2010 movies you will want to see

As 2009 is ending it's time to look forward to what movies will be coming in 2010. Like in many years recently past there will be a decent number of remakes and revisioned films, several conversion films, and more than a few major movies that have huge anticipation.

Instead of trying to list every film that will be in theaters in 2010 I will instead hit on some of the best, and worst, ideas that Hollywood has to offer us. I'm sure that I will be as right and wrong on these films as most movie reviewers always are.

The films you might want to see include:

Legion - Though it is a January film - normally an indication of a horrible film - this looks like it has potential. I think this might be a film that will appeal to those who enjoyed the original The Prophesy movie.

The Book of Eli - Denzel Washington is known for his ability to act and to pick quality films to appear in. Which surprises me as this film is slated (last I noticed) for the graveyard of January. I have high expectations for this film, I hope to not be disappointed.

The Wolfman - Benicio Del Toro is a great actor and should be perfect in this remake. The addition of Sir Anthony Hopkins adds to the potential of this being a quality film. The moderating thing is that the film is a remake, which in Hollywood these days is a 70/30 proposition against a quality film. But so far the movie trailers say it will beat the odds.

Death at a Funeral - A remake of a British film of the same name, subject and likely everything else except the color of the cast. That's a good thing as Hollywood writers seem to be the laziest and least creative in the movie making world these days. From the movie trailers I've seen this should be a hit for Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence. Thank you England.

Iron Man 2 - War Machine. That says it all.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time - A risky bet, but the effects look great. If the Hollywood writers kept the storyline from the video game intact this should be a great video game to movie conversion. If not, which is likely, this will be a revisionist waste of time to capitalize on fans pocket money. But it should be worth finding out in theaters.

The Expendables - There is no lack of hype for this film filled with former 80's (action) stars. Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Rourke, and Dolph Lundgren get to flex their old muscles against relatively younger jet Li and Jason Statham. For action movie junkies this is a must see.

MegaMind - Yes this is an animated film. Yes it's meant for kids. Even so I think this will be The Incredibles of 2010. The concept seems great even though it will feature Will Ferrell and was created by Ben Stiller. If nothing else it will rake in cash.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - It's a Harry Potter movie, how can you not see it. Honestly, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson have really grown into solid actors and this should be very entertaining. Hype aside, this should be the big hit (box office) of the year.

And that's the list of the good. Now comes the bad.

The latest Iron Man 2 movie trailer

Well it seems that I may be wrong on several aspects of the new Iron Man 2 movie due out in the summer of 2010. According to the latest movie trailer my thoughts about Whiplash are mostly incorrect.



Still my theory about the Black Widow seems to be on firm footing. Also my thoughts about War Machine seem to still be very plausible if not dead on the mark.

One of the best things about this new film seems to be what I have been hoping since the original film. That the War Machine character would be as kick ass as in the comic books all of this is based on. Between the first trailer and this one I imagine that War Machine will be stealing the limelight from Stark.

Given all of that, I still find the Whiplash character the weak link of the film (with no offense to Mickey Rourke - I mean the plot). This guy is so smart that he can make his own design of the "unique" energy coil Stark uses to keep himself alive? A technology that was beyond all of the scientists at Stark Internantional combined in the first film, and now this guy can make his own version in a relative garage?

That aside, it looks like this film might be worthwhile. It might just match all the hype and expectations. Which would be a great change of pace for movies these days. Now if they could just get something in there about Titanium Man.

Iron Man 2 - update and story theories

So it's nearly here. The Iron Man 2 movie. And best of all is the fact that War Machine will be in the film. And it seems he may have a very large role in the movie.

The latest news on the movie is that War Machine is featured on the poster with Iron Man. The positioning of the characters is leading to some debate.



Because they are back to back the question is are they friends fighting off a horde of bad guys? Or are they pissed off at each other and at odds?

If you know the history of the 2 characters, from the comic books, they both options are available. For a while War Machine and Iron man, while still good guys, shared no love. Tony Stark and James Rhodes were at each others throat before they eventually became friends again. Part of that problem was the alcoholism of Tony Stark.

Now in the first Iron Man movie it did touch on the fact that Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr) was constantly drinking. Essentially he is a functional alcoholic, so due to his success and wealth few ever mention his problem. But what if he goes on a bender due to stress (like the world knowing he is Iron Man) and there is a need for the superhero?

That's where War Machine should step in. But based on the video trailer from Comic Con I think the real story will go something like this:



Warning!!! - though I don't know what the script is, I do know how movies get written. The following information will likely contain a lot of spoilers.

Stark is pulled before Congress where demamds are made for his new ultra-technology. He refuses to sell it. The Government decides that everything he has is eminient domain and try to take everything. Stark, either through his security/computer Jarvis or by his hand, destroys all of his lab. That includes the War Machine suit we saw with Terrence Howard in the first movie. Then Stark flies off to hide in the only other remaining suit.

Under orders Rhodes takes the War Machine suit as another Government weapons manufacturer comes in to fix it. As we see from 4:27 on, Rhodes takes the opportunity to not only rebuild the suit, but to add on a few extra perks. Now the Government has it's own version of the Iron Man suit. But there is a problem.

The arms dealer, Justin Hammer I believe, is hardly a good guy. Having worked on the suit he know has the technology too. And starts selling it to everyone who can afford it. Thus an assassin that prefers using whips gets to incorporate some of the tech into a new laser based whip weapon. And a bunch of other baddies creat tons of robots that War Machine has to take out.

Meanwhile, Stark is pissed. His greatest life work is stolen, and much - if not all - of his money is gone. His company is bought out from him, and he is drinking way too much. He get pissed off and decides to get rid of the other technology based on his design. Thus he and Rhodes are battling in full metal glory.

At some point before all that The Black Widow, a Russian spy extrodinare steals the plans from Hammer. Why buy it if you can steal it, and it's not like Russia is rolling in money. So expect a possible scene of Titanium Man for Iron Man 3. (And I think that should have been the villan in this film anyway)

But back to the fight. Eventually the 2 get interupted by some baddy bots. They fight them off, but need to work together to survive. The battle and co-operation make them understand they are really still friends.

Then comes in Whiplash (the assassin mentioned earlier played by Mickey Rourke). He get the suprise on Rhodes and disables his suit. Stark is left by himself to fend off the attack. Which he eventually does.

Left without a suit, the Government decides to forgive Stark and gives him back everything they took (mostly). It is revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. intervened to help out Stark in exchange for his work on the Avenger Initiative (ie The Avengers comic book).

Overall that is the movie. I'm missing details of course, but I would bet that I just covered 80% of the film. The big question is if it can do what I just wrote with style. Like the look and feel for the first film?

If the scene with War Machine is any indication, he will be back and possibly in his own movie. And if he is that popular, I hope that Don Cheadle screws Marvel with a huge salary demand. After changing the character once, with huge fan disapproval, they don't dare change him again.

Iron Man 2 - Whiplash

Well the first photo of the new villian in the 2010 sequel to Iron Man has been released. The villian is called Whiplash, and he is played by Mickey Rourke.



Looking at the photo I was instantly drawn to one thought. I hope there will be lots of CGI to fill the space in this photo.

To say that I am unimpressed is to understate my feelings. My expectations were quite high as the first Iron Man was a resounding success. The acting and CGI meshed incredibly well. The writing was actually creative. And it was mostly loyal to its comic book source.

Thus I had expected Rourke to look imposing and powerful. Instead ths photo makes me think of a bad Mad Max refugee. Or a minor background character from Kevin Costner's mega-flop Waterworld.

There has to be more to Whiplash than this. This photo has got to be an unfinished image, meant to generate buzz and fuel comic book fans, as well as those of the first movie, ire to create a stir that only the finished graphics will satisfy.

I expect a lot from Iron Man 2. The success of the first movie necessitiates at least a similar level of quality. But this photo of Whiplash does not seem to convey that thought. Hopefully future photos, and the eventual trailers will do justice to fan expectations.

Terrence Howard still upset about Iron Man 2

As I have mentioned before, Terrence Howard will not be returning in the sequel for Iron Man. He is going to be replaced by Don Cheadle. That was a decision by Marvel Comics, reportedly because of a pay dispute.

But more information has come out about the whole situation. It seems that Marvel didn’t just toss Howard out with the bath water, they also decided to give Gwyneth Paltrow the shaft without so much as a thank you. At least that’s what Howard is stating

“They produced a great bounty with the first one, but they put it all in the storehouse and you were not allowed in," he says. "They did the same thing with Gwyneth Paltrow, from what I've been told.”

Now there is no question of the ability of Don Cheadle. Still I am upset. The character of Rhodes, Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.’s character) best friend and right-hand man, has been established. There was a chemistry between the leads and it worked. And Marvel made tons because all the pieces fit perfectly.

Do I think Cheadle will do a good job? I sure do. In fact Howard is not upset with Cheadle. He said

"I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the movie. I want to see Don Cheadle become me. No, I want him to do better than me. That's what I really want to see. Don Cheadle was the reason I got Crash, so I have a lot of love for him."

One thing seems clear to me, Marvel is hurting its potential franchise over greed. Movie makers generally jump through hoops to keep winning casts. Because they bring in the money. But when a movie studio’s greed starts to mess with such a basic and fundamental factor as returning actors, in a genre that relies heavily on fans of the source material, you have to question what else will be changed. Will they wind up with an Ang Lee version of the Hulk? Will sequels go down the path of Alien vs. Predator? Could this start a revolving door like as in the Punisher movies?

Marvel may have a host of storylines and characters to build on. They may have tons of money to pour into CGI effects and ad campaigns. But if they turn the movies into soap operas with character changes in each movie, they are building a tower in the sand.

I’ll still go to see Iron Man 2. I will support Don Cheadle and give him a chance in Howard’s role. But I now have a growing doubt about the film. The movie trailers better be spectacular or it will end up being a very costly decision.

Don Cheadle secures production deal with NBC

Don Cheadle is one of my favorite current actors. He has talent, charisma, and a strong sense of charity. He is among a small group of celebrities and entertainers that has a passion for the things he believes in, and not for the fame his abilities has generated.



Cheadle is continuing his record of success and wide ranging talent with his production company Crescendo Productions. His company just signed a 2 year deal with NBC to develop television shows. This is not the first time that he has done this. He already executive produced the Starz/Liongate series Crash, which is based on the Oscar winning movie of the same name (of which he also produced).

In fact Cheadle's Crescendo Productions has produced the movie Traitor and Darfur Now, both of which he starred in. And of course Darfur is a subject that Cheadle is highly aware of. He has helped to raise awareness of the genocide occurring right now, for more than 5 years, in that region of Africa more than any other actor/actress, celebrity, and entertainer that I am aware of. In fact he has done more to raise awareness than the entire news media combined in my opinion.

So considering his talent, ambition, and compassion I can't help but be a fan of Don Cheadle. And I am looking forward to his upcoming films. Perhaps not the kid-oriented Hotel for Dogs, but the biopic of Miles Davis and Iron Man 2.

And with the inauguration of President-elect Obama near, and February's Black History Month fast approaching I have to wonder why so much attention is being placed on a dead foolish entertainer that glorified a lifestyle of violence ignorance and crime versus those celebrities and entertainers, like Don Cheadle, that are living symbols of intelligence, compassion, success, and talent?