Wednesday, April 15, 2009

3 + 1 = 4 Movies To Get Excited About!

What happens when you take 3 awesome theatrical releases plus 1 stupendous DVD release? You get 4 sci-fi/fantasy movies to drool over!

1. X-Men: Origins - have you seen the promos for this yet? Have you seen Hugh Jackman's ripped chest and bulging biceps? Not to mention that Wolverine is simply the most compelling of all the X-Men characters. This is one sequel/prequel I suspect will surpass the originals.

2. Star Trek - yeah, yeah, yeah, another prequel, this time concerning Kirk and Spock and their buds from the Enterprise. Normally, I wouldn't get super-duper thrilled about a new Trek flick. They're hit or miss, frankly, although I watch them all. (Duh, of course.) But this one comes from JJ Abrams, whose work I really admire. I know, I've heard complaints that his style is cold but I disagree. He brought us "Felicity", remember?

3. Let The Right One In - okay, this is a remake and the original was SO good, it's painful to think that someone would remake it. However, Matt Reeves (who did Cloverfield which I loved and thought was underrated) is going to return to the source material, a novel by John Lindqvist, and that apparently differs from the original film. So we'll get another interpretation of this amazing vampire romance/bildungsroman.

4. Caprica - a prequel to Battlestar Galactica, the best sf show on television even if it has ended. This is a straight-to-DVD film about the planet Caprica about 50 years before the events that preciptated the BSG series. Early Cylon technology, an amoral planet, rise of monotheism...excellent stuff! And then next year, the series will start!

I just realized these films are all either prequels or remakes...how weird is that? Normally I'm skeptical about movies that could be considered rehashes of better originals but in these cases, I think the filmmakers and writers are doing some really unique things.

At least I hope so!