Not Another Most Anticipated Films Of 2009 List

Two is always better than one, so we're giving you another perspective on what we'll all be watching and, in some cases, lining up for at midnight for throughout the year. Some of you may think there are some glaring omissions on my list, such as Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen, Terminator: Salvation, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but recent images and trailers from those films have deflated my expectations. And while it's unlikely that 2009 will be able to top the massive box office that hits like The Dark Knight and Iron Man helped bring in, names like Tarantino, Cameron, Apatow, and Snyder are set to make sure you don't decide to start using that library card this year.


10. Public Enemies
I can't pretend for a second that I enjoyed 2006's boring and overly-moody Miami Vice, a film that sucked all the fun out of the '80s hit TV series. But I am a Michael Mann's man, and the with Johnny Depp as legendary bank robber John Dillinger and the always reliable Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, the G-man out to stop him, this has little chance of disappointing.

Countdown to: July 1st 2009

9. Whatever Works
While I don't remember ever highly anticipating a Woody Allen film, I have counted the days before every season of Larry David's hilarious HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. David seems to be stepping in as Woody's alter ego, a crumudggeon who somehow attracts a beautiful young woman, Evan Rachel Wood this time around. Woody's track record has improved greatly since a pretty rocky patch of late '90s/early 2000 films, and with these two comedy greats collaborating, we'll either see a comedy classic or heads exploding in theaters due to neurotic overload.

Countdown to: TBA

8. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
Oringinally scheduled for release this past November, Warner Bros. pushed the release of the sixth potter film to July 2009 to bulk up their less than impressive summer slate. Since Azkaban, the Potter films have entered a darker realm, increasing their appeal to a mass audience with each film. Plus, you can finally check out Emma Watson without feeling like a total perv...although you should still feel like a bit of a perv.

Countdown to: July 17th 2009

7. Up
I know very little about this film other than a trailer that features balloons, a flying house, and a grumpy old man. And it's Pixar. I'd watch Pixar animating the phone book, so I'm sold.

Countdown to: May 29th 2009

6. Bruno
Thankfully I greatly overrestimated the size of Borat-fever in 2006, and didn't have to put up with nearly as many morons saying "Very nice" over and over again (although somehow I still hear the occasional "Yeah baby!" from Austin Powers). Sacha Baron Cohen's undercover antics as Bruno have gained much more coverage in the press than he did while making Borat, possibly ruining the surprise for both the patsies and the audience. And although Bruno may be Cohen's least popular creation, I still have a feeling he'll have us all saying "Vassup" by summer's end.

Countdown to: May 15th 2009

5. Funny People
After once reading an interview where Judd Apatow described The 40-Year-Old Virgin as a James L. Brooks movie on anphetamines, I assumed it was only a matter of time before he tried his hand at an actual James L. Brooks movie. He's even bringing along Spanglish star Adam Sandler, not to mention tons of other funny people like Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Aziz Ansari, and the previously only funny in Australia, Eric Bana. Let's just hope this turns out as a Judd Apatow movie with Adam Sandler in it instead of a Adam Sanlder movie that happens to be directed by Judd Apatow.

Countdown to: July 31st 2009

4. Star Trek
Although it's being written off by some Trekkies as Star Trek: 90210, the action-packed (and yes, sexy) trailer gives us a glimpse at a Trek that might go where no Trek film has gone before: mass appeal. And while I completely understand the anger die-hard Trek fans may have over the selling out of the franchise (not to mention questionable choices that contradict the established cannon), I implore the frustrated to take a wait and see approach. At least Scott Bakula's nowhere in sight.

Countdown to: May 8th 2009

3. Inglorious Basterds
I've read about it since not long after the release of 1997's Jackie Brown, but it looks like 2009 is going to be the year that we finally get to see Quentin Tarantino's WWII film. The cast list has been a revolving door almost since the beginning, with names as diverse as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Tim Roth, and Adam Sandler all being tossed around at various stages. Tarantino's settled on a Nazi-killing platoon that includes Hostel director Eli Roth, The Office's BJ Novak, and Freaks & Geeks Samm Levine, all headed up by Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine.

Countdown to: August 21st, 2009

2. Watchmen
As long as Fox doesn't stop it's release, we only have to wait a short 3 months for what's almost guaranteed to be the first blockbuster of 2009. Zack Snyder may have polarized critics with the testosterone-filled 300, but this time around he's got Alan Moore's classic graphic novel as source material, which Time Magazine called one of the best novels of the 20th century.

Countdown to: March 6th 2009 (Fingers crossed)

1. Avatar
Sorry Nickelodeon fans, I'm not talking about The Last Airbender. I'm talking about James Cameron's long awaited follow-up to Titanic. Very little is known about the film (I'm not even sure if that alien is legit), but we do know it's about a group of humans clashing with a humanoid species on their planet, it's being shot in a revolutionary 3D mix of computer animation and live action, and Sigourney Weaver's in it. Last time Weaver and Cameron worked together, the result was Aliens, so yeah, stakes is high.

Countdown to: December 18th, 2009

Disagree with the picks on either of our lists? Submit your own in the comments section!