Written by Mitch Cyrus

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Not too bad on my predictions last week for Best Picture nominees.  I hit on eight out of ten, with "District 9" being the sci-fi representative instead of "Star Trek", and "The Blind Side" surprising everyone by getting a nod over another sports-related movie, "Invictus".

This is going to be a very interesting race, and I think it could come down to four movies that have a chance of winning: "Avatar", "The Hurt Locker", "Up in the Air", and "Inglourious Basterds", with no clear-cut favorite, although currently it's thought to be between "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker", pitting James Cameron up against his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow.

News and Rumors

~ Columbia Pictures has already started moving forward on the next Robert Langdon movie "The Lost Symbol"...even though the Dan Brown follow-up to "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" was just released in September.  Tom Hanks hasn't officially signed on yet, but I think it's just a matter of time (and money).  This time, Langdon is in the US, unraveling a mystery in Washington, D.C. involving the Freemasons.  No word yet on whether he teams up with Benjamin Gates from the "National Treasure" series.

 

~ I am VERY tempted to put this in the next category...but I've already got three sequels/remakes that suck worse.  Russell Crowe and Beyonce in a remake of "A Star is Born"?  That's the rumor right now, although Beyonce is more of a certain than Crowe, who is nonetheless said to be very interested.

~ Is this an answer to the question, "what would have happened if Mathilda actually became an assassin at the end of Leon: The Professional"?  "Hanna" will star Saoirse Ronan ("The Lovely Bones") as a 14 year old Eastern European assassin, saved from a CIA "breeding camp" and then trained by her father to be a killing machine.  Eric Bana will play the father.  This sounds like it could be quite interesting.

~ A couple of weeks ago, I talked about the fact that when the next Spider-Man movie comes out, they are "rebooting" it back to Peter Parker's high school days, with no Sam Rami, Tobey Maguire, or Kirsten Dunst.  One name has finally popped up; Logan Lerman, who will play the title role in this month's "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief" is rumored to be taking on the role.  Color me "not excited".

~ CBS Films is looking to make a feature adaptation of the classic Western "Gunsmoke".  Brad Pitt and Ryan Reynolds are said to be in line for the role of Matt Dillon.  I'm personally thinking that Andy Serkis would make a perfect Festus, but perhaps that's just the tequila talking.

~ And finally, a shout out to ABC for the season premier of "Lost".  As much fun as I've had blasting the writers of "24" for coasting so far this season, "Lost" came out of the gates strong, and it looks like we'll be in for quite a ride during this final season.  In case you missed it, or haven't been on our boards discussing it, it appears as if Juliet setting off the nuke worked, but split reality.  In one reality, our heroes are back on the island in the correct "present" (as opposed to 1977), and in the other, they carry out their lives as if the original Oceanic flight never crashed.  I'm hooked.

Stupid Remakes and Sequels

~ Disney wants to do a sequel to "Enchanted", that diabetes inducing 2007 Amy Adams/Patrick Dempsey film.

~ "Wanted 2".  With a new "fraternity" of assassins.  And that may be the only thing that could be called "new".  Trying to figure out how they'll bring Angelina Jolie back....which is what they want.

~ "Fast Five", another Fast and Furious sequel...this time with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker as fugitives being pursued by relentless lawmen.  It's not lawmen chasing them...it's critics wanting to drive a stake into the heart of the wretched franchise.

This week's new movie releases: 

From Paris with Love

Starring: John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Plot: In Paris, a young employee in the office of the US Ambassador hooks up with an American spy looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city.

View Trailer

The BeerBuzz: This movie from Pierre Morel, the director of "Taken" is not getting The Love from critics.  For me, I am a bit confused on the marketing.  When I first saw the trailers at the theater several months ago, they were marketing this as a wacky buddy-comedy with Travolta in the obviously goofy role.  But lately they're trying to make it out as a Bourne type action thriller.  In truth, it looks like it's closer to the former, and the audiences are pissed that it's not the latter.

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Dear John

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Channing Tatum, Richard Jenkins

Plot:  A romantic drama about a soldier who falls for a co-ed while he's home on leave. Their relationship is tested in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, an event that causes him to re-enlist for service.

View Trailer

The BeerBuzz: You have got to be kidding me.  Right in the middle of all of the bland romantic comedies coming out lately, we get a weepy romantic drama.  Obviously shooting for the audience that loved such "classics" as "The Notebook" and "Prince of Tides", this one looks to miss by a mile with a paint-by-numbers script and detached direction.  Guys, do NOT allow yourself to get badgered into going to this.

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Crazy Heart (expansion)

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal

Plot: Bad Blake is a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who's had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times. And yet, Bad can't help but reach for salvation with the help of a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician

View Trailer

The BeerBuzz: Jeff Bridges has won every award out there so far for his role as Bad Blake, and is the overwhelming favorite to win the Oscar.  Looks to be very similar to last year's "The Wrestler", a great character study about a very flawed individual.  If you want to see a new movie at the theater this week, this is the one I'm recommending.

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February 9^th DVD Releases:

A Serious Man- Just announced as an Oscar nominee for Best Picture.  A Coen Brothers film about a Jewish professor of physics dealing with the breakup of his marriage.  A dark comedy that never caught on with the public...we'll see how the Oscar nomination helps with the DVD sales and rentals.

The Time Traveler's Wife - Chick Flick extraordinaire, with Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams as a couple whose relationship is tested by the fact that he's always jumping forward and backward in time.

The Stepfather - Lame remake of a lame original about a boy coming home from military school to find his mother now married to a man who seems to be hiding a dark side.

Calendar Watch  

Next Week, The Wolfman, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief ,Valentine's Day

Upcoming Biggies (click on the hyperlink to view the available trailers).

Shutter Island - February 19 - Martin Scorsese working once again with Leonardo DiCaprio in this mystery set in 1954.  Pushed back from 2009 due to marketing concerns...this still looks like an incredible movie.

Alice in Wonderland - March 5 - Tim Burton and Johnny Depp in a film that seems meant for them.  A 3D acid-trip about Alice's return to Wonderland at age 19 to fight the Red Queen.

Green Zone - March 12 - Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon team up again in a Bourne-like film about an Army officer going rouge in Iraq while looking for weapons of mass destruction.

Repo Men - March 19 - Jude Law and Forest Whitaker as men specializing in repossessing human organs from people who can't make their payments..until Law's character becomes the hunted.

Clash of the Titans - March 26 - Re-imaging of the campy Harry Hamlin sword-and-sandals film from the 80s.  The trailer looks intriguing, at least

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps - April 23 - Oliver Stone brings Michael Douglass back as Gordon Gecko, teaming him with Shia LaBeouf in a film that looks to be quite different in tone than the last one.

Nightmare on Elm Street - April 30 - Jack Earle Haley ("Watchmen") takes over the Freddy Krueger role.

Iron Man 2 - May 7 - Downey Jr. is back, this time dealing with Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) and Black Widow (Scarlet Johannson).

Robin Hood - May 14 - Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe in what is supposed to be a more "historic" account of the legendary hero.

Shrek Forever After - May 21 - 3D entry into the series that is seemingly the only way Michael Myers or Eddie Murphy can make any money

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - May 28 - Might this finally be the first video game that translates to a huge hit at the box office?  Depends on whether or not you can buy Jake Gyllenhaal as an action hero.  Why not?  It worked for Tobey Maguire, Matt Damon, and Robert Downey Jr.

The A-Team - June 11 - Based on the campy TV series...but the makers of this film are trying to sell it more as an action film with no camp.  With Liam Neeson playing Hannibal Smith as their leader, they may have a chance.

Toy Story 3D - June 18 -  It looks like a big year for 3D films in 2010.  In this one, Buzz, Woody, and the rest of the toys are dumped into a day care after Andy grows up and goes to college.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - July 2 - More Wussy Vampires!  I can't wait! (sorry...sarcasmectomy isn't scheduled for a few months yet).

Inception - July 16 - Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page in a Christopher Nolan sci-fi mind bender that looks to be in the mode of "Momento"

The Sorcerer's Apprentice - July 16 - Live action remake of the Disney classic short, starring Nicolas Cage.

Salt - July 18 - Angelina Jolie as a CIA operative accused of being a Russian spy.