My Most Anticipated Films of 2011 Part 1

Title:  The Adjustment Bureau

Starring:  Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Christoph Waltz

Directed by:  George Nolfi

Synopsis:  On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas — a woman like none he’s ever known. But just as he realizes he’s falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself — the men of The Adjustment Bureau — who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path… or risk everything to defy Fate and be with her.

Release Date:  March 11, 2011

Why am I excited:  I love the cast.  Both leads have done some outstanding work and have earned my respect.  I think the trailer is great.  Yes, the idea has been done before, but that does not mean it shouldn’t be done again.  Even if it only turns out to be okay, I will be happy.  I loved the trailer for The Tourist and look how that turned out.

Title:  Battle: Los Angeles

Starring:  Aaron Eckhart, Bridget Moynahan, Michelle Rodriguez

Directed by:  Jonathan Liebesman

Synopsis: For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world — Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It’s up to a Marine staff sergeant and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered before.

Release Date:  March 11, 2011

Why am I excited:  Have you seen the trailer?  I am quite excited about this film because it appears to finally give us what every other alien invasion film has teased: an all out war between the aliens and humans.  Every other film has been the aliens invade, and we run and hide.  Or we try to find their weakness and try to take them from within.  Let’s just go head to head and see who the dominant species is.

Title:  Sucker Punch

Starring:  Emily Browning, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Abbie Cornish

Directed by: Zack Snyder

Synopsis:  Close your eyes. Open your mind. You will be unprepared. A young girl’s dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between what’s real and what is imaginary.

Release Date:  March 25, 2011

Why am I excited:  Pure and unrestrained eye candy.  I won’t even care if it’s a story that is a rehash of something old.  So was Avatar, and no one cared about that.  I don’t care that it just looks like a video game.  The film is gonna be visually stunning.  I think Snyder is a great director who has an uncanny eye for what looks good on screen.  I don’t care what anyone says.  It will be the most visually entertaining film of the year.

Title:  X-Men: First Class

Starring:  James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender

Directed by: Matthew Vaughn

Synopsis:  The teenage years of the mutants are explored at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.

Release Date:  June 3, 2011

Why am I excited:  20th Century Fox is long over due washing the taste of X-Men 3 and Wolverine out of audiences mouths.  I like that the film will be set in the sixties, but I worry that maybe it will fall in the same pitfalls as the other films and cram too many mutants in.  I hope that Vaughn can resurrect this franchise.

Title:  Super 8

Starring:  Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning

Directed by:  JJ Abrams

Release Date: 

Synopsis:  In 1979, the U.S. Air Force closed a section of Area 51. All materials were to be transported to a secure facility in Ohio…

Why am I excited:  It’s JJ Abrams.