comment #1

Caustic712 says ...

The schedule's pretty bleak, even for a first quarter.

I'm interested in BE KIND REWIND, THE SIGNAL and IN BRUGES. Other than that... looks like a good time to price Blu-Ray players.

comment #2

Undercover Brother says ...

RAMBO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

comment #3

Zac Bertschy says ...

Be Kind Rewind, absolutely.

comment #4

Aguirre says ...

my blueberry nights.

i know the word out of cannes was less than stellar, but... it's wong kar-wai. not to mention the fact that CHAN MARSHALL is in it.

comment #5

Josh Massey says ...

I'm absolutely looking forward to Rambo. I enjoyed the hell out of Rocky Balboa, so I don't think it's crazy to believe this new film can be fun. And I love the trailer for Vantage Point, but the critical response will determine whether I see that in the theaters or on DVD.

Oh, and The Signal, but only because a friend of mine is in it.

comment #6

Horace Rumpole says ...

Thirding Be Kind Rewind. I was a little underwhelmed with Science of Sleep, but I'm still a big Gondry fan.

comment #7

jason4235 says ...

Synecdoche, New York. Not sure when it's coming out but the IMDB says March.

comment #8

jesse says ...

I actually feel like the first quarter looks better than average this year. Fourth or fifth or tenth or whatever to Be Kind Rewind -- hell yes. I think David Gordon Green's Snow Angels is finally seeing the light of day in March; can't wait for that. In Bruges looks funny. Jumper looks like silly fun. Ferrell always gets my attention so I'm down with Semi-Pro (even if it looks a little like a poor man's McKay movie). Stop Loss looks good though you figure if the studio really had faith they'd bring it out during the fall.

Really, any first-quarter that gives us new Gondry and DGG can't be too bad (I hope).

comment #9

le corbeau says ...

Meet the Spartans.

Really, you have to see that trailer. If you took four 12-year-olds and gave them $30 million to parody 300, it would be... infinitely better.

comment #10

NDH says ...

FUNNY GAMES, without question. Not so much for the film itself, but more to see how an American audience reacts to this deliciously twisted flick, which I hear is a shot-for-shot remake.

comment #11

themutilator says ...

Im looking forward to Rambo.

Be Kind Rewind looks terrible to me. One thing that drives me crazy, in the trailer, they are reshooting Ghostbusters and Driving Miss Daisy and...Rush Hour 2!!! How does that timeline sync up. So they are reshooting movies that havent been made yet?!?

comment #12

Jack Price says ...

Hot damn I loved the Funny Games trailer. A gloriously sinister and mustache-twirling work of art.

Also curious to see if Snow Angels underwent any further editing after it premiered at Sundance. Not to say that it was in shambles by any means, I think the film could have gone out as is. But I didn't know if the year-long delay was to pad it out or finesse some of the other storylines. I was slightly let down by it, but also appreciated a good deal of what I witnessed. If I hadn't seen it last January, this would have been my most anticipated film of 2008.

And regarding Synecdoche, NY... what are the odds that this film would suddenly get released in the first quarter of 08 without a single bid at a festival premiere? Is the word of mouth really worse than "Towelhead" (formerly "Nothing is Private")?

comment #13

Walter Sobchak says ...

I hope Cloverfield is good because good, scary monster movies are beyond rare. What I don't get is the anticipation. I'm assuming it's going to suck because films like it usually do. So why all the build-up by non-AICN types like Wells? Except for a sort-of cool trailer what is leading us to believe it will be any good?

comment #14

JW says ...

If Funny Games is truly a shot for shot remake, I'll go just to count the walkouts.

comment #15

actionman says ...

CLOVERFIELD (can't f'ing wait), RAMBO (if it gets good reviews), IN BRUGES (looks like LAYER CAKE's cousin), SEMI-PRO (probably...), BE KIND REWIND (loved SCIENCE OF SLEEP), JUMPER (I hope it isn't too silly...), and FUNNY GAMES (the original is brilliantly fucked up so...)

comment #16

MickTravis says ...

Has anyone else watched "Dangerous Days," that 3.5 hour documentary on the new "Blade Runner" set?

I popped it in the other night just to get a taste and ended up watching the whole thing. It's fascinating minutia.

comment #17

christian says ...

You should be excited about RAMBO.

comment #18

GKLondon says ...

As far as your international readers are concerned, will still have it all to wait for.

"No Country for Old Men", "There Will BE Blood", "Sweeney Todd", "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead", "Lust, Caution", "4 Month, 3 Weeks, 2 Days", "Charlie Wilson's War", "In the Valley of Elah", "The Diving Bell and The Butterfly", to name but a few.

We get the same "fall" season as you do, it just gets stretched out till April.

And we call it "Autumn".

The wait always kills, but this year seems more worth it than most.

comment #19

Mike Schaefer says ...

Glad I'm not the only one here who's seriously underwhelmed by the Be Kind Rewind trailer, which I've seen twice. I mean, come on: "the art we make ourselves is the best art of all" or somesuch simple-minded philosophy. I'm sure it will get raves from the usual suspects.

I'd be more interested in Rambo if it hadn't had it's title changed (from John Rambo) and been pushed back from Dec to Jan. I was surprised at how much I liked Rocky Balboa.

comment #20

hanimal says ...

Paranoid Park

comment #21

Rothchild says ...

In Bruges is going to surprise everyone.

comment #22

Mike Schaefer says ...

Oh, and then there's Cassandra's Dream, also pushed into Jan (it was orig supposed to open in Nov, then pushed to yesterday, then delayed to 1/18/08). Trailer makes it look like Match Point: The Revenge, plus it's Weinstein -- has Woody run out of studios?

comment #23

christian says ...

If marketed right, RAMBO will do great. I love the faux-Banksy ad images. The film is gloriously over the top.

comment #24

Howlingman says ...

"I'd be more interested in Rambo if it hadn't had it's title changed (from John Rambo) and been pushed back from Dec to Jan. I was surprised at how much I liked Rocky Balboa."

Plus it would have made a nice symmetrical trilogy, as we're all waiting with baited breath for the inevitable MARION COBRETTI.

comment #25

The Winchester says ...

Marion CObretti.. I'd pay money to see that. Or Ray Tango.

I have to agree with the common consensus of Be Kind Rewind, Rambo, In Bruges, Funny Games (my friend cut that awesome trailer, and he says the movie is pretty damn messed in the head), The Signal, and Cassandra's Dream.

I'd like to throw in City of Men (could be good, could be horrible), Teeth, Chicago 10, and Run Fatboy Run, because I'm an unabashed Simon Pegg fan.

And the cheese lover in me can't wait for In the Name of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (Any Uwe Boll movie I'm usually there opening day, the man is awful), and 10,000 BC, because it looks like a more honest version of Apocalypto.

comment #26

George Prager says ...

I'm more interested in the films that America wants to see: FIRST SUNDAY, 27 DRESSES, MAD MONEY, RAMBO, OVER HER DEAD BODY, FOOL'S GOLD, SEMI-PRO, HORTON HEARS A WHO...if you do not want to see these films, then you are not a real American.

comment #27

Luke Y. Thompson says ...

Already seen The Signal and loved it...I'll be glad to check it out again on the big screen.

And yeah, Rambo, of course.

Some perspective on Cloverfield -- it's from the director of the David Schwimmer comedy The Pallbearer. So sure, I'm going anyway, but let's have realistic expectations.

Also in limited release in February will be THE LOST, a movie I absolutely love. I'm a little biased since I have a cameo in it and all involved are my friends, but it's a seriously ballsy Jack Ketchum adaptation.

comment #28

scooterzz says ...

actually looking forward to:
funny games
jumper
taken
paranoid park
in bruges
cloverfield
rambo

not exactly 'looking forward to' but curious about:
sleepwalking
inkheart
drillbit taylor
battle in seattle

comment #29

actionman says ...

10,000 BC will be mentally retarded as a film overall but might have some fun stuff in there...Camille Belle in a leather bikini will be nice to see.

comment #30

MiraJeffAICN says ...

Jumper is definitely at the top of the list. Semi-Pro looks like it could be the funniest Will Ferrell movie. I think Vantage Point looks really cool. Be Kind Rewind should be fun. Funny Games looks awesome, got the original at the top of my Netflix queue. Looking forward to The Signal and yes, even The Poughkeepsie Tapes despite all the BNAT hate. Rambo also looks pretty bad-ass. And I do want to see Cassandra's Dream, In Bruges, Teeth and Paranoid Park.

comment #31

actionman says ...

Cassandra's Dream looks solid. Vantage Point, while having a sharp, exciting trailer, seems suspect to me for some reason...we'll see...

comment #32

adorian says ...

Cassandra's Dream. Has anyone on this board seen it yet? I want some reviews, even they contain spoilers.

comment #33

Terry McCarty says ...

Re above posts:
Finally saw the full DRILLBIT TAYLOR trailer. Two minutes is enough.

Also saw the IN THE NAME OF THE KING trailer. Maybe the Uwe Boll completists can judge where it falls on the scale of his alleged awfulness as a filmmaker (have avoided his work so far). It's clear that Jason Statham seems out of place in a sword-and-armor genre flick.

CASSANDRA'S DREAM-may be misfired Woody, but I'm guessing it's probably better than SCOOP.

Looking forward to HONEYDRIPPER, BE KIND REWIND, IN BRUGES, THE COUNTERFEITERS (German POWs assigned to print money help bring down the Nazis in latter days of WWII), VANTAGE POINT, THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, Romero's DIARY OF THE DEAD.

comment #34

Josh Massey says ...

Before No Country For Old Men, the theater seemed like it was advertising a Colin Farrell film festival. Trailers for In Bruges, Cassandra's Dream and Pride and Glory (awful title) back-to-back-to-back.

comment #35

muteprotest says ...

Actually a very strong first quarter for '08:

Woman on the Beach, Hong Sang-soo
Summer Palace, Lou Ye
Cassandra's Dream, Woody allen
Still Life, Jia Zhang Ke
Taxi to the Dark Side, Alex Gibney
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, Cristian Mungiu
Be Kind Rewind, Michel Gondry
Elite Squad, Jose Padilha
The Silence Before Bach, Pere Portabella
In Bruges, Martin McDonagh
My Blueberry Nights, Wong Kar-wai
Diary of the Dead, George A. Romero
The Duchess of Langeais, Jacques Rivette
City of Men, Paulo Morelli
Paranoid Park, Gus Van Sant
Snow Angels, David Gordon Green
Boarding Gate, Olivier Assayas
Funny Games, Michael Haneke
Pride and Glory, Gavin O'Connor
Mad Detective, Johnnie To
Stop-Loss, Kimberly Pierce

comment #36

Noah says ...

Cassandra's Dream is really good. I actually preferred it to Match Point. The plot is a bit reminiscent of Before the Devil Knows Your Dead with the two brothers committing a crime, but it really went places that I didn't expect it to go. It's a very tight, tense thriller but there are little bits of humor throughout. It reminded me of how good both Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell can be and the entire movie rests on their shoulders, with a little bit of support from Tom Wilkinson. There is a romantic subplot involving Ewan and Hayley Atwell that doesn't really go anywhere, but the scenes with Ewan and Colin together really pop.

Overall, it makes me wonder if at this stage of his career, Woody would be better off making crime movies because he really has a knack for getting to the underbelly of crimes. It's interesting that in most of his crime movies (Match Point, Crimes and Misdemeanors and this one), the main characters always get exactly what they want. But, of course, it turns out to be a bit more complicated than they had anticipated. It's no Hannah and Her Sisters, but it's definitely a solid flick that would have made my top ten if it stuck to its original release date.

comment #37

siowafc says ...

2007 Holdovers:
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
The Orphanage
There Will Be Blood

New to 2008:
Cassandra’s Dream
-- Woody Allen + Colin Farrell = Great Combination? I dunno, but I must find out.
Funny Games
-- I ♥ Haneke.
In Bruges
--I’ve been to Bruges and it’s a pretty neat little spot. I have high hopes for the film.
My Blueberry Nights
--Been waiting since Cannes.
The Other Boleyn Girl
--Is no one else looking forward to this? The trailer was fabulous. The casting is perfect.
Over Her Dead Body
--A silly comedy that looks pretty funny. I’d see anything for Paul Rudd.

So that’s what, 9 films for 13 weeks? Not too bad. And it can’t be worse than this year, with garbage like Smokin’ Aces and Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

comment #38

BurmaShave says ...

I'm wary but interested in SNOW ANGELS and PRIDE AND GLORY.

comment #39

T. Holly says ...

Since it's almost NYE, aren't we supposed to say: SHUT UP AND DEAL? I'm not looking forward to anything, I just want to be surprised. 8 writers, 8 directors and 26 or so actors write, rehearse and perform 8 new plays that they created in the prior 24 hours.
http://www.sacredfools.org/?/onlineboxoffice/&rbottom

comment #40

Luke Y. Thompson says ...

Spiderwick Chronicles could be good.

comment #41

le corbeau says ...

Glad I'm not the only one here who's seriously underwhelmed by the Be Kind Rewind trailer

You're not. My wife and I saw it before Juno the other night and we both looked at each other afterwards, instantly communicating "What a steaming turd of an idea." And to judge by the reaction in the theater, we probably weren't the only ones.

Of course, the main problem for me is not remembering enough of Robocop or Driving Miss Daisy to get the jokes. At least when Airplane! made fun of Airport, or Woody Allen of The Maltese Falcon, I'd seen them on TV 211 times. Most movies of the 80s I haven't seen since first release, and have no particular nostalgia for, being just enough older than the AICN crowd to think of Die Hard not as a formative experience of my childhood but merely run of the mill entertainment from a not especially interesting decade of cinema.

comment #42

Craig Kennedy says ...

Thank you Winchester for reminding me of Tango and Cash...it just helped nudge 2 Girls 1 Cup from my memory banks finally. There's only so much room in my head for awful.

As we can see from the many lists people came up with, Wells ennui is misplaced as usual. Plenty of good stuff kicking off 2008. Especially considering it's always slow this time of year.

comment #43

le corbeau says ...

the theater seemed like it was advertising a Colin Farrell film festival

I hear he's remaking Sleuth with Jude Law in the Olivier role.

comment #44

btwnproductions says ...

CASSANDRA'S DREAM is pretty dreadful, with a particularly laughable (as opposed to funny) ending, and I suspect the Weinsteins think so, too-otherwise, they would have given it an Oscar-qulaifying run, and not just dumped it into January. It's a no-hoper commended only to Allen's hardest-core fans, if they exist anymore (and I liked MATCH POINT and even the silly SCOOP, so I'm not a complete agnostic--better luck with the Spanish picture).

comment #45

lipranzer says ...

Be Kind Rewind, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, My Blueberry Nights, and Stop-Loss are on my must-see list.

My maybe list includes Cassandra's Dream, In Bruges, The Other Boleyn Girl, Jumper, Vantage Point (could be fun, but the trailer looks like it has the whole movie in it), Snow Angels, and Funny Games the remake (I think back to George Sluizer remaking his own film The Vanishing, and how awful the result was).

comment #46

Breedlove says ...

I've said before, I think summer movies as a whole have gotten so stupid that there is more good stuff coming out January through March than there is June through August. I'm always fired up to see the new David Gordon Green or the new Wong Kar Wai, two of my favorites. Also IN BRUGES, VANTAGE POINT, which had an excellent trailer even though it gave too much away, JUMPER, which will hopefully be cool, PRIDE AND GLORY, and, yes, 10,000 B.C. I've been waiting for someone to make a big action movie with cavemen and wooly mammoths and sabretooth tigers and shit for a while now. I'm looking forward to that one.

comment #47

lazarus says ...

Snow Angels looks like some kind of low-fi Magnolia. I have faith in David Gordon Green, though. Of course, I'm looking forward more to The Pineapple Express. Apatow crew+DGG=potential comic masterpiece.

I'm going to hope my opinion is more in like with Noah's regarding Cassandra's Dream, though I'm not sure the Weinstein dump proves anything. If Match Point didn't get a screenplay or supporting actress nom, this film probably didn't have a chance anyway.

Sign me up for Jumpers too, as I have more faith in Liman than I have fear of Christiansen.

comment #48

moviemaniac2002 says ...

Cloverfield...but with all the ultra-coy marketing, they'd damn well better deliver.

Not waiting for...
Drillbit Taylor - the only thing missing from this trailer was the slogan "Wait For The DVD...in about 4 weeks from the release date...and use a 0.99 rental coupon if you have one..."

Iron-Man...are fanboys really salivating for this? Trailer has Robert Downey doing a second rate imitation of Cage's "Lord Of War" character.
Then apparently, he turns himself into an
economy-sized Transformer. If CGI artists ever go on strike, we'll all have to discover the pleasure of reading books during the summer.