2006? That's, like, so last year, man! What cinematic treats has 2007 got in store for us, that's what you want to know! So here is my list of the Top 10 films I'm most anticipating... and you should be too.
10. NUMBER 23 (dir Joel Schumacher)The last time director Joel Schumacher worked with Jim Carrey it was on 1995's Batman Forever. Their sophomore collaboration couldn't be more different, as it finds Carrey playing a man who becomes obsessed with the number 23 and a book that seems to chart his entire life, but ends in a murder.
09. HOT FUZZ (dir Edgar Wright)The creative team behind Shaun Of The Dead reunite to poke fun at a different genre: the buddy cop action thriller. However, the comedic twist is that this particularly high-octane police procedural takes place in a sleepy Somerset village. Imagine Bad Boys meets Miss Marple.
08. THE SIMPSONS MOVIE (dir David Silverman)While the television series struggles to match the comedic bite of its earlier years, fans will surely be clamouring to see everyone's favourite family on the big-screen. The plot involves a contaminated water supply and all of the show's writers from its Golden Age have returned. This could be just the thing to re-energize the TV series... or put a nail in its coffin...
07. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE WORLD'S END (dir Gore Verbinski)Audiences made the first sequel 2006's biggest hit, so expectation is huge for the third instalment. Johnny Depp should ensure things are suitably enjoyable, while the special-effects will no doubt cause jaws to drop. Let's just hope they can keep the pace up and wrestle the storyline with more success than Pirates 2.
06. HARRY POTTER & THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (dir David Yates)Sequels are always easier to look forward to, because you have a vague understanding of how entertaining they're likely to be. Harry Potter hasn't put a foot wrong since the first film six years ago, so the fifth movie is bound to be a hit -- although it is based on the weakest book...
05. LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (dir Len Wiseman)Bruce Willis finally dusts off that vest to play maverick cop John McClane for the fourth time. As a fan of the original, I'm looking forward to this more through brand loyalty than anything else, but the action sequences look incredible in the trailer, so I'm expecting a fun ride.
04. SPIDER-MAN 3 (dir Sam Raimi)How do you keep a franchise interesting? Well, by upping the stakes, of course! Spider-Man 3 will see the web-crawler up against Sandman, Harry Osbourne and a creature known as Venom. There's a danger this third instalment could be overkill, but with Raimi again in charge... dare you bet against it?
03. TRANSFORMERS (dir Michael Bay)The 80s smash-hit cartoon and toy-line finally gets a live-action movie adaptation, courtesy of Michael Bay and producer Steven Spielberg. This isn't going to win any awards for screenwriting or acting, but if you want to see giant robots fighting each other, each with the ability to transform into various vehicles, then look no further. This will be the year's noisiest action spectacle, by far.
02. 300 (dir Zack Snyder)Did you enjoy Sin City? Well, comic-book writer Frank Miller has another of his bloodthirsty works translates to the silver screen in the shape of 300. Imagine Lord Of The Rings mixed with Gladiator, as realized by the same greenscreen techniques witnessed in Sin City... and I'll see you in line.
01. GRIND HOUSE (dir Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez)Tarantino and Rodriguez are destined to deliver us the most gleefully mad cinematic concoction of the year. Bar none. Grind House is two films for the price of one (Tarantino's Bullet Proof with Kurt Russell and a killer car, and Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a zombie flick). The whole experience will drag you back to the exploitation days of 70s cinema, even including fake trailers included from Eli Roth (Hostel) and Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead). Trust me, this is going to be a wild ride of sex, violence and gore. The must-see film of 2007.
As a sidenote: reviews for Battlestar Galactica's third season and Prison Break's second will also be covered by DMDB in the days to come.
