The Lovely Bones: Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. This is directed by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, King Kong), and while somewhat controversial I think it looks amazing. Release Date: December 2009 (US), January 2010 (UK)

Check out the video on the official website

The Vampire’s Assistant: Based on the Cirque du Freak novels from Darren Shan. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares. Release Date: October 2009 (US, UK)

I Sell The Dead: 18th century justice catches up with a pair of grave robbers. With only a few hours to go before his date with the guillotine, Arthur Blake (Monaghan) tells his life story to Father Francis Duffy (Ron Perlman). Before long, Arthur spills the beans on how he got started in the grim corpse peddling business with seasoned ghoul Willie Grime. This just looks so unusual and fun; definitely going on my “to-see” list. Release Date: 7 August 2009 (US)

The Other Man: Starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, this is the story of a husband who suspects his wife of adultery, and then sets out to track down the other man. I’m not too sure about this, although Liam Neeson might be enough for me to want to see it. Release Date: September 2009 (US)

The Blind Side: A poor, oversized and under-educated teenager is recruited by a major college football program where he is groomed into an athletically and academically successful NFL prospect. Based on Michael Lewis’ book. Apparently most of the movie is about football, but the trailer barely shows any of that. It could turn out fine, but Sandra Bullock seems horribly miscast. Release Date: November 2009 (US)

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell: A guy tries to patch things up with his soon-to-be-married pal after botching things up at his bachelor party. Based on Tucker Max’s best-seller. This just looks horrible (plus I can’t believe it’s based on a “bestseller”, who reads this type of thing?). Release Date: October 2009 (US)

I kind of ignored all i heard about this movie in the past couple of weeks; somehow I just thought it was a simple stop-motion picture and one that didn’t even look that pretty. Seeing this trailer though makes me realize what a weird and quirky movie this is going to be.

It’s directed and written by Wes Anderson, who previously did The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Tha Darjeeling Limited. So that should give you an idea what type of movie this is going to be. Here’s the description:

Mr. and Mrs. Fox live an idyllic home life with their son Ash and visiting young nephew Kristopherson. But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Fox’s wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community. Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil Farmers — Boggis, Bunce and Bean — who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr. Fox at any cost.

And here’s the trailer:

Quirky, right? After reading the description, I’m guessing it’s not exactly what you were expecting to see. At least it wasn’t for me; I was very much surprised (although I shouldn’t have been: it’s Wes Anderson) at how much I liked this trailer.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox – Release Date: October 2009 (UK), November 2009 (US)

The Book of Eli: This looks awesome! A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. Release Date: January 2010 (US, UK)

Hot Tub Time Machine: After a night of drinking Red Bull and vodkas, a group of guys travel back in time in their hot tub to when they were younger cads. This could turn out horribly wrong and with another cast I would have said it definitely turn out though. This combination of actors though just seems hilarious! Release Date: February 2010 (US)

Toy Story/ Toy Story 2 in 3D: So this year both of the first two Toy Story’s are being re-released in the cinemas in 3D. The trailer is pretty cute (and not just recycled scenes from the movies as I expected). Release Date: October 2009 (US)

Saw VI: I liked the first Saw movie, but I never have bothered with any of its sequels. For those of you that do though, here’s the trailer. There’s first a not very interesting interview with Tobin Bell though. The plot? I’m guessing evil traps, lots of deaths and Tobin Bell. Release Date: October 2009 (US)

Dark Country: A couple (Thomas Jane and Lauren German) en route from Las Vegas are forced to deal with a body out in the desert making their honeymoon one hellish ride. I’m liking the look of this movie, it’s a bit film noir like, but I’m not too sure about the rest. Doesn’t seem like an interesting plot. Release Date: Unknown

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard: Who is Don Ready? Salesman? Lover? Song Stylist? Semi-professional dolphin trainer? Ready is all of the above, except for a dolphin trainer. When he’s asked to help save an local car dealership from bankruptcy, Ready and his crew descend on the town of Temecula like a pack of coyotes on a basket full of burgers. Okay, this doesn’t look funny at all. The only thing interesting is some of the actors involved, but it seriously looks like an “avoid at all costs”. Release Date: August 2009 (US)

A Serious Man: A black comedy set in 1967 and that centers on Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother won’t move out of the house. Another movie from the Coen brothers. I really can’t connect to there movies, and so far I’ve never really enjoyed any of their previous movies. But I know loads of you out there do, so you’ll be happy with this quirky trailer. Release Date: October 2009 (US), November 2009 (UK)

Produced by the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix and its sequels). Written by J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, duh). Directed by James McTeigue (V For Vendetta). And starring the Korean popstar Rain. I so want to love this movie!

Here’s the description from Wikipedia:

Raizo (Rain) is one of the world’s deadliest assassins, having been kidnapped as a child and raised by the Ozunu Clan, believed by the world to be a myth. When Raizo’s friend is executed by the clan, Raizo flees into hiding. He later reemerges, seeking revenge. Meanwhile, Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) is a Europol agent who investigates money linked to political murders and finds that it is linked to the Ozunu Clan. She defies her superior, Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles), and retrieves secret agency files to find out more. The clan, finding out about the investigation, attempts to assassinate her, but she is rescued by Raizo. Hiding in Europe, Raizo and Mika must find a way to take down the Ozunu Clan.

Sounds a bit average, right? It’s not exactly an original story. But take a look at the trailer:

I think it looks wicked! I’m loving the martial arts sequences we get to see, which I’ve kind of missed from a lot of the big action movies recently. Give me smooth choreographed fight scenes over big explosions every day! (Although the occasional big explosion can be fun too).

Ninja Assassin – Release Date: November 2009 (US, UK)

Ever since I heard about Tim Burton re-doing the Alice In Wonderland story, I’ve been following the developments with great interest. The casting seems prefect: virtual unknown Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. Add to that Burton’s dark visuals and you’ve got a match made in heaven.

The side characters also seem spot on: Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar, Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit, Christopher Lee as the Jabberwock, Matt Lucas as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Noah Taylor as the White Hare and Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts. Wow! That’s some cast they’ve put together.

And now the trailer finally has come out:

[Watch on MissGeeky.com]

Cool! I love the vibe they’ve got going on; it reminds me a lot of Labyrinth, a highly magical fantastical world, but slanting towards the dark and the disturbing. I’m not too sure about the effects so far, but this is only a teaser trailer (plus not even a high res one), so I’m expecting that will get better the nearer the film approaches. I only hope that the movie isn’t focusing too much on the Mad Hatter (unlike this trailer); this movie is about Alice, and while Johnny Depp is a great actor, I hope his character doesn’t take the limelight away from Alice. I think that shouldn’t be a problem though; I’m guessing they’re just banking on his character for this teaser to get people hyped up. (And that’s working)

Yesterday evening a trailer of Alice in Wonderland was released accidently, and I managed to watch it before it got taken down. It looks amazing! Anyhow, sometime later this afternoon the trailer will be officially released, so keep an eye on this blog if you want to catch that. For now, here are the trailers that were released in the past week.

Whiteout: Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) is a lone U.S. Marshal assigned to Antarctica whose investigation of the continent’s first murder draws her into a shocking mystery. Now, with only three days until winter, Carrie must solve the crime before Antarctica is plunged into darkness and she is stranded with the killer. Release Date: September 2009 (UK, US)

I Love You, Phillip Morris: When Steve Russell turns to cons and fraud to allow him to change his lifestyle, his subsequent stay in the state penitentiary results in his meeting the love of his life, a sensitive fellow inmate named Phillip Morris. Release Date: February 2010 (US)

Triangle: The story revolves around the passengers of a yachting trip in the Atlantic Ocean who, when struck by mysterious weather conditions, jump to another ship only to experience greater havoc on the open seas. Release Date: October 2009 (UK)

Bright Star: A romantic drama based on the secret 3-year romance between 19th century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, outspoken student of high fashion, which was cut short by Keats’ untimely death at age 25. Release Date: November 2009 (UK)

Surviving Crooked Lake: A summertime canoe trip turns into a nightmare for four 14-year-old girls. Release Date: 24 July 2009 (US)

Mystery Team: At age seven, Oakdale’s Mystery Team was a band of kid detectives dedicated to solving child-sized mysteries (like who put their finger in the pie, and who stole the tricycle), and the town loved them for it. Now they’re eighteen years old, about to graduate from high school, yet they’re still storming the playground to bust little kids, and the town of Oakdale is sick to death of it. When a little girl sees their sign advertising “Mysteries Solved, Ten Cents,” she asks the gang to find out who killed her parents. The Team embarks on a mystery that takes them deep into a violent conspiracy that sees their lives threatened, their friendship strained and tests their claim that they’re “real detectives.” Release Date: unknown

Coco Avant Chanel: Thee story of Coco Chanel’s rise from obscure beginnings to the heights of the fashion world. Release Date: July 2009 (UK), September 2009 (US)

Despicable Me: A trio of orphan girls cause the normally deplorable and evil Gru to rethink his plan to steal the moon. Release Date: July 2010 (US), October 2010 (UK)

Cemtary Junction: Cemetery Junction, set in 1970s England, follows three blue-collar friends who spend their days joking, drinking and chasing girls. Freddie (Christian Cooke) wants to leave their working-class world but cool, charismatic Bruce (Tom Hughes) and lovable loser Snork (Jack Doolan) are happy with life the way it is. Release Date: April 2010 (UK)

An Education: A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age. Release Date: October 2009 (UK, US)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief: A young boy discovers he’s the descendant of a Greek god and sets out on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods. Release Date: February 2010 (UK, US)

Whip It!: In Bodeen, Texas, the indie-rock loving Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) finds a way of dealing with her small-town misery after she discovers a roller derby league in Austin and tries to join as Babe Ruthless. Release Date: October 2009 (US)

 @ Yahoo! Video

District 9: An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions in Johannesburg, South Africa suddenly find a “kindred spirit” in a government agent from MNU that is exposed to their mysterious biotechnology. Release Date: August 2009 (US)

Spread: Set in present Los Angeles, Spread is an iconic look at the lure of sex, money, and access that Hollywood offers to the beautiful people, and the karmic price that Nikki must ultimately pay to live that lifestyle. Release Date: August 2009 (US)

Brothers: In a small, snowy Pennsylvania town, a young man (Jake Gyllenhaal) comforts his older brother’s wife (Natalie Portman) and children after her husband (Tobey Maguire) goes missing in Afghanistan. Release Date: December 2009 (US)

Ong Bak 2: A young Thai boxer learns the skills and inner meaning of martial arts. I still haven’t seen the first movie, but I’ve heard a lot of people say it’s pretty badass. Judging by this trailer, I guess this movie will be as awesome too. Release Date: October 2009 (US)

Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel: In the sequel, David Seville (Jason Lee) sends Alvin (Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler), and Theodore (Jesse McCartney) off to school, saying “it’s good for them.” Little did he know, the Chipmunks feel like “Chipmunks Out of Water” because of all the (human) kids around. Release Date: December 2009 (UK, US)

The Collector: Desperate to repay his debt to his ex-wife, an ex-con plots a heist at his new employer’s country home, unaware that a second criminal has also targeted the property, and rigged it with a series of deadly traps. Release Date: July 2009 (US)

Funny People: When seasoned comedian George Simmons learns of his terminal health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship causes him to take a relatively green performer under his wing as his opening act. There have been quite a couple of trailers released for this movie, but this is the first red band trailer. Release Date: 31 July 2009 (US), 28 August 2009 (UK)

Big Fan: Paul Aufiero, a 35-year-old parking garage attendant from Staten Island and hardcore New York Giants football fan, struggles to deal with the consequences when he is beaten up by his favorite player. Release Date: August 2009 (US limited)

Giallo: A psychotic killer stalks the streets, kidnapping and murdering beautiful women. An enigmatic police inspector (Adrien Brody) works against the clock to find him, before the latest missing girl becomes his next victim. Release Date: unknown

Trailers courtesy of FirstShowing and Film School Rejects

I’m one of the few people that didn’t love Juno when it came out last year. Sure it was a fun little movie, but it wasn’t as super or as fantastic as some people were claiming it to be. Now comes Diablo Cody’s (the screenplay writer who did Juno) newest movie Jennifer’s Body. Starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, this just looks crazy.

Here’s the description from FirstShowing:

Described as a Heathers-like dark comedy, Jennifer’s Body tells the story of a seemingly-perfect cheerleader whose life is thrown into disarray when she gets possessed by a demon, begins eating boys in her small town, then faces off against her best friend and the Satan-worshipping band that made her evil.

[Watch the trailer on MissGeeky.com]

Amelia: A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank), who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world. I think this could put Swank as a contender again as Best Actress at the Oscars this year.Release Date: October 2009 (US), November 2009 (UK)

The Invention of Lying: A comedy set in a world where no one has ever lied, until a writer seizes the opportunity for personal gain. Starring Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill.Release Date: September 2009 (US), October 2009 (UK)

Inglourious Basterds: There already have been a couple of trailers out for this Tarantino flick, but this French one has a completely different vibe to it. During World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as “the Basterds” are chosen to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a young French girl named Shosanna who runs a movie theater in Paris that is frequented by soldiers. Release Date: August 2009 (US, UK)

Couples Retreat: A comedy about four couples who head to a tropical resort for a vacation. While one of them is there to work on their marriage, the others fail to realize that participation in the resort’s therapy is not optional. Release Date: October 2009 (US, UK)

The Informant: The government decides to go after an agri-business giant with a price-fixing accusation, based on the evidence submitted by their star witness, vice president turned informant Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon). Release Date: October 2009 (US), November 2009 (UK)

Planet 51: Because Ice Age is out in cinemas today, a couple more animation trailers have been released. This is the second trailer of Planet 51, where its inhabitants live in fear of alien invasion. Their paranoia is realized when an astronaut arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, he has to avoid capture and recover his spaceship. Release Date: November 2009 (US), December 2009 (UK)

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs: Another animation trailer! This time it’s the second full length trailer for Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. Inspired by Judi and Ron Barrett’s children’s book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain. Release Date: September 2009 (US,UK)

Forbidden Reality (aka Smersh XXI, aka The Interceptor): Based on the novel by popular sci-fi writer Vasiliy Golovachev, the film is about an agent who is betrayed by his partner while transporting a new psychic weapon. Believed to be dead, he escapes and takes new identity so he can live in peace. But is later forced to return to Moscow to confront a secret organization. The trailer is completely in Russian (without subtitles) so it’s a bit difficult to follow what is happening, but the visuals look pretty cool. Release Date: unknown

Trailers courtesy of FirstShowing