My Most Anticipated Movies of 2009

I figured that, since we’re getting closer to the summer movie schedule, now would be as good a time as any to post my list of movies that I anticipate seeing over the course of 2009. It’s definitely a truncated list, based on what I knew was coming out at the end of 2008. All release dates are subject to change, and additions to the list are a definite possibility.

The list of films is grouped by month. It starts out with April and goes to December. At the beginning of each month, I’ll be posting a new entry more information about each of the movies for that month, including (if available) a trailer for the film. I’ll also be expanding on my reasons for wanting to see the film, and whatever else strikes me at the time.

EarthEarth (April 22, 2009) – This follows the story of three families: Polar Bear, Humpback Whale, and Elephant. It’s the first release from Disney’s new Disneynature imprint. The trailer used to feature the narration of Patrick Stewart, who originally narrated it for the international release in 2007, but for the U.S. release this year, James Earl Jones has re-recorded the narration. I wonder why they did that?

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1, 2009) – This is finally going to tell the full story of Wolverine, and even includes portions of the official origin story of Wolverine that was released about 8 or so years ago. It went under the title “Origin” and needed no introduction to what it was about. I have high hopes for this one, as it’s the first X-Men movie in a few years.
Terminator Salvation (May 21, 2009) – I was late to the fandom of the Terminator series, having first seen the first couple of movies just prior to seeing Terminator 3 in theatres. I really like the soundtrack, and the second two films were really interesting. Yes, I liked the third one. I thought it was a great and highly entertaining movie. So with the plan for a new trilogy, we’ll see how it goes. I’m kinda worried about this one, that it won’t be as relatable as the other films in the series. The setting of the movie being after Judgement Day puts it into a new stage of storytelling, but I don’t know if that’s going to be enough. Time will tell!
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (May 22, 2009) – I’m probably in the minority on this one, based on the response on many websites that I read, but I’m really looking forward to this film. I was surprised by the first one, and liked it a lot. This one looks like it’ll be pretty fun, but there are a few parts of the trailer that I don’t quite understand in the context of the rules set by the first film.
Up (May 29, 2009) – Pixar is brilliant, and they have yet to make a movie to completely disappoint me. The only one that I haven’t really cared for that much is A Bug’s Life, but that’s primarily because of the circus sequence and bugs. Quite literally all of the rest are nothing short of brilliant films that are both timeless and appealing to people of all ages.

Land of the Lost (June 5, 2009) – When I was young, I watched a few episodes of the tv show. Then I saw some of the newer tv series. This one is intriguing. I think that it’ll be a fun movie, and I am hoping that it’s not a disappointment. It’s kinda strange with it being so close to the release of Night at the Museum 2 and Up, but it’s about time that we get a few family friendly movies in such a short time.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 24, 2009) – Let me just put it this way: I saw Transformers in theatres 5 times. Three times in the regular theatres and two times on IMAX. I am going to be seeing this one at least that many times, guaranteed. I’m going to say that this will be my favorite movie of the year. I don’t know of any other movie that I’m looking forward to more than this. Unless it’s Transformers 3 immediately following. Too bad that’ll probably be in 2011.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (July 1, 2009) – Not sure why the Dinosaurs are appearing after the Ice Age, as far as the theoretical timeline is concerned. The second film in the series was kind of a let down, as it ended at about the same point that it started. I hope that it is better than the second one. The first one was amazing.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 17, 2008) – This has promise, as it’s the same director as Order of the Phoenix. I have only liked every other film, from Prisoner of Azkaban on. Which means that I’ve only liked two of the Harry Potter movies so far. The fact that the same director is handling the rest, that directed the fifth, gives me hope that the series will remain dark.
G-Force (July 24, 2009) – This film is about a team of guinea pigs that do espionage. My girlfriend loves guinea pigs, so I’m going to see this with her. Nuff said.

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (August 7, 2009) – I was never much of a fan of G.I. Joe when I was a kid. I was more into Voltron, ThunderCats, He-Man, Transformers and The Real Ghostbusters. But I’ll give this a shot. It looked really interesting as far as the trailer was concerned, and that was enough that a lot of friends of mine were really intrigued and the talked about it a lot. It’s not the one I’m most looking forward to, but it’s the only release in August that I’m interested in at this time.
When in Rome (August 7, 2009) – I was in New York and walked through the set accidentally when they were shooting it. That’s the only reason I know anything about this movie. I don’t know if I want to see it, but I am curious to see the scene that was shot when I was there, if nothing else.
Bandslam (August 14, 2009) – Walden Media’s lone 2009 entry. I like their films, and am curious about this one.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (September 24, 2009) – The final role that Heath Ledger played before his tragic death. He only finished a quarter of it, in the end. The craziest thing about it is that the screenplay actually allowed for more than one actor to play the role that he had. Initially, he was going to continue with the character, with the character remaining the same through the whole thing. After his death, they reverted back to the original plan, with Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell stepping in to finish the film in honor of Heath Ledger. That cast and character alone is enough to intrigue me about the movie.

Toy Story (3D) (October 2, 2009) – This is an obvious choice and one that really needs no introduction. I love this movie, and seeing it in 3D is going to be incredible.
Where the Wild Things Are (October 16, 2009) – A book from my childhood that everyone seemed to love except for me. I wasn’t quite sure what to think of it when I read it and I still don’t remember it very much. I think I read it once in first or second grade. From what I understand, the movie was shot, played at a festival and was re-shot later on. I have an interest in seeing it based on that alone.

A Christmas Carol (November 6, 2009) – Nothing will ever top the Muppet Christmas Carol as the best version of the classic Dickens tale, but I’m pretty intrigued by this one. It’s the third film in Robert Zemekis’ fascination with computer animated films created with Motion Capture technology. His Polar Express was well done, but could have been a lot better, had the characters actually matched their descriptions or had expressions to match the situations. Hopefully this one is better than his boring and atrocious Beowulf.

Avatar (December 18, 2009) – James Cameron’s first film since 1997’s Titanic. It’s also his project that he’s been working on for about twenty years. Apparently it’s using technology to film the movie that’s never been used before. Cameron is a pioneer of film, inventing new techniques and breaking boundaries. There hasn’t been a single shot of footage from the movie that has been released yet, and I wish it could stay that way. I wouldn’t mind if I went into this movie completely blind to the content of it. I have a feeling that it’ll be incredible.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel (December 25, 2009) – I didn’t want to see the first one, initially, because in the original cartoon the chipmunks were about 3 feet tall. For the film, they took a more “realistic” route. Instead of 3-foot tall singing chipmunks, they used life-size singing chipmunks. Turns out that the movie wasn’t all that bad, and the sequel promises to have the Chipettes join the fray.
The Princess and the Frog (December 25, 2009) – This could be the beginning of a new golden age for Disney animation. The first hand-drawn Disney film since Home on the Range, which I did not see, looks to be a classic and a potential masterpiece. I hope that it works out for Disney Animation, and helps to kickstart a new era of greatness from Disney. It would allow them to leave the CG films to Pixar, though they did a great job with a few of their productions. Meet the Robinsons and Bolt were terrific, and showed glimpses of the return to greatness. All I know about this film is that it includes the first African American Disney Princess, she’s from New Orleans, and it’s hand-drawn. I also know the title. That’s it.
Sherlock Holmes (December 25, 2009) – I’m definitely curious about this one. I’ve really liked the Sherlock Holmes stories that I’ve heard, and I have heard some interesting things about this reboot to the series. For one thing, they’ve brought in a character that only appeared in one of the Holmes novels. For another, arch-nemesis Moriarty may not even appear in this film.

And that’s it! My full list of movies that I want to see in 2009. The only one missing from the release list is Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. There’s no solid release date yet, but it could be sometime in the Summer or Fall. Again, look for future articles each month, as the list is altered and grows or shrinks based on how certain films are shaping up, or if the release dates change. It’s going to be a really good year for film.

2 Comments

  1. I can’t wait for Avatar and The Princess and the Frog. Harry Potter even more so… (but thinking about the fact that they just postponed it for the sake of making more money in the summer tears my heart apart…)

    • The problem with the release date of Harry Potter was nothing to do with making more money. They know that the same number of people will probably see Harry Potter regardless of the release date, as it’s proved successful in both November and July. The problem is in investors. What would happen if Warner Brothers had released a sure fire hit at the end of the year that it released The Dark Knight? Well, not only would they have to find a way to match the money made with Dark Knight and Potter combined, but they’d have to act very fast, as they had nothing else of that caliber prepared for release. So instead of failing to at least come close to the numbers made, they opted to try to match the the box office as much as possible. That way the investors are happy and they can lessen the damage that could happen from being too successful in one year, and having nothing to follow up with the next year.

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