Fun Friday–Movies I Want to See in 2008

In keeping with the theme of stuff I want to do in the upcoming months, I thought I’d share a list of upcoming movies I’d really like to see this year (in addition to several from last year I haven’t seen yet, including Enchanted, August Rush, Becoming Jane, 3:10 to Yuma, The Water Horse, P.S. I Love You, I Am Legend, Atonement, and Sweeny Todd–Caleb, that one’s for you!). I’ve listed them in order of release date, according to IMDb.com.

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale — Sure, it looks like a LOTR knock-off, but I haven’t seen a good medieval fantasy movie in a while. Don’t know that this will be good, but I might give it a chance.

27 Dresses — When I first saw the posters for this film, the “From the screenwriter of The Devil Wears Prada” at the top turned me off, and I didn’t want to see this. But having seen a few previews, it actually looks like a really fun movie.

The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie — Not a huge Veggie Tales fan, so I can wait for this one on DVD—the way Veggie Tales are supposed to be watched!

In Bruges — This movie stars two of my least favorite actors: Ralph Finnes and Collin Farrell. And yet I still want to see it.

The Spiderwick Chronicles — I haven’t read the book, and I really hope there isn’t the same kind of controversy surrounding it that there was about The Golden Compass (which I saw—one of the most boring movies I’ve ever sat through the entirety of). But having seen the previews, and being a fan of Freddie Highmore, this is one I’m definitely planning to see in the theaters as soon as it opens.

Jumper — Many years ago, a dear friend got me hooked on superhero movies by taking me to see X-Men and other movies like that. Now being hooked on the TV show Heroes, I’ve developed a fascination with stories of ordinary people (in other words, not someone coming here from another planet, Superman) developing supernatural abilities.

The Other Boleyn Girl — I will most likely not go see this one in the theater. I have this abhorrence of seeing American actresses cast in British roles—in a movie made by BBC Films!!!!—especially when said actresses (Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson) cannot maintain a decent accent for even the three-minute length of the trailer. However, I am interested enough to give it a slot on my NetFlix queue.

Penelope — IMDb shows this as having a “limited” release, which means I may have to wait for it on DVD. But it looks really good—a modern-day twist on a fairy-tale. (Oh, and Ruth, it features James McAvoy and Richard E. Grant!!!)

The Accidental Husband — Looks like a pretty straight-forward rom-com plot, but if it’s well done, this should be a very fun movie. Especially if Colin Firth gets thwarted! 🙂 I may wait for it to come out on DVD, just depends on what’s going on when it comes out.

Inkheart — Just when we started wondering what ever happened to Brendan Fraser (and no, we’re not talking about wanting another ill-conceived Mummy movie), Ruth and I saw the preview for this movie a few weeks ago. Having just watched Tin Man on the SciFi channel, this movie seems to be right up that alley. That, and it features Andy Serkis as the villain—in the flesh!

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day — Ruth sent me the link for this film last week, and I can’t believe it isn’t coming out until March . . . if it opens in the theaters here at all. Finally, Ciaran Hinds (Capt. Frederick Wentworth, Persuasion) is back in a romantic-hero role. Not to mention Pushing Daisies’ Lee Pace, Amy Adams (Enchanted), Mark Strong (Septimus in Stardust, Knightley in A&E’s Emma), Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter), and Christina Cole (Blanche Ingram from Jane Eyre 2006–part 2 airs this Sunday on PBS).

Leatherheads — If you can’t tell by my banner at the top of this page, I love football. This is a rom-com set in the 1920s, just as pro football was getting started. Now, I absolutely cannot stand to look at Renee Zellweger, but this looks like a good enough story that I’d be willing to suffer through seeing her on the screen to watch it (though I may opt for seeing it on DVD).

Made of Honor — It’s My Best Friend’s Wedding but with the guy trying to break up the girl’s wedding!

MAY 16, 2008: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian — ’nuff said.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (May 22, 2008) — Yes, it’s a frightening prospect . . . nineteen years after the third movie (The Last Crusade), Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford have teamed up once again to bring us a fourth Indiana Jones movie (and can I just say that I love having the music from the official site playing in the background while I’m writing this). With the return of Karen Allen as Marion, and the addition of Cate Blanchett and Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, Holes), I have a reserved excitement over the release of this film. Since it took them this long to agree on a script, and since Spielberg and Ford have signed off on it, hopefully it won’t be as disappointing as Lucas’s Star Wars prequel trilogy.

The Happening — I don’t care what it’s about. It’s an M. Night Shyamalan movie. I’ll be there opening weekend.

WALL·E — I’m not sure exactly what this movie is about, except that it appears to feature Number Five (anyone else remember Short Circuit?) in a Pixar animated film. Previews look pretty good.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince — Instead of a summer release like last year (timed to coincide with the release of the seventh book), the sixth movie will be a holiday release as per normal.

Star Trek — This is J.J. Abrams’s take on the Star Trek universe, which right now is scheduled to release on Christmas Day. All I have to say for those of you who don’t recognize his name is that he’s the executive producer behind LOST, Alias, Six Degrees, Felicity, and What About Brian?, not to mention his upcoming big-screen debut with Cloverfield. Oh, and Karl Urban is in this movie (as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy)!!!!!

And those are just a beginning. They didn’t even have most of the summer releases listed yet (and I don’t have time to go digging through IMDb to find all of them myself). I’m sure as we get closer to the summer blockbuster season and the fall awards-hopefuls season, there will be more to add.