VDT VIEW

By Dean Poling
VDT View

2008 proved a successful year for blockbusters and there are plenty of anticipated movies for 2009. There are still several superhero movies in 2009 but nothing compared with 2008, as well as some anticipated sequels to past hits.
Here’s a look at several of what may be the big hits — or huge misses — of 2009 box office.

— “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Hugh Jackman returns to the role that made him famous: The metal-boned, clawed, swooping-hairdoed mutant known as Wolverine from the X-Men movies. This film is reportedly set about 17 years prior to the first “X-Men” movie, which was released in 2000, and shares how Wolverine, also known as Logan, gets his metal skeleton and those claws. This is the movie that caused Marvel Comics to (kinda) create an origin for Wolverine, something it wisely refused to do for nearly 30 years. This is also supposedly the first of a series of “X-Men Origins” movies. Look for “X-Men Origins: Magneto,” reportedly starring Ian McKellan reprising the role of the X-Men’s arch enemy, in 2010. “Wolverine” is scheduled for a May 1, 2009, release.

— “Where the Wild Things Are.” Back in the 1960s, Maurice Sendak assured the existence of the children’s picture book with this story of a costumed boy named Max, whose hijinks get him in trouble with his parents and sent to his room. In his anger and imagination, he imagines his room is a wild place from which he sets sail for a land ruled by monsters and he is the wildest of them all. There are few words accompanying the large, gorgeously illustrated pages of Max and the monsters. Director Spike Jonze has taken this thin but gigantic book and turned it into a movie combining live action and computer-generated imagery. Set for release sometime this year.

— “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” In this latest installment of the movie adaptations of J.K. Rowling’s best-selling novels, Harry faces the rise of Voldemort and not even Hogwarts is safe. Release date set for July 17.

— “The Watchmen.” For non-comic book fans, this sounds nuts, — and comics fans couldn’t believe this boost of prestige for their beloved comics, but it happened. The original graphic novel, “The Watchmen,” made Time magazine’s Top 100 Novels published since Time’s first publication in 1923. “The Watchmen” was listed alongside such expected English-language fiction classics as Ernest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises,” Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird,” and J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher In The Rye.” Nearly 25 years ago, “The Watchmen” was released in single issues as a mini-series but was later published in a best-selling compilation. Writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons told the tale of a group of dysfunctional superheroes, now middle-aged and retired. As Lev Grossman noted in choosing the graphic novel for Time, “‘Watchmen’ is told in fugal, overlapping plotlines and gorgeous panels rich with cinematic leitmotifs. A work of ruthless psychological realism, it’s a landmark in the graphic novel medium. It would be a masterpiece in any.” How all that translates into a movie, we’ll find out  March 6.

— “The Wolfman.” Universal Pictures has had a very successful franchise reviving “The Mummy,” which also led to “The Scorpion King” movies. Now, the studio returns to another one of its classic movie monsters: The werewolf known as the Wolfman. Benicio del Toro plays the title role, even using the character name, Larry Talbott, from the classic Lon Cheney Jr. “Wolfman” movies. Anthony Hopkins is set to play Talbott’s father in this story of a family curse. Release date set for Nov. 9.

— “Sherlock Holmes.” Guy Ritchie may have divorced Madonna recently but that hasn’t kept him from directing Robert Downey Jr. in this latest version of Sherlock Holmes, with Jude Law as Dr. Watson. Scheduled for release Nov. 20.

— “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” Optimus Prime, Shia LeBeouf and Megan Fox return this summer for a live-action sequel to 2007’s mega-successful “Transformers.” Michael Bey directs. Scheduled for release June 26.

— “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.” With all of the talk about Heath Ledger as the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” many folks failed to note that it is Christian Bale’s moody performance as Batman in the 2008 movie and in the previous “Batman Begins” that rejuvenated the franchise. Now, can he do the same thing for the “Terminator” movies? The Fox “Sarah Connor” television series proved the Terminator can succeed without Arnold Schwarzenegger. Here, Bale plays John Connor, the eventual leader who will save the human race from the rise of the machines. Scheduled release May 22.

— “Avatar.” The first and second “Terminator” movies were directed by James Cameron, who would also direct “Titanic,” and then direct little else since. Cameron returns this year to direct this science-fiction tale of a paralyzed veteran who finds himself at odds on the planet Pandora, which is inhabited by humanoids with a far different culture than those of the humans of Earth. Stars Sam Worthington. Scheduled for release Dec. 18.

— “Angels and Demons.” OK, this can get confusing, but here goes. Director Ron Howard and star Tom Hanks return to the novels of Dan Brown with this adaptation of the first novel featuring the eventual characters from “The Da Vinci Code.” Considering many readers first read “The Da Vinci Code” before reading “Angels and Demons,” which was the first book, it only makes sense to film the movie adaptations in the same reverse order. Scheduled for release May 15.

— “Star Trek.” Casual “Star Trek” fans seem intrigued by this re-imagining of the original characters from the 1960s TV show and subsequent 1980s movies. Trekkies may well be horrified. After all, here, William Shatner is not Capt. James Kirk, but Chris Pine is, while Zachary Quinto (who plays bad guy Sylar in television’s “Heroes”) is the young Mr. Spock. A nice touch, though, original Spock Leonard Nimoy is credited as playing the aging Spock in this movie. Also, with “Star Trek” creator Gene Rodenberry gone, J.J. Abrams is the man at the creative helm. Again, to a casual “Star Trek” fan, this looks fun, but it could pose a threat worse than Klingons for trekkies come May 8.

— “Hannah Montana The Movie.” Miley Cyrus and the cast of Disney’s mega-successful “Hannah Montana” TV show create the second film for this successful franchise. Scheduled to open April 10.

— “Night at the Museum: Escape from the Smithsonian.” Ben Stiller is back in this sequel to the very successful family comedy, which also brings back Robin Williams, Owen Wilson and Ricky Gervais. Scheduled to open May 22.

— “G.I. Joe.” Dennis Quaid leads this live-action cast of the popular ’80s cartoon based on the popular action figure created in the 1960s. Scheduled to be released Aug. 7.

— “New Moon,” also referred to as “Twilight 2: New Moon.” The second film adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s popular young vampire novels, which rely more on teen matters of the heart rather than the gore of pumping blood. Scheduled for release Nov. 20.

— “The Road.” Author Cormac McCarthy’s novel, “No Country for Old Men,” was adapted into Oscar gold last year. Now, his latest novel, “The Road,” has been adapted into a movie starring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron. This is the story of a nameless father and son doing all they can to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. McCarthy’s storyline is the stuff of science fiction but his style is the stuff of high literature. It will be curious to see how these elements translate into film. Scheduled for release on Feb. 19.