The Dark Knight Rises (July 20)

Sioui: I’ve run out of superlatives for this film. A couple scenes stick out, though. The slow turn from Batman to face a smug confident Bane, later catching a fist and returning with a boot to the chest; and the quick-action-strobe-light reveal where Bats seems to be sprinting out of a shipping crate before kicking ass.

Now Nolan and his team just have to cool it with anymore new footage, thus falling into the Prometheus trap of revealing the friggin’ ending in a trailer.

Who am I kidding? The over/under of me seeing this in theatres is five.

Warren: Seriously, NO MORE FOOTAGE! I recently saw  an article that says over 40-minutes of the new Spider-Man movie have been released. TDKR is supped to clock in at almost three hours and I’ve noticed it’s a lot of the same footage repeated, but honestly, we get it. Everyone’s going to see this bad boy and they don’t need to keep selling us on it.

2 Days in New York (August 10)

Sioui: Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in Paris was a hidden gem back in 2007, a big reason was the performance of Adam Goldberg. Sad to see he’s not coming back, replaced by Chris Rock. I couldn’t find the clip on Youtube, but you should see the flick just to watch Goldberg as he tries to stare down a Frenchman on the metro. I just peed in my pants a little from thinking about it.

New York appears to feature the same dynamics as its predecessor, having Delpy’s film (and real life) parents visit her and her new beau. Monsieur Delpy looks like a riot. A fun guy to party with until he he drinks too much and starts keying your car. Back in 1997, I had a massive crush on Delpy when she starred in An American Werewolf in Paris (which seems an odd choice, presently), probably due to my soft spot for cute girls with accents.

Warren: Never saw the original but this looks fun. I agree with your Delpy crush; I have a thing for cute girls who turn into monster dogs. Did she really direct this bad boy? I very much dig actors who jump behind the scenes and show a real aptitude. Opie, Meathead, Dr. Green, and even Ben Affleck have shown that actors who understand the connection with directing can come up with some great stuff. My personal favorite actor of the moment Joseph Gordon Levitt is working on something right now and hope he joins the club.

Resident Evil: Retribution (September 14)

Sioui: The newest Resident Evil film (otherwise known as Milla Jovovich’s lifeline) is just around the corner. You may be surprised to hear this, but there’s gonna be zombies in it. And Milla’s Alice shoots some guns, and swings some swords, and does some flips whilst shooting and swinging.

I guess you have to respect the never-say-die attitude that Jovovich and director Paul W. S. Anderson share, as they continue to produce these…works? I feel like the only retribution that’s going to come from this is an apology from Screen Gem pictures.

Warren: I’m confused. Is this where Milla Jovovich hunts zombies in leather while shooting guns in slo-mo 3D, or where Kate Beckensale hunts vampires in leather while shooting guns in slo-mo 3D? Both are starring in movies that their husbands directed just to keep their careers afloat. Both are terrible and both keep making money so I’m completely lost.

Pitch Perfect (October 5)

Sioui: It’s the Rebel Wilson show! The last time we saw her, she was getting a full back tattoo of a tequila worm. If I could watch Wilson horizantally run and get pelted by drive-by Mexican food, I would be a happy man.

A curious choice for Oscar nominated Anna Kendrick, though. Afer lighting it up in Up in the Air, she seems to be joining a Glee-wannabe–albeit, a fun and friendly one. Mac, do you need to hear Ace of Base, and would you pay Wilson to wash your car?

Warren: Yeah, kind of a bummer to see both those talents in this cookie cutter stuff. This trailers not doing much for me at all. That being said who the hell knows, might be great. If your are into this kind of thing you couldn’t ask for better talent. I mean if Drumline can be a good film…

Sinister (TBD)

Sioui: I like confused, romantic Ethan Hawke (see: Before Sunrise/Sunset) over stumbling-upon-past-unsolved-murders Ethan Hawke. An interesting take on the horror genre, but this Bagul spirit thing doesn’t seem all that spooky. I think a rule for every new home owner is when you stumble upon a box of old familial memorabilia, just throw it out man, just throw it out.

Warren: Word on the street is this thing is crazy scary. But yet again TOO MUCH IN THE TRAILER. Half the fun of a horror movie is finding out what is scaring the crap out of you.

V/H/S (October)

Sioui: An anthology of films from a series of directors, V/H/S offers a few actual scares spread out over the two-plus minute first look. The scariest film I remember as a kid was one of the Hellraiser’s. As an adult, it’s undoubtedly any of Tyler Perry’s Madea films.

Warren: Not a huge fan of anthologies, as they tend to be all over the place with a lack of clear vision. I will specifically remember liking different segments more than others. Really takes you out of the experience. Also can we all silently judge Adam for having actually seen a Madea film?

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (November 16) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xOSoONDpY4
Sioui: I tried to pick up a girl once by saying we’re the same temperature. It didn’t go so well.

Warren: People don’t realize this but reason I’m so pale is out of reverence to Edward Cullen.

Celeste and Jesse Forever (August 3)

Sioui: A pickup from this past year’s Sundance Festival, along the same lines as Like Crazy. Andy Samberg just left Saturday Night Live after seven-years, no doubt now trying to develop a film career. Sounds like he took a few giants steps back coming off of That’s My Boy, though.

Granted, he’s hugely popular with the Youtube generation, fans of “Dick in a Box,” and “I’m on a Boat,” amongst others; it still remains to be seen whether he has the clout and the charm to carry a film. C&JF will give us a better indication.

Warren: This looks pretty fun. Sometimes when you hear “official selection,” that makes you think officially dull. Here are a couple of legitimate comedic talents trying to inject some odd humor into a story that might not necessarily have had it inherent to the script. Best trailer of the week.

Anna Karenina (September 7)

Sioui: You can always spot a Joe Wright film, because it has Keira Knightley in it. I don’t know too much about the famous Leo Tolstoy novel, but from the look of the trailer, it seems to deal with a sexy hussy who marries a famous and powerful Russian gentleman, only to fall for a slightly younger, slightly less powerful, yet better mustachioed Russian gentleman.

Knightley certainly loves her some period pieces though, eh? This sure looks like Oscar bait, something she is well accustomed to. But me…I’m not too sure about this yet. What’s clear is that Karenina and Baz Luhrman’s Great Gatsby are going to be battling for the prize of glossiest, upscale drama.

Warren: Bleh. Can we please stretch a little here, Joe Wright? I by no means think this is going to stink, but haven’t we seen this a half dozen times from the two of them? I was genuinely impressed by what Wright did with Hanna. He made a lot of very unexpected, nuanced choices with a very tired genre and I loved it. I actually stopped ten minutes into that film to see who directed it and was jazzed to see him venture so far a way from his safety zone. Then “poof” its right back to the safety of the womb with Anna Karenina.

Taken 2 (October 5)

Sioui: Brian Mills has returned to take some more things: lives, steely looks, and maybe even his ex-wife back from Xander Berkley. Taken didn’t need a sequel, but what does? I’m looking into the future and seeing Liam Neeson doing what he does best and snapping necks and shooting things.

The first one was a surprise hit a few years ago, but again, I’d love to see some more original stories, especially coming from a talent like Besson. Mills seemingly takes on an entire country’s baddies, but the most inexplicable thing is how Maggie Grace still looks and acts like a 17-year-old, even though she’s closing in on 30.

Warren: Do you think Liam Neeson woke up one day, called his agent and said “I’m tired of being the reassuring father type. Make me a BADASS!!”