Solid Block of Ise

I love movies. It’s a passion bordering on obsession. Some movies I hold very close to my heart, such as Blade Runner. Sadly though, I’m a lot more disillusioned with the industry behind movies than I used to be. These days I hold a pretty cynical opinion of the so-called “entertainment industry” and I understand why Philip K. Dick was so opposed to letting his novel become a movie…

None the less, there are some movies that I’m looking forward to.

The first one is Horton Hears a Who, based on the childrens-book by the same name. Authored by Dr. Seuss. It’s rare in Sweden to come across pretty much anyone who knows who the heck Dr. Seuss was, much less has actually read any of his brilliant books. I understand though why they probably didn’t gain much attention outside of the US of A, since the language in them provides quite a challenge to translate.

I, on the other hand, grew up in a bilingual, bicultural (is that even a word?) home and Dr. Seuss’ books are a staple of my childhood. Green eggs and ham, sam I am, the whole nine yards. I think that Horton was included somewhere in the mess of books, and even as an adult I get a kick out of reading them. I guess it’s my inner child making itself heard, or something. None the less, they’re filled to the brim with whacky wordings and equally nonsensical drawings. In hindsight it was obvious that the only medium that could translate the controlled madness of Dr. Seuss was of course animation, and here is where computer-animation truly shines. Sure, The Grinch was a valiant attempt to make a live-action version, but it lacked the substance and wild-eyed giggle of the book. Plus, it stripped away the originals subtle criticism of capitalism and replaced it with sugary hollywoodness.

I hope this will keep the spirit of the original material. At the very least it will provide a very interesting visual experience.

Number two is the latest offering from one M. Night Shyamalan. You know, the director/writer behind movies such as The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village? He’s pretty secretive about his projects, but it’s been revealed that his latest film is called simply The Happening. The trailer seems interesting, and you can bet your sweet patootie that there will be a twist ending to this one.

The next one is Kung Fu Panda. It’s a computer-animated movie featuring Jack Black as a Panda who somehow is involved with, well, Kung Fu. The trailer is light on substance as to what the actual story may be — it loooks a lot more like some kind of teaser. Animation looks funny though, and you gotta love a movie that dares to have the tagline “Prepare For Awesomeness”.

Four on my list is JJ Abrams restart of the somewhat tired Star Trek-franchise. As of yet there’s very, very little details about what it will be about, but it has been confirmed that it will be the TOS-crew and one of their early missions that will provide the substance for this one. That means Spock, Kirk, Scotty and the rest will be featured, but in very young incarnations predating the original series run in the timeline of Trek.

I grew a bit tired of Star Trek after the previous one (Nemesis) that was the last movie featuring the TNG-cast. I wondered how they would manage to make another movie after that one, considering that even hardcore fans weren’t too happy with the floundering Enterprise. However, I do approve of using the TOS-concept as a base for a new movie, and the teaser sure sets the scene well for this one. Won’t be out for at least a year though.

Number five is a movie called Doomsday. It has a plotline that just screams to be love by me. It involves Scotland being contaminated with some kind of mutated disease, and getting literally built into a prison for whoever live there in order to prevent this plague from spreading. 25 years later the plague is discovered outside of Scotland, and a merry crew of adventurers must venture inside the iron gates to find a cure inside of Scotland.

The trailer looks a lot like Resident Evil combined with Mad Max. I’m a huge sucker for post-apocalyptic movies, and this one tickles my funny-bone in a big way. The Mad Max-movies are easily among my favorites of all time, and Doomsday looks promising.

Last but not least is the new Indiana Jones-flick. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, premieres in May. Last time we saw Indy was in 1989. Well, actually I didn’t see it since I was 11 years old then, but that’s when he was chasing the last crusade. This time Indy is back, aged quite a bit and teamed up with Shia LaBeouf who seems to have stolen Martys leather-jacket from the second Back to The Future. Looks like good, clean old-fashione matiné-style fun. Hopefully Spielberg and Lucas doesn’t frell it up too badly.

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