Fall Movie Preview

Summer is almost over, and it's time for the excessively long fall movie preview. So far, here's what I have to think:

I can't believe they are making another Resident Evil movie. The first 2 were terrible. They must have somehow managed to make money though.

Good Luck Chuck looks really iffy, but since I love Jessica Alba, I might be able to watch it.

I'm not much of a fan of Westerns, so I'm not too likely to watch 3:10 to Yuma, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, or No Country for Old Men. Since I'm drawn to historical based movies, I'm most likely to see the movie about Jesse James.

30 Days of Night has 2 big strikes against it. First, most vampire movies are kind of crappy. Second, and more frightening, it's adapted from a 'graphic novel' (fancy name for a long comic book for those of you unfamiliar with the term, or perhaps uppity comic book for nerds who don't want to admit they are nerds, but I digress). I might end up seeing it anyway though since it will be out around Halloween.

Saw 4 I am unlikely to see. I liked the first movie quite a bit, but they just keep getting worse. I doubt they are able to reverse the trend at this point.

Hitman is based on a videogame. Avoid at all costs.

Gone Baby Gone is directed by Ben Affleck and stars Casey Affleck. Hitman sounds more promising.

American Gangster is based on a true story (which doesn't really mean any of it is really true, but whatever). Denzel Washington apparently hasn't had enough of playing villains and will be playing the biggest crime lord in New York in the 70s. Having seen the preview, it's still tough to gauge this one. It looks like a black Goodfellas. It could be good, but it also looks like it could be a disaster. The fact that it's been through seven years of development, three directors, a name change, and a narrowly averted switch from Denzel Washington to Don Cheadle in the leading role isn't a good sign.

I'm interested in the story of Beowulf, but the upcoming version looks like a CGI spectacular, which usually means the story suffers. I'm still hoping for the best though.

Vince Vaughn plays Santa's shiftless older brother in Fred Clause. Sounds promising, however at this point I'm just hoping it turns out better than Bad Santa.

Lions For Lambs is going to be huge, but I don't know if I can stomach another Tom Cruise movie. The nuttier he gets, the harder it is to see him as anything other than himself in a movie. It just keeps getting harder to buy his character. Throw in Meryl Streep and some leftist propaganda, and I'm out.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is being re-released in 3D. I've still never seen that movie and probably never will.

Finally, I don't know much of anything about Ten Commandments: The Musical, other than it stars Val Kilmer, but it scares the hell out of me.