Comic-Con 2009: Top Ten Movie Previews

Posted on | August 13, 2009 |

10. Book of Eli

The Hughes Brothers bring us the tale of a post-apocalyptic world, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. The cast is outstanding including Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis. The Hughes Brothers impressed me with From Hell and it looks like they have a solid movie in Book of Eli.

Release Date: 21 April 2009

9. Toy Story 3

All the main characters are coming back and it sounds like they have a great story. I am a huge fan of Toy Story 1 and 2 and can not wait to see this movie.

Release Date: 18 June 2010

8. 9

Shane Acker’s work with special effects for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King provided him with the chance to make his idea come to life. The movie begins with 9 coming into this world and we follow 9 being in the same situation, knowing nothing about this very dark world. 9 has an outstanding cast including Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connelly. The footage we were shown looks awesome. The animation is insanely detailed. The trailer is well made not showing too much and really sparks my interest in this movie. I love the use of Welcome Home by Coheed & Cambria which really ups the intensity in this trailer.

Release Date: 9 September 2009

7. Extract

Mike Judge has a very particular kind of humor and I love it! I am a big fan of his animation shows, Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill. Then there are his two hilarious movies Office Space and Idiocracy. Mike Judge was asked if he would return to animation and he said he definitely enjoyed live action better and did not see going back to animation any time soon although he said another Bevis and Butt-Head movie is not completely off the table. We were shown a few clips from Extract and it looks hilarious. The cast includes Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis and Ben Affleck with a huge beard. Jason plays the lead role as the owner of an Extract plant. This seems to be a similar framework as Office Space and looks to be just as good.

Release Date: 4 September 2009

6. The Box

Richard Kelly made the cult classic Donnie Darko and the unsuccessful Southland Tales was his sophomore effort. I immediately loved Donnie Darko, while Southland Tales grew on me with multiple views. If you only have seen Southland Tales once I would definitely suggest giving it another viewing. Enjoying Richard’s previous movies I am excited to see this flick and I hope this movie does well so Richard can keep making movies. The basic premise is a box is given to a couple, played by Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, and they are told if they open the box then will be instantly wealthy but somebody they do not know will die. Of course there are unforeseen consequences to opening the box. Frank Langella plays Arlington Steward who makes the proposition to the couple. Steward is missing part of his face and it looks freaking creepy and real. The special effects in this movie look amazing and pumped for Richard’s third motion picture.

Release Date: 6 November 2009

5. Ponya

When Hayao Miyazaki came onto the stage during the Disney Animation Panel it was truly an amazing moment. Everyone knew exactly who is was and were stunned by his presence. Miyazaki has created some of the best animation movies including Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away. Miyazaki was actually very funny. When asked how he comes up with his stories Miyazaki said “I wish I could remember” and then started laughing. We were shown a bit of footage from the film and it was simply amazing. The water animation is done an such an interesting way, just beautiful to watch.

Release Date: 14 August 2009

4. Alice in Wonderland

Unfortunately I was unable to catch this panel but I heard a ton of buzz all over Comic-Con regarding the appearance of Johnny Depp. After seeing the trailer I have to include it on this list. You really can not go wrong with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp!

Release Date: 5 March 2010

3. 2012

Roland Emmerich is once again making a disaster movie. Roland’s last movie 10,000 BC was a solid love story but did not have the epic feel of Independence Day or The Day After Tomorrow. Roland showed us some footage which was only 80% completed. The scene featured John Causack trying to get his family to an air field to escape the carnage by plane before it was too late. Causack is driving a limo and in this scene is literally out running a huge earth quake. The footage looked amazing and I can not imagine what this will look like once its complete! Roland stated he did not want to make another disaster movie after this flick. I will believe this one I see it and hopefully he comes back to them at some point if he does actually even take a break. Take a look at the special effects in this teaser trailer.

Release Date: 13 November 2009

2. Iron Man 2

I am the first to say Iron Man was over hyped. Everyone was talking it up and for me it was talked up a bit too much. Coming into the Iron Man 2 panel I did not expect to be so into this movie but to my surprise I was extremely excited about this flick when this panel ended. I am big Jon Favreau fan and am very happy he is directing such a successful movie franchise. Favreau knows exactly how to work the audience. He started by showing a behind the scenes clip which revealed nothing regarding the new movie. Then Robert Downey Jr. comes out demanding Favreau show the good footage. Great technique, Favreau knows everyone loves Downey Jr. and it played out really well. The footage was about 7 minutes and kicked ass! Started out with Stark inside the large Randy Donut pounding donuts when Nick Furry, played by Samuel L. Jackson, asks him to please get off the donut. Furry is trying to get Stark to team up with him but Stark really isn’t into it. We will definitely see a good deal of setup for The Avengers flick set to come out in 2012. Favreau was asked about his involvement in The Avengers and Favreau said he would definitely be involved but a director has not yet be chosen. Next we are shown a hilarious scene in a courtroom where the government is trying to take the iron man suite. Stark of course has wise ass comments and makes the congressmen look foolish. We are given a short glimpse of Black Widow played by Scarlett Johansson. Yes, Scarlett Johansson is playing Black Widow!!! We are also briefly introduced to Whiplash played by Mickey Rourke and this scene blew me away! Freaking sick slow motion effect, music was ill and he just looked sick! We are going to see some amazing fight scenes! The footage ended with with Col. James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes, played by Don Cheadle, assembling War Machine, which was simply amazing! The audience gave this footage a deserved standing ovation and I can not wait for this movie!

Release Date: 7 May 2010

1. Where the Wild Things Are

Spike Jonze is at the helm of a motion picture once again after a 7 year absence. Adaption (2002) was Spike’s last movie. Spike Jonze also directed Being John Malkovich (1999). Both movies are written by the excellent screen writer Charlie Kaufman. I am immediately excited for any movie Spike Jonze is directing because I love his style and know he only works with unique stories. Spike tells stories which do not follow the normal formula of what a movie should be and he pulls it off perfectly! I am not familiar with the book so I went into this preview knowing nothing about the story and I was simply blown away with the footage. Max Records, who plays the lead character Max, introduced the clips for the upcoming flick. I will say Max was very funny and did very well in front of such a large crowd. The clips were stunning and the soundtrack compliments the video so well and left an impression. We were also shown a little behind the scenes clip showing Spike Jonze speaking with the author of the book Maurice Sendak. I love to see the creator of a story behind the movie so this just increases my excitement for this flick! Check out this awesome trailer which introduces the world of Where the Wild Things Are!

Release Date: 16 October 2009

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