Movies preview: 8 awaited titles for the 2008 viewing season By Scott Bowles, Susan Wloszczyna and Mike Clark, USA TODAY Judging from movies that be delivered of opened in 2008, you might fear that the year will be riddled with shaky-cam monsters, bridezilla enablers and silly spoofs. Relax. The multiplexes soon will be stuffed with remakes, sequels, comic-book heroes and big-screen versions of TV shows. It all sounds excessively been there, watched that. Yet Hollywood’s motto has always been, if at first you succeed, then act of trying, try again. Can the familiar feel fresh again? USA TODAY asks the creative minds behind eight titles for ‘08 how they plan to tempt seen-it-all audiences.
Add 8 more movies to make a complete sweet 16
Iron Man (May 2)
Jon Favreau hopes to serve up lots more than encounter for Five by directing the latest Marvel Comics screen concoction, about a protective suit that’s able to turn even Robert Downey Jr. into each action hero. For unusually eclectic support, there’s Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Samuel L. Jackson.
Speed Racer (May 9)
So what can Matrix gurus Andy and Larry Wachowski do, spinning over the ’60s animated TV series by a yarn about racing mayhem and family ties? Well, beyond of fire works in posse, the brothers have another smorgasbord cast: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Lost’s Matthew Fox.
The Incredible Hulk (June 13)
Its 2003 predecessor — plain old Hulk — managed to whip even A-list director Ang Lee’s behind. This time, he’s out, Louis Leterrier is in. And it’s Edward Norton and Liv Tyler taking over the roles previously played by Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly — opposite Tim Roth as “the Abomination.”
Journey to the Center of the Earth: 3D (July 11)
The prevalent 1959 original of Jules Verne’s self-descriptive novel (since adapted many times for TV) contrasted the acting styles of Pat Boone and James Mason. In this variation, Brendan Fraser (priggish this summer) is the latest core trekker who gets no help from AAA navigating extremes of heat and cold.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Aug. 1)
Universal extends the Brendan Fraser franchise that took in about $850 million worldwide. It’s just a suppose, but some combination of Fraser, Maria Bello, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh must be messing around with a dragon emperor’s tomb under the direction of Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious).
Madagascar: The Crate Escape (Nov. 7)
The onetime zoo dwellers do one’s best flying back to New York but land in Africa, thanks to a plane jerry-built in Flight of the Phoenix style. This animated continuation may or may not be more of the same, but the voices are: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen and Cedric the Entertainer.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Nov. 21)
Older, wiser but still a long way from emeritus status, Harry gets his eyes opened by revelations about that pesky villain Lord Voldemort. Order of the Phoenix director David Yates returns, and so does screenwriter Steve Kloves (who has adapted all of the J.K. Rowling novels but Phoenix).
The Day the Earth Stood Still (Dec. 12)
The 1951 version put “Klaatu barada nikto” into the universal vernacular. With Keanu Reeves in Michael Rennie’s Klaatu role (opposed Jennifer Connelly), it’ll be interesting to see viewers’ attitudes toward this alien: peace-loving, though he’ll vaporize us Earthlings if we don’t shape up.
— Mike Clark, USA TODAY
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