Borders Line: 2011 Will Be A Very Good Year

The Green Hornet (1.14.11)

Michel Gondry and Seth Rogen take a stab at the masked superhero serial. It looks like they’re going for a wackier sensibility than most of the earlier incarnations, and I expect to be highly diverted. Probably not for Hornet purists.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1.21.11)

Written and produced by Guillermo del Toro, the trailer is hella spooky and the film earned an R rating for sheer terror, which is always a good sign. Maybe this is the movie that can make Katie Holmes interesting again!

FEBRUARY:

The Roommate (2.4.11)

I find trashy thrillers hilarious and delightful. Leighton Meester looks like she could give good psycho.

Sanctum (2.4.11)

Produced by Big Spender James Cameron, the 3D underwater cave diving movie will be lush, aquatic eye candy if nothing else. It’s produced by Andrew Wight, who’s done a bunch of underwater nature documentaries. And I really, really like underwater nature documentaries, okay?

I Am Number Four (2.18.11)

D.J. Caruso has yet to direct a decent flick, but I find myself giving him the benefit of the doubt anyway. The sci-fi screenplay is by Smallville‘s Al and Miles and Buffy/Every Other TV Show’s Marti Noxon and the movie has lots of pretty young things in it, so I’ve got some interest.

MARCH:

Adjustment Bureau (3.4.11)

From the Philip K. Dick story, starring the always-pleasing Damon and Blunt with a great supporting cast of Terence Stamp and John Slattery, this movie should deliver. Great poster, too.

Red Riding Hood (3.11.11)

I’m a fan of the gothic fairy tale, and I love the first 15 names or so credited in this cast. Plus it’s written by the guy who wrote Orphan, and that movie was WAY more fun than it needed to be.

Paul (3.18.11)

Uhm, obviously. The cast is so very good, topped off with the agreeable combo of Pegg and Frost—and Rogen’s voice as the alien. So far Greg Mottola projects are uniformly charming.

Sucker Punch (3.25.11)

Zack Snyder’s tough chick steampunk fable intrigues me. I’m all about pretty ladies kicking ass, plus Jon Hamm is in it, so.

Red State (TBA)

I’m truly curious what a Kevin Smith-directed horror movie will entail. The man hasn’t put in a real effort in a very long time, but this project is at least original and well-cast.  We’ll see.

APRIL:

Source Code (4.1.11)

The follow-up from Moon‘s Duncan Jones. The trailer’s pretty eye-rolly, but I repeat: it’s the follow-up from Moon‘s Duncan Jones. That means we should watch it.

Super (4.1.11)

Yes! YES! James Gunn’s Slither is one of my favorite flicks, and I’ve been looking forward to his Rainn Wilson-Ellen Page superhero comedy for a very long time.

Scream 4 (4.15.11)

With the original team joining lots of attractive new faces, I can’t help it. I’m tempted. Also Adam Brody’s in it, and he should be in everything.

MAY:

Thor (5.6.11)

I can’t believe Kenneth Branagh is directing this movie. It’s going to be so fancy!

Priest (5.13.11)

I know: we’re all tired of vampires. But Paul Bettany as a fang-hunting priest from the Min-Woo Hyung graphic novels has got to be reasonably cool. Especially because Karl Urban’s in it.

Tree of Life (5.27.11)

Terrence Malick will always treat your eyeballs right. This movie looks straight gorgeous.

JUNE:

X-Men: First Class (6.3.11)

Matthew Vaughn tackles the tricky franchise with a reboot produced by Bryan Singer. The casting’s all pretty solid except for the humorless January Jones as Emma Frost. Won’t anyone EVER get my beloved Frost right?

Super 8 (6.10.11)

J.J. Abrams’ newest super-secret project has generated lots of buzz, because he is crazy good at doing that.

Green Lantern (6.17.11)

We’ll finally get a chance to dig Ryan Reynold’s abs in the CGI suit, mock Blake Lively as an ill-advised Carol Ferris and geek out at the Corps. Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller is such an inspired choice, I can almost forgive the casting of Lively. Just kidding, I totally can’t!

JULY:

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (7.1.11)

The tan, sweaty Michael Bay cash piles are always good for a laugh if nothing else. Plus this one will have Alan Tudyk in it!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (7.15.11)

I’m not looking forward to the day that there’s no new HP material for me to consume, but I’m very much looking forward to seeing the dragon at Gringotts.

Captain America: The First Avenger (7. 22.11)

Marvel continues the merciless assault on our collective wallets. I’m ready to see Chris Evans’ leading man chops.

Cowboys and Aliens (7.29.11)

Man,  July’s a big month! Jon Favreau’s movie looks like some serious ass-kicking business and Daniel Craig makes one very manly cowboy.

AUGUST:

Fright Night (8.19.11)

I’m mostly going to see this movie so I can rail about it and have an excuse to re-watch the original and make outraged comparisons. That, and Anton Yelchin.

5nal Destination (8.26.11)

I know it’s crazy to continue watching these movies, but I find something about the relentless pursuit of Death invariably compelling. At any rate, creative kills always abound.

Piranha 3DD (TBA)

After the unadulterated genius that was Piranha 3D, this movie can’t fail to disappoint. But I will watch it anyway, also due to the unadulterated genius that was Piranha 3D. It’s a conundrum.

SEPTEMBER:

Untitled David R. Ellis 3D Shark Thriller (9.14.11)

Look, I like to live every week like it’s Shark Week. If you put a shark in ANY movie, I guarantee you I will watch it.

OCTOBER:

The Thing (10.14.11)

See Fright Night for my reasoning behind watching this remake; add the winning Mary Elizabeth Winstead to the mix.

NOVEMBER:

The Muppets (11.23.11)

Jason Segel and Muppets:  my heart exploding in a rainbow of squee.

DECEMBER:

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (12.21.11)

David Fincher tackles the first entry in The Millennium Trilogy with Daniel Craig as Blomkvist and Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander. We’ll see, my friends. We’ll see.

DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED:

Cabin in the Woods: Joss! Drew! Horror movie! STOP TEASING US AND JUST RELEASE IT ALREADY.

A Dangerous Method: The Cronenberg/Mortensen ticket always gets my vote.

Holy balls, that’s a lot to look forward to! I’m going to have to start selling my plasma for movie tickets. I’m sure there are plenty of titles or omissions on this list that are giving you guys a case of the WTFs, so let me have it in the comments. And happy New Year, anyway!

 You can read more from Meredith at www.dannyisnthere.com .