Coraline

Blu-Ray Review: Riveting ‘Coraline’ Makes For Fantastic Blu-Ray Release

BrianTT — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:54:23 -0600

CHICAGO – Great films refuse to go away. Since I saw Henry Selick’s excellent “Coraline” months ago it has lingered in my memory like a dream and watching it again on the recently-released Blu-Ray (“Coraline” is also available on DVD), I’m reminded of how clever, creative, and captivating this piece of film was in theaters and will be every time I watch it with a perfect home release.

Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

Nothing gets old about “Coraline”. Actually, it gets richer with each viewing. That’s the mark of a great movie and exactly what most buyers willing to pay the still-too-steep purchase price of most Blu-Ray releases are looking for - something to watch again and again. You’ll watch “Coraline” again and again.

Coraline was released on Blu-Ray on July 21st, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal

The word I think of when I watch “Coraline” is mesmerizing. Based on the beloved book by Neil Gaiman, “Coraline” features excellent voice work by Teri Hatcher, Dakota Fanning, John Hodgman, Ian McShane, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, and Keith David.

Coraline was released on Blu-Ray on July 21st, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal

Fanning voices the lead character, a young girl who we meet after having moved to the first floor of a rental home with her writer parents (Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman of They Might Be Giants). Like a lot of children, Coraline is nearly bored to death. She wanders the grounds near the house, befriending odd characters like Wybie (Robert Bailey Jr.), a drunken acrobat named Bobinsky (Ian McShane), and a pair of former stage stars (Jennifer Saunders & Dawn French) who live downstairs. But she finds true adventure through a secret door in her own house.

Like Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” or Alice in “Alice in Wonderland,” Coraline finds an alternate universe that seens magical and inviting at first but quickly grows darker. Through the door, Coraline finds a world with another mother and father and far more entertaining versions of her housemates. Of course, as with all fables, everything is not what it seems and Coraline will have to fight her way back to the real world if she wants to survive.

One of many things that the creative team behind “Coraline” gets so right is that it’s okay to scare a kid. Some of the best children’s fiction - certainly the most timeless children’s fiction - has an element of honest, genuine fear. That’s something that modern family filmmakers too often forget. It’s good for kids to feel a shiver down their spine. Don’t be surprised if you adults feel one too.

The fearless design of “Coraline” sets the film apart from the very beginning. From the amazing character design to the gorgeous backdrops, “Coraline” looks incredible. It is such a visual accomplishment that you will almost forget that it’s all stop-motion animation. Great voice work by Fanning goes a long way to help the believability of the entire piece.

Seeing it in theaters, I couldn’t get over the amazing use of 3D and I still think - even after “Monsters vs. Aliens,” “Up,” and “G-Force” - that this is the best use of 3D to
date.

Coraline was released on Blu-Ray on July 21st, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal

Sadly, “Coraline” looks better in 3D in theaters than modern technology could allow it to look on Blu-Ray. The old-fashioned glasses and the way Blu-Ray presents 3D has yet to be perfected. “Coraline” in 3D on Blu-Ray looks cool but the 2D version is so crystal clear and less headache-inducing that I have to recommend it instead. 1080P is practically 3D on its own and there are no annoying glasses to deal with.

Luckily, you won’t have to choose when you’re at the store. You can do so at home. The two-disc collector’s edition of “Coraline” includes a 2D version and 3D version and includes the film on Blu-Ray, DVD, and digital copy. It’s a complete presentation of the film, allowing fans to watch it wherever, wherever, and however they choose.

The stunning picture, perfect audio, and variety of ways to watch the film would make “Coraline” a remarkable release but the special features push it over the edge and into “one of the best of the year” material.

Universal’s amazing U-Control functionality allows for an immersive how-to experience with animatics, interviews, voice sessions, and behind-the-scenes footage playing picture-in-picture while you watch the film. ALL Blu-Rays should be this expertly laid out. Other amazing features include deleted scenes, “The Making of Coraline,” “Voicing the Characters,” “Creepy Coraline,” and a full-length commentary by Henry Selick.

It only came out a few months ago, but “Coraline” gets better every time I see it and even gets stronger in memory. It’s a cinematic dream that is proving harder to shake than any of us first thought and with an amazing Blu-Ray release like this one it’s timelessness seems apparent already.

‘Coraline’ is released by Universal Home Video and features voice work by Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr., Dawn French, and Ian McShane. It was written and directed by Henry Selick. The Blu-Ray and DVD were released on July 21st, 2009. It is rated PG.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Audiences Are Into ‘He’s Just Not That Into You’ With $27 Million Opening

BrianTT — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 12:01:06 -0700

CHICAGO – The New Line romantic comedy “He’s Just Not That Into You,” starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper, Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, and Ginnifer Goodwin, took the number one spot at the box office this weekend with an estimated $27.5 million and the best per screen total ($8,650) in the top ten.

“He’s Just Not That Into You” easily beat three other new films - “Coraline,” “The Pink Panther 2,” and “Push”.

Ginnifer Goodwin stars as Gigi and Justin Long stars as Alex.
Photo credit: Darren Michaels/New Line

The Liam Neeson action flick “Taken” had an amazing second weekend, dropping only 18% for a total of $20.3 million from Friday to Sunday and a remarkable $53.4 million in its first ten days of release. Word-of-mouth is clearly very positive on “Taken”.

Henry Selick’s “Coraline” tallied the second highest per screen average of the weekend and a very impressive total of $16.3 million. Great reviews for the film featuring voice work by Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher helped the film’s opening weekend tally.

Good reviews and word-of-mouth may have helped “Taken” and “Coraline,” but the fourth place finisher, “The Pink Panther 2” suffered from the opposite - bad reviews and proof that you can’t fool an audience twice. $12 million earned the film a fourth place finish, but that was 40% lower than the first Steve Martin remake three years ago. Audiences clearly weren’t clamoring for another “Pink Panther” movie and it seems like a third entry is now unlikely.

The biggest hit of the year, Kevin James’ “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” fell only 20% in its fourth weekend and held on to the top five with $11 million and an amazing $97 million to date. “Paul Blart” has shattered all expectations and proven that counterprogramming against serious Oscar fare in January is a smart strategy.

The final new film of the weekend, “Push” with Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning, was dead on arrival with a dismal $10.2 million in its first frame.

The rest of the top ten were filled out by “Gran Torino” ($7.4 million and $120.3 million to date), “Slumdog Millionaire” ($7.4 million and $77.4 million to date), “The Uninvited” ($6.4 million and $18.4 million to date), and “Hotel For Dogs” ($5.8 million and $55.2 million to date).

Challengers to “He’s Just Not That Into You” for next week’s box office crown include Isla Fisher’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” Clive Owen’s “The International,” and the Marcus Nispel remake of “Friday the 13th”.

Source: Box Office Mojo

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Henry Selick’s ‘Coraline’ an Early Contender For Best Animated Film of 2009

BrianTT — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:59:41 -0700

CHICAGO – Henry Selick, the visionary director of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “James and the Giant Peach” has masterfully directed a mesmerizing journey into the world of imagination called “Coraline”.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Based on the beloved book by Neil Gaiman, “Coraline” is a nearly perfect stop-motion animated adventure featuring excellent voice work by Teri Hatcher, Dakota Fanning, John Hodgman, Ian McShane, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, and Keith David.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Coraline” in our reviews section.

Last year was an incredible one for animation with moving masterpieces like “WALL-E” and “Waltz With Bashir” and crowd-pleasers like “Kung Fu Panda” and “Bolt,” so it’s hard to say that “Coraline” would have been the best animated film of 2008, but it’s also easy to believe that we won’t see one better in 2009. It’s that good.

What immediately distinguishes “Coraline” is the creative team’s understanding that it is okay to honestly scare a young audience. Some of the best children’s fiction from “The Wizard of Oz” to Roald Dahl features genuine fear, something that modern filmmakers often forget. Selick and Gaiman are unafraid to send a shiver down the spine of their audience, children and parents alike.

Continuing reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Coraline” review.

‘Coraline’ features voice work by Dakota Fanning, Dawn French, Ian McShane, Jennifer Saunders, John Hodgman, and Teri Hatcher. ‘Coraline,’ which was written and directed by Henry Selick, opens on February 6th, 2009 and is rated PG.

Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) gets a surprise in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Photo credit: Focus/LAIKA

Interview: The Other World of Animation With ‘Coraline’ Director Henry Selick

BrianTT — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:01:03 -0700

CHICAGO – The limitations of the medium of animation are defined by the people who make it. As Henry Selick, the director of the upcoming and ground-breaking “Coraline” says, “Animation can be so much more than it is usually allowed to be.” Selick recently sat down with HollywoodChicago.com to discuss his new movie, the world of 3D film, and the legacy of “The Nightmare Before Christmas”.

“Coraline,” opening this Friday, February 6th, 2009. is a 3D, stop-motion, fantasy film based on a book by Neil Gaiman. Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Ian McShane, Jennifer Saunders, and Dawn French provide the voices for this fascinating story about a girl who discovers a secret door to the “Other World”.

Henry Selick, Director/Writer of the new stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Photo credit: LAIKA Entertainment/Focus Features

Like his work on “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “James and the Giant Peach,” and “Monkeybone,” “Coraline” is not your standard stop-motion animation. It’s not for everyone with Selick himself noting that “We sort of figured 8 and up. It says PG, which means that the parents are supposed to know what works for their kids.”

Other Father (voiced by John Hodgman) engineers an assist at his piano in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Photo credit: LAIKA Entertainment/Focus Features

But Selick is quick to point out that parents know what their kids can handle and notes that TV animation is far more adventurous than what we usually see in film. “And I am not just talking about stuff like Robot Chicken or South Park. The current version of Batman is dark—it is great and beautifully art-directed and that is what my 10-year-old loves the most. I think it is a strange thing, with movies in particular, that people want to pretend that it is 20 years ago and there is no Internet or adventurous animation on television—that is where we are being prevented from reaching kids.”

And it’s not just kids being held back by accepted limitations on cinematic animation. But Selick sees a changing tide in his medium.

“There has been a constant fear that it is different when I think that the world is screaming for something different as long as it is good and well-done and original. I haven’t seen the film “Waltz with Bashir” yet but from what I have read and heard about it, regardless of how successful it is, I am just happy that someone in animation got the funding to take on that subject. “Persepolis,” “The Triplets of Belleville” - animation can be so much more than it is usually allowed to be. Obviously, if you are going to be more adventurous, you need to spend less money and we have - we can do a film like this for 1/3rd of the cost of a big CGI film.”

Selick’s love for “unusual and scary animation” started years ago with films like “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad” and “Fantasia”. As he says, “I think every kid like a good scare. It was magic. It was terrifying.”

The early inspiration led Selick to the world of stop-motion animation when he was in college. He had been in the arts, doing a lot of drawing, painting, and sculpture, trying to combine different art forms. He saw a short film that combined a couple of different styles of animation and he was hooked. Even in his sculpture days, he was doing figures that could be constantly re-posed.

Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) is eager to enter the doorway to another world in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Photo credit: LAIKA Entertainment/Focus Features

Selick went on to do 2-D work at Disney but it was challenging because he hadn’t grown up on Disney animation like his colleagues and had other interests.

“I got a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts while I was at Disney and I did a film where I did more stop-motion than I ever had - large figures sitting by a pool having discussions about the story. Finally, after leaving Disney, I moved to the Bay Area and I really started getting into stop-motion animation. I did a bunch of work for MTV doing station ID’s during the late 1980s. That is where I found myself - I had low budgets but freedom as long as I put the logo on at the end. I was just finding myself engaged in stop-motion pretty much all of the time - I did some commercials as well - and then I reconnected with Tim Burton years after knowing him at Disney and then we did “The Nightmare Before Christmas”.”

Wybie (voiced by Robert Bailey Jr.) goes exploring with his new neighbor Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Photo credit: LAIKA Entertainment/Focus Features

Of course, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” has become a beloved film for an entire generation. Even Selick is unsure why the film has had such staying power. “There is no doubt that Tim Burton’s original idea, inspired by How the Grinch Stole Christmas, is wonderful—a collision of holidays and a well-intentioned but semi-insane Jack Skellington who thinks he is doing to world a great favor. Danny Elfman’s songs are great.”

“Even though that film is very different from “Coraline,” I remember going through very similar things with that one. Disney was afraid of that movie and I still don’t know why. Obviously, they aren’t now but back then, they wouldn’t put the Disney name on it—it was a Touchstone film—and they didn’t spend a lot promoting it and were surprised that it did as well as it did. It took many years before it became a Disney film and now it is ‘the beloved classic’ and it still makes me smile that they didn’t get it right away.”

After “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” Henry Selick made “James and the Giant Peach,” which he revealed is getting a Blu-Ray release soon. As he says, “They arne’t going to pull out all the stops in the same way [as “The Nightmare Before Christmas”], but it is in the works.”

Which brought Selick to “Coraline”. Selick worked with Neil Gaiman, who wrote the highly acclaimed book, but Gaiman was not a constant collaborator - “I made a deal with Neil for him to do regular check-ins but I wanted to do a lot of work first. With the artwork and character designs, I wanted to get Coraline to a very good place before showing him and not have him look at a lot of preliminaries. That is how it has been throughout—same with the storyboards and the story. We did a lot of work and Neil has almost always had a positive response with maybe two or three notes that were always right and always doable. You couldn’t ask for a better association between an author and a filmmaker.”

And “Coraline” presented a new challenge design-wise for Henry Selick. “Coraline was very hard to design. I worked with a lot of artists and there were a lot of very cartoony versions of Coraline. It took months and months and many different sculptures and trying to work out how she would be expressing things with her face took a very long time as well.”

Finally, Henry Selick hinted that “Coraline” may not be the end for him and Neil Gaiman, saying, “I am also looking to collaborating with Neil again and we have talked about a couple of projects. The problem is that everything that he has done is already set up someplace because he has become so successful, but I would say there is a very good chance we will collaborate again.”

‘Coraline’ features voice work by Dakota Fanning, Dawn French, Ian McShane, Jennifer Saunders, John Hodgman, and Teri Hatcher. ‘Coraline,’ was written and directed by Henry Selick, opens on February 6th, 2009.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Slideshow: 21-Image Gallery For Henry Selick’s ‘Coraline’

BrianTT — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:51:23 -0700

CHICAGO – This 21-image slideshow contains the official press images for “Coraline”, which was directed by Henry Selick (“The Nightmare Before Christmas”) and features the voice work of Teri Hatcher, Ian McShane, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, John Hodgman and Dakota Fanning. The Focus Features release of the LAIKA Entertainment produced film opens on Friday, February 6th, 2009.

Synopsis: “A high-definition stop-motion animated feature - the first to be originally filmed in stereoscopic 3-D - based on Neil Gaiman’s international best-selling book. A young girl (Dakota Fanning) walks through a secret door in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life - only much better. But when this wondrously off-kilter, fantastical adventure turns dangerous, and her counterfeit parents (including Other Mother [Teri Hatcher]) try to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to get back home - and save her family.”

You can click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through this slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All photos are credited © 2008 Laika, Inc. All rights reserved.to

Coraline_01: Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) travels through a portal between worlds in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features
Coraline_02: Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) gets a surprise in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_03: Miss Spink and Miss Forcible (voiced by Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French) are startled by a tea leaf reading in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_04: Mr. Bobinsky (voiced by Ian McShane) shares a secret with Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_05: Other Mother (voiced by Teri Hatcher) welcomes a visitor to her immaculate kitchen in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_06: Other Father (voiced by John Hodgman) engineers an assist at his piano in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_07: Coraline (at center, voiced by Dakota Fanning) tries to get the attention of her harried parents (voiced by [l-r.] John Hodgman and Teri Hatcher) in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_08: Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) is eager to enter the doorway to another world in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_09: Other Father (voiced by John Hodgman), Other Mother (voiced by Teri Hatcher) and Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) share a delicious breakfast in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_10: In the Other World, Mr. Bobinsky (voiced by Ian McShane) heralds a surprise circus attraction in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_11: In the Other World, Miss Spink and Miss Forcible (voiced by Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French) perform a trapeze act in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_12: Other Mother (voiced by Teri Hatcher) prepares to hide the portal-between-worlds key away forever in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_13: Other Mother (voiced by Teri Hatcher)’s creepy true nature is revealed to Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_14: Wybie (voiced by Robert Bailey Jr.) goes exploring with his new neighbor Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_15: In the Other World, Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) finds a welcome-home note and tasty treats in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_16: In the Other World, Wybie (voiced by Robert Bailey Jr.) and Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) are drawn to a circus in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_17: Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) finds Other Mother’s (voiced by Teri Hatcher) snack treat to be distasteful in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_18: Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) and Wybie (voiced by Robert Bailey Jr.) cautiously take a look down an old well in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_19: Other Father (voiced by John Hodgman) gives Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) a ride on the praying mantis in the stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.
Coraline_20: Poster Art for Coraline.
Coraline_21: Henry Selick, Director/Writer of the new stop-motion animated 3-D adventure Coraline, from LAIKA Entertainment for release by Focus Features.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

The 10 Most Anticipated Movies of Early 2009

BrianTT — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:58:10 -0700

CHICAGO – Believe it or not, there are movies worth marking your calendar for between Oscar season and the big summer blockbusters of 2009.

Over the next few months, the buzz for films like “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “Star Trek,” “Angels & Demons,” “Terminator: Salvation,” “Night at the Museum 2,” “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “Public Enemies,” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “New Moon,” and Pixar’s “Up” is going to become absolutely deafening, but there are well over a hundred flicks hitting the multiplex before those box office juggernauts take center stage and, believe it or not, a handful are actually worth your time.

The first third of 2008 produced quality films in “Cloverfield,” “In Bruges,” “The Visitor,” “George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead,” “Snow Angels,” “Redbelt,” and “Paranoid Park”. Which, granted, was not an overwhelming display of memorable filmmaking, but the point is that even in a weak season like the one we were about to start at this point last year, there were still a few gems. So, the question is - what will the early season gems be in 2009?

Looking into our movie-loving crystal ball, we’ve tried to target the ten films from January to April 2009 that we might conceivably still be talking about twelve months from now. While we recognize that there are audiences out there with countdown clocks for the release of “Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience” and “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” we are not members of that audience. And movies like “Crank 2: High Voltage”, “The Pink Panther 2,” and “The Fast and Furious” clearly have loyal fan followings but, if those sequels are even halfway decent, we’ll be surprised and satisfied. No, the idea was to try and find the 5-star films based on pedigree, plot, previews, potential, and assuming that a certain legal battle surrounding “Watchmen” goes the way that we think it will. So, without further ado…

The Soloist, from Paramount Pictures, opens on April 24th, 2009.
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

10. “The Soloist”
Release Date: April 24th
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener, Stephen Root, and Tom Hollander
Writer: Susannah Grant
Director: Joe Wright

Plot: The comeback kid of 2008, Robert Downey Jr., plays Steve Lopez, an LA Times journalist who discovers a former classical music prodigy living on the streets. Based on the true story, “The Soloist” details Lopez’s attempts at bringing the talented musician, played by Jamie Foxx, back to his feet.

Reason To Get Excited: Hanging onto the top ten by its dirty fingernails, “The Soloist” would have ranked a lot higher on this list if it hadn’t been bumped from the 2008 Oscar season for undisclosed reasons. That’s usually a bad sign. In fact, nearly everyone involved with making this drama seems to be distancing themselves from it, with Downey getting more press for his work on “Sherlock Holmes” and barely anyone talking about “The Soloist”. But there’s too much potential in that cast, the Oscar-nominated writer of “Erin Brokovich,” and the talented director of “Pride and Prejudice” and “Atonement” to completely dismiss this project sight unseen. Even the gorgeous score on the official site hints at a project that definitely should work. Yes, this could be the misstep in the Downey comeback and Foxx hasn’t really been stellar since he won his Oscar, but we’re not ready to give up on “The Soloist” yet.

The International, from Sony Pictures, opens on February 13th, 2009.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures

9. “The International”
Release Date: February 13th
Cast: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ulrich Thomasen, Jack McGee, and Brian F. O’Byrne
Writer: Eric Singer
Director: Tom Tykwer

Plot: Clive Owen plays an Interpol agent working with a Manhattan Assistant District Attorney (Naomi Watts) in an effort to bring down one of the world’s most powerful banks. International espionage, worldwide cover-ups, and war-profiteering serve as the backdrop for what could be the action thriller of the winter.

Reason To Get Excited: Three words - Tykwer, Watts, Owen. The director of “Run Lola Run” and the stars of “Children of Men” and “Eastern Promises”. These names should give everyone reason to get excited. Why not higher on the list? Well, the preview looks a little goofy and early February is not often known for stellar action. Case in point - this weekend last year saw the release of the horrible “Jumper”. It seems unlikely that Owen, Watts, and Tykwer would make something that disposable with “The International,” but we’ll keep our fingers crossed that this will be the perfect Valentine’s Day alternative to “He’s Just Not That Into You” that we think it will be.

Adventureland, from Miramax Films, opens on March 27th, 2009.
Photo credit: Miramax Films

8. “Adventureland”
Release Date: March 27th
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Margarita Levieva, and Ryan Reynolds
Writer/Director: Greg Mottola

Plot: In the summer of 1987, a recent college grad (Jesse Eisenberg) takes a useless job at a local amusement park as he prepares for the real world.

Reason To Get Excited: Most people still think that Judd Apatow directed “Superbad,” but it was actually the talented Greg Mottola who helmed that hilarious flick and his comic follow-up looks like it has a similar charm. Eisenberg was great in “The Squid and the Whale,” Kristen Stewart has always hinted at potential better than the movies she chooses, and Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are currently the most talented male and female comedian on “Saturday Night Live”. There are several promising comedies in early 2009, but “Adventureland” is one of the most appealing.

Anna Faris as Brandi and Seth Rogen as Ronnie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ comedy “Observe and Report,” distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Photo credit: Peter Sorel

7. “Observe and Report”
Release Date: April 10th
Cast: Anna Faris, Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Patton Oswalt, and Michael Pena
Writer/Director: Jody Hill

Plot: Rogen plays the bi-polar mall security guard Ronnie Barnhardt, who’s called in to stop a flasher from destroying his mall, but he needs the help of a surly detective, played by the often-funny and usually surly Ray Liotta. Also, the great Patton Oswalt plays a character named “Cinnabon Man”. ‘Nuff said.

Reason To Get Excited: Seth Rogen and Anna Faris are two of the most reliably effective comedians working today. Don’t get me wrong. Faris has made some BAD career choices. But the same can’t be said for Rogen, who gave two of the best performances of his career last year in “Pineapple Express” and “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”. And the great concept sounds like “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” but, you know, funny. We’re choosing to ignore that writer/director Jody Hill made the buzzed-about, though ultimately disappointing “The Foot Fist Way”. Everyone needs to start somewhere.