire comes out. They are all really fun and well done.
I’m really looking forward to the Narnia film because I remember reading the whole series of books when I was a kid and now I can’t remember anything about them except for the fact that I remember the feeling of really enjoying them at the time. So I can’t wait to essentially experience them all over again for the first time. Ya know what I mean?
Polar Express is also coming out on IMAX this fall and I want to go see it again this year. My daughter and I really enjoyed it last year.
I don’t have time to catch up on all the HP before the 18th, thanks though. Too much going on. You and Janet should both do a guest review for me that weekend since I know you’ll both be rushing out to see it.
That Aeon Flux poster is one of the coolest movie posters I’ve seen in a long time.
Great stuff coming up…Producers looks hilarious.
Thanks for the previews, Carl. I have to say, I’m looking forward to Potter and Narnia; the trailers were breathtaking.
I am also very interested in RENT, although, I’m going to have a very difficult time with it. The musical (which I was lucky enough to see) moved me deeply, and I cry EVERY TIME I see a trailer or tv ad. The song featured in the ads is one of the best ones, but “Seasons of Love” is so much more incredible. It gives me chills just reading the title.
Looks like I’ll have lots to do over my winter break!
i get to see Zathura tomorrow night!
can’t wait.. glad it’s free since there are so many good ones coming out that i might have to pay for…
Lucky you Angela! Its been a long time since I’ve gotten any sneak preview tickets…need to make some friends with movie theatre people!
between my roomate’s & my connections, we get free ones at least every other week.
we are lucky. 🙂
eep! if only i could transmit the convulsion of joy i’ll be going into for HP & LWW.
& let’s not forget Tideland, Night Watch, Walk the Line, the Libertine, Memoirs of a Geisha, & (ha ha) Bloodrayne?
There are indeed several other movies that I didn’t post about over these next 3 months that I’d like to see…but many of them will end up as Netflix DVD’s cuz I just don’t have the time or money to see them all…how much does that suck??? 🙂
You ever notice Billy Bob is in a lot of movies, but they never really do that great. Not since Sling Blade has he been in anything as huge. Man is he getting old, too. He looks as though he could use a blood transfusion. I wonder where he could get some.
In reply about Peter Jackson’s weight, no kidding!! The only way I knew for sure it was him was the scraggly beard. The trailer in the theater for King Kong was a “making of”. It looks totally awesome. I might have to end my self induced boycott of the theater to see that. BTW it’s just that I feel for the money there wasn’t much out there worth the theater.
Oooh, Jenn, The Libertine! Yeah…can’t wait for that!
there’s a link to a trailer in the “currents” bit on the fish…it’s delectable.
johnny depp, john malkovich, & sam morton…& pomp & courts & kings & plays & sex. woohoo!
Tom!!!! Welcome back! John Rhys-Davies who played Gimli did the same thing as PJ. If you watch the extras on Two Towers he is all of a sudden much, much thinner than he was during the filming of the show. He must have also went on a pretty severe diet. I’m happy for PJ that he trimmed down…he looked close to heart attack weight! I may be selfish but I don’t want him dying early when he probably has a ton of more great movies to make!
I agree, I will have to take out a loan for all these movies on top of that find the time! I read Narnia as a child myself and loved it, I can’t wait to see it. I am also a huge fan of John Cusak. I have also been excited for the Aeon Flux, I rememeber watching that on MTV growing up too. I have no doubts that it will be wonderful. I guess any time I am conflicted about what movie to see I can come here, scroll and pick. Thanks for all the reviews!
Also someone else who lost a ton of weight is the actor who played the roomate to Ashton Kutcher in Butterfly Effect. I don’t know his name but he is-was huge. He’s in that new series “Earl” or something like that. He must have lost 50-60 lbs. Even though I like him big, the actor who plays Hurley on Lost really does need to cut down.
Speaking of star weight loss, that cost Brian Cox his job as the voice of Aslan in Narnia. Director Andrew Adamson thought that his voice wasn’t deep enough any more. So he went with Liam Neeson instead.
In the world of drama, how about Munich? Spielberg’s biopic of the Black September tragedy.
Munich looks interesting. I got Session 9 in the other day and we are planning on watching it this weekend.
Alright! It’s about time, C-man. Great movie. I’ve been in the mood for some horror/thriller movies ever since Halloween. I watched The Ring with my cousins because they were in the mood for a real good scare. That did the trick. I’d like to see some of those other recent remakes — Dark Water, Ring 2, Amityville Horror.
Hey, you really need to Netflix the Aeon Flux series. They’re really cool.
Oh, and Netflix has a great documentary about the Munich events called One Day in September.
I may do that with the Aeon Flux series but I’ll probably wait until after the movie sometime. I haven’t seen Ring Two despite really liking the first one…it didn’t do well at the box office and I have a feeling its not very good. I really like Jennifer Connelly and will end up seeing Dark Water sometime.
Wow, Kong trailer #2 looks amazing!!!
ring 2 sucks!
you want to see a good scary movie. STORM OF THE CENTURY
I don’t know that I’ve seen the second trailer for Kong…will have to check that out. I began my yearly watching of the extras on the extended editions of LOTR today and was enjoying them so much I added the King Kong production diaries extravaganza to my Christmas list.
Jason…I figured as much with Ring Two. I almost don’t want to ever see it just cuz I liked the first one so much. I’ll have to look into Storm.
I rented Amityville Horror last night. Terrible. Just awful. There were two genuinely good moments, that if you were to watch them totally out of context, you’d appreciate their chill. One was a moment where I swear Jason Reynolds was channeling Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
But the movie on a whole sucked!
Storm of the Century… the Stephen King mini series? Most of his made for TV movies have sucked too. The Stand was good.
I would’ve only watched AH for Ryan Reynolds because I loved him in Blade Trinity but frankly I have no interest in seeing this and probably never will.