Just a few of the movies that will be coming out in 2005. Looks like we may be making a few trips to the movie theater this year!
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Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Are you ready? The final "Star Wars" movie is less than six months away... and there are so many questions that need to be answered. How does Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) finally descend into the dark side and become Darth Vader? What happens to Padme (Natalie Portman), the mother of Luke and Leia? Will Yoda kick more butt? How will Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) get it in the end? And how do the Wookies (who look cooler than ever) fit into all this? It may not have a happy ending, but it's a cultural phenomenon that will have people lining up around the block. Oh, and George Lucas has a chance to make up for the two lousy chapters that preceded this one. (May 19)
King Kong
One of the most iconic movie images of the 20th Century was the monster ape King Kong holding the beautiful Fay Wray in one hand and swatting away biplanes with the other as he stood atop the Empire State Building. Fresh off the landmark success of his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Peter Jackson is getting the chance to remake the classic tale he's loved for years. Ignoring the "modern" 1976 version (featuring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange), Jackson's movie will take place as the original did -- in the 1930's. This time, Naomi Watts stars as the object of the ape's affection with Jack Black, Adrien Brody and Andy Serkis (providing the movements for Kong) rounding out the cast. With Jackson's special effects team at Weta Digital in tow, get ready for a dramatic return to Skull Island. (December 14)
Batman Begins
After the disastrous "Batman & Robin," Warner Bros. waited seven years before it decided to bring the bat back. The good news is director Christopher Nolan ("Memento") promises to put the "dark" back in the Dark Knight with a story that focuses on the early years of Batman's career. This picture is based on the "Batman: Year One" graphic novels originally written by Frank Miller (see "Sin City"). Dolan has rounded up a stellar cast with Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as his butler Alfred, Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon, Ken Watanabe as the villain Ra's Al Ghul and Katie Holmes as love interest Rachel Dawes. And since it seems Batman can't face just one villain in a movie, he'll also encounter the nightmare-inducing power of the Scarecrow, played by Cillian Murphy. (June 17)
Sin City
Director Robert Rodriguez ("Spy Kids") teams up with acclaimed comic book creator Frank Miller to bring the latter's gritty graphic novel about the underbelly of society to life. Filmed completely on green screen, Rodriguez promises the film will be as faithful to Miller's original film-noir influenced designs as possible. The big name cast includes Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Elijah Wood, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Hartnett, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke and Rosario Dawson. (April 1)
War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells' landmark story of Martians attacking Earth comes back to theaters... in a big way. The film has been adapted numerous times but Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise's participation provide hope for a blockbuster movie that aims for more than flying saucers and big explosions. When Orson Welles produced a radio play of the book he fooled many listeners into believing the attack was real. Could Spielberg pull off the same feat? He'll have the money to do it, as this is being touted as the most expensive Hollywood film ever made. (July 1)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Can you say "Oompa Loompa"? Another of Hollywood's perfect pairings reunites as Tim Burton and Johnny Depp (who made "Edward Scissorhands" and "Ed Wood" together) slide into the candy filled world of Willy Wonka. Said to be more faithful to the original book than 1971's "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," Burton's version looks like a very trippy ride. Check out the visually stunning trailer here (July 15)
Other small mentions...
A) Steve Martin and Beyonce star in a new reincarnation of "The Pink Panther"...
B) John Travolta and Uma Thurman tackle the music biz in "Be Cool"...
C) Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and Burt Reynolds play football in "The Longest Yard"...
D) More are watching that tape and dying in "Ring 2"...
E) Sean Penn, Jude Law and Kate Winslet star in "All The King's Men"...
F) Nick Park, co-creator of the stop-motion animated "Chicken Run," returns with the big screen debut for his signature characters Wallace and Gromit in "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Wererabbit"...
G) Tim Burton also mines stop-motion techniques in time for Halloween with "The Corpse Bride"...
H) Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch and The Thing battle Dr. Doom in "The Fantastic Four"...
I) Matt Damon and Heath Ledger encounter magic in Terry Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm"...
J) Karl Urban and The Rock pump the popular video game "Doom" into a sci-fi battlefield...
(plus lots more I'm too lazy to list 😛 )
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Wow, I'm excited! They finally have a chance to do Batman RIGHT. I hope they do it justice this time and don't leave the fans disappointed yet again.
I've seen trailers for "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and it looks REALLY freaking cool...hard the believe that's Johnny Depp, though....looks nothing like him!
I hope they do Sin City right and don't mess it up like they do with most of the comic to movie productions!
War of the Worlds should be interesting...I had no clue they were working on that at all! I hope it has SOME content and is not a complete eye candy fest.
And Star Wars III....FINALLY we get the answers to our questions! George, I hope you listened to your faithful fans and loyal supporters for this one. A LOT is riding on this film!
Okay, I'm done babbling. Bring on the movies!
Mimi 😀
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Are you ready? The final "Star Wars" movie is less than six months away... and there are so many questions that need to be answered. How does Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) finally descend into the dark side and become Darth Vader? What happens to Padme (Natalie Portman), the mother of Luke and Leia? Will Yoda kick more butt? How will Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) get it in the end? And how do the Wookies (who look cooler than ever) fit into all this? It may not have a happy ending, but it's a cultural phenomenon that will have people lining up around the block. Oh, and George Lucas has a chance to make up for the two lousy chapters that preceded this one. (May 19)
King Kong
One of the most iconic movie images of the 20th Century was the monster ape King Kong holding the beautiful Fay Wray in one hand and swatting away biplanes with the other as he stood atop the Empire State Building. Fresh off the landmark success of his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Peter Jackson is getting the chance to remake the classic tale he's loved for years. Ignoring the "modern" 1976 version (featuring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange), Jackson's movie will take place as the original did -- in the 1930's. This time, Naomi Watts stars as the object of the ape's affection with Jack Black, Adrien Brody and Andy Serkis (providing the movements for Kong) rounding out the cast. With Jackson's special effects team at Weta Digital in tow, get ready for a dramatic return to Skull Island. (December 14)
Batman Begins
After the disastrous "Batman & Robin," Warner Bros. waited seven years before it decided to bring the bat back. The good news is director Christopher Nolan ("Memento") promises to put the "dark" back in the Dark Knight with a story that focuses on the early years of Batman's career. This picture is based on the "Batman: Year One" graphic novels originally written by Frank Miller (see "Sin City"). Dolan has rounded up a stellar cast with Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as his butler Alfred, Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon, Ken Watanabe as the villain Ra's Al Ghul and Katie Holmes as love interest Rachel Dawes. And since it seems Batman can't face just one villain in a movie, he'll also encounter the nightmare-inducing power of the Scarecrow, played by Cillian Murphy. (June 17)
Sin City
Director Robert Rodriguez ("Spy Kids") teams up with acclaimed comic book creator Frank Miller to bring the latter's gritty graphic novel about the underbelly of society to life. Filmed completely on green screen, Rodriguez promises the film will be as faithful to Miller's original film-noir influenced designs as possible. The big name cast includes Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Elijah Wood, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Hartnett, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke and Rosario Dawson. (April 1)
War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells' landmark story of Martians attacking Earth comes back to theaters... in a big way. The film has been adapted numerous times but Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise's participation provide hope for a blockbuster movie that aims for more than flying saucers and big explosions. When Orson Welles produced a radio play of the book he fooled many listeners into believing the attack was real. Could Spielberg pull off the same feat? He'll have the money to do it, as this is being touted as the most expensive Hollywood film ever made. (July 1)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Can you say "Oompa Loompa"? Another of Hollywood's perfect pairings reunites as Tim Burton and Johnny Depp (who made "Edward Scissorhands" and "Ed Wood" together) slide into the candy filled world of Willy Wonka. Said to be more faithful to the original book than 1971's "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," Burton's version looks like a very trippy ride. Check out the visually stunning trailer here (July 15)
Other small mentions...
A) Steve Martin and Beyonce star in a new reincarnation of "The Pink Panther"...
B) John Travolta and Uma Thurman tackle the music biz in "Be Cool"...
C) Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and Burt Reynolds play football in "The Longest Yard"...
D) More are watching that tape and dying in "Ring 2"...
E) Sean Penn, Jude Law and Kate Winslet star in "All The King's Men"...
F) Nick Park, co-creator of the stop-motion animated "Chicken Run," returns with the big screen debut for his signature characters Wallace and Gromit in "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Wererabbit"...
G) Tim Burton also mines stop-motion techniques in time for Halloween with "The Corpse Bride"...
H) Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch and The Thing battle Dr. Doom in "The Fantastic Four"...
I) Matt Damon and Heath Ledger encounter magic in Terry Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm"...
J) Karl Urban and The Rock pump the popular video game "Doom" into a sci-fi battlefield...
(plus lots more I'm too lazy to list 😛 )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow, I'm excited! They finally have a chance to do Batman RIGHT. I hope they do it justice this time and don't leave the fans disappointed yet again.
I've seen trailers for "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and it looks REALLY freaking cool...hard the believe that's Johnny Depp, though....looks nothing like him!
I hope they do Sin City right and don't mess it up like they do with most of the comic to movie productions!
War of the Worlds should be interesting...I had no clue they were working on that at all! I hope it has SOME content and is not a complete eye candy fest.
And Star Wars III....FINALLY we get the answers to our questions! George, I hope you listened to your faithful fans and loyal supporters for this one. A LOT is riding on this film!
Okay, I'm done babbling. Bring on the movies!
Mimi 😀
