The Box
Richard Kelly didn't exactly set the world on fire with Southland Tales, but his previous film Donnie Darko is one of my favorite movies of all time and I'm hoping this new film is more along those lines. Based on a short story by Richard Matheson, The Box stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a couple whose financial problems can be cleared up quite simply. If they press the button on a mysterious box then they will be given a million dollars but someone they don't know will die. Sounds like a classic Twilight Zone moral dilemma, and Matheson did pen a few episodes of the series. We can find out what's in the box on October 30.

Ponyo
I really like the look of this animated feature since it doesn't look like Disney's typical work (they're releasing it here in the States) and it looks kind of atypical for Japanese anime as well. Hayao Miyazaki, the man behind Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro directs. I'd be more interested if the trailer gave a better idea of what the movie is about -- but Miyazaki's resume speaks for itself. This one gets a limited release on August 14.

2012
You know that poem about the world ending not with a bang but a whimper? I don't think Roland Emmerich has read it as this end of the world flick has many bangs each followed by an Earth-shattering ka-boom. Apparently the Mayan calendar's prediction of the apocalypse comes true in the titular year and John Cusack plays a man whose family is in the midst of the cataclysm. The part about a government plan to build a sort of ark reminds me of George Pal's When Worlds Collide. The end begins on November 13.

Zombieland
I'm always leery of horror comedies. For every Shaun of the Dead or Return of the Living Dead there's a dozen straight to DVD movies that try to frighten and amuse at the same time yet end up doing neither. This humorous look at the zombie apocalypse not only looks pretty damn funny but also has some star power with Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin and Bill Murray. This one hits theaters on Ocotober 9, just in time for Halloween.

Shutter Island
Martin Scorsese's latest thriller looks downright spectacular. The film is based on a novel by Dennis Lehane and Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a U.S. Marshall searching for an escaped mental patient on an island off the coast of Massachusetts. DiCaprio's character comes up against a dark conspiracy and he is haunted by the memory of his late wife who is played by Michelle Williams. And yes that's Jackie Earl Haley as one of the inmates (he plays crazy REALLY well). Watch for this one on October 2.

Old Dogs
OK, the bit where Seth Green is singing "I'm All Out of Love" to the gorilla is pretty funny, and the penguin attack got me to laugh but the plot seems ridiculously simplistic. Robin Williams plays a man whose former girlfriend returns after seven years to tell him that he has twin children. With the help of his buddy played by John Travolta, Williams's character must adapt to the idea of instant fatherhood at a relatively advanced age. Wackiness enuses. This is being billed as a family movie so much of the humor is aimed at kids. This one hits theaters on November 25.

The Final Destination
Take note of the definite article "the," as this is supposedly the final chapter in the Final Destination franchise. As with the other entries, a group of teens cheat death but are slowly claimed by a series of supernatural Rube Goldberg-ian death traps. This minor bit of scary movie fluff is made all the more interesting by the use of 3-D and I have to admit the man eating escalator (pictured above) looks pretty cool. Carnage ensues on August 28.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon
I haven't seen the original and I'm pretty far removed from the target demographic, but the overwrought dialog and performances here are a real cringe inducer. Suffice it to say if you like your teens angsty and your vampires sparkly then this Twilight sequel will be right up your alley. The ante has been upped by the introduction of werewolves to the story. Watch for this one on November 20.

The Road
This bleak tale of one family trying to survive the apocalypse is based on a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, author of No Country For Old Men. After some kind of global cataclysm (it's not clear if it's a nuclear war), a man played by Viggo Mortensen must help his son to survive by whatever means necessary. Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce and Robert Duvall also star. This looks darkly fascinating and probably would have gone well with a Cinematical Seven I did not long ago. This one comes out on October 16.

Pandorum
This new trailer reveals quite a bit more than the teaser we saw awhile back. Two men awaken aboard a space craft wondering what's become of the thousands of other crew members. Other people show up as do some scary monster types who may be the mutated crew. Looks like an intersting take on the Alien formula. Watch for this one on September 4.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel
I didn't see the first film because it looked pretty awful, although the ridiculous amount of money it made showed that not everybody thought so. This teaser, which involves Alvin, Simon and Theodore doing their rendition of the 20th Century Fox Fanfare is pretty cute and the film should presumably please those who enjoyed the original. This one scurries into theaters on Christmas Day.

Surrogates
Bruce Willis stars in this futuristic science fiction flick based on a graphic novel. Surrogates are remotely controlled robots through which everyone lives there lives. Regardless of what damage is inflicted on the surrogate, the operator remains safe in his or her home. At least that has been the case, but now it seems someone is actually killing people through their surrogates and Willis plays the police detective on the case. Looking forward to this one when it hits on September 25.

Sherlock Holmes
I've never had much more than a passing interest Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous character, but this trailer has got me on the bandwagon. Robert Downey Jr as Holmes? Way cool. Jude Law as Watson? Awesome. Am I reading too much into it or are they trying to make it look like there's some kind of sexual tension between the two? Either way, this looks film will be director Guy Ritchie's Christmas present to the world when it releases on December 25.

9
Not to be confused with another forthcoming film called Nine, this is the second trailer for an amazing looking animated feature about small man-made creatures apparently made of burlap fighting off killer robots in a post apocalyptic world. It comes out on September 9.

Bruno
There's a new trailer for Sacha Baron Cohen's followup to Borat. Bruno is a flamboyantly gay fashionista and as with Borat this film documents his adventures with people who don't realize Cohen is playing a character. This looks really funny and it will be out on July 10.

The Princess and the Frog
Disney returns to old school 2-D animation (is that still legal?) with this feature about Princess Tiana who lives in New Orleans during the Jazz age. If I'm not mistaken, this character represents the first African-American addition to the Disney Princess line. I'm not quite in the right age group here, but this is what Disney does best so I'm betting the kids will love it. The amphibious lovin' commences on November 25.

Nine
Chicago director Rob Marshall helms this film based on the Tony Award-winning 1982 musical. A film director suffers from both creative and personal crises while balancing the the many women in his life. I can enjoy a well produced stage musical, but they rarely work for me onscreen. Watch for it on November 25.

Gamer
This one will have you looking at your XBox 360 in a whole new way. In the not too distant future, convicted felons serve as player characters in a real life video game and the survivor gets to go free. The influences of The Running Man and the recent Death Race seem pretty obvious. Gerard Butler and Dexter's Michael C. Hall star so this may be worth a look come September 4.

District 9
Peter Jackson produced this film about extraterrestrials being held on Earth in slum-like conditions while some evil corporation tries to figure out how the technology of their space craft works. Cool idea, even if it does seem a bit like Alien Nation, and that shot where you first see the alien craft is pretty sweet. Please note that the version William Goss posted the other day does not blur the alien's face and provides subtitles to translate what he is saying. The film opens on August 14.

Tetro
Francis Ford Coppola's latest film is about a young man who travels to Buenos Aires to find his brother, a tortured geniius and playwright who cut himself off from the rest of a family a decade earlier. The black and white cinematography looks gorgeous and this looks like one worth seeking out. Sadly, as this will only be getting a limited released on June 11, most of us will probably have to wait for the DVD.

Humpday
This indie comedy takes the whole bromance thing further than most films. Two old college friends reunite after ten years, one thing leads to another, and they decide to take part in an amateur porn contest as two straight men having sex with each other. Erik gave the film a pretty strong recommendation and it opens on July 10.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
There's a new full length trailer out for the Transformers sequel and it's chock full of... well, pretty much the same stuff we got the first time around: a whiny lead actor, the superhumanly hot Megan Fox and giant mechanoids beating the 10W-40 out of each other. In a film where cars turn into giant alien robots credibility is further strained when Shia LaBeouf's character tells Bumblebee he won't be taking him to college. What college freshman doesn't want a car? I guess we find out on June 24.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Speaking of movies based on cartoons that were based on toys, there's a new trailer out for G.I. Joe. This one can go either way; the cast is decent and the explosions are plentiful. Watch for the Real American Heroes on August 7, and check out the trailer below.




Adam
A young man with asperger's syndrome falls in love with the new woman who has moved into his building. Nothing about this one really grabs me and it feels like so many other quirky romantic comedies. It goes into limited release on July 29.

G-Force
Here's the new trailer for Disney's 3-D talking guinea pig movie (and I have to say that's a phrase I never thought I'd find myself using). Yeah, it looks cute and with voice talent like Tracy Morgan and Steve Buscemi there may be something here. Still I worry that, like most of the 3-D films I've seen in the last few years, G-Force will concentrate on the cool 3-D to the detriment of the film's other aspects. This one scurries into theaters on July 24.

Downloading Nancy
Rufus Sewell plays a man who comes to realize his wife (Maria Bello) is not just away visiting friends as she claimed but pursuing a torrid and often perverse relationship with a man she has met online (Jason Patric). Looks dark and fascinating. This one goes into limited release on June 5.

Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl
Two words: arterial spray. After watching this trailer I have really no idea what this Japanese flick is about other than it's got the gore going on. Practical and digital blood join forces here in an over the top hemoglobin-fueled splatter fest that defies description. I'm interested in finding out more, especially since this is directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura who gave us Tokyo Gore Police. This is not for the faint of heart and probably should be viewed only under the clinical supervision of a doctor.