Empire Online - The Big 2011 Preview

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Heap Big Comic Book Movies
The comic book trend doesn't look to be dying down quite yet, with Marvel setting up its Avengers super-team, Warners finally digging into that huge back catalogue and loads of contenders releasing their funny strip-based efforts. With possibly the most eclectic gang of comic-book heroes in years - some of these guys wouldn't know a superpower if it X-ray-toasted them - this is what 2011 has to offer.

First out of the gate is The Green Hornet on January 14 from director Michel Gondry. Seth Rogen's donning action-hero chops to star as the man himself, international playboy Brit Reid who takes to fighting crime after his father's death. Expect something surreal, slightly '60s and more than a little bit cool, especially with Cameron Diaz as love interest Lenore Case, Jay Chou playing Kato and Christoph Waltz as the villain. That's a bingo!

Kicking off the summer season in earnest is Kenneth Branagh's Thor on April 29. There's no question that this is Marvel's biggest challenge to date - how to make a Norse God work in the same universe as Iron Man and the rest - but the early trailers have been reassuring and the casting is spot-on: Chris "Captain Kirk's dad" Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster.The story's essentially a family drama writ large, with the rather arrogant Thor and the sneaky Loki (Tom Hiddleston) competing for Odin's affections / lordship and dominion over just about everything. And heck, it's about time we had a superhero who wields a gigantic hammer - the comedians need something to work with.

Continuing the Marvel-ification of the summer, June 2 brings us X-Men: First Class. Matthew Vaughn's directing, Jane Goldman's written the script and the cast is as dreamy-talented as they come: James McAvoy as Professor Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, January Jones as Emma Frost. This one will take us back to the X-Men's origins - as the title suggests - and if that unfortunately means no Wolverine, it also means some rather groovy retro touches and a chance to see how Charles Xavier and Eric Lensherr worked together, and what went horribly wrong.

Snapping at their heels on June 17 is Green Lantern, with Ryan Reynolds starring as the test pilot who is given a ring by a dying alien and is recruited into an interstellar police force. Blake Lively's the girl of his dreams, but he's going to have to get past the likes of Peter Sarsgard and Mark Strong to get to his happy ending. Martin Campbell's behind the helm for this one, and since he's one of the more dependable directors around we're hoping for a good start for one of DC's most successful characters. And hey, anything is improved by the presence of Mark Strong - just look at his floating head in the Empire videblogisodes.

After that short foray into the DC Universe, however, it's back to Marvel for Captain America: The First Avenger on July 29. Judging by our set visit to this one, it won't look like any of the other superheroes out there, what with the World War II setting and the consequent guarantee of Nazi bad guys (always a favourite). But it should have all the action present and correct, with Chris Evans (not the DJ) all buffed up to play Steve Rogers, aka Cap himself, and Hugo Weaving in wonderfully sneery form as his nemesis, the Red Skull. Joe Johnston is directing.

Taking a non-superhero tack for a moment, Jon Favreau's Cowboys & Aliens will be out on August 12, and has us genuinely rather excited. After all, it's a rare chance to see a comic-book movie that isn't about people/gods/aliens with superpowers, and instead tells the story of some humble homesteaders, lawmen, Native Americans and, well, cowboys who just happen to face an alien invasion. You know, everyday stuff. The cast is starrier than many of the smaller galaxies, boasting Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Paul Dano and Adam Beach, the trailer was tonnes of fun, and Favreau's barely put a foot wrong in his directing career to date, so colour us properly excited for this one.

Somewhere in the world, every seven seconds, someone buys a Tintin book. So The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn is a film that's going to have a lot of attention right off the bat. Add in the fact that Steven Spielberg is directing, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish wrote the screenplay, Peter Jackson is producing and it's all coming to us in Avatar-style 3D performance capture, and you've got what could be a thing of beauty. They've chosen one of the best storylines in the series too, with nautical treasure-hunting, shipwrecks, pirates and more facing our boy reporter hero (Jamie Bell), his faithful dog Snowy and his friend Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis). Expect a really huge family adventure story to make Tintin author Hergé proud.

 

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Awards Bait
It's nearing that time of the year when envious glances get thrown around Hollywood like confetti at a celebrity wedding. Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Oscars and - the really big one - the Empire Awards are all at stake. At first glance 2011 is looking like it'll be more competitive than ever, with marquee releases queuing up like passengers at a snowy airport.

First up - or rather, down - is 127 Hours on January 7. Unless you've fallen down a canyon lately, you'll know that Danny Boyle's latest tells the true story of self-amputee Aron Ralston, forced to cut off his own arm when he's stranded in the middle of nowhere under a tonne or two of solid boulder. It's gritty and uplifting in equal measure, with Boyle's rare class again coming to the fore. Expect to see Bury's finest back at the Kodiak on February 27, along with star James Franco, composer A. R. Rahman and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle.

Put your trilby on The King's Speech to join it. Also out on January 7, it's an early and very strong contender for Best Film, with awards buzz building like some kind of buzzing thing with an amplifier strapped to its bum. Colin Firth plays King George VI, better known as Bertie, who calls on Australia speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) to help him overcome his reign-threatening stammer. Will it be second time lucky for Firth at the Oscars, too? Don't bet against it.

A week later on January 14 comes Conviction, another drama with awards pedigree to burn. It ticks plenty of Academy boxes - a true-life tale, emotional uplift and Hilary Swank, to name just three - with director Tony Goldwyn retracing the inspiring tale of a working mum (Swank) who puts herself through law school to defend her unjustly imprisoned brother (Sam Rockwell).

The Coen brothers come out six-shooters 'ablazing (not literally) with True Grit on February 11. It's a fresh adaptation of Charles Portis' novel rather than a remake of the Henry Hathaway/John Wayne Western, but comparisons will be inevitable. Jeff Bridges enters Wayne's world as one-eyed lawman Rooster Cogburn, with Josh Brolin, newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, Barry Pepper and - wait for it - Matt Damon rounding out a fine looking cast.

If there's a natural segue from the Old West to the New York City Ballet we can't find it, so we'll move swiftly on and point out that Darren Aronofsky's elusive (and illusive) Black Swan glides onto our screens on January 21. It's a thing of dark beauty and power, and features an immense turn from Natalie Portman that should leave an impression on all but the most stoney-hearted Oscar voters.

A week later comes another barnstorming performance, this time from Paul Giamatti in Barney's Version. Giamatti is set to outdo even his own high standards as the irascible, hopelessly romantic, often luckless TV producer Barney Pafonsky in this adaptation of Canadian novelist Mordecai Richler's tale of love, loss and small cigars. There's movie trivia, too, for the eagle-eyed: Dustin Hoffman's son Jake skips a generation to play Hoffman's grandson.

Also out on January 28 is Biutiful, in which Alejandro Iñáarritu won't be offering any of the following: 3D/motion-capture/jokes. He will be providing another celebral, meditative mood piece in the same spirit as Babel, illuminated by a firecracker performance from Javier Bardem. It's Iñáarritu's first Spanish-language film since Amores Perros, and it'll move you and twist your noodles.

February 4, meanwhile, brings the salty sea air of Brighton Rock. Andrea Riseborough and Sam Riley take on the iconic roles of Rose and Pinkie in Rowan Joffe's bold readaptation of Graham Greene's classic novel of love, hate, guilt and sugary souvenirs. But can Riley reach the heights of blank malevolence of Richard Attenborough's Pinkie? Here's where to find out (obvs).

David O. Russell's The Fighter is another movie that's giving Oscar watchers the collywobbles. The back-from-the-brink story of junior welterweight boxer 'Irish' Micky Ward, it could go where that other ringside drama, The Wrestler, fell short and pick up a clutch of the little gold fellas, not least for Mark Wahlberg's towering title role. Russell's CV is a curate's egg of quality (Three Kings) and mediocrity (I Heart Huckerbees): this one falls firmly into the first basket. It's out on February 4.

Also on February 4 comes Rabbit Hole from John Cameron Mitchell. The director raised pulses - and hackles - with sex dramedy Shortbus a few years back. Expect much less of the same in this adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire's play about a couple (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) adjusting to the loss of their four year-old son. The Academy has always appreciated Kidman, but will audiences warm to her? Early word is she's back to her best after the soapy nonsense that was Australia.

Never Let Me Go sees Mark Romanek take Kazuo Ishiguro's contemporary sci-fi and fashion it into something breathtakingly cinematic. With high-calibre turns from Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan, expect it to feature strongly at the BAFTAs, although it may fly below the Oscar radar. You can catch it from February 11.

Fans of gritty urban drama, The Wire or Aussie cinema... heck, fans of cinema in general will love Animal Kingdom, the debut feature from talented Sydneysider David Michod on February 25. Like Mystic River ported to the Melbourne underworld, it's a twisty-turny thriller with Shakespearean undertones (Hamlet meets Blue Heelers?), lit up by spectacular, sinister performances from Jacki Weaver and Ben Mendelsohn. It might not get noticed by the Academy, but it definitely should.

Howl, also released on February 25, sees James Franco eat up the screen as Beat poet Allen Ginsberg who's forced to defend his great opus against charges of obscenity. It's home turf for the New York-based actor who writes, paints and probably sculpts perfect Greek figurines from marble in his spare time. Marble he's personally quarried. Talented bastard.

Later in the year - no release date as yet - comes The Tree Of Life. Terrence Malick movies are like the Halley's Comet of the movie world: they come around only very rarely, but when they goes you need to drop everything because they're more than likely to light up your life. This one is a meditation on life, the universe and everything, through the prism of an American family in the '50s. Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain appear. Dinosaurs TBC.

To round out the year, Steven Spielberg's War Horse appears in time for the festive period. If you're thinking that nothing says Christmas like the bloody trench warfare carnage, you may be in luck. But while Spielberg isn't one to sugarcoat the horrors of war, he's just the director to fill this Great War-set story of a boy and his horse with saddlebags of heart and soul. We can't wait to see how he's brought the colossally popular stage play to the big screen.

 

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Hack 'N Slash
It's time for the nastier side of horror now, as we look at the more violent scarers headed our way in 2011. From supernatural beasties to aliens to your common-or-garden rednecks, these are the bad guys who are out to really, really spoil your day. Hold on to your hats, make sure there's no one creeping up behind you, and check out what's headed straight for us...

We'd like to say that Cabin In The Woods will be out sometime January, but the way things are going, it doesn't look likely. Another casualty of MGM's bankruptcy proceedings (along with Bond 23 and The Hobbit), this twisted take on the cabin in the woods horror trope - written by none other than Joss Whedon - still hasn't revealed a trailer, or even any posters. But it's nevertheless something worth keeping an eye out for, especially with rumours of it being a creature feature circulating - and besides, it's from Joss Whedon. Ergo: well worth your time.

A definite UK release date of January 21 has been announced for I Spit On Your Grave, a remake (of sorts) of your favourite controversial rape revenge film from the late '70s. The gory do-over has been described by the likes of Roger Ebert as "a vile bag of garbage...without a shred of artistic distinction" - but if you happen to like vile bags of garbage, it may well be up your bloody, screaming alley. Expect minimal dialogue, lots of nastiness, and a date night no-one's going to forget in a hurry.

Be under no illusions: The Rite (out February 25) is another exorcism movie, but that may not be a bad thing. Older, wiser Catholic super-exorcist (an especially gravely-voiced Anthony Hopkins) tries to teach a cynical young priest (Colin O'Donoghue) the exorcising ropes, with possessed young 'un (Maria Grazia Cucinotta) bringing back his faith through being possessed by a big ol' demon. You liked it when it was called The Exorcist, you say? Or The Last Exorcism, even? Well, it doesn't look like it's trying to break the mould, granted, but if possessed young girls is your bag, well... you're one sick puppy, to be honest. Oh, and this could be just the ticket.

Despite having such big names as Hilary Swank, Javier Bardem and Christopher Lee on board, it seems more like that young-doctor-haunted-by-obsessed-landlord chiller The Resident will be hitting DVD shelves rather than cinemas in America, so don't hold your breath for its March 11 UK release then, perhaps. But having said that, its parent studio Hammer produced good work with Let Me In earlier this year, so perhaps it's still worth keeping an eye out for. Also, it's a Hammer film with Christopher Lee in it - making it a must for horror fans.

If you thought the title of The Resident was exciting, you're going to love The Roommate, which is about - you guessed it - a roommate, and hits cinemas March 18. Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester and Friday Night Light's Minka Kelly star in what could easily be called a faded copy of Single White Female, sharing as it does many different plot aspects. But let's hope that this gooses up the formula at least a little. If not, audiences are just going to have to take what entertainment they can from watching the gorgeous young cast.

The remake of a little known exploitation horror movie of the same name from 1980, Mother's Day swaps the rampaging punk hillbillies of the original for three bank robbers returning home to find new residents in their old house. They take these newcomers hostage, and after Mum turns up (Rebecca De Mornay), things begin to get very, very twisted as everyone turns on anyone as long as they can shift the blame. It's dark, twisty, shockingly violet and out April 1.

As we pointed out on a front cover a few month's back, The Thing is looking like it's going to be 2011's The Thing, what with it being the prequel of, you know, The Thing. Suffering from a couple of 'character development' issues, it's had a few reshoots and should see cinematic light of day come October 14 - delayed by Universal so Fast Five can get a better run up at the summer market when it's released in late April and, we're guessing, so that the weather will feel chilly enough that the setting won't melt. As for what to expect, think icy Antarctic science outpost, a shapeshifting alien, flamethrowers and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in a parka. So, The Thing then... except, with Mary Elizabeth Winstead in a parka.

Intruders is a supernatural thriller directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) and starring Clive Owen, and is set for an October 7 release date in the UK. Little is known about the exact plot details, but what's been revealed is that it centres around a 11-year-old girl who is forced to confront childhood demons, and we're pretty sure that means literal demons rather than some psychological issues. Shot in Madrid and London, it looks proper creepy but - no offence to Juan or Clive - we're still more excited about Fresnadillo's potential Bioshock game-to-film adaptation. Sorry, but it's true…

And finally - deep breaths everyone - there's the remake of Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs, starring James Marsden in the Hoffman role, and Kate Bosworth as Amy, with rural Cornwall swapped in for the The Deep South. James Woods, Dominic Purcell, and True Blood's Alexander Skarsgaard turn in supporting roles, which should hit screens October 28 - obviously on the hunt for the Halloween market. File this one under "remakes that could go either way."

 

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I See Dead People
If you're into creepiness, psychological scares or just nattering with the dead, these are the films for you. These are the ones that Haley Joel Osment and Jennifer Love Hewitt will be watching (because they really resonate to those with the Sixth Sense / who Ghost Whisper), so if that's your bag, look out for these ghostly goodies...

On January 21 comes John Carpenter's The Ward, the horror maestro's first film since 2001's Ghosts of Mars. Amber Heard stars as a young woman in an asylum who's stalked by a rather hostile ghost. It's set in the 1960s - clearly the go-to decade for thrillers about institutionalised girls and supernatural goings on this year, along with Sucker Punch - and that asylum twist should give it an extra creep factor, what with it seeming even less likely that anyone will believe our heroine. Early word from the US is that it's very much a return to form for Carpenter and should wash away those Martian memories - which can only be a good thing.

Next up on January 28 is the Clint Eastwood-directed, Matt Damon-starring Hereafter, a multi-threaded story with the Man of 2011 playing a reluctant psychic who tries to avoid contacting the dead on behalf of those around him but is persistently requested to do so; a young boy who has lost his brother; and a French journalist who survived the Asian tsunami. The buzz on this one is rather muted, but the actor/director combo alone means that it's probably worth a peek.

If you're looking for something that's less with the ensemble story but more with the scares, Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark might be just the thing on March 4. Produced by Guillermo del Toro with newcomer Troy Nixey directing, it was originally intended to be a fairly moderate, PG-13 sort of a horror but has ended up as an R for "pervasive scariness" (eeek, our least-favourite sort). The haunted-house plot sees a young girl move into a new place with her dad and new stepmother, only to find strange rat-like creatures infesting the house and a history of disappearances in its past. We're pretty sure that a quick coat of paint and some new throw-cushions won't fix this one.

March 11 sees the release of Restless, with former Wonderland visitor Mia Wasikowska starring. It's your typical terminally-ill girl-meets-boy who likes to attend funerals (Henry Hopper), with the pair then becoming involved with the ghost of a World War II kamikaze pilot. As you do. Gus Van Sant is directing, which instantly makes it one to keep an eye out for, but we'll have to wait and see whether mainstream Gus or indie Gus is responsible for this one.

On August 26 we'll get to see the ever-more-misleadingly-titled Final Destination 5 in 3D. You know what's going to happen: vision results in a group of people escaping a horrific accident; Death itself goes to elaborate lengths to gather up the survivors despite their lucky escape. The joy of these films, however, is always in the flamboyant destructiveness of the initial disaster, and the insanely complex series of misfortunes which, combined, result in the reaping of the heroes. And it's in 3D, so there will be sharp instruments flying out of the screen towards you! Now sure, this doesn't involve ghosts or demons as such, but we definitely see dead people headed our way...

The new Halloween tradition is kept up when Paranormal Activity 3 comes out in October 21. Plot details are still thin on the ground, as is also traditional for this particular series, but we're going to promise you right now that there will be elements of night vision cameras, demonic visits and things going bump in the night. Yes, that seems like amazing foresight on Empire's part - but we are a little bit psychic you know.

That's followed on October 28 by Dibbuk Box, a new pretender to the horror crown. If memory serves, the last time that the mainstream saw a dibbuk threatening someone the result was Drag Me To Hell, and now it looks as though we're in for a repeat performance in this Ole Borneda-directed effort. It's based on a true story, sort of, in that there is something called a Dybbuk Box which has been bought and sold several times since World War II and allegedly brought misfortune to all its owners. Bet there'll be more hacking and slashing and fewer failed businesses in the movie version though.

 

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Big Comedy
With a few honourable exceptions laughs were a little thin on the ground in 2010, so we're hoping 2011 will be an altogether more chucklesome affair. It's a truism to say that comedy is the hardest genre to nail and at times this year Hollywood has seemed determined to prove the point (Cop Out or MacGruber anyone?), but with Greg Mottola, the Farrelly Brothers and Woody Allen powering the jokes, we've got high hopes that 2011 will show that the knack's still there.

Ron Howard's The Dilemma, aka 'What You Didn't Know', gets things off to a domestic start on January 21, as Vince Vaughn agonises over whether to tell his best friend and business partner (Kevin James) that his wife is cheating on him. Worryingly for James' character, the other man is a stud-muffin called Zip (Channing Tatum). Howard's CV is garlanded with two terrific comedies (Edtv, Parenthood), so fingers are crossed for a return to form.

It may sound like a companion piece to Love And Other Drugs, but Morning Glory is a newsroom comedy-drama with a touch of the Broadcast News's about it. Grizzled, veteran anchorman Harrison Ford begrudgingly pairs up with ambitious young TV journalist Rachel McAdams to front a network station's morning show. Expect a winningly growly turn from Ford and strong support from Diane Keaton. Roger 'Notting Hill' Michell directs and it's out on January 21.

The Beaver, out on February 11, could be the year's comedy curveball with Mel Gibson playing a troubled executive who communicates only through the medium of a glove puppet. If we didn't know better, we'd say there's a lesson in there somewhere for Gibson.

Also on February 11 comes Just Go With It. It's co-written by Allan Loeb, who also penned The Switch and wrote The Dilemma. Like The Switch, it began life with a different title - 'My Pretend Wife' - and features Adam Sandler as a plastic surgeon who pretends to be unhappily married to attract women, presumably because women are attracted to unhappily married men who look like Adam Sandler. Jennifer Aniston is the reluctant sidekick in his scheming. Will they fall in love? Will we care? Sounds terrible, will make $8 bajillion at the box office.

Greg Mottola's Paul promises great things on February 18, with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg reuniting to geek out around the US after a trip to Movie-Con. Their plans to take in all things extra-terrestrial are realised in a very real way by the appearance of an actual little green man which unleashes a wave of X-Files-on-laughing-gas lunacy. It's got hands-down the comedy cast of the year, too, with Kristen Wiig, Jeffrey Tambor, Jane Lynch, Signourney Weaver, Blythe Danner, Bill Hader and Jason Bateman (the brilliantly-named Lorenzo Zoil) all on hand.

The brothers Farrelly return on March 11 with Hall Pass, in which Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis are given a week off marriage by their wives to go ape-wild with other ladies. This is Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis though, so the wildness isn't as ape as you'd expect. A midlife crisis com that's sure to have the odd gross-out delight in store.

There's usually nothing less likely to be funny than a story that begins "it's kind of a funny story". While on first glance Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's indie doesn't look like changing that, It's Kind Of A Funny Story is miles from a balls-out comedy. The story of suicidal teenager Craig (Keir Gilchrist) and fellow psychiatric patient Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), it should offer life-affirming laughs and, as you'd expect from the duo behind Half Nelson, some powerful emotional beats.

Woody Allen returns on March 18 with London-based comedy-drama You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger. Allen has assembled an impressive cast (Josh Brolin! Naomi Watts! Anthony Hopkins! Antonio Banderas!) and hopes are high that it'll see him return to kind of highs he hit with Vicky Cristina Barcelona after the woeful Whatever Works.

Medieval romp Your Highness, out on May 13, is one of the summer's most hotly awaited comedies. Judging by the trailer, for good reason. The Princess Bride meets Pineapple Express doesn't get close to the carnage Danny McBride and James Franco unleash on their unexpecting kingdom, with Natalie Portman joining their hapless quest to rescue a damsel (Zooey Deschanel) in distress.

While Happy Madison's Born To Be A Star (also May 13) has a title riffing on A Star Is Born, it's safe to expect rather more by way of boobs. Nick Swardson plays a small-town nerd who runs away to try to make his fortune in the porn business. The titular Bad Teacher of Jake Kasdan's comedy is Cameron Diaz, meanwhile, who sets her scheming sights on Justin Timberlake's substitute teacher - and scion of a watch dynasty - with sweary consequences. It's out on June 24.

There's 463 million good reasons for the bean counters at Warner Bros. to have May 27 circled with the biggest black pen they can lay their hands on. It's the day The Hangover 2 barrels into cinemas, Todd Phillips' sequel to one of the most successful comedies of all time. Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Justin Bartha returns for more hazy mayhem, joined this time by some Thai lady boys and Bill Clinton.

Jon Hamm has flaunted his comic chops in the ever-awesome 30 Rock, so going on rom-com patrol with Bridesmaids (June 24) shouldn't be too much of a stretch. Busting out of the Judd Apatow movie dressing room in a flowing gown, it stars are Rose Byrne, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig as three women at odds over plans for a wedding. Hamm will no doubt be helping to scatter the comedy confetti, just to kill that metaphor stone dead.

Another Happy Madison production, The Zookeeper, arrives on July 29. Not to be confused with the tundra-bleak Iron Curtain-set drama of the same name, it's a merry, family-friendly film with Kevin James as a lonely zookeeper who leaves the zoo in search of love. If only he'd been an unhappily married plastic surgeon the ladies would have come flocking and he wouldn't have upset the talking animals. Yes, the animals can talk. In fact, scratch what we said about tundra.

On August 12 Jim Carrey takes the opposite career path as a wealthy New York businessman in Mr. Popper's Penguins. His life takes a turn for the erratic when he inherits a huddle of penguins. It's based on a children's book that's been required reading for American youngsters since the 1930s. Angela Lansbury also appears, so expect one of the penguins to die in mysterious circumstances.

The Change-Up offers the enticing prospect of Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds exchanging bodies - and lives - when some kind of unspecified movie magic happens, Freaky Friday-style. It's written by The Hangover team Jon Lucas and Scott Moore and the portents are good. Reynolds made a lot not very much in The Proposal and Bateman remains a comic hero in these parts, despite some iffy choices of late. The Change-Up lands on August 26.

Rowan Atkinson is back as Britain's most hapless secret agent in Johnny English 2 (aka Johnny English Reborn) on October 7, while Brett Ratner's crime-caper-com Tower Heist appears on November 4. Ratner hasn't made a comedy since Rush Hour - unless you count X-Men 3 - but he'll be aided and abetted by the comic talents of Ben Affleck, Matthew Broderick and Eddie Murphy.

A month later - December 2, to be exact - comes another Happy Madison joint, Jack And Jill, this time with added Adam Sandler. He plays both titular twins and, yes, that means drag. The hilarity. In fairness, Sandler's previous collaborations with director Dennis Dugan, You Don't Mess With The Zohan and Happy Gilmore had enough giggles - Grown Ups, less so - to offer the prospect of 2011 going out on a high.

 

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Romantic Comedy
Ah, l'amour. There's nothing quite like it - at least not in the movies, where it seems inevitably to involve pratfalls, improbable meetings and ridiculous misunderstandings. Or, in the case of this year's offerings, shagging your best friend and trawling through your exes for the one who got away. Ladies and gentlemen, the rom-coms of 2011...

First up, on January 28, is How Do You Know?, aka this year's all-star James L. Brooks comedy. And it really is a starry line-up: Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and a certain Jack Nicholson. Witherspoon plays a girl who's worried she's past her prime at 27 (in fairness, she's a softball player cut from the national squad), who's torn between her current baseball player boyfriend (Wilson) and a stressed executive (Rudd) who's been set up by his father (Nicholson). Complications, no doubt, ensue. Brooks has a solid track record, and his films with Nicholson have all been good, so while the buzz on this one isn't exactly overwhelming, it might be worth a look.

No Strings Attached comes out on February 25, featuring the insanely good looking pairing of Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher (say what you like about his abilities, but you can't argue with his handsome) as a couple who try to keep things strictly physical but keep finding themselves sucked in by the other's sheer gorgeousness (or something). There's a strong supporting cast, including Kevin Kline, Lake Bell, Cary Elwes and Olivia Thirlby, but mostly we're interested to see how the surely-soon-to-be-Oscar-nominated Portman and the surely-never-to-be-Oscar-nominated Kutcher work together.

Speaking of really, really, ridiculously good-looking people, Anna Faris has a stable of insanely pretty exes in What's Your Number?, out on April 29. She goes back to meet all her ex-boyfriends to see if she made a mistake in letting any of them go, and in the process has to spend time with Chris Evans, Zachary Quinto, Mike Vogel, Chris Pratt, Andy Samberg and other such unfortunates. It's a hard life for some people, it really is. Let's hope she finds someone decent before the final act.

There are more complicated love affairs at the heart of Something Borrowed, out on May 6. Yes, Kate Hudson's in it - but it's OK; she's not the lead, and Matthew McConaughey is nowhere in sight. Instead, it's Ginnifer Goodwin's Rachel who sleeps with Dex (Colin Egglesfield), the fiance of her best friend Darcy (Hudson) and has to deal with the fall out. It's based on a bestselling chick lit novel, and it's got the always loveable John Krasinski in it as Rachel's best friend and confidant, so we'll have to wait and see on this one but it could turn out decent.

Not quite a rom-com, but starring Katherine Heigl so we're chucking it in here anyway, is One For The Money on July 8. It's the adaptation of the first Stephanie Plum novel by writer Janet Evanovich, so this could be the start of a series of (potentially) big movies about the bail bondswoman / bounty hunter. This one sees Plum on the trail of an ex, Joseph Morelli, a vice cop who's wanted for murder. Jason O'Mara (the US Life on Mars series) plays the cop, with Debbie Reynolds as Plum's interfering grandmother and John Leguizamo in there as well. Think The Bounty Hunter but twistier, turnier and - hopefully - a lot better.

Continuing with the whole sex-without-a-relationship theme established by No Strings Attached, Friends With Benefits on September 2, sees the stunning pair of Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake trying to keep things strictly sexual - which we're guessing won't work. It's going to be interesting to see how Timberlake does in a lead role, after a string of really rather good supporting turns, while Kunis deserves a shot at top billing after that Black Swan performance. Director Will Gluck has gathered a great supporting cast too: Patricia Clarkson, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Bryan Greenberg, Jenna Elfman and Richard Jenkins among them. Colour us optimistic for this one.

Finally as the year ends, there's New Year's Eve on December 9. It's the not-quite sequel to last year's Valentine's Day, with director Garry Marshall turning his attentions to, well, New Year instead. Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel and Taylor Swift return as different characters to those they played in Marshall's previous ensemble rom-com, and they're joined by Jake Gyllenhaal, Lea Michele, Robert de Niro, Halle Berry, Sarah Jessica Parker and Hilary Swank (and a bajillion more) as well. They're all going to be looking for love in the Big Apple, so let's hope that at least half the storylines are compelling, eh?

 

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Brit Flicks
Time to shine a spotlight on the homegrown efforts that might just break out onto the world stage this year, with everything from gritty drama to knockabout comedy. See? It's not just Hollywood that makes movies - we can do it too!

Kicking things off we have NEDS (technically standing for "Non-Educated Delinquent", but mostly Scottish slang for "chav"), a gritty tale of growing up in 1970s Glasgow, brought to the screen by director Peter Mullan and set to appear in your local cinema January 21. It's already won Best Film at the San Sebastian Film Festival, and received numerous critical plaudits, in particular for its lead Conor McCarron, who plays the good-boy-gone-bad that the film revolves around. Authentic, brutal, real, it's one not to let slip past you in the New Year.

East Is East was a cheerful comedy that showed that British-Asian cinema could talk about serious issues as well as put a smile on your face - now, 11 years later, and its sequel West is West will still make you chuckle come February 25. The only question is whether it has quite the same impact you might want in the 21st century. Still, great to see the Khan family back together again, headed by the innimitable Om Puri. And as a bonus, it has 100% fewer circumcision scenes this time around. Phew.

Following on from 2007's Unrelated, Archipelago is the second feature from director Joanna Hogg, an intimate, well-observed little drama that arrives March 4, starring Loki-off-of-Thor, a.k.a. Tom Hiddleston. As it's the tale of a dysfunctional family on holiday in The Scilly Isles, expect awkward conversations amongst bitter relatives on a nigh-on treeless island. Festival reviews are very positive, pointing at Hogg's talent as an increasingly promising director.

Can't wait for more Bond? Well, how about a story about an elite group of British soldiers - the one founded by Ian Fleming himself? That'll do. Out February 1, Age of Heroes tells the story of 30 Commando Unit, the precursor to the SAS in World War II, so expect a snowbound wartime thriller starring none other than Sean Bean, Danny Dyer (no, really), and James D'Arcy as Ian Fleming himself, promising to be good old-fashioned British wartime fun. Well, "fun" may not be quite the right word, but even if the men onscreen go through hell, it should be fun for us.

You might remember that Ken Loach's Route Irish was snuck into Cannes this year at the very last moment, with everyone seemingly hoping for the same success as 2006's The Wind That Shakes The Barley (Loach's Palme d'Or winner) or his 2009 crowd-pleaser Looking For Eric. While it didn't quite manage that, reviews so far have highlighted the excellent cast and brilliant performances, although there were some concerns about the pacing.Us non-festival goers can will get the chance to watch Loach's work discussing the often overlooked world of Iraqi corruption and military private contractors come March 18.

Imagine you were mates with The Edge and Bono and co in school... But whereas you just plodded along with your band, they reached global superstardom. That would suck, right? Well, it would at least until you got a film out of it, what with Killing Bono arriving April 1 (no joke) next year. The gang of Irish wannabes are played by the likes of Ben Barnes (swoon) and Robert Sheehan, supported by their agent Pete Postlethwaite and Peter Serafinowicz as an Etonian twozzock.

A film about the deportation of thousands of abused children in UK foster care to Australia? Out April 1, we've got a feeling that Oranges and Sunshine, despite the name, may not be the feel good hit of the summer. Still, it's one to keep an eye on, starring as it does the ever-reliable Emily Watson as Margaret Humphreys, the former social worker who exposed the abuse scandal in the 1980s. She's supported by Hugo Weaving and David Wenham in this Anglo-Australian production helmed by none other than Ken's son, Jim Loach. Our prediction? Worthy, and well-acted. Come on, it's a safe bet.

Jason Statham plays a killer cop trying anything and everything to stop crazed cop killer (played beautifully by Aidan Gillen, a.k.a. The Mayor from The Wire) in action thriller Blitz, out on May 6. Expect faces, doors and rules to be torn to shreds as The Stath lets off a little steam in the way he does so well. That said, this doesn't look like it's going to be as cartoonish as films like The Transporter or Crank; there's more of a feel of a British cop thriller that just happens to share the tone of its American brethren.

 

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Documentaries
It's easy to pigeonhole documentaries as smart, cerebral brain food with exclusive appeal, but this year's Restrepo, Collapse, The Arbor and Capitalism: A Love Story brimmed as much dramatic heft as many a box-office busting tentpole. So what are 2011's Coves and Catfishes, and is there a new Errol Morris or Michael Moore ready to emerge? Here are some of the contenders.

The James Dean of classical piano, Canadian musician Glenn Gould is suitably cinematic subject matter to kick things off. Out on January 21, Genius Within: The Inner Life Of Glenn Gould searches for the man behind the myths. And there were plenty of those. Gould was notoriously secretive, more than a little eccentric (he wore gloves wherever he went and hated to be touched) and sometimes incredibly difficult. The genius tag is well earned though, as this acclaimed doc proves.

From this year's Shine to a double-bill of releases from the Dogwoof, the people behind the excellent Restrepo and Food, Inc. First up on January 21 is Gasland, a punchy exploration of environmental exploitation that poke its lenses where big US corporations definitely don't want it. It's been long-listed by the Academy. A week later, and on a more lyrical tack, comes How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster?, a look at the rages-to-riches life of Britain's greatest architect, Norman Foster. Expect a glimpse at the inspirations behind iconic buildings from the Gherkin to Canary Wharf and Wembley Stadium. Hopefully we'll also get to see what he made of the Death Eaters knocking over his Millennium Bridge.

From the man who built the towers to the people who work in them, on February 18 Matt Damon lends his dulcet tones to Inside Job, a no-holds-barred assault on the teetering house of cards that is the banking industry. If the men who caused the global crash think they got off scot-free, director Charles Ferguson may have a surprise or two in store in this angry trial-by-camera. It's made the Oscar long-list and caused a stir in Cannes.

And speaking of Cannes, on February 11 Two In The Wave takes us back to sun-kissed shores of the French Riviera to compare and contrast the twin titans of the Nouvelle Vague, Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. From their mag days on Cahiers du Cinema to their revolutionary film careers, the aptly-named New Wave Films' doc should offer fascinating glimpses behind the masterpieces and that thick fug of Gauloise smoke.

Up-and-coming documentarian Lucy Walker directs not one but two of the year's most eagerly awaited documentaries. First, on February 25, is the Oscar long-listed Waste Land. It's got nothing to do with T. S. Eliot but the writer would surely have enjoyed the artistry of Vik Muniz, a Brooklyn-based portrait painter who uses his skills to capture the Catadores, men and women who make their living shifting through Rio's colossal garbage heaps. Countdown To Zero, meanwhile, would probably have scared the hell out of him. Billed as Threads for the modern age, it's a harrowing look at nuclear proliferation. If we're all still here, it'll be out on June 24.

Lastly, but not leastly, is A Small Act, a documentary marrying HBO-strength filmmaking with an emotional journey sure to warm the cockles. It's the story of Chris Mburu, now a human rights advocate at the UN, whose struggle to find a scholarship led him to the door of a holocaust survivor in Kenya. It's out on April 15 and should provide plenty of food for thought.

 

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Big Action
Even though Tony Scott won't be unleashing any high-velocity mayhem this year, plenty of other directors have their fingers hovering over the big red button marked 'EXPLODE!' in 2011. Not least Michael Bay, who's back with another dose of robo-mayhem. At the other end of the pyrotechnic scale, Blighty's own Joe Cornish takes his bow with Attack The Block. Something for everyone, surely. Here's a guide to all the big bangs, axe-wielding lunacy and giant alien spacecraft you need to know about.

Calm down dear, it's only Michael Winner remake The Mechanic to get things under way on January 28. But fear not, because unlike your average Winner dog's dinner, The Mechanic has movie pedigree - the great Donald Sutherland in is it, for one thing - and a director, Con Air's Simon West, who knows his way around a ginormous gun battle. And with Jason Statham involved as the titular hitman on a revenge mission, there'll be plenty of those.

Like The Big Blue on crack, James Cameron Presents Sanctum splashes down on February 4. It's based on a true story and plunges into the South Pacific's subsea caves, where a group of divers find themselves trapped by a flash flood. The 'James Cameron Presents' bit means next-gen special effects and Avatar-grade 3D; the 'Sanctum' bit should mean a whole lot of praying as the oxygen slowly runs out.

Taking a giant leap back in time on March 4, Ironclad promises to do exactly what it says on the tin: unleash merry hell on King John's England and have a blast doing it. With Jason Flemyng, James Purefoy and a band of Knights Templar defending Rochester Castle from Paul Giamatti's evil monarch, expect it to fall somewhere between Rambo and The Holy Grail. The Eagle yomps across similar turf a fortnight later, a Roman epic adapted from Rosemary Sutcliffe's novel of swords, sandals and very angry Scottish men.

An early contender for the statutory 'This year's District 9' tag is Battlefield: Los Angeles, out on March 11. An extra-terrestrial invasion from a grunts'-eye perspective, it takes us down onto the mean streets of LA where Michelle Rodriguez and platoon of US soldiers try to stay alive long enough to fight back. It's Aliens on the set of Short Cuts, and the embattled people of Los Angeles will once again be cowering behind the nearest sofa.

Over in Blighty, it's Aliens on the set of The Bill in Joe Cornish's big screen debut Attack The Block on April 8. Extra-terrestrials invade South London but, instead of Marines, it's hoodies who take the fight to the (not so) little (not so) green men. Jodie Whittaker is joined by a cast of newcomers, while Nick Frost is also back for a second dose of extra-terrestrial mayhem after Greg Mottola's Paul.

There's more against-the-odds carnage on April 15 when Audition director Takashi Miike brings his remake of Eiichi Kudo's '60s actioner 13 Assassins to the big screen. A band of samurai take on an evil landowner and, if the moody and magnificent trailer is anything to go by, Kurosawa-like swordplay, Dirty Dozen-style camaraderie and some giant ka-booming will swiftly ensue.

Among all the badass aliens and sword-wielding warriors, things are a little quieter on the vampire front in the first half of 2011. Priest should change all that when it arrives on May 13. It reunites Paul Bettany with Legion director Scott Charles Stewart, and while their first collaboration could politely be described as bobbins, the VFX-man-turned-helmer should have enough tricks in his locker to light up this post-apocalyptic comic-book fable. Even if not, the sight of Bettany unleashing hell on a parallel universe's worth of vampires should be worth the admission fee. Cam Giganet's presence should keep Twi-hards happy, though they should expect much rufflier hair. Vampire slaying can play merry hell with the barnet.

Summer tentpole Rise Of The Apes sees more monkey magic from King Kong vet Andy Serkis on August 5. Brit director Rupert Wyatt is behind the camera and is promising to stick closely to the mythology of Planet Of The Apes. Like any good prequel, it delves back to the period before the original movie's setting to set man-of-the-moment James Franco to work on a cure for Alzheimer's. His scientist inadvertently accelerates the evolution of Serkis's chimp and it's panic stations for the rest of civilisation.

From monkey mayhem to total Bayhem, Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon thunders to Earth on July 1 in full 3D IMAX-ed effect. Any negatrons out there - and there'll be a few after the so-so second instalment - should be reassured by the impressive early footage, which owed more than a little to Alien. Shia LaBeouf is joined by newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and a whole bunch of robots, hopefully none of whom will have testicles.

Joining in summer sequel fever is a fourth instalment for Robert Rodriguez's popular Spy Kids franchise. Emerging from Troublemaker Studios all grown up, Spy Kids 4: All The Time In The World sets Jessica Alba and her sugar-craving OSS spooks against Jeremy Piven's evil Timekeeper with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

Fittingly, it'll be pitched against Super 8 on August 19. Fittingly because J. J. Abram's sci-fi/actioner/monster-movie/who-knows-what is shrouded in more secrecy than a secret agent's Christmas shopping list. We've seen - and loved - the teaser, but are still none of the wiser. If you're appearing in Super 8 or know anyone who is, please call 1800-what-the-devil-is-this.

While we can't say for sure if there are any aliens in Super 8, there definitely are in Darkest Hour - aka 'Battlefield: Moscow'. It's an alien invasion flick with a difference: this time they've picked Russia to invade, where Emile Hersch, Max Minghella and Olivia Thirlby have to fight to survive. It's a bit 28 Days Later and a bit Red Dawn, and it's out on September 2.

Following Transformers 3 comes another bout of clanking robo carnage. Real Steel, Disney's Hugh Jackman-fronted sci-fi, in which robot pugilists beat the bolts out of each other, lands in cinemas and on IMAX on October 7. On the same day martial arts spectacular Warrior, boasting the intriguingly gnarly pairing of Tom Hardy and Nick Nolte, arrives in cinemas. For fans of balls-out fighting, Immortals should tick the big box marked 'awesome' on November 11. It sees Theseus (newcomer Henry Cavill) unleashes actual titans (Clash Of The Titans take note) in Tarsem Singh's 3D spectacular. Bad guy duties fall to Mickey Rourke as the bloodthirsty King Hyperion, while John Hurt, Kellan Lutz, Freida Pinto and Stephen Dorff round out an eclectic-looking cast.

Two titans of the box-office kind are back to round out the year in a flurry of explosions and baristu bad-assery. Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol and Sherlock Holmes 2 should do brisk business on December 16, with IMF and 221B's finest helping good people sleep soundly by foiling the schemes of the sinister. With Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. returning as Ethan Hunt and Sherlock Holmes respectively, expect twists, turns and enough star wattage to power a bajillion Christmas trees. Pixar fans will no doubt be watching with interest to see how The Incredibles director Brad Bird adjusts to live action with M:I4 - and action should prove the operative word. Bring it on!

 

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Big Animation
2010 was a pretty stellar year for animation, with Toy Story 3 among the best films of the year; How To Train Your Dragon showing what DreamWorks can do at its best and really strong support from the likes of Megamind, Despicable Me, The Secret of Kells and more. So how is 2011 shaping up? Well, spoiler: they're almost all in 3D. Read on for more...

Kicking the season off is Tangled on January 28. It's Disney's 50th film, its first CG fairytale and its funniest effort in ages. Our heroine is Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), stolen from her parents as a baby due to her magic hair and locked away by Mama Gogol (Donna Murphy) in a tower. But when thief Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi) turns up, she gets to explore the outside world. It's very much a two-hander, with loads of comedy from Ryder and a horse called Goliath as well as a supporting cast of barbarians, and Disney stalwart Alan Menken is on song duties so the tunes are hugely hummable. It even has flawless 3D. Definitely one to seek out.

On February 11 it's the turn of Gnomeo & Juliet, also in 3D, with the voice talents of James McAvoy and Emily Blunt as the star-cross'd, er, garden gnomes. This film's been hovering round for years - Ewan McGregor and Kate Winslet were once attached - so it's going to be good to see it finally emerge from development hell. And it's come through with a heck of a voice cast - Michael Caine's also in there, along with Jason Statham, Julie Walters, DOLLY freakin' PARTON, Maggie Smith and Patrick Stewart. Huh: that means this cast contains two Professor Xs. If that isn't a recommendation to see it, we don't know what is.

Also on February 11, also in 3D, is Yogi Bear. We've all seen the alternative ending already so we're going to have to watch the film to find out how the actual finale compares. Now this is a mixture of live action and animation, strictly speaking, but Yogi himself - voiced by Dan Aykroyd - and Booboo - voiced by Justin Timberlake - are most decidedly animated. It's all directed by Eric Brevig, who handled the rather likeable Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, so let's hope it's on a par with that.

On March 4 it's the turn of Rango, one of the least conventional-looking animated offerings of the year and one whose trailers have already impressed us. It's the story of a chameleon voiced by Johnny Depp, who develops an identity crisis and heads off into the desert - only to find himself forced to play the role of the hero he's always dreamed of being. The character design and animation is unlike anything else out there, and with Gore Verbinski reuniting with his Pirates star behind the camera, so maybe lightning can strike twice for the pair.

It's another live-action / animation hybrid on April 1 with Hop, the second effort from Universal's Illumination arm after 2010's really rather good Despicable Me. This one has Russell Brand voicing the Easter Bunny's layabout son, who runs away and falls in with slacker James Marsden. We're guessing that both will end up Learning and Growing a sense of responsibility. The bunny design on this one is certainly adorable, and it is strange that we don't have any Easter films in the same way there are Halloween and Christmas stalwarts, but we'll have to wait and see how well this works; it looks set to skew young, in an Alvin and the Chipmunks sort of way.

Just a week later on April 8 we're going to see Rio, a 3D effort about a sheltered and, it turns out, rare parrot (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) who is sent to Rio to meet the last remaining female of his species (Anne Hathaway) in the hope that they'll mate and have lots of parrot babies. Only problem is that he can't fly and is a bit of a nerd. The trailer was amusing, but we'll have to see whether this turns out to be just another talking animal movie or something genuinely great.

But what if you're not a fan of 3D glasses? What if you long for something hand-drawn and traditional? Well, look to Disney's Winnie The Pooh on April 15 in that case, because the Mouse House are bringing it back to basics for this one. Largely based on A. A. Milne's original tales, but twisted into more-or-less one single plot, this one looks adorable and suitable for even the tiniest children, as Eeyore's friends look to find him a new tail and Pooh and co. try to decipher a message left by Christopher Robin. Yes, the trailer may have a Keane song over it, but the film looks cool in a strange way.

At the more sci-fi end of the spectrum is Mars Needs Mums in 3D on April 22 (yes, April's a big month for animation). This one sees Seth Green voice a kid (yes, still) who gains a new appreciation for his mother (Joan Cusack) when she's abducted by aliens to combat a maternal shortage on their home planet. We're guessing that this will have a slightly Monsters Vs. Aliens vibe about it (which would be no bad thing), and we're hoping that the performance capture will work as well as it did in, say, Monster House. And yes, it's called Mars Needs Moms in the US. Those crazy Americans.

With the summer comes cartoon sequels, and first up is Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D on June 17, with the all-star cast back in action as the martial arts animals. The original was really rather good, probably the best recent DreamWorks effort until How To Train Your Dragon, so we're optimistic for this one. And then on July 22 is Cars 2 in 3D as well. It may be the sequel to Pixar's weakest film, but it's also a sequel to one of their most popular with kids and one that looks a little more propulsive than its occasionally dawdling predecessor. With Michael Caine joining the cast as secret agent Finn McMissile and a bit more intrigue and danger, it should be a bit less Doc Hollywood and a bit more James Bond, which can only be a good thing.

On August 3 comes The Smurfs, another 3D effort and another live action / animation crossover. The plot seems somewhat akin to Enchanted: due to an evil plot by Gargamel (Hank Azaria), the Smurfs are thrown out of their own world and into ours. The good news is that they fall in with a couple played by the ever-dependable Neil Patrick Harris and Glee's Jayma Mays, and that the voice cast looks strong, including Alan Cumming, Anton Yelchin and, er, Katy Perry / Brand. The bad news is that it's going to have a hard time living up to the last film featuring blue people and visitors from another world, we reckon.

It's time to get your Yuletide on with Arthur Christmas, in 3D on November 11, as AardmanAnimation returns to the big screen, which is always good news. Here, Arthur (James McAvoy), younger son of Father Christmas (Jim Broadbent), has to complete a mission by Christmas morning to ensure that Santa's high-tech, huge-scale North Pole operation goes off according to plan. With Bill Nighy, Hugh Laurie and Imelda Staunton also involved, let's hope this is up to the standard of Aardman's considerable best.

After that, it's sequels and spin-offs, all in 3D, until the end of the year. December 2 sees the release of Happy Feet 2 in 3D, with Elijah Wood and Robin Williams back onboard and Pink replacing the late Brittany Murphy. What's more, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon are signed up to voice, er, krill. Hey, at least they're avoiding typecasting.

On December 9, Shrek spin-off Puss In Boots follows into the fray. Now Puss (Antonio Banderas) has been the best thing about the Shrek franchise ever since he joined, so the only question is how that transfers to a leading role. With Salma Hayek voicing his love interest Kitty and Zach Galifianakis' Humpty Dumpty to contend with, he's got every incentive to show us his panache and give us a little flair. Finally for 2011 in animation, December 16 sees the release of Alvin And The Chipmunks 3. Yes, there's a third. The subtitle "Chipwrecked" suggests that there might be a castaway element to the plot this time around, but we can pretty much guarantee that the film will mostly revolve around high-pitched reworkings of popular tunes and lots and lots of pratfalls.

 

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Teen Dreams
It's the turn of the, like, total hotties, OMG. These are the efforts full of perfect cheekbones and huge, gelled hair - and that's just the boys. From Robert Pattinson to Dianna Agron to Taylor Lautner to Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, here's the pretty boys and girls that will be rocking 2011...


Leading the charge is I Am Number 4 on February 18, with Alex Pettyfer as fugitive John Smith who, with his guardian Henri (Timothy Olyphant) is on the run from those determined to kill him. At least, he's on the run until he gets distracted by the charms of Glee's Dianna Agron and decides he might want to settle down after all. So far, so typical, but as it turns out there are superpowers and aliens involved, just to spice things up a bit. This one's based on a planned series of books, so expect director DJ Caruso and his team to try their damndest to build a new action franchise here. They're pitching it as Close Encounters meets Rebel without a Cause, so expect teen angst but, y'know, aliens too.

On April 1 it's the turn of real-life superpowered teen Justin Bieber: Never Say Never 3D. Yes, the mop-topped pop-moppet is getting the bio-documentary / concert film treatment already, at the ripe old age of 16 (well, he'll be 17 by then). The film's set to tell the triumphal story of how Beiber rose to global super-stardom after a video he uploaded to YouTube caught the attention of record producers. The word "inspiring" is used about 20 times in the trailer, so we guess that's what they're going for.

On April 15 it's back to Pettyfer-ville for Beastly, with the Brit star playing a spoiled, handsome rich kid cursed with a deformed face until he learns not to be a total jerk to those around him and finds someone to love him in spite of how he looks. Mary-Kate Olsen is the witch who curses him; Vanessa Hudgens the girl whose love might just provide an escape from the curse (spoiler: there'll totally be a happy ending). If this all sounds familiar, that's because it's the plot of Beauty and the Beast - but this version's set in modern-day Manhattan, so there should be a bit of social satire in there too.

Also on April 15 director Catherine Hardwicke is back in the teen realm with Red Riding Hood, starring Amanda Seyfried as the titular hoodie. Set in a medieval village haunted by a werewolf - so Hardwicke will feel right at home after Twilight - this one has a really solid supporting cast that includes Gary Oldman, Julie Christie and Virginia Madsen, and looks set to provide the necessary wiggins to give it a distinct horror edge. But there's a love story too, with Seyfried's Valerie in love with a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Er. If there were tracks in the medieval period.

Finally on April 15, if you're after something a little more serious then Australian film Tomorrow, When The War Began is probably the one for you. The plot's based on a book, which is just as well because otherwise you might confuse this with the terribly-similar-in-outline Red Dawn, since it involves a gang of teenagers waging a guerrilla war against the invaders who have imprisoned their parents. But it's OK, because this one takes place in Australia; the invaders are the "Coalition Nations" from somewhere in Asia, not the Soviets; and the teenagers are led by Rachel Hurd-Wood rather than the late, great Patrick Swayze. The word from Oz, where it's already opened, is good, so this might be worth a look.

Smelling salts at the ready, because April 22 sees the return of the mighty R.Pattz in Water For Elephants. Pattinson plays a veterinary student who throws in his studies after the death of his parents and runs away, finding himself in a traveling circus. There he falls for Marlena (Reese Witherspoon) - which would be fine were it not for her violent husband August (Christoph Waltz). This is based on the novel of the same name, is not a sequel to Like Water For Chocolate, and looks set to be a more grown-up effort for the once and future Edward Cullen.

On July 29 it's Monte Carlo or bust for Disney Channel graduate Selena Gomez, Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester and Taken's Katie Cassidy. The three play friends on a disastrous holiday in Paris who get mistaken for heiresses and swept off to live the high life in Monte Carlo. You can probably guess everything else that happens in the film just from there. Andie Macdowell plays Gomez' mother, with Glee's Cory Monteith as her love interest. Still, it might offer good material for a European stereotypes / unbelieveable plot twists drinking game of some sort.

September 23 sees Twilight's Taylor Lautner caught in an Abduction. He's a young man who finds his baby photo while browsing a missing person's website - as you do - and begins to suspect that the parents who raised him are not, in fact, his parents. The results should be thriller-y, with support from Sigourney Weaver, Alfred Molina, Maria Bello, Jason Isaacs and the Millenium Trilogy's Michael Nyqvist. Can Lautner succeed stripped of his werewolf trappings and obsession with Bella? This could be the test.

Come October 14 it's time to kick off your Sunday shoes for Footloose, the musical version of the Kevin Bacon classic. Newcomer Kenny Wormald is stepping into the skinny jeans and slip-on shoes of rebel outsider Ren McCormack, who moves to a conservative small town where music and dance are banned. Dennis Quaid is the stick-in-the-mud preacher who's spoiling everyone's fun, with Julianne Hough (from the US' Dancing with the Stars) as the preacher's daughter he falls for. Let's hope it's as energetic, but considerably less stupidly coiffed, than the original.

Also on October 14 is The Three Musketeers, in 3D, which is by our count the umpteenth adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' classic. This one stars Logan Lerman, from last year's Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, as D'Artagnan with Matthew McFadyen, Ray Stevenson and Luke Evans as the Musketeers. With Christoph Waltz (again!), Orlando Bloom and Mads Mikkelsen also in the mix, the casting's decent, but it's all down to which Paul WS Anderson turns up to direct: the one responsible for Event Horizon, or the one who made Alien Vs Predator.

On October 21, brace yourselves for the return of Miley Cyrus in Laughing Out Loud - also know, inevitably, as LOL. Based on the 2008 French film of the same name, this focuses on a teenager's everyday life and relationship with her equally unsorted mother. Cyrus is Lola, aka Lol, and Demi Moore is her mum. Expect peer pressure, parental interference, high school romance and support from Thomas Jane, Gina Gershon and Ashley Greene.

It's the Big One on November 18, which sees Edward and Bella finally get it on in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. The fourth instalment will cover only the first half of the fourth (and final) Twilight book, and sees vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) and human Bella (Kristen Stewart) finally tie the knot and go on honeymoon. However, some complications soon turn up in the shape of an unplanned pregnancy and…well, we'll say no more. But at least in this Twilight movie the plot might actually move forward for once. Fans will still have to wait until 2012 for the big finale, but that just gives them extra time to dream of Edward / Jacob / Bella (delete as appropriate) so they probably consider that a bright side.

 

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Unsafe Motoring
A mini-trend this year relates to films that are full of dangerous driving. Speeding, handbrake turns and criminal parking are the order of the day here, in a category that could also have included Transformers if we were being really strict (c'mon, cars turning into robots? That's not in the Highway Code).

You're not going to believe this, but the character Nic Cage plays in Drive Angry is, like, well angry. And more than that, he also likes to drive. Crazy, right? Still, if you like Nic walking away from explosions, packing a huge shotgun and narrowly dodging the Devil's right hand man (the always awesome William Fichtner as 'The Accountant') it looks like a hilarious, KABOOM-filled romp, and it'll hit cinemas (LOUDLY!) in 3D come February 25. Also, Amber Heard is in it. So there's that.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is the irate bald guy with revenge on his mind and a pistol in his hand. Billy Bob Thorton is the world-weary detective out to put him behind bars - though he sympathises somewhat with his cause. Then there's Oliver Jackson-Cohen as the eccentric English hitman and general baddo that Johnson has his eye on. It's all kickin' off. Its name? Faster. Its release date? February 25. Its IQ requirement? Minimal. Its stunt sequences and shoot-out scenes? Ever-so-plentiful.

Fast Five. Did you ever think it would come to this? A fifth instalment of the The Fast And The Furious - and one that is being pitched as the studio's tent pole release for 2011? Well here it is, both fast and furious, as is traditional, and involving a truly stunning sequence involving a bank vault, two souped-up cars and any number of innocent buildings just trying to stay standing. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are both back in the driving-cars-fast business, with Dwayne Johnson joining them (he really likes driving fast this year) and virtually every surviving Fast and Furious character returning. June 11 is the date you'll be able to buckle up and watch it, so write that down in your copybooks… now.

 

[dontdiedontkillanyon]

Films For Grown-Ups
If you like movies to twist your melons, next year has some treats in store. There's plenty of contenders for the title of 2011's Inception. While none are perhaps as immediately attention-grabbing as Christopher Nolan's sci-fi spectacular, we wouldn't be surprised to look back in 12 months on a year that took the cerebral action thriller to a new level. Steven Soderbergh, Doug Liman, George Nolfi: it's over to you...

The Next Three Days kicks off the new year in breathless style on January 5. A remake of Fred Cavayé's 2007 French thriller Pour Elle, Paul 'Crash' Haggis directs Russell Crowe as a desperate man who decides to bust his wife (Elizabeth Banks) out of the joint when she's convicted of murder. We're saying that if we were married to Elizabeth Banks and she was locked in prison, we'd definitely try and rescue her, but would probably chicken out at the last minute. But then we don't have Liam Neeson helping out as a hardened career criminal with handy prison-breaking skills.

On February 11, Shakespeare In Love director John Madden makes a welcome return with The Debt. Another remake of a 2007 foreign-language movie - an Israeli thriller of the same name - its split setting straddles Cold War Berlin and late '90s Europe where three Mossad agents track down a Nazi war criminal. With Sam Worthington, Marton Csokas and Jessica Chastain playing them young, and and Ciarán Hinds, Tom Wilkinson and Helen Mirren as their older versions, it's six quality thesps for the price of three. Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn are on script duties.

The Tempest, out on March 4, is another story with some writing pedigree behind it. Julie Taymor (you thought we were going to say that Shakespeare fella) picked up an Oscar nod for Frida and has previous when it comes to forging the Bard's words into screenplay form. She adapted Titus Andronicus into a more than respectable revenge thriller with Anthony Hopkins back in 1999. If The Tempest is half as leftfield as Titus - and with Prospero now Helen Mirren's Prospera, don't bet against it - we could be in for a literary treat.

If 2011 isn't the Chinese Year of the Matt Damon, it probably should be. He's got another of his eagerly-awaited releases landing on March 4 in the form of The Adjustment Bureau. Directed by George Nolfi, it looks like the closest thing the year has to Inception, boasting a love story wrapped in sci-fi thrills straight from the pages of Philip K. Dick. Literally straight from the pages of Philip K. Dick - it's an adaptation of his short story Adjustment Team. Damon is a suave congressman who falls for ballerina Emily Blunt only to run full force into a secretive organisation with malevolence in mind. Damon reunites with Bourne Ultimatum and Ocean's Twelve writer Nolfi, who makes his directorial bow.

Fair Game, the true-life story of CIA spook Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts), offers cinemagoers a second dose of covert thrills when it's out on the same day. Plame's identity was leaked by similarly dark forces, but we'll have to wait until March to find out exactly what they are (or check Wikipedia, if you're the impatient type). Sean Penn reunites with Watts for the third time following 21 Grams and The Assassination Of Richard Nixon, so expect plenty of on-screen chemistry. We'd hope so - he's playing her husband.

It's been a while since Robert De Niro had a juicy role to get his teeth into - four years to be exact, though it feels a lot longer - but that could all change on March 18 with the release of techno thriller Limitless. He plays a financial mogul hot on the heels of Bradley Cooper's schlebby writer who's come into possession of drug with brain-enhancing properties. Hot premise, rubbish title.

Thriller The Lincoln Lawyer, also out on March 18, has Matthew McConaughey as a hotshot attorney who's down on his luck ('Lincoln' refers to the car he works from) when he stumbles upon the case that may make him. But, this being an adaptation of Michael Connelly's crime novel, it's just as likely to break him.

If there's a Crazy Heart out there in 2011, it's probably Country Strong, a C&W drama packing enough personal demons to staff a full circle of hell. It's released on March 25 and promises to stretch Gwyneth Paltrow's acting chops in a way that Pepper Potts probably didn't, giving her the chance to show off her musical talent, too. She's a fading country star who embarks on a comeback tour that's complicated by her feelings for Garrett Hedlund's up-and-comer, a tricky home life and addiction problems Bad Blake can probably relate too.

Nine months hence and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy already looks like one of the highpoints of the year. With Let The Right One In's Tomas Alfredson behind the camera and Tom Hardy, Stephen Graham, Kathy Burke, Colin Firth and Mark Strong in front of it, it could match the genius of the BBC's award-winning '70s drama. Gary Oldman steps into Alec Guinness' worn brogues to play spymaster George Smiley on September 16.

Filed under 'eh?' but brimming with potential is Shakespeare authorship thriller Anonymous on September 30. Will Roland Emmerich do for the Bard what he's done to the White House, New York and Paris (twice) and destroy the reputation of Stratford's finest (Rafe Spall)? Did Rhys Ifans' Earl Of Oxford really write Hamlet? Seems like a stretch, if you ask us. He's only just recovered from hanging out with Howard Marks.

It's not the Chinese Year of Matt Damon - it's the Year of the Rabbit, we checked - but Damon is back, back, back in Contagion, Steven Soderbergh's more-than-intriguing action-thriller. The world is under threat of lethal pandemic, but luckily the greatest ensemble cast of the year is on hand to react. Alongside Damon, Soderbergh has mobilised Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Elliot Gould and Laurence Fishburne. Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston brings some handy medication know-how to the table, too. It's out on October 21.

Emilio Estevez's second directorial effort, The Way, also arrives at the tail end of the year. Like Bobby it unites him with dad Martin Sheen, a grieving father who embarks on a spiritual pilgrimage into the wilderness after burying his son. Into The Mild, they're not calling it.

Nothing says Christmas like Matt Damon a trip to the zoo, so hoorah and huzzah for We Bought A Zoo out on December 23. Yes, it's Matt Damon and rabbits together for the first time. He's a widower who buys a zoo when his wife dies and sets to work restoring its fortunes. It's a Cameron Crowe film and will no doubt (a) warm the cockles on frosty December evenings, and (b) have a crackerjack soundtrack to boot. A merry Christmas, indeed.

 

[dontdiedontkillanyon]

Fantasy Films
Ten years on from The Lord of the Rings, magic and witchcraft continues to supply any number of films for our viewing enjoyment (hopefully). While we wait for The Hobbit to finally hit our screens, here are the fantasy efforts Hollywood has conjured up for 2011...


In Season Of The Witch on January 7, Nicolas Cage plays legendary crusading knight Behman, who returns home to find his country ravaged by the Black Death. Supported by Ron Perlman as his best buddy ol' pal, Felson, their job is to transport a witch - believed to be the cause of the plague, you see - to a remote castle in order to burn her. Easy peasy. Except, of course, it isn't, as Behman suspects that this 'witch' isn't as bad as all that, and on top of all that's going on, there's a big battle afoot, and, and… we're a bit confused here, to be honest, but it barely matters. Look forward to a long-haired Cage with swinging a sword about and lots of shots of people in clanking armour headbutting and nutting each other in this slightly worrying supernatural thriller.

Okay, so there's this pirate, right. In fact, you might have heard of him - the name's Captain Jack Sparrow (he's very particular about the Cap'n part, mind) and he's been in a few films you might have heard of from a few years ago… and now he's back in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and he's as charmingly drunk as ever. Supported by Geoffrey Rush's Barbossa and Penelope Cruz's Angelica, Jack's on the hunt for the Fountain Of Youth, but he's got to face Blackbeard (Ian McShane) first. May 18 is the date the ship sets sale, and if the trailer's anything to go by, it looks genuinely quite funny and a worthy successor to the original.

And yes, 2011 sees the final chapter of the story of Boy Who Lived - the second half of J. K. Rowling's last book, and the most dramatic and exciting one yet, as everything burns in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two - in 3D. The first half might have been a little bit too exposition-y for some tastes, but with the plot revelations now all set up - and going by the action-packed snippets of footage we've seen the trailer - the second is bound to have every muggle and his dog down to the multiplex as the whole nation sheds a tear at the final, final, final Potter film. July 15 is the date in question, so don't forget a hankie, don't take those of a nervous disposition and whatever you do, don't name He Who Must Not Be Named.

Conan the Barbarian will be swinging his ludicrously big sword in your general direction in 3D come August 19, with Arnie's immortal character being played by newcomer Jason Momoa, a 6'4" Hawaiian goliath previously best known for Stargate Atlantis and, of course, Baywatch Hawaii - but don't let that put you off; he's rather good. Supporting cast come in the form of Ron Perlman as Corin and Rachel Nichols as Tamara, who, being such a pretty lady, we're guessing might be (might be) the love interest. Phwoar etc.

Finally, whether this one counts as fantasy depends on whether you're a Baconite or a De Vereist, but Roland Emmerich's Anonymous certainly doesn't have its roots too firmly based in history. Instead, it's a political thriller about who really wrote William Shakespeare's plays, starring Rhys Ifans as alleged author Edward de Vere, David Thewlis as William Cecil, and Vanessa Redgrave as Elizabeth I herself. Since we're Shakespeareites, we reckon it's a fantasy… of sorts. Oh, and it's directed by Roland Emmerich, who, let's be honest, isn't that well known for his period drama pieces, and who will no doubt be fighting a persistent urge to blow the lot of them to kingdom come. Still, you might be intrigued, and if you are, you should put September 30 in your diaries.

 

[dontdiedontkillanyon]

Kick-Ass Chicks

So in Sucker Punch there's this pretty young girl called Baby Doll (Emily Browning) and she's institutionalised by her evil stepfather, because, you know, he's evil and that. And then - and this is where it gets hazy for us - she teams up with the other rather attractive girls in the institution (including Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Abbie Cornish and Jena Malone) and goes into an alternative reality full of guns and dragons and planes and macguffins and it's all very sexy and exciting and so on. It's from the mind of Zack Snyder, so expect SLOOO-MOO shots of pretty girls killing bad guys with swords come April 1. Check out the trailer. It's epic.

Creepy 14-year-old raised by her ex-CIA agent father as a dedicated killing machine, anyone? Coming right up in the form of Hanna, Joe Wright's story of exactly that, with Saoirse Ronan (who you may recognise from Lovely Bones or Atonement) as the eponymous teenage death-bringer, Eric Bana as the father on the run and Cate Blanchett as the CIA head chasing Hanna across Europe. The trailer blew us away earlier this month, so April 8 is now an important date for us. And for any Chemical Brothers fans, too, as they're doing the score. Just so you know.

So, can anyone do a better Lisbeth Salander than Noomi Rapace? Well, with the release of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo on December 26, we'll find out if The Social Network's Rooney Mara can cut the mustard as the young female hacker that every dinner party this side of Islington has been talking about. Helmed by David Fincher, fresh from the overwhelming success of his Facebook movie, we know he'll use take after take after take to get it right - and with Daniel Craig on board as journalist Mikael Blomkvist, it somehow feels like our beloved Millennium Trilogy is in safe hands.