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Title:
Dear John
Stars:
Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins
Studio:
Screen Gems
Plot:
A romantic drama about a soldier (Tatum) who falls for a co-ed (Seyfried) while he's home on leave. Their relationship is tested in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, an event that causes him to re-enlist for service.
Buzz:
Lasse Hallstrom is a perfect director pick for this adaptation of the novel by Nicholas Sparks, the John Grisham of romantic drama. Herein, Channing Tatum earns a chance to flex his dramatic abdominals, Amanda Seyfried wipes away her tears for what will be her weepy year (get ready for her Letters to Juliet in May), and Richard Jenkins lines up a potential second Oscar nomination for his part as supportive parent.
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Title:
Avatar
Stars:
Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez
Studio:
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Plot:
A paraplegic former marine (Worthington) accepts a unique mission that sends him to the planet Pandora, where, through a connection to a remotely controlled biological body, he learns the way of the indigenous Na'vi people. His link to this world puts him in direct opposition with his orders to infiltrate the Na'vi and remove the barrier between them and the precious ore desired by military and corporate interests.
Buzz:
James Cameron's response to upping the world of visual effects? He takes a new approach to 3D -- all the way down to creating his own cameras -- and augments the natural world by introducing new plant life and creatures to the aforementioned band of humans. It's the kind of anticipation that even makes President Roslin swoon. Meanwhile, Sam Worthington quietly has become new face of sci-fi. That makes us swoon.
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Title:
From Paris with Love
Stars:
John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Studio:
Lionsgate
Plot:
In Paris, a young employee in the office of the US Ambassador (Myers) hooks up with an American spy (Travolta) looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city.
Buzz:
"From the director of Taken" sure is an exciting phrase, but somehow this looks worse than the clanging, repellant, and underperforming Taking of Pelham 1 2 3: agree or disagree?
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Title:
Edge of Darkness
Stars:
Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston
Studio:
Warner Bros. Pictures
Plot:
As homicide detective Thomas Craven (Gibson) investigates the death of his activist daughter, he uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up and government collusion that attracts an agent (Winstone) tasked with cleaning up the evidence.
Buzz:
This movie radiates tension in and out! Packaged by super-producer Graham King (The Departed) right before the Screen Actor's Guild strike in 2008, Edge had trouble finding a studio, which was attributed, of course, to Mel Gibson being blacklisted by Hollywood. Not so! Said King. And then Robert De Niro backed out of the co-starring role right as filming began. To me, this is all merely early publicity for a project that doesn't fully engage me otherwise. In truth, De Niro being replaced by Ray Winstone drew my attention back to the film, and I'm primed to see how another terrific actor, Danny Huston, fits into the plot, which promises to twist until the end thanks to William Monahan, Graham King's Oscar-winning screenwriter from The Departed.
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Title:
Tooth Fairy
Stars:
Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd, Julie Andrews
Studio:
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Plot:
A bad deed on the part of a tough minor-league hockey player (Johnson) results in an unusual sentence: He must serve one week as a real-life tooth fairy.
Buzz:
The most excited we can get for this movie is realizing that Julie Andrews and Stephen Merchant co-star in it.
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Title:
When in Rome
Stars:
Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel
Studio:
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Plot:
Beth (Bell) is a young, ambitious New Yorker who is completely unlucky in love. However, when she impulsively steals some coins from a reputed fountain of love during a whirlwind trip to Rome, she finds herself aggressively pursued by a band of suitors.
Buzz:
Spotted: Kristen Bell trying the Amy Adams approach to mainstream success, embracing a Disney-fied take on romance in NYC. What will Upper East Siders have to say about this, as well as Bell's rabid cult audience? Her fortune is shining in the Eternal City, though it's unlikely she'll ever head back to Neptune, CA for the once-promising "Veronica Mars" movie. In fact, I feel like this fantasy comedy mirrors Ms. Bell's career, since she's found luck on TV with as a guest star on "Heroes" and the titular narrator of "Gossip Girl", but she has yet to find a big-screen vehicle for her considerable success. Something tells me she might have pitched a coin or two when the cameras weren't rolling.
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Title:
The Book of Eli
Stars:
Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson
Studio:
Warner Bros. Pictures
Plot:
In a post-apocalyptic United States, a lone man (Washington) fights his way across the country in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.
Buzz:
From Hell was the last Hughes Bros., movie, and that was back in 2001, a time when not every movie seemed to be adapted from a comic book or video game. 8 years later, they're back with an original screenplay, an increasingly rare occurrence these days. The post-apocalypse theme is going to get a workout this year, but after reading this interview, I think the Hughes Bros. have the winning take on the matter.
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Title:
Crazy Heart
Stars:
Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell
Studio:
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Plot:
A hard-living country music singer (Bridges) makes a reach for salvation with the help of a journalist (Gyllenhaal) set in her attempt to find the real man behind the musician.
Buzz:
A late entry into this year's awards sweepstakes courtesy of Fox Searchlight and first-time director Scott Cooper, Crazy Heart doesn't sound like the story offers anything new, however, the idea of watching Bridges sing, drink, puke, cry, and redeem is undeniably appealing. Assuming Bridges will earn a Best Actor nomination, you might want to revisit Tender Mercies, the Oscar winner to which Heart is intimately linked.
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Title:
Legion
Stars:
Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Charles S. Dutton
Studio:
Screen Gems
Plot:
God has lost his faith in humankind, causing him to send his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. A remote diner becomes the battleground, where the Archangel Michael (Bettany) bands together with a group of strangers, though Michael's true focus is to protect a pregnant waitress whose unborn child is humankind's hope for survival.
Buzz:
Scott Stewart used to head up acclaimed (and now sadly defunct) visual effects house The Orphanage, so his ascent to the director's chair is totally logical. And this post-apocalyptic tale isn't based on a comic book or other pre-existing entity -- how novel for the new year. Truly, our first glace at Paul Bettany as an archangel and Doug Jones as the "ice cream man" (Jones compares his character to a "clown with a knife behind his back") and we were hooked. This is going to be outrageously awesome.
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Title:
Sherlock Holmes
Stars:
Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams
Studio:
Warner Bros. Pictures
Plot:
Detective Sherlock Holmes (Downey Jr.) and his stalwart partner Watson (Law) engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
Buzz:
With the anticipation of Iron Man 2, we almost forgot about RDJ's take on the titular master sleuth, until the trailer made us think this could be the hottest bromantic blockbuster of the... winter? Rumors of reshoots and a mysterious cameo made us think they were going to push this back, but it's full steam ahead for Christmas (now if they could only make Jude's wish for a potential franchise come true).Don't look for any hints of Basil Rathbone here, as Downey's ditched the iconic deerstalker for a shabby-chic fedora and throwing down some mean, shirtless fisticuffs. Plus, all the minds behind with this one looked at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original set of novels and short stories instead of the tired old movies. For more on all things Holmes (and IM2), read Anne Thompson's post-Comic-Con brief with RDJ himself.
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