Haven’t done one of these for a long time, but I defend myself on the grounds that there hasn’t been hardly anything released yet this year worth watching. And Debbie, I promise I will write about American Idol tomorrow.

 

Baby Mama

Apparently this is the response to all of last year’s unplanned pregnancy movies.  Don’t ask me to explain why I guiltily want to see this.  Probably something to do with my untold love for 30 Rock.  Opens April 25th.

Son of Rambow

This has been knocking around festivals for a year or so, and just because it has a release date now doesn’t mean I’m overly optimistic about it coming near where I am. Ah well.  The festival reviews have been glowing, and it looks as endearing as anything. Opens May 2 in limited release.

Speed Racer

So when I first heard about this movie, I wrote it off as another stupid kids-TV-series-to-kids-movie thing.  But then I saw the trailer.  And remembered that it’s the Wachowski brothers making it.  And it looks so totally awesome that it’s pretty much my most highly-anticipated movie right now.  Look at it!  It looks so gorgeous, like a futuristic 1950s. Opens May 9th.

More after the jump.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

aka Indiana Jones and the Movie with the Unecessarily Long Title. I still like “Indy 4”.  Short, to the point.  Anyway, this is pretty much a duh. Opens May 23rd.

Kung Fu Panda

I have it on fair authority that this movie is better than you’d expect from a Paramount animated movie about martial arts-performing animals.  And the trailer does look pretty cute. But I won’t promise I’ll seek it out in theatres. Opens June 6th.

The Happening

Shall we give M. Night Shyamalan another chance?  I actually didn’t see Lady in the Water; I was still burned by having disliked The Village so much.  But this one is intriguing.  Plus, I want Zooey Deschanel to keep working. Opens June 13th.

Get Smart

I’m not even going to try to argue that this is going to be any good; it won’t be.  It’ll suck.  But I’m going to watch it anyway, because I used to be so addicted to the show it’s not even funny.  And I think it could have enough amusing moments to be mildly enjoyable, though I could be wrong even on that count.  I’m just afraid they’re going to try to psychologize Max, and that’s definitely the wrong approach. Opens June 20th.

Wall-E

Also in the running for my most-highly-anticipated summer release.  Pixar for the win. Opens June 27th.

Hancock

Eh, it’s summer movie season, right?  And what says summer movie season like "funny Will Smith sarcastic superhero flick"?  Will Smith doesn’t tend to pick actively bad movies, so I’m willing to grab some popcorn for this. Opens July 4th.

The Dark Knight

After the huge success of Batman Begins, can Nolan/Bale do it again?  I think so.  Maggie Gyllenhaal steps in for Katie Holmes, which is an improvement even though I actually like Katie Holmes.  But how strange is it going to be watching Heath Ledger play the Joker? Opens July 18th.

After this there aren’t very many trailers.  But here are some other things I’m excited about (release dates subject to change, especially for further-away ones).

Sunshine Cleaning – Amy Adams and Emily Blunt in a dark comedy that got mixed but mostly positive reviews at Sundance. Opens July 25th in limited release.

The Young Victoria – Emily Blunt (again) plays the youthful Queen Victoria. Opens September 3rd.

Vicky Christina Barcelona – Woody Allen directs Scarlett Johanssen, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall, and Patricia Clarkson.  Nice. Opens September 5th.

Burn After Reading – The Coen Brothers, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton, and Frances McDormand doing a CIA comedy?  I am SO THERE. Opens September 12th.

Blindness – Fernando Meirelles (City of God) directs; Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael Garcia Bernal star.  That’s at least enough to catch my interest, and it’s been getting good press in the film blogosphere. Opens October 3rd.

Body of Lies – Carice van Houten breaks into mainstream American film after a great turn in Black Book two years ago, and stars opposite no less than Leonardo diCaprio and is directed by no less than Ridley Scott. Opens October 10th.

The Brothers Bloom – I keep hearing snippets about this and then it disappears off the radar.  But it’s Rian Johnson’s second feature, after Brick, which remains one of all-time favorite films, so I’m incredibly excited to see it.  Opens October 24th.

Quantum of Solace – AKA Bond 22. Nuff said. Opens November 7th.

Australia – Baz Lurhmann! Nicole Kidman! Hugh Jackman! Epic about Australia! Nuff said! Opens November 14th.

The Reader – Kate Winslet took over for Nicole Kidman on this project, and I think that’s a fair trade (I’m a fan of them both). Other than that it’s a WWII setting, I don’t know much about it, although it’s based on a novel so I suppose I could find out. Opens December 12th.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – David Fincher reunites with Brad Pitt nearly ten years after Fight Club, and Cate Blanchett’s along for the ride.  Opens December 19th.

Synecdoche, New York – Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind makes his directing debut with an incredible cast. Look it up. You’ll be excited too. Plus, how many movies have the word “synecdoche” in them? Only awesome ones, I’m sure. No release date yet, though.