There are a bunch of movies I’m really looking forward to in 2009. Here is my list:

  • The Pink Panther 2: Holy crap. In the past two days, I’ve watched the first one twice. This sequel to the Steve Martin vehicle in 2006 adds Alfred Molina, Andy Garcia and others to the cast. I cannot wait for this! RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 6
  • The Informant: Based on the true story of Mark Whitacre, a whistle blower on a price-fixing company, Matt Damon leads the way with Eddie Jemison (YES!) also in the cast. Directed by one of my favorite directors, Steven Soderbergh. RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 18
  • The Soloist: This movie looks like a drama that I will enjoy. If you put Ray Charles and Iron Man in a room, what do you think will happen? Well, Robert Downey Jr. plays a down-on-his-luck journalist and Jamie Foxx plays a scizophrenic street cellist whom Downey’s character stumbles upon.
  • Men Who Stare at Goats: Ewan McGregor plays a reporter who stumbles upon Lyn Cassidy (George Clooney), who says that he was part of a special Army Battalion who used paranormal powers.. RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER
  • Brief Interviews with Hideous Men: This is John Krasinski of The Office’s directorial debut. It’s premiering at Sundance so I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to see it.
  • I Love You, Man: Based on what Paul Rudd and Jason Segel have done in the past, I don’t know if I really want to see this movie. But it has an interesting premise and I like Rashida Jones, who co-starred on Season 3 of The Office. Rudd’s character, Peter Klaven, is getting married to Jones’, Zooey, but he doesn’t have a best man. He connects with Sydney Fife (Segel), but their friendship might put a strain on his upcoming marriage. RELEASE DATE: MARCH 20
  • State of Play: A group of investigative reporters (Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, among others) delve into the murder of a Congressman’s (Ben Affleck) mistress. Gotta love political thrillers. RELEASE DATE: APRIL 17
  • Taken: Ever since Star Wars Episode I, I’ve loved Liam Neeson. In this thirller, Neeson plays the ex-spy father of a young woman (Maggie Grace), who has been taken into the slave trade. Gosh, Liam Neeson makes any movie worth watching. Also stars Famke Janssen (The Bourne Supremacy). RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 30
  • Race to Witch Mountain: This is a remake of the 1975 film Escape to Witch Mountain. A Las Vegas cabbie (Dwayne Johnson) is enlisted to help two kids with paranormal powers get to their ship. Also stars Carla Gugino (Night at the Museum). RELEASE DATE: MARCH 13
  • X-Men Origins: Wolverine: Hugh Jackman comes back as Wolverine in this prequel to the X-Men series. This tells the story of Wolverine finding his powers and the Mutant Academy. Ryan Reynolds (Definitely, Maybe) and Liev Schrieber (The Painted Veil) co-star. Also features LOST alumni Dominic Monaghan (Charlie) and Kevin Durand (the scary redneck mercenary dude Keamy). RELEASE DATE: MAY 1
  • Terminator: Salvation: Another prequel/sequel dealio. I liked Christian Bale in Batman Begins and The Prestige. He’s shown he can handle being the lead and share the screen at the same time. He plays John Connor in the fourth film in the Terminator series, and the first one without the Governator, which involves the son of Sarah Connor leading a resistance group against Skynet’s robots cleaning up after nuclear holocaust. Also stars Anton Yelchin (Charlie Bartlett) and Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village). RELEASE DATE: MAY 22
  • Angels & Demons: The prequel to the highly-controversial The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons brings Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) back to investigate a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican. Also stars Ewan McGregor (a great actor) and Stellan Skarsgard. RELEASE DATE: MAY 15
  • Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian: I never ever imagined a sequel to the first movie, which was actually decent. Ben Stiller’s night guard Larry Daley has to sneak into the Smithsonian to get the two miniatures Jebidiah (Owen Wilson) and Octavius (Steve Coogan) back to the NYC museum after a mix-up. Holy crap! Darrell (Craig Robinson) and Andy (Ed Helms) from The Office are listed in the cast. Yes! So many movies with Office people in them and LOST actors too. RELEASE DATE: MAY 22
  • Sherlock Holmes: The world’s favorite old-fashioned detective is back. In this Guy Ritchie-directed film, Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his trusty assistant Watson (Jude Law) engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a mastermind whose plot is a threat to all England.  Also stars Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong. I am so psyched for this. After seeing Downey Jr. in Iron Man, I’m looking forward to another great performance. I think this movie hinges on the chemistry of him and Law, though. RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 20 (a.k.a. too far away…)
  • Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBouef) and his girl Mikaela (Megan Fox) are back with Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Tuturro in the second go-round for the toys that are more than meets the eye.  Sam is in college and learns about the history of the Transformers, which makes the Decipticons mad, which means Optimus is back to protect the kid. Rainn Wilson (from The Office) cameos as a college professor. I really hope they let him make something up and not write something that might fail. RELEASE DATE: JUNE 26
  • Where the Wild Things Are: I haven’t read the book in FOREVER, literally. But Spike Jonze is bringing it to life with the voices of Forest Whitaker and James Gandolfini and Max Records as the main character who creates his own world after being sent to bed without supper. Might actually be interesting. RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 16
  • A Christmas Carol: Jim Carrey plays four parts, Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future in Robert Zemeckis’ special motion-capture animation used so brilliantly in 2004’s The Polar Express. Also features Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight), Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) and Colin Firth. RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 6

This year looks alright as far as films go. Compared to last year it doesn’t look too great, but we’ll see. Also, they’re re-releasing The Dark Knight. Don’t they have enough money already?