Movies in 2011

I shouldn't do this - I always change my mind about what I want to see.  But my new favorite movie site, MTV's NextMovie.com, has a jaunty list of upcoming movies and few caught my eye (the descriptions below are from the website, my comments are in brackets), in addition to ones I've already been thinking about and looking forward to (listed first):

The Company Men - Jan 21

Justin Bieber, Never Say Never - Feb 11 (I know, I know, but Alana wants to see it, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued)

The Adjustment Bureau - Mar 4

Water for Elephants - Apr 22

Pirates of the Carribbean: On Stranger Tides - May 20 (adding Penelope Cruz makes this a Must See)

The Help - Aug 12

Breaking Dawn, Pt 1 - Nov 18

* * * * * * *
Red Riding Hood - March 11
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Lukas Haas, Gary Oldman
The Scoop: A goth-modern take on the classic fairy tale. This time around, though, Red ain’t so little; instead, she’s played by Amada Seyfried as a young woman whose snowbound medieval village is under attack by a werewolf.  [The teaser trailer on imdb looks fascinating.]

Your Highness - April 8
Starring: Danny McBride, Zooey Deschanel, James Franco, Natalie Portman
The Scoop: James Francois a prince who has to go on one of those typical fantasy quests to save his true love — only his posse consists of his dumbass brother Thad (McBride). This may be the first medieval stoner comedy.  [This could be hilarious, or it could be incredibly stupid. Love the cast though.]

Something Borrowed - May 6
Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, Colin Egglesfield
The Scoop:  Ginnifer plays a woman who falls in love with the fiancé of her best friend (Kate Hudson). [After "He's Not That Into You," I'd see GG in anything. This should be adorable.]

X-Men: First Class - June 3
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
The Scoop: As much as we all swooned over Hugh Jackman’s hairy avenger Wolverine, the true heart of the original “X-Men” trilogy was the ideological struggle between Professor Charles Xavier and his more militant opposite, Magneto. This chapter turns back the clock to the days when the two were best buddies, aims to explain how their paths diverged, while also giving Hollywood the chance to reboot the franchise without having to pay A-listers like Jackman and Ian McKellen.  [I'd be a lot more horrified about the prospect of this prequel, if James McAvoy wasn't involved. And at this point, I'd watch Jennifer Lawrence in anything. This could actually be quite entertaining. Or it could be a debacle.]

Larry Crowne - July 1
Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Bryan Cranston
The Scoop: A less political story than the first pairing of Hanks and Roberts in Charlie Wilson's War, this story (co-written by Hanks and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” star Nia Vardalos) is about an unemployed, middle-aged guy (Hanks) who returns to college only to find unexpected romance with his professor (Roberts).

Friends With Benefits - July 22
Starring: Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake, Patricia Clarkson
The Scoop: “Black Swan’s” Mila Kunis stars opposite JT in a film about two friends who start having casual sex with each other, and then things stop being quite so casual. If this sounds familiar, it's because "Black Swan’s" Natalie Portman is also starring in a movie (opposite Ashton Kutcher) this year (called “No Strings Attached”) about two friends with the same exact dilemma. [NextMovie says this one is much better than the Kutcher-Portman one.]

Moneyball - September 23
Starring: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Scoop: The term “moneyball,” was coined for the book of the same name by author Michael Lewis,  and refers to a specific style of baseball management that favors a statistical approach to organizing a team, which in turn allows small market franchises to compete with bigger spenders. Directed by Bennett Miller, the guy who did the critically acclaimed “Capote.”

Now - Sept. 30
Starring: Olivia Wilde, Cillian Murphy, Justin Timberlake, Alex Pettyfer, Amanda Seyfried
The Scoop: Olivia Wilde, Justin Timberlake, Alex Pettyfer — this movie’s cast pretty much reads like a who’s who of the hottest young stars in 2011, as each of those big names has multiple big movies coming out this year. The biggest, though, may be this one, a near-future sci-fi epic where immortality has been attained, but only if you’re rich enough to afford it — and where time, therefore, really is money. When a scruffy dude (Timberlake) comes into a fortune in time/money, he ends up on the run from evil assholes (like Cillian Murphy) looking to poach his future.

Holiday releases include a "CGI-capture" version of Tintin; War Horse, a Disneyfied version of a popular book; Puss in Boots, a spinoff from Shrek; and the American remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  All possibilities - could be good, but I'm not committed yet.

One more comment: at last count there are 4 major comic book adaptions coming this year - Thor, Captain America, Green Hornet, and Green Lantern.  That seems excessive to me!  There's always at least 1 or 2, but 4 in one year seems like overkill.  I'm sure there's a lot of jockeying for the best release dates.