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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, January 22, 2010

New films coming fast and furious in 2010


Bill Goodykoontz
Gannett Chief Film Critic

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Mel Gibson returns to the screen this month in “Edge of Darkness,” in which he plays a police officer investigating the disappearance of his daughter.

Warner Bros. Pictures

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In “When in Rome,” Kristen Bell winds up being pursued after she steals some coins from a fountain.

Touchstone Pictures

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Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Martin Scorsese’s latest, the as-yet unrated “Shutter Island,” due in February.

Paramount Pictures

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Johnny Depp stars as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton’s much-anticipated take on “Alice in Wonderland,” hitting theaters in March.

Disney

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It's a full slate between now and May, with lots of films out there before blockbuster season.

JAN. 29

"Edge of Darkness" (R): Mel Gibson makes his return, as a cop investigating the disappearance of his daughter, whose life had more layers than he realized.

"When In Rome" (PG-13): Kristen Bell steals some coins from a fountain in Rome, which leads to several guys pursuing her. Sounds stupid, but Bell's good and the cast includes Will Arnett and Jon Heder. Oh, and Josh Duhamel, too.

FEB. 5

"Dear John" (PG-13): Soldier Channing Tatum falls for Amanda Seyfried (and why not), but Henry Thomas is in the picture, also. Based on Nicholas Sparks' novel.

"From Paris with Love" (R): John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers try to stop a terrorist attack in ... well, guess. Am guessing the Eiffel Tower comes into play at some point.

"Frozen" (R): Three skiers get trapped on a chair lift, the slopes are closing for a few days, it's cold and this is a horror movie, so we are presuming bad things happen. How could they not?

FEB. 12

"Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" (not yet rated): A kid (Logan Lerman) realizes he's a descendant of a Greek god. Based on Rick Riordan's popular book, it has a great cast, including Uma Thurman, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener and Steve Coogan.

"Valentine's Day" (not yet rated): Garry Marshall directs an ensemble comedy about, well, Valentine's Day, and its attendant pressures. Cast includes Jamie Foxx, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, Shirley MacLaine. ... If you are not in this movie, you need to find a new agent.

"The Wolfman" (R): Benicio Del Toro gets bitten by a werewolf. No good can come of this. Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins are also running around the 1880s English countryside.

FEB. 19

"Shutter Island" (not yet rated): Been looking forward to the latest pairing of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio for a while. Had to, since it got bumped from 2009 to 2010. DiCaprio's looking for a missing person on the island of the title. Hoping the reason for the delay is not a lack of quality.

FEB. 26

"Cop Out" (not yet rated): Kevin Smith, of all people, directs Bruce Willis and Jason Lee in a buddy-cop comedy. Cast also includes the lovely Rashida Jones, so, you know, yay.

"The Crazies" (not yet rated): Small Iowa town's water gets contaminated, inhabitants go crazy. You have to love the simplicity, as well as the fact that Timothy Olyphant stars.

MARCH 5

"Alice in Wonderland" (not yet rated): Expectations are off the charts for Tim Burton's take on the Lewis Carroll story. Johnny Depp looks great as the Mad Hatter; Mia Wasikowska stars as Alice.

MARCH 12

"Green Zone" (R): Matt Damon goes rogue while searching for weapons of mass destruction. Pairs him with director Paul Greengrass again, and that's a good thing.

"Our Family Wedding" (not yet rated): Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Taye Diggs and Regina King star in a comedy about putting two weddings on.

"Remember Me" (not yet rated): "Twilight" hunk Robert Pattinson stars in this drama about — does it matter? Just reading "Robert Pattinson stars" is enough to send millions of teenage girls to the Internet to pre-order tickets.

"She's Out of My League" (R): The "she" of the title is Alice Eve. The "my" is Jay Baruchel. Aww. We like Jay Baruchel. (So does she, evidently, but it's too good to be true.)

MARCH 19

"The Bounty Hunter" (not yet rated): Bounty hunter Gerard Butler must target his ex-wife, Jennifer Aniston, who is a reporter. They still go after reporters? Encouraging. Romantic comedy, so we're guessing they get back together. Just a hunch.

"Hot Tub Time Machine" (not yet rated): John Cusack and pals revisit, by way of the title device — and they say Hollywood has no new ideas — their wild past. Sounds stupid enough that it just might work.

"Season of the Witch" (not yet rated): Nicolas Cage and others must transport a witch to a monastery. Oddly, this was the original title of Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets." (Really).

MARCH 26

"Clash of the Titans" (not yet rated): Big-budget remake of well-loved 1981 favorite stars Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, among others.

"How to Train Your Dragon" (not yet rated): Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera and more lend their voices to DreamWorks' latest animated tale.

APRIL 2

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (not yet rated): Jeff Kinney's popular illustrated novel comes to the screen in a live-action film, with Rachael Harris, Chloe Moretz and Steve Zahn in the cast.

"Furry Vengeance" (not-yet rated): Animals revolt when a real-estate developer plans a new subdivision. Brendan Fraser and Brooke Shields star. Didn't we see a version of this in "Over the Hedge"? This is live-action, but still.

"The Last Song" (not yet rated): Miley Cyrus stars in another movie, only this time she's not playing Hannah Montana. She plays a girl sent to a beach town to stay with her dad (Greg Kinnear) for the summer. They bond over — music! Saw that coming.

"Repo Men" (R): Given the health-care debate, this seems somehow inevitable: In the future you can buy organs on credit. But one man is having trouble making payments on his new heart, and trying to avoid repossession. Ick. Stars Liev Schreiber, Jude Law and Forest Whitaker.

Just screams Serious Statement Movie, no?

"Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too" (PG-13): Sequel to Perry's 2007 hit, which brings back the original cast, including Janet Jackson and Michael Jai White. (Love that guy.)

APRIL 9

"Date Night" (not yet rated): It's like they made a movie out of the best NBC Thursday night shows. Steve Carell and Tina Fey star as a harried couple trying to have a romantic date; mistaken identity turns it into a comedy — one hopes — of dangerous errors.

"The Losers" (not yet rated): Based on the graphic novel about a group of CIA operatives left for dead. Guess what? They weren't. Cast includes Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Idris Elba and Jason Patric.

APRIL 16

"The Back-Up Plan" (not yet rated): Jennifer Lopez stars in a romantic comedy — that's enough to give you pause right there. Involves a woman pregnant by artificial insemination, then meets Mr. Right.

"Death at a Funeral" (not yet rated): Remake of much-loved British film, with Neil LaBute, of all people, at the helm. The cast includes Zoe Saldana, Keith David and Luke Wilson. Original came out in 2007. Too soon?

"The Joneses" (not yet rated): As in keeping up with. Neighborhood one-upmanship turns ugly. With James Shalkoski Jr. and Stacey Cruwys.

"Kick-Ass" (not yet rated): Aaron Johnson stars as a kid who decides to become a super hero, without actually being, you know, super. The trailer, with Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl, is hilarious and profane, though extending the laughs for the length of a movie might be tough.

"Piranha 3-D" (not yet rated): Just what it sounds like. You say why? We say why not? Elisabeth Shue plays a town sheriff protecting the peeps. And how can you not want to see a movie in which Eli Roth is cast as "wet T-shirt contest emcee?"

APRIL 22

"Oceans" (not yet rated): Documentary film set to open on Earth Day, shot around the world.

APRIL 23

"MacGruber" (not yet rated): Will Forte brings one of the less funny "Saturday Night Live" creations in recent memory to the screen. Sigh.

"Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps" (not yet rated): Oliver Stone makes a sequel to his classic film. Michael Douglas is back as Gordon Gekko, though maybe greed isn't as good this time around [looked at your 401(k) lately?] Shia LaBeouf stars as a young trader.

APRIL 30

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" (not yet rated): All those sequels weren't enough? Evidently not, as we are presented with this "reimagining" of the Freddy Krueger story. Doesn't sound like anything anyone was asking for, but at least Jackie Earle Haley is on hand as Freddy.