So, with fall here and winter approaching, what can we expect from the movie industry? Will we be disappointed like so many were with remakes in the summer? Will there be reasons to head out to the movies with friends and families during the holidays? Let's see what is coming out. Not to say that the summer didn't have winners for me, like 40 Year old Virgin, but this past summer seemed like big remake time.
The Fog: This is, of course, a remake. John Carpenter, a master of horror, allows this remake to happen. Setting: Southern California, only with fog and leper zombies.
Doom: This is one of those movie franchises that some have been waiting for. Based on the epicly classic videogame that spawned a genre, Doom stars The Rock and friends. The plot: Mars is attacked from beings from hell. The game is the same, and that is a relief. The original script for this movie had no connection with mars or hell, and that was disappointing. On the other hand, having seen the trailer, I cna't say that I am impressed.
The Legend of Zorro: Antonio Banderas stars in the sequel to his mediocre Zorro movie and brings the masked man out of retirement, even risking his wife (Catherine Zeta Jones) and family to stand up to the industrial revolution. From the trailers, it reminded me alot of Wild Wild West with Will Smith, and I think I might do what I did with that movie and not see it. Bonus that there are some funny interactions between Banderas and Jones.
Saw II: Let me say this: I loved Saw. I thought it was good and original, and I liked it alot. With that said, Saw II looks like more of the same. Jigsaw is back, ruining people's lives with new traps and death. Like in the first one, people are trapped somewhere out of the way and made to solve the traps to escape. The traps were creative the first time, let's hope they are this time.
Chicken Little: Disney has made billions taking fairy tales and turning them into big screen reality. Having used up all the great ones, it seems that Disney is relagated now to the smaller fairy tales. In this version of Chicken Little, we have frantic screwball antics by animated characters. I cna't see how it would be any different than your average Disney movie. More of the same.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Finally, the top. As the children of Harry Potter get older, I am always left with a fear that they will stop making these movies. Or, worse yet, they would replace the principle cast with otehr kids, and ruining it for me and millions of fans. So far, that hasn't happened.
Once again ,the director's chair has passed to someone new, this time Mike Newell. Where PoA was dark, I expect this one to be darker. If you have read the books, you will know that the plot of this book was the grimmest to date, until the Half Blood Prince. Here, we will see the Tri-Wizard Tournament unfold. There was much speculation that the movie would appear in two parts, but instead the movie was cut to fit one sitting. I'm unsure where the cuts will be, and I hope that they aren't too important. After all, people sat through LotR regardless of time, and why should this franchise be any different.
Ralph Fiennes joins the cast as Lord Voldemort, and Miranda Richardson as annoying Rita Skeeter. I have high hopes for this installment, and since I haven't been disappointed yet, I hope it becomes 4/4.
So, there are other releases, but these are the major ones. It seems to be a quiet winter for movies. In a way, it is disappointing, but it is also exciting. Usually with a small line up, the Summer of next year should be full of movies, good or bad.