What's your most anticipated movie(s) of 2008?

[jlaking]

Mine would have to be:

James Bond 22
Dragonball
Pineapple Express
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
The Dark Knight
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
WALL-E
The Incredible Hulk
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo

What about your's?

For a list movies coming out in 2008, click here (http://www.hsxresearch.com/charts/future_release.jsp).

[Michael24]

Movies I'm looking forward to:

* Rambo (Jan. 25)
* Untraceable (Jan. 25)
* The Forbidden Kingdom (Apr. 18)
* Iron Man (May 2)
* Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (May 22)
* WALL-E (Jun. 27)
* Hancock (Jul. 2)
* The Dark Knight (Jul. 18)
* The X-Files 2 (Jul. 25)
* The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Aug. 1)
* Punisher: War Zone (Sep. 12)
* Valkyrie (Oct. 3)
* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Nov. 21)
* The Day the Earth Stood Still (Nov. 12)
* War, Inc. (TBA)
* Spawn 2 (if it ever comes out)

[HG Revolution]

We've had a thread like this, like, every week for the past month.


* The Day the Earth Stood Still (Nov. 12)

I'm anticipating this, all right. I'm anticipating it SUCKING.

On a more positive note, Wall-E looks amazing, The Dark Night and Hellboy 2 should be worthy sequels, and I know I'm gonna see Half-Blood Prince regardless of quality. On the indie side of things, I'll make sure to check out Genius Party, Religulous, and that lesbian werewolf flick with Ellen Paige whatever way I can (and as far as 2007 holdovers go, there's There Will Blood, Persepolis, and El Orphanto).

[Michael24]

I've got no problems with remakes (sometimes I even like them over the originals), so I'm willing to give The Day The Earth Stood Still a chance to prove itself.

[James]

X-Files 2 - I was never a major fan, but the chance to return to the nostalgia of conspiracy-ville is sex-on-legs.

Indiana Jones - Enough said, quite?

Hellboy 2 - the first was a messy travesty, but the animated films have been good, which gives me a strange renewed hope that the sequel will improve.

Hulk 2 - Yes, the first Hulk failed a very simple formula with too much going on, and too much of that being irrelevant rubbish (David Banner, the Absorbing Man - I'm looking at you mate), but Ed Norton seems a good bit of casting, and if this is more back-to-basics, I think this could be a fine film.

Not so bothered about:
The Dark Knight (the first did little to twiddle my britches, I'm expecting the same from the second).

Star Trek whatever (if a movie can't decide whether its a reboot or canon, I hold little hope for its content).

[HG Revolution]

I've got no problems with remakes (sometimes I even like them over the originals), so I'm willing to give The Day The Earth Stood Still a chance to prove itself.

I'm fine with a good remake, but honestly, Kenau Reeves as Klaatu?

[Michael24]

Eh. I think there's worse choices they could have made. I like Keanu and think he's pretty good when he's got a good script, so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. :)

[CheshireKitten]

Star Trek
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
X-Files 2
Indiana Jones
James Bond 22

[Rolling Cloud]

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I'm looking forward to that too, only because I'm curious on how it will work movie-wise.

[Ragebot]

Persepolis, Wall-E, The Dark Night, and Bond 22 for me.

I'll go to see Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Half-Blood Prince, but I don't have particularily high expectations for either of them. Not that I think they're going to be bad, but I'm just not crazy in anticipation.

Then there's Star Trek. *sigh* Trek is the only franchise that I'm a devoted completist about so I'll go to see it but... with the continually bizarre casting choices (seriously, Tyler Perry? Karl Urban?) and the atrocious plot synopsis that's floating around...I have to say that my expectations are low.

And then in the 'morbid curiousity' department we have the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway adaptation of Sunset Boulevard. This possible, no make that probable, butchering of one of the greatest movies of the 1950's could be a greater artistic sin then the entire canon of Uwe Boll.

[HG Revolution]

...the entire canon of Uwe Boll.

That reminds me, is Postal ever being released? The concept of an Uwe Boll movie, let alone one he has called a "parody of 9/11", getting rave reviews is scaring me so much that I'm almost inclined to see it on opening night to get the pain over with.

[Baltofan]

Madagascar 2
Horton Hears A Who
1-18-08

[Edboy 13]

The Movies I'm looking forward to seeing are:

* Rambo
* Horton Hears a Who!
* Speed Racer
* Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls
* The Incredible Hulk
* Bond 22
* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
* Star Trek
* The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
* The Dark Knight

[FireStarterLE]

This is what I'm looking forward to seeing this year, at least now anyways (i could see more based on previews, but I know these are the ones i will see)

Will:
Cloverfield
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Dark Knight
X-Files Sequel
Star Trek

Possibly/Maybe:
Rambo
Speed Racer
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Saw V
Bond 22
Madagascar 2: The Crate Escape

[KCJ506]

Will:

The Dark Knight
Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk
Punisher 2: War Zone
Bond 22
Half-Blood Prince
Prince Caspain
Cloverfield
Get Smart
Hellboy 2
Dragonball Z
Madagscar 2
Wall-E

Maybe:

Rambo
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Jumper
The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor
Wanted
Hancock
Horton Hears A Who
21
Speed Racer

[AnimatedSnow47]

Hope to See in Theatres:
Star Trek
Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Speed Racer
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Waiting for DVD:
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
Horton Hears a Who
Get Smart
Wall-E
Mamma Mia!
The Mummy 3
The X-Files 2
Dragonball

[Icer]

The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Indiana Jones
Bond 22
Harry Potter 6

[Hanshotfirst113]

Haven't we had this thread before?


Hellboy 2 - the first was a messy travesty, but the animated films have been good, which gives me a strange renewed hope that the sequel will improve.

In what way? It was no Citizen Kane by a long shot, but it was a perfectly enjoyable genre film, IMO.



Not so bothered about:
The Dark Knight (the first did little to twiddle my britches, I'm expecting the same from the second).Ca---caa---cannnnnn-ccannn-cannot-undddd-uuuunnd-understand......


Star Trek whatever (if a movie can't decide whether its a reboot or canon, I hold little hope for its content).LOL.


Eh. I think there's worse choices they could have made. I like Keanu and think he's pretty good when he's got a good script, so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. :)

Your unflagging optimist astonishes me sometimes ;)...Our well-discussed differing opinions on Romero's dead trilogy not withstanding, I could probably could off the number of good remakes I have seen on one hand, but I suppose there's always hope.

[Michael24]

Well, sometimes my optimism does do me in. I mean, I actually said, "Give it a chance. It can't be that bad" shortly before the Psycho remake came out. LMAO!!

I don't remember discussing Romero's Dead movies with you, though.

As for remakes, are you generally against them? I'm not. I never view them as "trying to replace the original" as so many others seem to do. I always feel, "The original will still be there, just let the remake do it's own thing." As a result, I've been able to enjoy a number of remakes over the years, even of films that I really liked. :)

[HG Revolution]

Your unflagging optimist astonishes me sometimes...Our well-discussed differing opinions on Romero's dead trilogy not withstanding, I could probably could off the number of good remakes I have seen on one hand, but I suppose there's always hope.

Hmm... The Maltese Falcon, The Ten Commandments, The Magnificent Seven, A Fistful of Dollars, The Thing, Little Shop of Horrors, The Fly, King Kong, Hairspray, 3:10 to Yuma, arguably Star Wars and Tokyo Godfathers... I didn't know you had that many fingers per hand.

That said, Kenau for Klaatu is still a horrible casting decision and the whole concept reeks of a pre-strike rush job.

[James]

Haven't we had this thread before?


I've noticed a distinctly similar thread last year, albeit a year out of date.


In what way? It was no Citizen Kane by a long shot, but it was a perfectly enjoyable genre film, IMO.

I felt it focused on the wrong elements of the mythology coming off like a bad hybrid between the X-Files and Men In Black than an intelligent fusion of mythology in a contemporary environment. I felt the animated features have been far closer to the mark than this predictable and awkward affair. IMO. :)


Ca---caa---cannnnnn-ccannn-cannot-undddd-uuuunnd-understand......

:p I found the first one to lack charm and pace, preferring to jam pack itself with fan squee and Hollywood bangs than a story with balance and consistency. I certainly think there were some great things there (Bale was good, Caine was surprisingly good), but I never felt it was as objectively amazing as many did - but that was me. Given the next film seems more of the same, if you weren't thrilled with number one, its no surprise you're not thrilled with the prospect of number two. Could be great, I'll wait till I see it, but I can't say I'm desperate to see the sequel. Though if they hadn't changed Katie for Meg, I doubt I'd have bothered period. A decent actress can make a part feel for more relevant, likewise, an unsuitable piece of casting can break the drama like a knife through butter! :)

[AdamYJ]

I'm looking forward to Iron Man, Dark Knight, Speed Racer, Get Smart and Prince Caspian. Hellboy 2 and Indiana Jones have also piqued my interest.

One that no one listed that I think I'd really like to see is The Spiderwick Chronicles, which is out in a month or two. I know it's a kids' movie and all, but for some reason the stuff about fairies and ogres and creatures like that existing unseen to us really caught my eye.

[HG Revolution]

You know, I'm surprised I hadn't heard of Be Kind, Rewind until now. Goudry and Jack Black doing a spoof film? Could be great or could be terrible. Has my attention now.

[Doggeh]

You know, I'm surprised I hadn't heard of Be Kind, Rewind until now. Goudry and Jack Black doing a spoof film? Could be great or could be terrible. Has my attention now.

I might actually see this. It looks pretty funny.

I'll definately be seeing Indiana Jones, Narnia, and Wall-E. I'm really looking forward to those three.

Cloverfield looks interesting. But kinda scary. I'm kind of a wuss with scary or thriller movies XD! I'll probably go see it though.

And I'm looking forward to Speed Racer.

[Kolbar]

Untraceable
Rambo
The Eye
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
College Road Trip
Iron Man
Speed Racer
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Incredible Hulk
Get Smart
The Dark Knight
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Star Trek
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
Punisher 2: War Zone
Saw V
James Bond 22

[DarkAngel]

The 3 I'm most looking forward to are Iron Man, The Dark Knight, and Star Trek. I'm expecting all to be great, though I feel most certain about that with TDK. I'm not a Marvel fan, but Iron Man seems to be shaping up well and appears that it could take its place among the best superhero movies.

I'm a big Trek fan, and I'm more excited than I can say about Berman not having any involvement. That alone gives this movie a greater chance to succeed than any of the Berman supervised crap we've received during Trek's latter years. I'm disappointed by what James called their inability to decide whether its a reboot or canon. But as much as I wish they had the balls to stand by what they want to do and believe in, I understand exactly why they're treading the line of distinction. Fans have to take some responsibility for that with the restrictive leash they often place on the creative teams and their unwillingness to except something different/new/evolving. This new movie will be better than the worst of Trek (Insurrection, Nemesis) and while it might not quite reach the excellence of TWOK, or even UDC or FC, I think it'll come very close and could possibly match or surpass them (at least the latter two).

Given the sheer amount of crap we've received from a lot of latter day Trek, I have no idea why so many are unwilling to give this new movie a chance. Everything I'm hearing seems to give this project a better chance at success than Trek under the conservative, zero-imagination/creativity Rick Berman.

[Michael24]

For me, it's simply because I feel Star Trek does not need a reboot/remake or whatever. I agree with how James described it. Also, I've never been impressed with J.J. Abrams, so I'm not expecting him to turn out anything worthwhile and to effectively kill the future of Trek for me. :(

That Rick Berman is no longer involved is another (minor) reason for my disappointment.

[DarkAngel]

For me, it's simply because I feel Star Trek does not need a reboot/remake or whatever. I agree with how James described it.
From what I recall of past discussions, James would support a reboot. I would say it is needed, as much as it can be, given the sheer amount of Trek we've gotten over the years. We're at a point where I think the whole universe needs to be streamlined and simplified, especially for the sake of new viewers. In the end, though, its quality that matters and having a reboot doesn't equate with poor quality. 'Need' doesn't really enter into the equation. Do we 'need' another movie? No. But I'd sure as heck like to see one. As long as we get something good (and preferrably great), I don't think there's much to complain about, reboot or not.


That Rick Berman is no longer involved is another (minor) reason for my disappointment.
You're not impressed with Abrams, but you're disappointed about Berman being gone? That's a head-scratcher. :confused: I'll guarantee Abrams won't give us the formulaic drivel Berman so often has.

[Elf]

Indiana Jones, The Dark Knight, and Hancock are primarily the only movies i'm really interested in.

Indiana Jones for well... Indiana Jones

Dark Knight because the first one was that damn awesome! And I expect Nolan to do the same here. I like seeing how Ledger would do as the Joker.

And Hancock for two reasons: Peter Berg and Michael Mann, nuff said.

[Ishtar]

Let's see:

The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian. (I enjoyed the 1st adaption; The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe; so I am interested)

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince. (It's Harry Potter, and I am interested how they adapt the 6th book.)

Indiana Jones 4. (It's been so long since The Last Crusade.)

DragonBall. (I want to see if it is adapated as badly as I think it will be, or if it's surprisingly good. Plus, it's DragonBall so I have to see it.)

[James]

For me, it's simply because I feel Star Trek does not need a reboot/remake or whatever. I agree with how James described it. Also, I've never been impressed with J.J. Abrams, so I'm not expecting him to turn out anything worthwhile and to effectively kill the future of Trek for me. :(

I personally think Abrams is a good "purchase", however, be it his or the studio's concern - and I suspect the latter, I do think treading a line to try and please everyone - particularly fans, is not conducive to a good end product. Either make something in canon or start again. Yes, fans will kick and scream as they did with Galactica, but I would think the people you should be trying to draw are the "next" generation of potential fans far more than the Trekkie. I'd imagine that the average Trekkie, even one upset that a movie wasn't canon would still go and watch the film, if not just to whine after it.

Studios are infamous for erring on the side of caution, and the Trek franchise has been erring on that safe side for a good 20 years now. Quite frankly, given the mess and lack of respect the franchise has suffered in the public domain with neither Nemesis nor Enterprise catching the non Trek market by its fun department, I think being over cautious may just end up creating a messy product. For the franchise to survive, I think they need to following example of Galactica, Batman et al and trying to reboot (perhaps not to as great an extent as Galactica, but a reboot of a similar ideology) given there is growing acceptance of restarts that I think carries far more dignity that canon pigeoning.


That Rick Berman is no longer involved is another (minor) reason for my disappointment.

I would say that's the shining beacon of hope. As the Pythons didn't say: what did the Berman do for us?


From what I recall of past discussions, James would support a reboot. I would say it is needed, as much as it can be, given the sheer amount of Trek we've gotten over the years. We're at a point where I think the whole universe needs to be streamlined and simplified, especially for the sake of new viewers. In the end, though, its quality that matters and having a reboot doesn't equate with poor quality. 'Need' doesn't really enter into the equation. Do we 'need' another movie? No. But I'd sure as heck like to see one. As long as we get something good (and preferrably great), I don't think there's much to complain about, reboot or not.


I think that's a very reasonable angle. Personally I think a reboot would carry more chance of success as far as mainstream acceptance and story integrity. The more it defines itself by its own merits, without fear of having to find ways to tie into the old, the more it can breathe and the more it can find its own ground. I don't think Generations was - retrospectively - the best move. I don't think "passing the mantle" helped make a good movie, in fact, I think it weakened it.

That said - as DA says - there is no guarantee a reboot would definately be better - or go down better. I'm not an analyst, for all I know, the data might suggest that the mainstream might judge a separate film more closely to the original than one which is meant to represent an "alternative" version through some timey wimey storyline - or whatever the latest buzz is.

Just on the broad facts, and a backseat speculating consumer, I think Star Trek - at its best, is when the ideas are simple, uncluttered and well dramatised. Having your building blocks set to have to justify your story before its even aired to me, seems a poor way to try and kickstart your franchise. I think creatively you end up with a project with lacks the necessary identity to carry the flag and the image you send out is one of under confidence in your product. People may have not liked the extremes that Moore took Galactica, but I think if you get over concerned about your fan market, it can be a very self destructive mode as you'll NEVER please ALL the fans!


You're not impressed with Abrams, but you're disappointed about Berman being gone? That's a head-scratcher. :confused: I'll guarantee Abrams won't give us the formulaic drivel Berman so often has.

I must admit that little conundrum will be keeping me awake tonight. ;)

[Draft]

I think most of this information is accurate, I got it off Box Office Mojo and Wiki..

Top 5 Most Interested in

1. The Dark Knight
2. Harold and Kumar 2
3. Superhero Movie
4. Semi-Pro
5. Fanboys

Going Up:

-Sony had a blockbuster year last year, with Spiderman 3 and Superbad. It shall have an even better year with 4 new summer comedies. A New Adam Sandler Flick with Judd Apatow (100+), Will Ferrel and John C. Riley (100+), A Super Hero Comedy with Super Actor Will Smith (175+), and Seth Rogen-Judd Apatow Movie "The Pinnapple Express(80-125). They also have James Bond 22. The only problems with their schedule is that they have no major May or December release; but with a strong Summer and November, they wil lrpobably be the studio to beat.

-Paramount Studios: Dreamworks is going to help them again. Kung Fu Panda will be a huge success (Jack Black hasn't failed with kids, at least 200). In addition, they will get a Madagascar sequal (100-175), Ben Stiller Headling Parody Tropic Thunder (100+), and Shia Labouf in Eagle Eye(75-100). Also, they will resurrect the right franchises, which are Star Trek (100-150) and Indiana Jones(150+). Cloverfield(100?), Iron Man(200), and Jackass 3(75+) will also help. I think Spiderwick Chronicles will not do too well(80).

-Walt Disney Studios: High School Musical 3 and Prince Caspian will bring in the big bucks 100 and 200 million at least, respectfully). Wall-E will not do too well(I think the first movie in danger from Pixar to make less than 100 Million), but South of the Border and Bolt will make up for it. Also, I believe Adam Sandler's debut with Buena Vista will be big too (100)

- New Line: Can you say rebound? With only Hairspray as a major hit (and many flops, including The Golden Compass), there are plenty of contenders for this year. The first being Semi Pro(100+), Followed by Sex and the City Movie (100+). Journey 3-D will bank(100), but will be like many movies using 3-D/Motion Capture, and fail to make its budget in Theateres.

Staying Okay:

-20th Century Fox: They have a weak May and December slate, but otherwise look in pretty good shape. The X-Files sequal will most likely be their top movie, while Dragonball and Horton Hears a who will do modestly successful. They also have an M. Night Shamalayn Movie, A new Vin Disel vehicle, and the Romantic comedy "Marley and Me" (But it wil lbe likely delayed due to Owen Wilson and the Writer's Strike). Also, there is "Space Chimps" and a Eddie Murphy Sci-Fi Flick (Pluto Nash anyone?)

-Warner Brothers: Baring The Dark Knight and Harry Potter 6 (250 each), the rest of their "blockbuster" slate looks awful. I'm predicting 10,000 B.C. to be a flop (I want to say huge, but 300 makes me say no at the moment). Speed Racer and Get Smart will make a modest amount (100-125 each), but will not be able to retain their budget back in Theateres. But still, Harry and Batman will lead them to a huge year, with those two I think shoo-ins for the top 5 grossing movies of the year.

Going Down:

-Universal Studios: They will be ressurecting 3 Franchises that haven't had a movie in at least 4 years: Hulk(125+), Hellboy(50-100), and The Mummy(100-150). They also have Leatherheads(75-100). They also have Mamma Mia!(100-125). Otherwise, they have no real May or December slate(Other than an animated movie based off a childrens book i've never heard of). A pretty weak slate overall.

-MGM/MGM (Weinsteen): Superhero Movie will probably be big, for them at least (75-100). Hellraiser(50) might help, same with Ice Cube Comedy(50) and probably their big ticket, Fame(100+)

[Michael24]

You're not impressed with Abrams, but you're disappointed about Berman being gone?

Eh. I just never saw what was--supposedly--so bad about Rick Berman (or Brannon Braga for that matter).

Nothing I've read about the new movie has excited me at all. :(

[DarkAngel]

Eh. I just never saw what was--supposedly--so bad about Rick Berman (or Brannon Braga for that matter).
Then I guess you never watched Voyager or Enterprise. My only issue with Braga is that he never stood up for what he wanted, like Behr on DS9, and allowed Berman to stifle all creativity on Voyager and Enterprise. My impression has been that Braga was under Berman's foot. Though I could be wrong. Maybe he was as much to blame as Berman.

[Michael24]

Then I guess you never watched Voyager or Enterprise. My only issue with Braga is that he never stood up for what he wanted, like Behr on DS9, and allowed Berman to stifle all creativity on Voyager and Enterprise. My impression has been that Braga was under Berman's foot. Though I could be wrong. Maybe he was as much to blame as Berman.

I couldn't watch Voyager for very long (the premise/characters couldn't sustain my interest), but I enjoyed all four seasons of Enterprise. It replaced TNG as my favorite series and, IMO, I felt it brought the franchise back on track.

[HG Revolution]

-Paramount Studios: Dreamworks is going to help them again. Kung Fu Panda will be a huge success (Jack Black hasn't failed with kids, at least 200). In addition, they will get a Madagascar sequal (100-175), Ben Stiller Headling Parody Tropic Thunder (100+), and Shia Labouf in Eagle Eye(75-100). Also, they will resurrect the right franchises, which are Star Trek (100-150) and Indiana Jones(150+). Cloverfield(100?), Iron Man(200), and Jackass 3(75+) will also help. I think Spiderwick Chronicles will not do too well(80).

I have my doubts about Star Trek and Cloverfield doing that well. Star Trek's gotten old and with many Trek fans wary of the movie, I'd guess that $60-75 million is about as good as it'll go. Cloverfield has internet hype, but so did Snakes on a Plane, and the titleless trailer in front of Transformers could have turned as many people away as it got people in. Probably would make about $30 million, but add in January boredom (remember, this is the month where Hostel and Norbit became hits) and maybe $50-60 million is possible.


-Walt Disney Studios: High School Musical 3 and Prince Caspian will bring in the big bucks 100 and 200 million at least, respectfully). Wall-E will not do too well(I think the first movie in danger from Pixar to make less than 100 Million), but South of the Border and Bolt will make up for it. Also, I believe Adam Sandler's debut with Buena Vista will be big too (100)

Damn, if High School Musical 3 makes more money than Wall-E, I'll be pretty pissed. I think Wall-E may end up being a phenomenon myself (it's more appealing than Ratatouille looked, and that movie still did very well). Then again, I thought Golden Compass would be huge. Is environmentalism/anti-conglomerate as controversial a stance as athiesm/anti-theocracy?


- New Line: Can you say rebound? With only Hairspray as a major hit (and many flops, including The Golden Compass), there are plenty of contenders for this year. The first being Semi Pro(100+), Followed by Sex and the City Movie (100+). Journey 3-D will bank(100), but will be like many movies using 3-D/Motion Capture, and fail to make its budget in Theateres.

Journey 3D won't be that successful. There still aren't that many 3D theaters around, and given more commercial films like Meet the Robinsons and Beowulf haven't done that great even including traditional theaters, I doubt a movie where 3D is the only selling point will succeed.


Going Down:

-MGM/MGM (Weinsteen): Superhero Movie will probably be big, for them at least (75-100). Hellraiser(50) might help, same with Ice Cube Comedy(50) and probably their big ticket, Fame(100+)

How can they go down when they were never up to begin with?

[James]

I couldn't watch Voyager for very long (the premise/characters couldn't sustain my interest), but I enjoyed all four seasons of Enterprise. It replaced TNG as my favorite series and, IMO, I felt it brought the franchise back on track.

That's a rare preference. Can't say I agree with you as Enterprise was the first franchise of Star Trek I just utterly lost interest in. I felt like Voyager, the potential wasn't even close to being realised. While Voyager had the strength to become something closer to STTNG/TOS than DS9, but carry the more mature strength of its previous brother, it ended up just being a lazy rehash of STTNG concepts - the whole notion of their beyond frontier journey never seemed to give it the distinction it deserved, and while problems would raise their heads, the internal problems were quelled before they could get interesting and the crew managed to keep life so Starfleet, it seemed pointless having them in the Delta Quadrant.

As for Enterprise, the same lazy safe playing occurred. Instead of stripping this back to basics, really localising the parameters of their "universe" and creating a different and exciting less advanced universe, it again slipped into STTNG mode. Same sort of stories, familiar races, same sort of ideology. The chances to move Star Trek into new grounds was constantly refused by Berman, and even the fan embraced season four - IMO - was a lazy attempt to trying to win favour with fans by fan referencing so much from the show's history - not inventing anything new, in fact it stole many firsts from the previous shows to attract fans to theirs. So much of Enterprise felt second hand. First officer Vulcan? Gotcha. Southern best friend of the Captain? Yes, we'll steal that too. First encounter with Frenghi? Yes, we'll take that. First set of humans to encounter Pon Farr - yes, that would be nice as well thanks. Mild Melds - yes, we'll grab that as well. Human and Vulcan parents? Yes, we could borrow that as well. I thought it was all very disappointing.

So overall, I'm very glad Berman isn't in control, and while I have uncertainty to the rationale of this new film, I think Abrams offers far greater chance for something unique and special than Berman ever played it.

[/rant] :)

[DarkAngel]

[/rant] :)
A good rant, James. I won't try to top it. :)

I agree completely, except I'm not as harsh on Ent season 4. In execution, you're right, it wasn't a whole lot better than the previous series. However, the concepts/ideas behind it were great and massive improvement over the story choices of the previous seasons. And it was Berman's absence that allowed for that in S4. The problems of the season, IMO, weren't due to laziness but rather to Manny Coto and his guys not having nearly enough time to overcome all the damage and missteps of the previous years. They were hindered immediately by the initial two-parter that was a carry over from the B&B material and that crap involving "Future Guy" and the "Temporal Cold War" or whatever that was.

If someone at Paramount had had the sense to yank Berman from ST before Enterprise and handed the reins to someone like Coto right from the start, then we could have seen some of that S4 material during year 1 and actually given the writers a chance to find their rhythm and more naturally get to development of material relevant to the premise. The series could have been very good, if not great.

But again, the overall point is that Enterprise actually had a chance, even if just in concept with their plot ideas, to move well ahead of the uninspired storytelling under Berman's reign. I don't mind missteps if there's a genuine attempt for success behind it, and to me there was during Ent season 4, unlike any period under Berman's control.

Michael, everything James posted in his "rant" is why so many are critical of Berman. Like James said, all he's offered is repackaged versions of TNG. If you liked Enterprise, well, hey, that's great. But when it comes to objectively assessing it and Voyager, it just can't be ignored that he basically threw out any meaningful development of the premises in favor of more TNG-type content and episodes, a creative choice that makes no sense for a ship stranded in the DQ or a pre-Federation starship. Its become more than clear over the years that Star Trek to him is a formula: take TNG, change some superficial things, and then present it as something new. And when it doesn't get good viewership, plead ignorance as to why and blame the fans, as he did with Nemesis: "I think Nemesis was a far, far better film than you’d believe from the way it was received...I, to this day, don’t quite understand what went wrong."

"Star Trek can be over-exposed; the audience can be saturated with Star Trek. It is definitely a possibility. But I think that if you look at the first night grosses of the movie,which are almost entirely fans, the fact that those first-night and second-night numbers were considerably down from previous movies tells me that the fans were just not coming out like they were before. I think the fact that the first weekend boxoffice was down is definitely an indication that the fans were holding back a little bit."

That's always great. Continue to insist somethings great, when commercially and critically its taken massive hits, and suggest that fans are "holding back".

Berman goes back to the same well again and again. James named some good examples from Enterprise, and there are a lot more from that show and Voyager, in which various things were taken from previous shows and re-used, often when it completely contradicts what we've seen before.

That's why its so important to me that Rick Berman has nothing to do with the new Star Trek and that we've got an entirely new set individuals working on this. As discussed, that doesn't automatically guarantee success. There are never guarantees. But unlike under Berman's restrictive, stagnant direction, there's actually a chance for something different and new. That chance alone is a breath of fresh air and the reason I name Star Trek among the movies I most anticipate for 2008. Even if it isn't everything I hope for, there's a certainty it'll be lightyears ahead of the average turnout from Berman. One thing Abrams has proven is that he doesn't do the same thing over and over again. Lost is different from Alias which was different from Felicity. There's actually a sense of him having some palette to choose from, rather than one color like Berman.

[Michael24]

You say tomato I say tomoto. :)

I thought Enterprise was a move back in the right direction for Star Trek after Voyager and it reignited my interest in the series again. (It put the "trek" back in Star Trek, so to speak.) I enjoyed the characters, stories, and thought the premise was a fresh new angle for the franchise. It was the first series since TNG that maintained me as a faithful viewer for its entire run. Berman's "stranglehold" on the series is a matter of opinion, IMO. Most people I know enjoyed it and thought it was a fun series.

So we'll just agree to disagree. :D

[DarkAngel]

You say tomato I say tomoto. :)
Its not about tomato vs tomoto. I'm not ever going to tell you, or anyone, that they should or should not like something. Everyone has their own set of likes and dislikes. But going beyond that, there is an objective way at looking at things. One can look at the series' he's been involved with and get a sense of creative restriction. But, beyond that, to actually hear what the writing environment was like under him: Ron Moore was with the TNG writing staff, working under Mike Pillar, and described it like this: TNG was just a happy place to be. It was the kind of place where there were no bad ideas in the room. Michael created an atmosphere where you really felt free to voice your opinions. You could argue with the boss. I argued with Mike a lot, right to the point I thought I should be fired, but he never even came close to that. That’s a tribute to him.

Moore was also with the DS9 staff, under Ira Behr, and described it like this: DEEP SPACE NINE took that to another level. We were so tight as a writing staff, we loved the show so much, that we could sit in that room and literally scream at each other. Hans Beimler and I could just go at it, hammer and tongs, yelling and really getting upset. We would just sit there and yell about story points, and then, ‘Where are we going to lunch today?’ We would all go out, and really enjoy each other’s company and have a good time.

And then Moore described the Voyager work environment under B&B: I found on VOYAGER was suddenly it wasn’t about the work anymore. It wasn’t about making the best show that we possibly could; it was about all these other extraneous issues. It was about the politics of the show, and the strange sort of competition of egos within the writing staff and the producing staff and the management of the show. ‘Competition’ is probably a misleading term. The politics of the show were such that the egos of the people in charge of the series were threatened by the people who worked for them. To be blunt, [writers] Bryan Fuller and Mike Taylor were treated very shabbily, and it pissed me off. They took a lot of crap, and the only reason it was done was to keep the guys on the top of the pyramid feeling good about themselves. It also had the effect of keeping the writing staff from working in concert as a group.

All of that is from this (http://lcarscom.net/rdm1000118.htm) interview.

Now come on. I'm NOT telling you to dislike Voyager or Enterprise. But we can't pretend like the above is an okay way to run a show or movie. Putting aside whether we like the content or not, we can look at shows like TNG and DS9 (even if we dislike them) and get a completely different sense of the creative process than when we look at Enterprise or Voyager, which are obvious retreads of TNG. What was original with TNG and had some spark became overused and old on Ent and Voy.

Enterprise looked good visually. I'll give it that. It had a solid enough cast. I liked them. The production values were good. But when it came to the writing and content, there are concrete examples of just lifting and/or reusing old concepts and not doing enough with the premises of the show.

Again, my point isn't to tell you to not watch Voyager or Enterprise, but to support why I'm excited about new leadership for the new Star Trek from as objective a perspective as I can find. I haven't seen or heard much at all that would have me as worried about Abrams' creative leadership as I have with Berman. If Berman were still in charge, there'd be no reason to expect something different from Insurrection or Nemesis. Would you honestly like to go back to that? Does anybody? I don't see why we can't give Abrams a chance. I have far more faith in getting something good from him than from Berman.

[Michael24]

I liked Insurrection, but agree Nemesis was bad. (But I fault the screenwriter and director for that one. I would have prefered Michael Piller come back as writer, or Braga and Moore, and that Paramount kept Jonathan Frakes as director; I think it would have been a much better movie.)

But the politics and what not behind the scenes of a show don't really matter to me. (Sure, it'd be nice for everybody to have a good environment to create in, but I understand egos and all of that.) The result of the creative team does, and in the case of Enterprise, I just thought it was an entertaining show. If I'm being stubborn, oh well. :)

I'm glad you're excited for a new take on Star Trek, but I'm just not is all.

[AnimatedSnow47]

Allow me to throw my proverbial hat into the Trek ring. :D

Voyager was and is my favorite Trek series. I think it captures the spirit of Trek perfectly and does it with great storytelling, cast, special effects and classic Trek-style plots. Enterprise comes in third after the excellent Original Series with TNG in fourth and DS9 my least favorite.

Enterprise, especially, had a spectacular fourth season after three solid opening seasons. TNG began to fizzle out at the end of Season 4 and was on fumes by 6 and 7 with only a few standout episodes. DS9 started off great in its first 3 seasons and seem to lose the Trek optimism by Season 4 and got bogged down in the Dominion War to where no alien-of-the-week sci-fi style plots were found. Don't get me wrong, DS9's good--more like a B or B+ to Voyager's A+.

As for this movie, I would love for it NOT to be a reboot. There's too much rich material in the Trek universe. I mean--why not have a connection to the Delta Quadrant, the remnants of the Dominion, a follow up to the Borg rebellion from Unimatrix Zero, an adventure of the timeship Relativity, or one of the many-rumored combined cast adventures. In addition, the casting has me scracthing my heads--Tyler Perry, Karl Urban, that guy whose name I can't remember who's playing Scotty, weird stuff.

Personally, I wish the Reeves-Steveneses, Coto, and Braga were involved, with Mike Sussman. And, is the brilliant Mike Okuda even involved in any way? Worries if he's not.

Still, I'll go to see it and if it's good--then great! :) If not, well, I own all of TV Trek except 2 seasons of TOS remastered, I'll be fine. :P

[James]

First off, as DA said, I'm not disagreeing with your choices in Star Trek preference. A show only gives what we take out of it. No, I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds good. We all enjoy different things I guess.



As for this movie, I would love for it NOT to be a reboot. There's too much rich material in the Trek universe. I mean--why not have a connection to the Delta Quadrant, the remnants of the Dominion, a follow up to the Borg rebellion from Unimatrix Zero, an adventure of the timeship Relativity, or one of the many-rumored combined cast adventures. In addition, the casting has me scracthing my heads--Tyler Perry, Karl Urban, that guy whose name I can't remember who's playing Scotty, weird stuff.


But again, this film's success does not rely on bringing fans in. To a non fan, Delta Quadrants, Dominions, Borgs are all a load of "eh?" factors that any sane movie maker isn't going to try and pitch to a new audience. While there are many fans out there, so far as demographic go, they are not the audience which will make/break a movie (though they might cause some pain to any merchandise failures in the spin off dept).

Personally, as someone who enjoys Star Trek, I don't really see quite the rich material you see. After 5 odd years, the Dominion has been covered, the Borg to death and the rest not that far removed from any other sci-fi concept.

I personally appreciate how - as a fan of many things - its nice to have old elements that were once enjoyed revisited, but if we're objectively looking at whether the upcoming movie should be a reboot or sequel, given the bad taste so many punters have from the Star Trek films (Nemesis, I look at thee) and Enterprise, you can see the benefits of reboot from Batman Begins, over doing "Batman and Robin: It's be Better this time".

When franchises go bad, as with any product, a "back to basics" scheme is often wise. And in fact, it sounds like that was the initial intent here; let's go back to the original crew - start again. Sounds to me (and with no proof as usual to this accusation), that the production has got jumpy with such a heated and loud fanbase and looked for a middleground which doesn't experience the wrath of a reboot despite being commercially the sensible root.

Sometimes what we as fans want isn't what's best for the show, especially products whose consumer isn't solely people like us. IMO the franchise needs credibility since Berman's travesty at the helm (great quotes DA), and Abrams is a good choice. Still not comfortable with the middleground, but certainly FAR more hope for the franchise under A than Berman.

As for the actors - honestly, aren't you GLAD it's cast you don't know too well rather than cast who are being brought in for name rather than talent? I would far rather have minor actors take this roles than ones who bring their own baggage (and Scotty is Simon Pegg who is very good British actor). :)

[purplehairedwonder]

When looking for movies, I mostly go by what previews look good so my list is pretty short:

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: I'm an avid HP junkie so this is a no-brainer even though 6 is probably my least favorite book of the series.

The Dark Knight: I loved Begins and the trailer looks amazing. I'm super excited for this.

Dragonball: If only to see how badly the series has been butchered.

EDIT: Completely forgot Wall-E. I'm on board for anything Pixar.

[bigddan11]

Indiana Jones, The Dark Knight, Harry Potter, Prince Caspian, and, if it's at theaters like the rumors say it will be, High School Musical 3 are the movies I'd see at the theater. The others I'd insist on seeing previews for before I decide if I'd see them at the theater or on DVD, or in some cases if I won't see them at all.

[Hanshotfirst113]

I liked Insurrection, but agree Nemesis was bad. (But I fault the screenwriter and director for that one. I would have prefered Michael Piller come back as writer, or Braga and Moore, and that Paramount kept Jonathan Frakes as director; I think it would have been a much better movie.)

Actually, initially, Berman went to Nicholas Meyer to direct, but Meyer said that he would agree only if he could collaborate on the screenplay. As Berman had promised Logan full control, that shot that one down. LeVar Burton was his next choice for director. Not sure how Baird got involved, but I understand that it was some studio politics. I'd have loved to have seen Meyer give the TNG crew a proper send-off, like he did Kirk's gang.

[Michael24]

Oh, wow! A Meyer-directed TNG film would have rocked. I didn't know about that. A shame. I still feel TNG deserved at least two more movies. I really miss seeing that crew in action.

[Alex Toon]

I'm anticipating this, all right. I'm anticipating it SUCKING.
Well, from what I've heard, it's not a straight-up remake of the original. It'll be based more on the original short story version.

But I can't wait to see The Dark Knight, mainly for Heath Ledger playing the most psychotic Joker ever.

[DarkAngel]

I think it captures the spirit of Trek perfectly and does it with great storytelling, cast, special effects and classic Trek-style plots.
Again, I'm not going to argue with anyone's personal preference for favorite Trek. But when it comes to assessing how good the show was compared to others, I can't put it anywhere near the top. It wasn't even true to itself. I'll quote RDM again, because I couldn't say it better:

"I just don’t understand why it doesn’t even believe in itself....The premise has a lot of possibilities. Before it aired, I was at a convention in Pasadena, and...they were answering questions from the audience about the new ship. It was all very technical, and they were talking about the fact that in the premise this ship was going to have problems. It wasn’t going to have unlimited sources of energy. It wasn’t going to have all the doodads of the Enterprise. It was going to be rougher, fending for themselves more, having to trade to get supplies that they want. That didn’t happen. It doesn’t happen at all, and it’s a lie to the audience...

"By the end of the pilot, you have the Maquis in those Starfleet uniforms, and— boom—we’ve begun the grand homogenization. Now they are any other ship. I don’t know what the difference is between Voyager and the Defiant or the Saratoga or the Enterprise or any other ship sitting around the Alpha Quadrant doing its Starfleet gig. That to me is appalling, because if anything, Voyager—coming home, over this journey, with that crew—by the time they got back to Earth, they should be their own subculture. They should be so different from the people who left, that Starfleet won’t even recognize them any more... But in essence, they are no different than any other ship in the fleet. The episodes that you watch week after week are so easily translatable to NEXT GEN that it’s almost a cookie-cutter kind of thing. It’s a waste of the premise. That’s not to say they don’t have any good episodes. There are some good episodes in the mix, and I have seen a couple. The show can work. But the ship wouldn’t look like that. It’s not truthful."

If you like Voyager, great, but no matter how much you like it, we can't pretend that they were true to the premise. And in not being true to it, the writers simply weren't doing their job. And those aren't the kind of writers I want working on any Star Trek movie or series. I want writers I can trust to take the material seriously. I mean, I didn't choose the ship-stranded-in-the-DQ premise. They did. All I asked, and we all should have, was to see some follow-through on that. It never happened.


Enterprise, especially, had a spectacular fourth season after three solid opening seasons.
Which goes back to Berman and Braga being out by that stage. Almost immediately we see improvement. But I'm with James on how things played out that season. Good ideas, IMO, but in execution still not at the level of excellence often seen on DS9 or TOS at their best. But, I was very excited to finally see some new ideas, some change in format, and episode plots that actually seemed relevant to that time period and the shows premise. This is what I had been screaming for for so long. That's why I've wanted, so badly, for Berman to be ousted and someone with some creativity, like Coto (or Abrams), to be brought in.


DS9 started off great in its first 3 seasons and seem to lose the Trek optimism by Season 4 and got bogged down in the Dominion War to where no alien-of-the-week sci-fi style plots were found.
DS9 never lost its optimism or the Star Trek "spirit" that people often talk about. It was there. It just wasn't obvious. But it was very much Trek. And putting aside the actual content, the level of work being done was far superior to that of Voyager or Enterprise. Again, I'm not talking about specifics of the storylines, but the quality of the writing and plotting. I'd actually lean toward Voyager as having a premise with greater potential. The content that such a premise should have led to, if that content had been utilized, could have resulted in a show superior to DS9 and all other Trek. But, again, the writers pretty much ignored all the possibilities and treated the show like TNG part 2.


Personally, I wish the Reeves-Steveneses, Coto, and Braga were involved, with Mike Sussman.
I wouldn't mind some of those, especially R-S. My personal choice would have been RDM. Really, I'd take anyone over Berman. But I don't see any reason to doubt or be upset about Abrams being in charge. You accepted Coto, right? And he obviously was a better choice to head things up than Berman. If Abrams had stepped in for season 4, he'd have brought improvement too. We gave Coto a chance. Let's give Abrams a chance too. I mean, why the heck not? He has a good track record of success and seems to have a full creative bag to draw from, as evidenced by the different flavor he brought to each show he's been involved with, which stands in contrast to the one-trick Rick Berman who could only bring us cloned TNG with Voyager and Enterprise. Let's the new team a chance.

[DarkAngel]

I forgot about Righteous Kill. I have to throw that into my top 3 most anticipated. I found a promotional reel on the internet that wasn't much, but it was still nice to see something. It showcased De Niro pretty well, but didn't really give a good look at Pacino's character. Hopefully Al will be given enough to work with that he's not overshadowed. Can't wait to see an official trailer.

DA

[James]

A little OT, but reading your RDM comment there, its interesting how his view of Voyager actually plays closely to Galactica - which was how I felt Voyager should have been played when it aired (not close to new Galactica, given it hadn't been made, but to the idea of a ship with a crew on their own, with limited supplies all trying to get on with rations/civillians etc. I'd have liked to have seen Voyager itself "evolve" as the show went on and become a very different ship and people from once it started. Alas, no.

Who knows maybe if the films go well, Trek will TV spin-off into something more contemporary taking the ideals of Roddenberry but placing into something more finite and gritty. See how the new film fairs first!

[Ragebot]

Yes, as well as being a thematic sequel to Deep Space Nine, I've always felt that BSG was also Ron Moore's "revenge" on how he was treated at Voyager. His departure from that series was perhaps the most pivotal turning point of his career.

[dth1971]

My guesses:
10,000 B.C.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
Kung Fu Panda
Get Smart
Batman - The Dark Knight
Spiderwick Cronicles
Horton Hears a Who

[DarkAngel]

Who knows maybe if the films go well, Trek will TV spin-off into something more contemporary taking the ideals of Roddenberry but placing into something more finite and gritty. See how the new film fairs first!
To steer this back towards the topic, yes, that's another reason why I'm anticipating the new film and hoping it'll go over well. Besides the obvious movie sequels, I've been hoping it would also lead to some great ST on tv. I know this is probably a huge long shot, but I'm hoping there's a chance Paramount would look to JMS' 5-year series treatment. If the new movie is a success, and given its involves the TOS crew, it would seem a natural move to revisit that era and crew on tv as well. JMS did seem very interested in bringing something more contemporary to Trek with the classic characters. I see an opportunity to really cross-promote between a TOS movie and television series and enhance interest in both. Maybe?

I know it'll never happen, but it just seems to make sense. Too much sense, perhaps. It doesn't seem that hard. I'd expect Abrams and JMS would be able to cooperate such that their visions for Trek would be compatible.

DA

[Angilasman]

My Big 3:

Ponyo on a Cliff
I'm a huge Hayao Miyazaki fan. All 9 of his films I count as all-time favorites and I've never seen one in the theater!
Hellboy 2
After watching the first Hellboy I became a huuuge fan of the comic and Guilermo del Toro. From what I've seen this is shaping up to be a superior sequel (and I already like the original!)
The Dark Knight
Do I need to explain this?

...but it looks like a real fun year for movies; Wall-E, Indiana Jones, Iron Man, Speed Racer...

[Hanshotfirst113]

If I may toss my 2 cents into the Trek discussion, remember who else had no prior experience with Trek before becoming involved with the franchise? Nicholas Meyer. And he made what is arguably still the franchise's finest hour. I say we should give Abrams a chance. Trek needs some new blood and a new lease on life. After two decades under Berman's iron fist, maybe a kick in the tail is just what it needs.