2004 Films

[Susan]

So what do you think will be the hits and misses this year? Here's a few selected that might be of interest, overlooking the obvious hits like Spiderman and harry potter:

DAWN OF THE DEAD (remake) First time director

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND Jim Carrey/Kate Winslet trying to save a failing relationship by having bad memories erased (kind of reminds me of a twilight zone episode where a guy sold his memories)

DONNIE DARKO - directors cut/limited Damn them! Just another ploy to sell another DVD version

HELLBOY Ron pearlman, lots of mutants. Director did "Blade 2" and "mimic"

THE ALAMO Ronnie howards baby, pushed from december to spring

THE PUNISHER Based on a marvel comic, but travolta is in it also - sign of a flop? First time director

THE VILLAGE Shyamalan thriller with Juaquin Phoenix, Sigourny weaver

ALIEN VS PREDETOR nuff said

DEATHLOK Can't find an actor list but it's about a guy who's part of an experiment where he's slowly being transformed into a cyborg. Director did "Mulholland falls",

GODSEND Greg Kinnear, Deniro, Rebecca Stamos - Couple's son is killed, they clone him..but he comes back "different" . Has this been done before in a 70's movie??

ANCANAR Story *inspired* by Tolkien set in middle earth. First time directors, no name actors ;-)

VAN HELSING Hugh jackman is the vampire hunter

TROY The big brad pitt saga

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW The big disaster film of 2004..run for your lives the ice age is coming!

CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK Character in Pitch Black with Diesel..who oddly I don't see much of in the trailer?

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS Jackie Chan, Schwartzanegger, Kathy Bates, owen wilson, john cleese...what the hell?!

KING ARTHUR I really, really, really didn't like this trailer......really

I, ROBOT This could be interesting. Director of "The Crow" and "Dark City", Will smith is a cop who investages a murder that could have been done by a robot

THE BOURNE SUPREMACY Sequel to the first matt damon flick with the return of the german chick from 'run lola run' who I think has no onscreen chemistry with Damon

THE AMITYVILLE HORROR Make these remakes of classics GO AWAY!

MAN THING Marvel Comics series. Interesting title...Wonder how many will go thinking this is a porn?

THE RING 2 Because...we need another one..and another and another..

STEPFORD WIVES True to the original? nicole kidman. Trailer looks like a commercial for a product

What else? Porky's, Rock and Roll High School, The phantom of the opera, Halloween 9, Blade sequel, resident evil sequel, Mulan 2, baby geniuses 2, and several other sequels.

I think a big bomb will drop on mel gibsons Jesus epic. We like historical epics, but i think audiences don't like religion shoved down their throat. It worked with the 10 commandments, but I think making any film based on the bible  is anything but a huge risk



Post Edited (01-04-04 16:58)

[FearlessFreep]

I, ROBOT a cop who investages a murder that could have been done by a robot

Sounds like it's based on the Asimov story "The Caves Of Steel"

[ulthar]

Susan wrote:

>
> I think a big bomb will drop on mel gibsons Jesus epic. We like
> historical epics, but i think audiences don't like religion
> shoved down their throat. It worked with the 10 commandments,
> but I think making any film based on the bible  is anything but
> a huge risk
>

Just wondering how watching a movie, which we all do voluntarily, can be called shoving something down the audience's throat?  I mean, anyone who bothers to go see this movie will KNOW (or darn well should) ahead of time that it is a biblical story.

[Ash]

Deathlok!
I'm there!

I used to read his comic back in the early 90's.

GO here to see a pic of Deathlok:  

http://www.geocities.com/dmisfit/Deathlok/Deathlok1-01.jpg

Here's another pic:  

http://www.geocities.com/dmisfit/Deathlok/Deathlok1-01a.jpg

I had forgotten all about him
His comics kicked ass!

I'll definitely be going to see that film.

[trekgeezer]

Deathlok will not resemble the comic, as I Robot will not  resemble Asimov's stories in anyway from what I've seen of it .

The most interesting film of the year will be Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow with Jude Law, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie. It takes place at the 1939 world's fair gone amuck and is almost totally CG. Go to the official site and check out the trailer.

[Susan]

>>Just wondering how watching a movie, which we all do voluntarily, can be called shoving something down the audience's throat? I mean, anyone who bothers to go see this movie will KNOW (or darn well should) ahead of time that it is a biblical story.<<

I'm not saying it will, but many audience goers have that attitude when seeing any type of religious film...that somehow they're being force fed someone's religious beliefs - which is why in general, biblical films of recent years don't do well.
people like to find something to picket against

Ash - looks like a big resurgance of comic book films this year and perhaps next. Can any recent single film take credit for having started this sudden boom?

>>The most interesting film of the year will be Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow with Jude Law<<

I saw the trailer at the theater - it looked really crappy but then it's hard to tell from trailers since they are often misleading. I blame trailers for pushing films toward the wrong audience as being responsible for me passing on seeing the movie in the theater only later to find I absolutely love it. :)

I'm still pondering "Godsend" - does anyone remember the film i'm talking about? Seems like some older kid (perhaps teen or young adult) was in an accident or something. I don't know if he's cloned so much as...revived from cryo? In any case he's souless and has killing tendancies. Feels like 70's film. Ah well

[jmc]

I saw the trailer to SKY CAPTAIN at ROTK.  I'm wondering if it might not fail since it's a period piece.  Most fans today are not aware of the movie serial tradition that it seems to be working from, so I don't know if they'll get it.

But then, I'm usually wrong about what will flop.

I think the DAWN remake will do about like the TCM remake--moderate success but nothing major.  I don't see the AMITYVILLE remake doing well...the first was successful only because of the hype surrounding the "true story."  

THE VILLAGE will probably do well, since there's proof that there's an audience for Shamylyan's crap.  After SIGNS I vowed I'd never see another one of his movies.  I guess I can hope that it will be another UNBREAKABLE and not do well.

I think SPIDERMAN 2 will probably be the only big comic book adaptation to make it big, unless you count ALIEN VS. PREDATOR as a comic.   It sounds like most of the other adaptations are of lesser-known characters.  I'm betting that in many cases a lot of the audience won't even know that they are adaptations.

STEPFORD WIVES might do well, but younger moviegoers will probably find it boring unless they change a lot of things.  

RING 2 will probably be a big hit.  Is it based on the Japanese sequels or are they taking it in a new direction?

I think the Mel Gibson flick will probably make money, but will prove to be just as controversial as expected.  It will probably be one of those movies that makes a lot of money but doesn't get many awards.

[JohnL]

>I don't know if he's cloned so much as...revived from cryo? In any case he's
>souless and has killing tendancies. Feels like 70's film. Ah well

I'm not sure it was a kid, but I seem to remember seeing a movie like this. Someone is awakened from cryo and he ends up a psycho. I think it was a TV movie.

>STEPFORD WIVES might do well, but younger moviegoers will probably find it
>boring unless they change a lot of things.

Like having the stars running from an army of terminator rejects?

[Susan]

>>I'm not sure it was a kid, but I seem to remember seeing a movie like this. Someone is awakened from cryo and he ends up a psycho. I think it was a TV movie.<<

Right, i'm  sure his mother or both parents received a phonecall - like they were suprised by his sudden return years later. (or revival)
It seems like one parent didn't know that the child was being stored or wasn't dead, I don't know if they were in a coma or cryo.  It's all fuzzy.  In any case i remember emphasis on his dark and empty soulless eyes..lol
I seriously wanna think he was a young adult or young man who maybe died as a child during a car accident or something. But when they are brought back they aren't the same, they want to kill. WHO KNOWS THIS?

[Scott]

Hoping the best for these films:

Dawn of the Dead
The Alamo
The Day After Tommorrow
Hellboy

[Susan]

>>Hoping the best for these films:

Dawn of the Dead
The Alamo<<

I dunno, i sort of resent how hollywood is overdoing it with the remakes. As for the Alamo - heh, i live in texas and still have no interest in seeing this movie. I think it might do good the first two weekends but after a month nobody will remember the alamo

Does anyone know anything about "The day after tomorrow"? The trailer builds it up as a disaster end of the world film but the title and the way the trailer ends implies that this movie has a plot further than the ice age - like how man survives.

 Personally I find that interesting, I'm sorta tired of films that build up to the apocolyptic disaster and then manage to avoid it ...or.... that is simply the end of the movie. I always wanted to see what  happened AFTER the chaos, not a speech of "We will survive, we will rebuild" crap and then roll credits. I'm afraid the title may be misleading (just as armageddon falsly advertised it's name to a movie that didn't actually have an armageddon)

Show me how a society, so reliant on technology and all of our spoils, can start over from the very moment the armageddon happens, the breakdown of social order and how a grocery store clerk can become the leader of the new civilization..lol



Post Edited (01-04-04 21:53)

[Scott]

yea, I don't like remakes eithier and I'm sure DAWN OF THE DEAD will not be very good.

ALAMO looks like it my be interesting. History Channel did a whole show on the making of the movie. The movie set is really good and will probably be more historical. The acting and action might not be the best, but I think it will pass as a good and historic piece.

[Susan]

Btw The film referenced above, I did some looking using keyword seaches (took awhile) and I believe it to be:

CHILLER by Wes Craven. Made for tv I guess but i really can't find much of anything on the movie besides the little snippet at imdb:
Corporate exec Miles Creighton dies, and is cryogenically frozen in the hopes that he can be revived. 10 years later, the procedure is a success, and Miles returns--without his soul

Looks like his mother kept him in it (as i recall from the film..i seem to have a memory of a father who knew he wasn't right but I can't find more on it)

[Grumpy Guy]

Susan wrote:

> So what do you think will be the hits and misses this year?
> Here's a few selected that might be of interest, overlooking
> the obvious hits like Spiderman and harry potter:

Okay, let's give this a shot...

> DAWN OF THE DEAD (remake) First time director

Not only is this a remake of a horror movie (traditionally a bad idea), but it's also the director's first flick.  I don't know, that trailers look kind of promising, but I just don't see it working out too well.

> ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND Jim Carrey/Kate
> Winslet trying to save a failing relationship by having bad
> memories erased (kind of reminds me of a twilight zone episode
> where a guy sold his memories)

Why does this sound like Jim Carrey doing drama?  I guess the truman Show was okay, but still...  It's an interesting idea that I am horribly afraid will be ruined by bad casting decisions...

> DONNIE DARKO - directors cut/limited Damn them! Just
> another ploy to sell another DVD version

I'm the wrong person to ask.  I'm really suprised I didn't think of this one when I was making my "What movies do you HATE" thread.  It boggles my mind that so many people worship this movie.  It's modern-goth surrealist crap.

> HELLBOY Ron pearlman, lots of mutants. Director did
> "Blade 2" and "mimic"

Fun?  Yes.  Successful?  Most likely, no.

> THE ALAMO Ronnie howards baby, pushed from december to
> spring

I'm not really looking forward to this, but I think it will do well.  My issue is that all these supposed "historical" dramas of late seem to be based on an alternate history that bears little resemblance to our own history.  Remember Pearl Harbor?  What was wrong with the real story, anyway?
 
> THE PUNISHER Based on a marvel comic, but travolta is in
> it also - sign of a flop? First time director

*sigh* Cool trailers will bring in a respectable opening, but I do not see a spectacular success here.  I think it'll probably do almost (but not quite) as well as Daredevil.

> THE VILLAGE Shyamalan thriller with Juaquin Phoenix,
> Sigourny weaver

I have high hopes for this.  Shyamalan has put together all the elements he needs to to produce a success on par with the Sixth Sense.  I hoe it works out.  I like this guy's work.
 
> ALIEN VS PREDETOR nuff said

You know, there's just something wrong with a movie that ignores ALL IT'S SOURCE MATERIAL, including the comic is's supposedly based on.  Aliens on modern day earth?  Ugh.  I'll probably hate it, but I expect it will do well in the Box Office.

> DEATHLOK Can't find an actor list but it's about a guy
> who's part of an experiment where he's slowly being transformed
> into a cyborg. Director did "Mulholland falls",

Reminds me of the AD Police File "The Man Who Bites His Tongue."  I don't know enough to make a good guess, though...
 
> ANCANAR Story *inspired* by Tolkien set in middle earth.
> First time directors, no name actors ;-)

Please, God, no.

> VAN HELSING Hugh jackman is the vampire hunter

Well, I like the charcter the movie is based on.  Let's hope the movie is worth something, huh?
 
> THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW The big disaster film of
> 2004..run for your lives the ice age is coming!

This will do well, despite the fact that is will be, in fact, crap.  That is my prediction, based on recent experience with "disaster" films.  There will be much Bad Science (the kind that makes me groan, and makes it a prime target for a good ripping-apart by good ol' Liz over at And You Call Yourself a Scientist), psudo science, and other crap thrown in our faces in an attempt to convince us that this could actually happen.  I also predict that the human race, itself, will somehow be responsible for the disaster.

But I've been wrong before...
 
> CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK Character in Pitch Black with
> Diesel..who oddly I don't see much of in the trailer?

I loved the character Riddick in Pitch Black, and I hope this film pans out well.  If it is good, I think it will do well.  I actually think the quality of the film will determine the fate of this one.
 
> AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS Jackie Chan,
> Schwartzanegger, Kathy Bates, owen wilson, john cleese...what
> the hell?!

Wait...  what?  Are you sure you've got that star list down right... *DOES A NET SEARCH*  Holy crap.  The apocolypse is coming...

> I, ROBOT This could be interesting. Director of "The
> Crow" and "Dark City", Will smith is a cop who investages a
> murder that could have been done by a robot

ANother case of "Why can't they be loyal to the source material."
 
> MAN THING Marvel Comics series. Interesting
> title...Wonder how many will go thinking this is a porn?

The title never did well as a comic.  It's too damn weird.  I predict the same for the movie.
 
> THE RING 2 Because...we need another one..and another
> and another..

Depends on what they do with it.  If they base it on the sequel to Ringu, then it will probably be as bad as its source material (which, from what the creators of Ringu2 said, means BAD).  Hopefully they'll have the sense to take it in a different direction, and help to remove the stigma of baing an "Americanized Japanese" flick.  I also hope that, like The Ring itself, they keep the swearing to a minimum, the gore to a minimum. and work on a good, spooky atmosphere.
 
> STEPFORD WIVES True to the original? nicole kidman.
> Trailer looks like a commercial for a product

Please, dear god, no.
 
Finally, Mel Gibson's Jesus film will not do incredibly well here, but will have more success overseas and on video, following the pattern of The Last Temptation of Christ.

I'm personally interested in the upcomin The Butterfly Effect.  Anyone else seen the trailer for this one?  It looks interesting, at least...

[Chopper]

Out of all of those the Punisher and I, Robot look interesting. I, Robot mainly becuase I like that director, Alex Proyess is his name I think. As for the Punisher i'm curious to see it since I used to be a comic book nerd and the last one didn't do too well. I'm also curious to see what the Stepford Wives and Dawn OFD remakes are gonna be like. Hopefully they wont screw them up too much.