GregHowley.com

Well, it's 2008. And while the writers' strike is certainly still in effect, it's slower to affect movies than it is television. So it looks like there are a number of really good flicks coming this year. I figured I'd take this opportunity to list a few of the movies to which I'm looking forward in 2008. First, the comedies.

Be Kind, Rewind: This movie features Jack Black as a movie store clerk in the 1980's. The store somehow has all its movies erased, and the two store clerks decide to remake all the movies they lost with a camcorder. Hilarity ensues. Yes, it's stupid, but I enjoy stupid-funny sometimes.

Semi-Pro: Will Ferrell's next big comedy. Last time he was a figure skater, this time he's a basketball pro. That's about all I know. But I like Will Ferrell.

Get Smart: A remake of the old show. It wouldn't interest me much, but Steve Carrell is playing Maxwell Smart. It could work.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno: This is Kevin Smith's new movie, starring Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, and Jason Mewes. I've always been a fan of Kevin Smith, so hopefully this is as good as Clerks 2.

Fanboys: The plot of this movie involves a group of rabid Star Wars fans driving cross-country and breaking into Skywalker Ranch to steal a copy of Episode 1 before it hits the theatres. I've been hearing a lot about the movie, so I hope it lives up to the hype.

Okay, that's all the comedies I could scrounge up. The rest all fall into the action or Sci-Fi category. Here they are...

Cloverfield: This is J.J. Abrahms big new movie centered around a monster destroying New York City. They seem to be using a Blair Witch style shaky-cam and going for a cinema verite style. I'm looking forward to seeing it when it comes out on January 18th.

Rambo: Can you believe it? The sixty-year old Stallone is making another Rambo flick, which will hit theaters the 25th of this month. Now he's going to rescue hostages in Thailand. Fun.

Jumper: I heard about this one a while back, and it sounds cool. A young man finds that he can teleport a la Hiro Nakamura. The government is after him or something. Comes out on Valentine's Day.

The Forbidden Kingdom: Jackie Chan's movies have gone downhill since he started with the stupid Rush Hour franchise. Maybe going back to his roots with Jet Li in this movie will make it closer to such greats as Project A, Dragons Forever, and Who Am I?. Comes out on April 18th.

Iron Man: I've seen the previews for this new Robert Downey Jr. movies, and it looks good. I'm vaguely familiar with the DC comic character, but he's never gotten much love in pop culture before now.

Speed Racer: The Wachowskis are putting Matthew Fox behind the wheel in this remake of the good old cartoon. I'll probably wait for it to come out on DVD rather than seeing it on May 9th in the theater.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: I wasn't a huge fan of the first movie in this series, but I loved the books growing up, and read through all seven before I started junior high school. I'm hoping that the second movie has whatever the first was lacking. See it on May 16th.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: The big fourth Indy movie that everyone's been waiting for is coming out on May 22nd. This one's set in 1957, and Dr. Jones is old and/or decrepit. Let's hope it doesn't stink.

The Happening: I know nearly nothing about this movie, but it's M.Night Shyamalan, and I love his stuff. All I know is that this movie is a paranoid thriller about a family on the run from a natural crisis that presents a large-scale threat to humanity. Sounds a bit like Signs, which is my favorite movie of his to date. I'll be there on June 13th.

The Incredible Hulk: After the Eric Bana train wreck that was the first Hulk movie, I wouldn't be too keen on a sequel were it not for Ed Norton. This one's got The Abomination as a villain, which should be cool. June 13th.

X-Files 2: Meh. Too little too late. July 25th if you're interested.

Hellboy 2: The first one really surprised me by being a far better movie than I'd anticipated. Let's hope the second one is good too. Ron Perlman rocks. July 11th.

The Dark Knight: July 18th gives us what will probably be the big summer movie. The Batman sequel. Heath Ledger looks to make a good joker.

Babylon A.D.: A new Vin Diesel vehicle sounds interesting, and sci-fi is definately Diesel's bag. Veteran-turned-mercenary Thoorop (Diesel) takes the high-risk job of escorting a woman from Russia to China. Little does he know that she is host to an organism that a cult wants to harvest in order to produce a genetically modified Messiah. Look for it on August 29.

Valkyrie: With Bryan Singer directing and Tom Cruise starring, this is bound to be a popular one. It's a World War 2 story based on actual events which details a plot to assassinate Hitler. Too bad we all know it's doomed to failure. October 3rd.

Where the Wild Things Are: My mom used to always read me this book when I was a little kid. Max is sent to bed without supper, runs away to a strange land full of monsters, and becomes their king. October 3rd.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: On November 21st, we get the second-to-last Harry Potter movie. Hopefully they finish the movies before the actors hit their forties. All kidding aside, I'm looking forward to the movie.

The Day the Earth Stood Still: This is a remake of the old 1951 movie, which I really liked. I wonder how much they'll change. Keanu Reeves is playing Klaatu, which I'm really not sure about, but I've got high hopes. This movie's coming out on December 12th.

New Star Trek Movie: Not even sure what the title is yet, but this one is a reprise of the early days of Kirk and Spock at Star Fleet Academy. Zachary Quinto is playing spock, which I'm happy about. And Simon Pegg is Scotty.

So that's 2008 movies in a nutshell. I'll probably end up seeing maybe 3 or 4 of them in the theatre and getting the rest from Netflix, but Cloverfield, Iron Man, Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter are the ones I'd like to see.