In 1958, students of a newly opened elementary school are asked to draw pictures of what they invision the future to be. These pictures would be stored in a time capsule. One mysterious girl submits a sheet of paper filled with numbers.
January
January 23
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Directed by Patrick Tatopoulos,Written by Len Wiseman and Danny McBride
Starring: Rhona Mitra,Bill Nighy,Michael Sheen
The prequel will trace the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires and their onetime slaves, the Lycans (werewolves). In the Dark Ages, a young Lycan named Lucian (Michael Sheen) emerges as a powerful leader who rallies the werewolves to rise up against Viktor (Nighy), the cruel vampire king who has enslaved them. Lucian is joined by his secret lover, Viktor's daughter Sonja (Mitra), in his battle against the Death Dealer army and his struggle for Lycan freedom.
Trailer
Also in January
-The Dark Knight (re-release) January 23
-Killshot January 23
-Taken January 30
-The Uninvited January 30
February
February 6,2009
Push
Directed by Paul McGuigan,Written by David Bourla
Starring: Chris Evans,Dakota Fanning,Camilla Belle,Djimon Hounsou
This sci-fi thriller involves a group of young American expatriates with telekinetic, telepathic, and clairvoyant abilities, hiding from a clandestine U.S. government agency referred to as "Division." They try to find the only woman that ever escaped from "Division". She is their only key to finding out how to escape the agency. They must also use their different talents and band together for a final job enabling them to escape the agency forever.
Trailer
Also on February 6
-He's Just Not That into You
-Fanboys
February 13
The International
Directed by Tom Tykwer,Written by Eric Singer
Starring: Clive Owen,Naomi Watts
Interpol Agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) are determined to bring to justice one of the world's most powerful banks. Uncovering illegal activities including money laundering, arms trading, and the destabilization of governments, Salinger and Whitman's investigation takes them from Berlin to Milan to New York and to Istanbul. Finding themselves in a high-stakes chase across the globe, the bank will stop at nothing to stop them.
Trailer
Two Lovers
Directed by James Gray,Written by James Gray,Richard Menello
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix,Gwyneth Paltrow,Vinessa Shaw
A Brooklyn-set romantic drama about a bachelor (Phoenix) torn between the family friend his parents wish he would marry and his beautiful but volatile new neighbor.
If Joaquin Phoenix holds true to his announced retirement, this would be his last film.
Trailer
Also on February 13
-New York, I Love You
February 27
Crossing Over
Written and directed by Wayne Kramer
Starring:Harrison Ford,Sean Penn,Ashley Judd,Ray Liotta
Crossing Over is a film about immigrants of different nationalities struggling to achieve legal status in Los Angeles. The film deals with the border, document fraud, the asylum and green card process, work-site enforcement, naturalization, the office of counter terrorism and the clash of cultures.
Trailer
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak,Written by Justin Marks
Starring: Kristin Kreuk,Neal McDonough,Chris Klein,Michael Clarke Duncan,Taboo,Robin Shou,Moon Bloodgood
Trailer
Also on February 27
-Assassination of a High School President
March
March 6
Watchmen
Directed by Zack Snyder,Written by David Hayter,Alex Tse,Roberto Orci(uncredited),Alex Kurtzman(uncredited)
Starring: Patrick Wilson,Jackie Earle Haley,Malin Akerman,Billy Crudup,Matthew Goode,Jeffrey Dean Morgan
The story is set in an alternate 1985 where superheroes exist, Richard Nixon is still president, and tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union are at an all-time high. The vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) is investigating the murder of a former hero, the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and uncovers a plot to discredit and murder various heroes. Rorschach discovers a far wider-ranging conspiracy involving his colleagues' past which could completely change the course of history.
Watchmen Posts
March 13
The Last House on the Left
Directed by Dennis Iliadis,Written by Carl Ellsworth
Starring: Tony Goldwyn,Monica Potter,Sara Paxton,Garret Dillahunt
Trailer
The Horsemen
Directed by Jonas Åkerlund,Written by David Callaham
Starring: Dennis Quaid,Ziyi Zhang
A recently widowed detective still grieving over his wife's death discovers a shocking connection between himself and the suspects in a serial killing spree linked to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Trailer
March 20
Duplicity
Written and directed by Tony Gilroy
Starring: Clive Owen,Julia Roberts,Tom Wilkinson,Paul Giamatti
Two corporate spies (Owen and Roberts) team up to manipulate a corporate race to corner the market on a medical innovation that will reap huge profits.
Trailer
Knowing
Directed by Alex Proyas,Written by Alex Proyas and Stuart Hazeldine
Starring: Nicolas Cage,Rose Byrne
Trailer
March 27
-Monsters vs. Aliens
April
April 3
Fast & Furious
Directed by Justin Lin,Written by Chris Morgan
Starring: Vin Diesel,Paul Walker,Michelle Rodriguez,Jordana Brewster
When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto (Diesel) reignites his feud with agent Brian O’Conner (Walker). But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmaneuver him. And from convoy heists to precision tunnel crawls across international lines, two men will find the best way to get revenge: push the limits of what’s possible behind the wheel.
Trailer
April 17
Crank 2: High Voltage
Written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Starring: Jason Statham,Amy Smart
Set three months after the his destructive run through Los Angelos, Hitman Chev Chelios (Statham) launches himself on a literally electrifying chase through Los Angeles in pursuit of the Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered heart that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working.
Trailer
State of Play
Directed by Kevin Macdonald,Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan,Tony Gilroy,Peter Morgan,Billy Ray
Starring: Russell Crowe,Ben Affleck,Rachel McAdams,Helen Mirren,Jason Bateman
The film is set in Washington, D.C. and tells of Stephen Collins (Affleck), a fast-rising United States Congressman with ambitions to become his party's presidential candidate. This goal is threatened after his mistress (a former research assistant) is found dead in suspicious circumstances, while right-wing opponents to Collins' campaign for social reform attempt to use the scandal to kill his political career. During a probe into a series of seemingly unrelated murders, Cal McCaffrey (Crowe), an investigative journalist and Collins' former campaign manager, finds himself tasked with solving the case, becoming romantically involved with the Congressman's estranged wife (Wright Penn) in the process.
Trailer
April 24
The Soloist
Directed by Joe Wright,Written by Susannah Grant
Starring: Robert Downey Jr.,Jamie Foxx
The Soloist is based on the true story of Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a musical prodigy who developed schizophrenia during his second year at Juilliard School. Ayers becomes homeless in the streets of downtown Los Angeles, playing the violin and the cello.
Trailer
May 1
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Directed by Gavin Hood,Written by David Benioff
Starring: Hugh Jackman,Liev Schreiber,Danny Huston
Set roughly twenty years before X-Men, the film will focus on Wolverine's violent past,[1] and his early encounters with William Stryker (Danny Huston). The Weapon X program and his interactions with other mutants will be explored,including his complex relationship with Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber).
Trailer
Also on May 1
-The Informers
May 8
Star Trek
Directed by J. J. Abrams,Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
Starring: Chris Pine,Zachary Quinto,Karl Urban,Simon Pegg,Zoe Saldana,John Cho,Anton Yelchin,Eric Bana and Leonard Nimoy
The eleventh Star Trek film follows James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) enrolling at Starfleet Academy, his first meeting with Spock (Zachary Quinto), and their battles with Romulans from the future, who are interfering with history.
May 15
Angels & Demons
Directed by Ron Howard,Written by Akiva Goldsman,David Koepp
Starring: Tom Hanks, Ayelet Zurer, Ewan McGregor
Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned by CERN to investigate a murder victim, branded with the Illuminati ambigram, leading him to discover the secret society's scheme to murder four cardinals and destroy St. Peter's Basilica during a papal conclave using antimatter.
Also on May 15
-The Brothers Bloom
-Bruno
May 22
Terminator Salvation
Directed by McG,Written by Screenplay:Jonathan Nolan,Anthony E. Zuiker,Shawn Ryan,Paul Haggis Story:John D. Brancato,Michael Ferris,David C. Wilson
Set in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor (Christian Bale), the man fated to be the leader of the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators, and the future he was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), an stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet's operations, where they find out a terrible secret that may lead to the possible annihilation of mankind.
Trailer
June
June 12
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Directed by Tony Scott,Written by David Koepp
Starring: Denzel Washington,John Travolta
A group of hijackers take a subway train and its passengers hostage, threatening to kill them if their ransom is not paid.
June 26
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Directed by Michael Bay,Written by Roberto Orci,Alex Kurtzman,Ehren Kruger
Starring: Shia LaBeouf,Megan Fox,Josh Duhamel,Tyrese Gibson,John Turturro
Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) discovers something about the origins of the Transformers and their history on Earth. The evil Decepticons need to capture him for information.The climactic battle takes place at the Giza pyramid complex,where a temple is located within.
July
July 1
Public Enemies
Directed by Michael Mann,Written by Ronan Bennett,Ann Biderman,Michael Mann
Starring: Johnny Depp,Christian Bale,Marion Cotillard
Public Enemies is a film adaptation of Bryan Burrough's book Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34 directed by Michael Mann.
The crime drama is set during the Great Depression with the focus on the FBI agent Melvin Purvis' attempt to stop criminals John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd. Christian Bale will play FBI agent Purvis, Johnny Depp will play Dillinger, and Marion Cotillard will play Dillinger's girlfriend Billie Frechette.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Directed by Carlos Saldanha,Written by Michael Berg and Peter Ackerman
Starring:Ray Romano,Queen Latifah,Denis Leary,John Leguizamo
Trailer
July 17
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Directed by David Yates,Written by Steve Kloves
Starring:Daniel Radcliffe,Rupert Grint,Emma Watson,Michael Gambon,Alan Rickman
Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn’t counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates! And then there’s Hermione, simpering with jealousy but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again. (official plot summary)
July 24
500 Days of Summer
Directed by Marc Webb,Written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel
The film tells the story of the relationship between a woman, Summer (Deschanel), who doesn't believe in true love and a man, Tom (Gordon-Levitt), described as a hopeless romantic, who falls in love with her. Over a span of 500 days, it is told from the perspective of Tom, who is influenced by pop music and breaks out into song throughout the movie.
Trailer
Also on July 24
-Piranha 3-D
-All Good Things
July 31
Funny People.jpg)
Written and directed by Judd Apatow
Starring: Adam Sandler,Seth Rogen,Leslie Mann,Eric Bana,Jonah Hill,Jason Schwartzman
George Simmons (Adam Sandler) is a very successful yet self-involved stand-up comedian who learns that he has an un-treatable blood disorder and is given less than a year to live. Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) is a struggling up-and-coming stand-up comedian who works at a deli and has yet to figure out his onstage persona. One thing these different men have in common is that neither of them has any close friends. One night, George takes notice of Ira when they perform at the same club and he hires him to be his semi-personal assistant and opening act at his performances. George and Ira form a close bond as George teaches Ira how to win the crowd and Ira helps the dying George find closure in his legacy.
August
August 21
Inglourious Basterds
Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt,Til Schweiger,Diane Kruger,Mike Myers
Two story lines... converge: One follows a group of prisoners-turned-soldiers whose mission is to take down a group of Nazis, and the other follows a young Jewish woman who seeks to avenge the death of her parents by this Nazi group.
The film will be divided into five chapters:
* Chapter One: Once Upon a Time in Nazi Occupied France
* Chapter Two: Inglourious Basterds
* Chapter Three: German Night in Paris (filmed in "French New Wave Black and White")
* Chapter Four: Operation Kino
* Chapter Five: Revenge of the Giant Face
Also in August:
-District 9 August 14
September
September 4
Shanghai
Directed by Mikael Håfström,Written by Hossein Amini
Starring: John Cusack,Gong Li,Chow Yun-Fat,Ken Watanabe
In the months leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, an American man (Cusack) arrives in Shanghai to find his friend recently murdered. In investigating his friend's death, he stumbles upon a secret the United States government has been keeping and falls in love in the process.
Also on September 4:
-Game
September 9
-9
September 11
Whiteout
Directed by Dominic Sena
Starring: Kate Beckinsale,Gabriel Macht
A U.S. marshal (Kate Beckinsale), the only one assigned to Antarctica, must investigate a murder on the frozen continent within three days before the arctic winter begins. She crosses paths with a U.N. operative (Gabriel Macht), also investigating the murder.
Also on September 11:
-Daybreakers
September 18
The Informant
Directed by Steven Soderbergh,Written by Scott Z. Burns
Starring: Matt Damon,Scott Bakula,Joel McHale
The Informant is about Ivy League Ph.D. Mark Whitacre (Damon), a rising star at Decatur’s Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in the early 1990s who wound up blowing the whistle on the company’s price-fixing tactics.
Jennifer's Body
Directed by Karyn Kusama,Written by Diablo Cody
Starring: Megan Fox,Amanda Seyfried,Adam Brody,J.K. Simmons
The film follows Jennifer, a cheerleader possessed by a demon who begins feeding off the boys in a Minnesota farming town. It is then up to her "plain Jane" best friend Needy to kill Jennifer, escape from a correctional facility and go after lead singer Nikolai and his Satan-worshiping rock band responsible for the transformation.
September 25
-The Surrogates
October
October 2
Ashecliffe
Directed by Martin Scorsese,Written by Laeta Kalogridis and Steven Knight
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio,Mark Ruffalo
Two U.S. marshals investigate the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane on an island in Massachusetts. They run into trouble when they are deceived by others, a hurricane hits and when an inmate riot traps them on the island.
Also on October 2:
-Toy Story 3-D (re-release in 3D)
October 23
-Astro Boy
-After.Life
November
November 6
-The Box
Written and directed by Richard Kelly
Starring: Cameron Diaz,James Marsden and Frank Langella
The plot is set in Raleigh, North Carolina in the year 1976. An unhappily married couple (Diaz and Marsden) receive a box from a mysterious stranger (Langella), who tells them that pushing a button on the box will award them with a large monetary sum, and simultaneously, someone the couple does not know will die.
A Christmas Carol
Written and directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Jim Carrey,Gary Oldman,Cary Elwes,Colin Firth,Bob Hoskins,Robin Wright Penn
A Christmas Carol is a film adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 story of the same name. The film is written and directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Jim Carrey in a multitude of roles, including Ebenezer Scrooge as a young, middle-aged, and old man, and the three ghosts who haunt Scrooge.The 3D film will be produced through the process of performance capture, a technique Zemeckis has previously used in his films The Polar Express (2004) and Beowulf (2007).
A Christmas Carol is a Victorian morality tale of an old and bitter miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who undergoes a profound experience of redemption over the course of one night. Mr. Scrooge is a financier/money-changer who has devoted his life to the accumulation of wealth. He holds anything other than money in contempt, including friendship, love and the Christmas season.
The Wolfman
Directed by Joe Johnston,Written by David Self and Andrew Kevin Walker
Starring: Benicio del Toro,Anthony Hopkins,Emily Blunt,Hugo Weaving
Set in the late 1880s, the film keeps the plotline of the original 1941 movie, with Lawrence Talbot (Benicio del Toro) meeting his father (Anthony Hopkins) following the death (and in the remake, disappearance) of his brother. The film details events during Lawrence's past that led to his estrangement from his father (which includes Gwen), and the setting is expanded from Blackmore (which was the mythical village of Llanwelly in the original) to London.[2] The official synopsis states Talbot was traumatized by his mother's death as a child, while Gwen Conliffe is his brother's fiancée. Following his brother's disappearance, Talbot hunts a murderer, which turns out to be a werewolf, and the curse is passed on.
November 13
2012
Directed by Roland Emmerich,Written by Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser
Starring:John Cusack,Amanda Peet,Danny Glover,Thandie Newton,Oliver Platt,Chiwetel Ejiofor and Woody Harrelson
The world is devastated by a cataclysm in the year 2012, leaving survivors to struggle for their lives.
Trailer
Sherlock Holmes
Directed by Guy Ritchie,Written by Michael Johnson and Lionel Wigram
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr.,Jude Law,Rachel McAdams
Set in 1891,the film revolves around Holmes and Watson stopping a conspiracy to destroy Britain.
November 20
-New Moon
November 25
-Nine
Directed by Rob Marshall,Written by Michael Tolkin
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis,Marion Cotillard,Penélope Cruz,Nicole Kidman,Judi Dench,Stacy Ferguson,Kate Hudson and Sophia Loren
Nine is a musical film based on the 1982 Tony Award-winning musical of the same name.
A middle-aged film director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) is trying to complete his next film. His only problem is that he has too many women in his life: Luisa (Marion Cotillard), his wife, Carla (Penélope Cruz), his sexy mistress, and Claudia (Nicole Kidman), his muse and protege.
December
December 11
The Lovely Bones
Directed by Peter Jackson,Written by Peter Jackson,Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens
Starring: Saoirse Ronan,Rachel Weisz,Mark Wahlberg,Stanley Tucci,Susan Sarandon
The Lovely Bones is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Alice Sebold.
In 1973, Susie Salmon (Ronan) is raped and murdered by a neighbor, George Harvey (Tucci), a serial killer of young girls. She finds herself in Heaven, observing her family as they grieve for her. She also watches her killer who, having covered his tracks successfully, is preparing to murder again. Susie struggles to balance her desire for vengeance on Harvey and her desire to have her family recover from their loss.
Avatar
Written and directed by James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington,Zoë Saldaña,Sigourney Weaver,Michelle Rodriguez
Avatar is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in biodiversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival.
Also in 2009
-Blood: The Last Vampire
-The Descent 2 15 March 2009 (UK)
-Edge of Darkness
-The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
-Mr. Nobody
-Ninja Assassin
-The Road
-Splice
-Tetro
-Thirst
Friday, January 23, 2009
2009 Movies Preview
May
