ENTERTAINMENT: Fantasy, action, and lots more

2009/11/02

FARIDUL ANWAR FARINORDIN

Movie buffs are in for a mixed bag of treats next year, writes FARIDUL ANWAR FARINORDIN.

2010 promises to be an exciting year for cinema releases. Local film distributors Sony Pictures Releasing International and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International have a great line-up and selected guests, including cinema exhibitors and journalists, were treated to their bags of goodies recently. Going to the movies has not been this good in a long time. It felt like being a kid in a giant toy store. On that day, a hotel ballroom was transformed into a fantasy land with a garden tea party setting inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The film is one of Walt Disney’s big releases on March 4, starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter.

“Characters” from the two studios’ anticipated hits were also there to greet the guests: the muscled and tattooed Xander Cage (XXX: Return of Xander Cage scheduled for November), the winged archangel (Legion for January) as well as the masked hero and his sidekick from Green Hornet (December 2010 release).

Even the studios’ employees turned up dressed as Alices and Mad Hatters for the event (no White Rabbit or Cheshire Cat unfortunately), which also feted independent cinema exhibitors, including those from Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei.

What a way to kickstart 2010 at the movies. There was even a performance by a Michael Jackson impersonator and belly dancers — as a teaser for Michael Jackson’s This is It! and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in May. The box-office collection here for international films has continued to grow over the years. Malaysia now ranks among the top three Asian countries (after China and India) for making the loudest kerrchiing!! at the cash register.

In terms of market share, Sony Pictures’ arm, Buena Vista Columbia Tristar, is leading the pack this year with a 36 per cent, followed by United International Pictures with 35 per cent and 20th Century Fox Malaysia/Warner Brothers with 29 per cent.

And the success story is likely to be repeated next year, judging by the list of releases. Think 3D. This is the future of cinemas. It is already making an impact here (even the 3D glasses have become trendier). Next year’s releases, covering a multitude of genres from sc-fi, animation to fantasy/adventure, strongly reflect its growing significance. It includes a string of releases under Walt Disney’s Studios, with Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland (March), the re-release Toy Story 1, 2 and the new installation, Toy Story 3 (June) and the sequel to the 1980s hit Tron — Tron Legacy (December).

For Sony Pictures Releasing, the latest of the Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil: Afterlife will meet audiences in August with 3D feature presentation.

The digital excitement began on Thursday with the release of the highly anticipated documentary Michael Jackson’s This Is It in crisp 2D format as opposed to the traditional 35mm version (in selected cinemas).

This will be followed by the 3D release of A Christmas Carol (Nov 19) and Disney’s remake of Princess and The Frog (Dec 3) in digital 2D.

Other titles to be released by the studios before the year end include the anticipated disaster flick 2012 (Nov 12), Chinese kungfu/musical Jump (Dec 3), horror-comedy Zombieland (Dec 10) and romantic-comedy Did You Hear About the Morgans? (Dec 31).

Watch out for ...

January Jan 21: The Legion (action/horror/thriller). A group of strangers stranded on a remote truck stop become humanity’s last line of defence.

February Feb 11: The Spy Next Door (comedy). Jackie Chan finds himself doing more than just babysitting when one of the children downloads a secret document.

Feb 13: True Legend (action/adventure). Yuen Wo-Ping directs this story about a man’s quest for self-redemption.

Feb 25: Book of Eli (action/thriller). A post-apocalyptic setting for Denzel Washington.

March March 4: Alice in Wonderland (fantasy). With Johnny Depp in a role nuttier than ever.

March 11: Shanghai (drama/msytery). John Cusack investigating the death of his friend in Japanese-occupied Shanghai.

March 18: Bounty Hunter (action/comedy/romance). With Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston. Scream! April: April 8: The Back Up Plan (comedy/romance). Jennifer Lopez returns to the big screen.

April 15: When In Rome (romantic comedy). Bad things happen when you steal “lucky” coins from Rome’s famous fountain of love.

April 22: Takers (action). Paul Walker leads a group of bank robbers with a big plan. May May 27: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (action/adventure). Based on the popular video game, it stars Jake Gyllenhaal as the rogue prince.

June: June 10: The Kung Fu Kid (action). A retelling of The Karate Kid, produced by Will Smith and starring his son Jaden in the lead role and Jackie Chan as the sifu.

June 17: Toy Story 3 (animation). Woody, Buzz and gang return for one last adventure.

June 24: Extraordinary Measures (drama). Harrison Ford plays a researcher with a cure for a genetic disorder.

July July 8: Cemetery Junction (comedy). Three men at an insurance company with a hilarious take on life.

July 22: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (comedy-adventure). Magic and mayhem, good versus evil, with Nicolas Cage.

July 29: Salt (spy thriller). Angelina Jolie as a spy who gets framed! August Aug 12: Grown Ups (comedy). Five old school friends led by Adam Sandler reunite.

Aug 26: Resident Evil: Afterlife (action/horror). The fourth installation of the post-apocalyptic zombie franchise.

September Sept 2: Death at a Funeral (comedy). A comedy of errors.

Sept 16: Beastly (fantasy/romance). A modern-day take on Beauty and the Beast set in New York.

October: Oct 14: Priest (adventure/horror). A priest tracks down a group of vampires in a story based on graphic novels.

Oct 28: The Roommate (crime/thriller). Horror awaits when a student gets a college roommate from hell.

November Nov 11: XXX: The Return of Xander Cage (action). Vin Diesel returns with more explosions on screen.

Nov 25: Rapunzel (animation). Mandy Moore lends her voice as the girl with long golden hair.

December Dec 2: The Zookeper (comedy). Animals at a zoo breaks their silence to help their lovable zookeeper.

Dec 23: The Green Hornet (action/adventure). Based on the popular radio and TV show, the masked duo is played by Seth Rogen and Jay Chou.

Dec 23: Tron Legacy (sci-fi). An adventure set inside a computer game.

Dec 30: Faster (action). Dwayne Johnson steps away from comedy in this story about revenge and heroism.

■ Distributors: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Malaysia and Sony Pictures Releasing International. Actual date of release is subject to change.