Sin #86: Coming Attractions, First Half of 2011

Here are the most anticipated movies based on directors, actors and trailers for the first half of 2011:

-The Green Hornet (Gondry): Here’s the movie that takes Michel Gondry’s inventive style to the mainstream. Based on the popular TV series (which had Bruce Lee as a sidekick) the film features a much slimmer Seth Rogen in the title role (and also in the role of screenwriter) and an appealing visual style (which might be ruined by the 3D conversation). We can only hope for campy fun.

-Paul (Mottola): Another Rogen movie (this time he lends his voice to an alien) along with two of the funniest actors in British cinema as partners (I’m talking about the invaluable team of Nick Frost and Simon Pegg). “Paul” is directed by the guy who brought us “Superbad”. I’m sold.

-Rango (Verbinski): Johnny Depp is one of cinema’s busiest actors; here he takes the part of a chameleon (with the help of motion capture). “Rango’s” trailer is intriguing with a fantastic animation style and a talented cast (they all had to act out the movie and then were animated). There are always a handful of mediocre animated films every year but this one looks interesting.

-Jane Eyre (Fukunaga): Yet another adaptation of the famous Charlotte Bronte novel (I remember an excellent version with Charlotte Gainsborough and William Hurt in the nineties). This one features a very strong cast with Mia Wasikowska (of “Alice in Wonderland” fame) and Michael Fassbender, who is an amazing British actor who will star in the new X-Men movie later this year.

-Sucker Punch (Snyder): If anything, “Sucker Punch” has the most awesome trailer of 2011; it features hot girls, guns, robots, ninjas, you name it. Here is another kick-ass action movie by Zack Snyder (who is ready to bring his style to the Superman reboot). “Sucker Punch” might be one of the most entertaining movies of the year.

-Source Code (Jones): Duncan Jones’s film debut was the rather brilliant “Moon”, a classic sci-fi movie with a terrific performance by Sam Rockwell. For his next film he takes on another sci-fi premise working with a very strong cast lead by Jake Gyllenhaal. Even though it looks more commercially appealing then “Moon”, Jones has proven that he is a promising talent.

-Hanna (Wright): A 14-year old girl trained as an assassin? A global thriller from the director of “Atonement” and “Pride and Prejudice”? “Hanna” is quite an intriguing movie thanks to a promising trailer and an excellent cast (with Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana and lead by Saoirse Ronan, whose performance in “The Lovely Bones” was the best part of the movie).

-The Tree of Life (Malick): I’m not a fan of Terrence Malick (I hate the self indulgent mess that is “The Thin Red Line”) but the trailer of “The Tree of Life” is simply stunning, if a little ambiguous. The film has been in post-production for ages and the story is not yet quite clear. This might be an ambitious masterwork or yet another pretentious mess. We’ll have to wait and see.