Upcoming Movies I Want to See: Vol. 2

Here are the trailers I saw before the beginning of Saw, plus some info on some other movies coming soon.

[1] Hide and Seek: As a widower tries to piece together his life in the wake of his wife's suicide, his daughter finds solace -- at first -- in her imaginary friend. Stars Robert DiNero, Dakota Fanning and Elisabeth Shue. Release date: January 28, 2005.

Comments: Looks like a good ghost story! Why do movie companies release trailers so damn far ahead? It's like the whole Christmas in October phenom all over again.

[2] Boogeyman: A great-looking horror/thriller produced by Sam Raimi (Evil Dead) and starring Barry "Seventh Heaven (ech)" Watson. The film is about a young man traumatized by the memories of the boogeyman he experienced during his childhood and must return home years later to face his fears.

Comments: On the plus side, the movie LOOKS great. On the down side, it's rated PG-13. I'm usually pretty skeptical of "scary" PG-13-rated movies, BUT was pleasantly surprised with What Lies Beneath and Darkness Falls (which, I don't care what anyone says, I think was a good ghost story/urban legend). And speaking of Darkness Falls, this movie has the same feel, so I think I will probably like it, too. Then again, it also has the feel of that turdtacular Wes Craven movie They, so it could go either way, I suppose.

The movie is slated to be released February 4, 2005.

[3] The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, starring Bill Murray (always love him), Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston and Cate Blanchett. Directed by Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore), the movie premise is: With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou (Murray) rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife (Huston), a journalist (Blanchett), and a man who may or may not be his son (Wilson).

Comments: I think this movie looks GREAT. I totally can't wait to see it. Though I was not a big fan of The Royal Tenenbaums (but loved the characters and the visuals), I did love Rushmore. Coming this Christmas.

[4]High Tension (French title: Haute Tension/Switchblade Romance): The film follows a couple of young female friends who decide to visit a family home only to have the family murdered in the middle of the night by an intruder. As the killer leaves the home with one of the girls as a hostage, the other girl follows the man back home.

Comments: This French horror film looks really good and very, very scary. It's been out overseas for some time, but is slated to debut on screens here on June 5, 2005. Creeepy trailer. Not for the squeamish.

While I was at the theater I saw a poster (shown) for the upcoming Tim Burton remake, "re-imagining" whatever they're calling it, of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It stars Johnny Depp (sorry folks, I've O.D.'ed on him and his "I'm so edgy and European."/"As stinky as I wanna be."-look), Helena Bonham Carter and Christopher Lee.

Wonka wannabes included: Steve Martin (too Botoxy), Robin Williams (too hyper), Christopher Walken (would have LOVED to see that... if you saw him play Oscar Wilde in Illuminata, then you know he could totally tackle Wonka), Nicolas Cage (too action film-y) and Michael Keaton (too Beetlejuic-y).

I love the look of Tim Burton's movies, so I'm sure I'll eventually see this one, though I must admit I feel a bit blasphemous since I love the original so much. The emo generation can have Johnny Depp's Wonka. Gene Wilder will forever be my Wonka.

Also, there is yet ANOTHER film about Hannibal Lecter in the works called Behind The Mask. This one's a prequel, highlighting his teen years. SIGH. Talk about beating a dead horse.