Speculative Cinema in 2010: Part Six

Shelter

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 5 out of 10

Summary: A female forensic psychiatrist discovers that all of one of her patient's multiple personalities are murder victims. She will have to find out what's happening before her time is finished.

Commentary: That sounds... familiar. What is it with Hollywood this year, lifting tired concepts from every direction? Shelter, of course, sounds like a shameless riff off the 2003 psychological thriller Identity - and what do you know? The script's from the selfsame writer. Surely, though, there's got to be more to Shelter than that, with Oscar-winner Julianne Moore starring. Then again, that actress has rather fallen in my estimation after her awful recurring role on 30 Rock for the last few months; a show which, though I enjoy from time to time, it's doing itself any favours by returning to Moore's ridiculous Southerner like a loyal pup to its late master's grave. But hey, Frances Conroy from Six Feet Under is in Shelter, too. Great to hear she's still doing the rounds!

Solomon Kane

Release Date: February 5th

Anticipation: 5 out of 10

Summary: 16th Century mercenary Solomon Kane learns that his brutal and cruel actions have damned him. Determined to redeem himself, Kane swears to live a life of peace and goodness but is forced to fight once more when a dark power threatens the land.

Commentary: Now this could have been one to watch, but early reports say Deathwatch director Michael Basset's adaptation of the novels from Conan author Robert E. Howard is at best a so-so piece of cinema. Even the hardcore fantasy fans who've seen Solomon Kane have been reserved with their praise. There goes any hopes of a franchise... The strong British cast appeals to me, but I'd advise against wasting your time and money on this at your local multiplex. I should think it'll be worth a DVD rental, though - which, if things don't start looking up soon for Solomon Kane, is all it's shaping up to get in the States.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Release Date: July 16th

Anticipation: 4 out of 10

Summary: A sorcerer leaves his workshop in the hands of an apprentice who gets into trouble when the broomstick he's tasked to do his chores for him somehow develops a mind of its own.

Commentary: Still more Nicolas Cage? The man's certainly keeping himself busy, I'll give him that. Unsurprisingly, The Sorcerer's Apprentice doesn't look like much to look forward to. With the director of National Treasure at the helm of a live-action reimagining of one of the more memorable Mickey Mouse shorts of Fantasia, this is shaping up to be a harmless bit of fluff which will in all likelihood die a death at the box office given its release squarely in the middle of the Summer cinema rush. One to take your kids to, if they demand it; otherwise, pass.

Splice

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 9 out of 10

Summary: Elsa and Clive, two young rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism. Named "Dren", the creature rapidly develops from a deformed female infant into a beautiful but dangerous winged human-chimera, who forges a bond with both of her creators - only to have that bond turn deadly.

Commentary: Second only to Christopher Nolan's Inception in terms of the films of 2010 I'm most looking forward to seeing film, Splice comes from Cube and Cypher director Vincenzo Natali - both films I've loved unreasonably. Natali's last major effort left me a little cold, but although no wide release dates have yet been set for Splice in either the UK or the States, it's been touring the festival circuit to great acclaim, and I couldn't be happier. With a cast led by Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley, Splice might be a bit slow for some action-happy cinemagoers, though its thoughtful sensibilities look to be right up The Speculative Scotsman's street. Expect a more considered take on the sort of subject matter explored in Stephen Chow's hilarious CJ-7. Here's hoping I have the chance to catch this incredibly promising film on the big screen.

Toy Story 3

Release Date: June 18th

Anticipation: 8 out of 10

Summary: Woody, Buzz, and the rest of their toy-box friends are dumped in a day-care center after their owner, Andy, departs for college.

Commentary: What? Toy Story 3 is too speculative fiction! Riddle me this, readers: did your toys talk? Exactly. I'm a great admirer of Pixar, and though I'd really rather see another original effort as their release this year - The Speculative Scotsman would strenuously disagree with those critics who claim Toy Story 2 remains the studio's best film - better that Pixar themselves took the reigns of this sequel rather than have Disney spoil it for us all, as was the Mouse House's nefarious plan. With a script from the pen of Little Miss Sunshine's Michael Arndt and animation co-director of Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. at the helm - though solo this time - there's no doubt in my mind that Toy Story 3 will be a good film; certainly it's the CG piece I'm most looking forward to in 2010. The only question is, could it be great? All indicators to date point towards the positive.

Tron: Legacy

Release Date: December 17th

Anticipation: 7 out of 10

Summary: Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy son of Kevin Flynn, looks into his father's disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin's loyal confidant, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

Commentary: Disney could go two for two with Tron: Legacy, the long-rumoured sequel to 1982's cult original, but I remain skeptical. The few glimpses we've had at footage thus far have been promising, and there are other reasons to hope for the best, not least returning cast members Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner, latterly of Babylon 5 fame. But it's easy to forget that Tron was deemed a massive flop upon its initial release, and whatever the appetite for a sequel amongst fans who've picked up on the original in the decades since, I don't honestly expect Tron: Legacy will appeal widely enough to the greater public that it will be judged any more of a success. It could be good; it could even be great, although first-time director Joseph Kosinskui remains an unknown quantity, but Disney's misjudgment of this sequel's commercial potential mean that you can expect Tron: Legacy to be the first and last addition to this particular universe - and casting House hottie Olivia Wilde in a supporting role isn't likely to change that fact, although hey, I'm all for a bit of eye-candy.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Release Date: June 30th

Anticipation: 1 out of 10

Summary: Bella and Edward have been reunited, but a vengeful vampire threatens to tear their forbidden relationship asunder, and Bella must choose between her true love for Edward or her friendship with Jacob as the struggle between the vampires and the werewolves continues.

Commentary: Nope. Not a chance.

Valhalla Rising

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 6 out of 10

Summary: For years, One Eye, a mute warrior of supernatural strength, has been held prisoner by the Norse chieftain Barde. Aided by Are, a boy slave, One Eye slays his captor and together the pair begin a journey into the heart of darkness.

Commentary: From the Danish writer/director of the drug-oriented Pusher franchise, early reports has Valhalla Rising looking every bit the part thanks to location shoots in the dramatic highlands of Scotland - for those of you unfamiliar with the prettiest parts of my historical homeland, think the New Zealand of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy - but falling flat due to an ill-judged script. Valhalla Rising certainly isn't likely to do gangbusters at the box office, but a little patience could well mete out a greater experience than the reviews garnered from its tour on the festival circuit have suggested Nicholas Winding Refn's pet project represents. The buzz might not be great, but I'll be keeping an eye out for this one when it finally secures a distribution deal - if only to see how Scotland looks with a budget behind it.

The Wolfman

Release Date: February 12th

Anticipation: 4 out of 10

Summary: An American experiences an unsettling transformation after returning to his ancestral home in Victorian-era Great Britain and being attacked by a rampaging werewolf.

Commentary: And so we come to the last of The Speculative Scotsman's previews of genre cinema in 2010. I only wish the series could go out with more of a bang than The Wolfman will likely represent, but yet again, the alphabet has damned me. Its release may now be upon us, but any chance of some decent buzz building around this film was shot to hell months ago. Having undergone six full months of reshoots - apparently to have the titular werefellow walk on four legs rather than the original edit's two to up the scary some - The Wolfman has also seen a pivotal director and an acclaimed composer come and go over so-called creative differences in the form of Danny Elfman and One Hour Photo helmer Mark Romanek. None of which is to mention a recent round of apparently drastic recutting. After so much turmoil behind the scenes and too often in public, things, at this point, look truly desperate for The Wolfman despite its initial promise. A truly incredible performance from Oscar-winner Benicio del Toro, who has been involved from the very beginning, is now the only hope this film has of rising above the tide of negative perception.

***

And... we're done!

It's been a long road, longer even than I'd expected, but it's been worth it, I think. The six parts of Speculative Cinema in 2010 - not including the introduction - have spurred plenty of debate in the comments over a wide range of topics ranging from my anticipation of Inception over every other movie due out this year to the question of whether or not I'm justified in despising the very mention of Sean Bean. I'm sure I'll be referring back to these posts for a long time to come, and come 2011 it'll be fun to look back and see whether The Speculative Scotsman was right to look forward to this over that; whether any of my opinionated commentary and calculated snark pans out.

Before I go, an immense debt of gratitude to Dark Horizons for countless pictures, dates and inspiration. I don't suppose I'm in a position to drive any hits to the IMDB, but that was a help too.

One last time then, dear readers: enjoy, discuss, and please, feel free to disagree. I am but a humble highlander, and I'd be interested to hear other perspectives on the landscape of speculative cinema stretching out before us.

It's been fun, hasn't it?

Speculative Cinema in 2010: Part Five

Piranha 3-D

Release Date: August 27th

Anticipation: 5 out of 10

Summary: A tremor under the surface of Lake Victoria unleashes scores of prehistoric piranhas, an event which rallies a local sheriff who will risk everything to save her townsfolk.

Commentary: Alexandre Aja has been hit or miss since he exploded into the horror genre with Haute Tension. Making his Hollywood directorial debut with a remake of The Hills Have Eyes won him no favours from me, although it was certainly a better film than his dreary 2008 follow-up, Mirrors starring Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer. Piranha 3-D, however, looks like it might be fun, and its cast, though hardly distinguished, isn't quite the no-name affair you might expect from a retooled creature feature. I doubt the critics will be kind to Piranha 3-D one way or another, but this could be a fun comedown from a Summer release schedule packed full of exhausting high-octane blockbusters.

Predators

Release Date: July 7th

Anticipation: 6 out of 10

Summary: A group of elite warriors are hunted by members of a merciless race of aliens known only as Predators.

Commentary: Honestly, I loved Predator when I was a wee beastie; I remember rooting for Dutch despite never having laid eyes on Schwartzenegger before, and the skinless corpses hanging from high in the jungle canopy haunted my dreams for years. To my dismay, however, a recent rewatch of McTiernan's original shot all but my fondest memories of Predator to hell. So, another remake, with Vacancy director Nimrod Antal at the helm. Here's hoping between him, producer Robert Rodriguez and a surprisingly respectable cast including Adrian Brody and Lawrence Fishbourne, Predators is a pleasant surprise. It can hardly be worse than those execrable bloody versus movies, after all. Can it?

Priest

Release Date: August 20th

Anticipation: 4 out of 10

Summary: A priest disobeys church law to track down the vampires who kidnapped his niece.

Commentary: After the crushing disappointment of Legion earlier in the year, Scott Stewart and Paul Bettany reteam to do the dead only knows what with a trite premise based on an unknown (to me) South Korean manga - less commonly known as 'manwha'. Maggie Q and Karl Urban in supporting roles do not give me much cause to hope that Priest will turn out any better than the gruesome twosome's previous effort. All signs point to a complete waste of time. Still, even if the film's a mess, at least we've learned something new today, am I right readers?

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Release Date: May 28th

Anticipation: 7 out of 10

Summary: An adventurous Persian prince teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world.

Commentary: Jake Gyllenhaal is... the Prince of Persia? No, he's bloody well not. Nonetheless, ably supported by his chest hair and Alfred Molina - the best Spider-man villain ever - many critics have pegged this as one of the tentpole movies to see this Summer, and I'm sure it'll be a bit of fun. Gyllenhaal can certainly support a story; Mike Newell is a fine, if unremarkable filmmaker; if the stars align, Ben Kingsley might even turn in a decent performance as the villainous vizier of the piece. All the same, I'd really rather play the video game again.

Repo Men

Release Date: April 2nd

Anticipation: 2 out of 10

Summary: In the near future, artificial organs can be bought on credit, and when a struggles to make the payments on a heart he has purchased, he must go on the run before the repo men repossess his buy now, pay later ticker.

Commentary: No thank you. Have so few people seen the burlesque brilliance of Repo: A Genetic Opera that it's somehow acceptable for Hollywood to pilfer its plot and premise wholesale? Jude Law, Forest Whitaker and Liev Schreiber lead this derivative wire-fu drivel under the direction of newcomer Miguel Sapochnik. Maybe it'll be good, maybe it won't. Maybe some aspect of Repo Men will elevante it beyond the level of outright theft, but I certainly don't mean to be anywhere near it in any event.

The Resident

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 6 out of 10

Summary: When a young doctor suspects she may not be alone in her new Brooklyn loft, she learns that her landlord has formed a frightening obsession with her.

Commentary: This isn't speculative cinema even by my generous definition of the genre, but as the first film from the recently restarted Hammer Horror label I felt I had to feature it. And don't let its rather tiresome premise put you off; with the screenwriter of the wonderfully twisted Secretary co-writing the script, you can be sure something about The Resident will elevate it above the myriad other Single White Female knock-offs. Finnish MTV star Antii Jokinen directs Hillary Swank and Gray's Anatomy star Jeffrey Dean Morgan - none of which does much for me, but I'll be sure to catch this one on the basis of Erin Cressida William's involvement alone, and besides, wouldn't it be nice to have Hammer Horror back in the picture?

Robin Hood

Release Date: May 14th

Anticipation: 7 out of 10

Summary: The story of an archer in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion who fights against the Norman invaders and becomes the legendary hero known as Robin Hood.

Commentary: I don't know quite what to make of yet another Robin Hood adaptation. The cast is certainly incredible: Mark Strong, William Hurt, Cate Blanchett and Matthew Macfadyen supporting Russell Crowe in the lead role. And yet, with Ridley Scott in the director's chair, what to expect? Certainly the man's made some incredible films in his time, Gladiator among them, though the second time Scott teamed up with Crowe they came up with A Good Year, one of the dreariest, most plodding movies I've ever seen. And let's not forget the likes of GI Jane and Hannibal. Nevertheless, the buzz around Robin Hood seems to be good, and I can't imagine so many Oscar-caliber stars would sign on if there weren't at least a decent script. Here's hoping Scott treats this one as something more substantial than a warm-up for the Alien prequel he's on board to direct next year.

Saw VII

Release Date: October 22nd

Anticipation: 5 out of 10

Summary: The serial killer Jigsaw is long dead, and his apparent successor Detective Hoffman has been undone... but the murderous games go on.

Commentary: You know what? I've seen all the Saw films. Every last bloody one. I don't enjoy them, nor do I admire them - I derive nothing that I can put my finger on from the experiences - but year after year, some perverse part of me is compelled to dive into what has long since become a baffling mess of body parts and mind-boggling plot nonsense that serves no other purpose than to save the bone-driven effects team some cash. No doubt I'll satiate my morbid curiosity again this Halloween with seventh installment of the interminable annual franchise, now featuring three glorious dimensions of dismemberment, but I'll be seeing the sequel to Paranormal Activity first, thank you very much. Not that I can imagine recommending either film. To anyone.

Season of the Witch

Release Date: March 19th

Anticipation: 4 out of 10

Summary: 14th-century knights transport a suspected witch to a monastery, where monks deduce her powers could be the source of the Black Plague.

Commentary: Not to be confused with Halloween III. It's worse even that that! Well, perhaps not, but honestly, when was the last time a movie starring Nic Cage wasn't awful? (Alright, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans was good, hard stuff, but you've Werner Herzog to thank for that, not a baldy action man long past his Face/Off prime.) Not to mention that Season of the Witch director Dominic Sena's last passable attempt at filmmaking was Gone in 60 Seconds. Since then he's showcased Halle Berry's breasts in the otherwise tepid Swordfish and ruined a perfectly good graphic novel for me with his abysmal adaptation of Whiteout last year, featuring Kate Beckinsale in the shower. So can we expect Nic Cage to slip out of his period garb for a quickie with the titular witch at some point? I'd say... yes. Abandon all hope, ye who dare enter.

***

What a bunch of clunkers, eh?

Ah, but we're nearly there now. The Speculative Scotsman's run-down of the best and worst in genre film to come this year is this close to complete. Five parts down, one more to go. Look for part six to be published on Sunday.

For the moment: enjoy, discuss, and please, feel free to disagree. I am but a humble highlander, and I'd be interested to hear other perspectives on the landscape of speculative cinema stretching out before us.

Speculative Cinema in 2010: Part Four

Let Me In

Release Date: October 1st

Anticipation: 3 out of 10

Summary: A bullied young boy befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian.

Commentary: From early reports, this is looking to live down to the usual Hollywood rule of bastardising brilliant foreign films with insipid remakes simply to make a buck from Joe "I Hate Subtitles" Bloggs. For my money, Joe can go to hell. Let the Right One In is a poignant, perfect adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel; Let Me In, meanwhile, is another opportunity for supposed child prodigy Kodi-Smitt McPhee to look miserable for 90 minutes, as he did as the boy in The Road. I can't really blame the American film industry for following their wallets and cashing in on what has become a global success story, though the least they could have done is hand the directorial reigns over to someone more suited to such a considered story - someone decidedly not Matt Reeves, whose only qualification of note is Cloverfield. Then again, I did like the creepy horses in the American Ringu equivalent. Will you give The Speculative Scotsman more creepy horses, Matt Reeves? No? Off with your head then.

Machete

Release Date: April 16th

Anticipation: 4 out of 10

Summary: After being betrayed by the organization who hired him, an ex-Federale launches a brutal rampage of revenge against his former boss.

Commentary: The tagline alone is a stroke of genius: "They fucked with the wrong Mexican." Still, though you'll see his name plastered all over the promotional material, co-director Robert Rodriguez has reportedly had little to do with Machete, a film conceived from one of four faux trailers for Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse, but don't count it out just yet. Machete could be fun - Lindsay Lohan aside, the cast (including Robert DeNiro) is surprisingly strong - though I fear stretching a one-trick pony from a tolerable 2 minutes to the standard length of a feature will only result in a gory mess of dead, stretched pony. With explosions! And knives! How could it possibly go wrong?

Mr Nobody

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 7 out of 10

Summary: In the year 2092, Mars is a vacation spot and Nemo Nobody is a 120-year-old man who is the last mortal left standing in a society where scientific advances have made humans last for longer than even Twinkies. When Nemo is on his deathbed, he reviews the three possible existences and marriages he might have experienced.

Commentary: In Mr Nobody, 30 Second to Mars lead vocalist Jared Leto makes his triumphant return to the cinema! Ah, relax; I'm only kidding. This film lensed in 2007 - Leto's still busy making subpar Linkin Park-inspired noise. Though the long delay between shooting and release has me worries, Mr Nobody looks right up my street: arthouse sci-fi from a Belgian director who hasn't made a film in 13 years. The premise is sound, early reviews from the festival circuit have been very positive, Jaco van Dormael hasn't yet made a bad film that I've seen - and I've seen several - and for all I relish berating the likes of Jared Leto, he really wasn't too awful for such an attractive young actor. Watch out for this one.

My Soul To Take

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 4 out of 10

Summary: A serial killer returns to his hometown to stalk seven children who share the same birthday as the date he was allegedly put to rest.

Commentary: Wes Craven returns to take a bite out of the movie-going public's reinvigorated appetite for teen horror a la Twilight. On top of the three titles My Soul to Take has gone through since its announcement, its delay from October of 2009 to some unspecified date this year screams of a studio trying to make the best out of a bad lot. Can you believe this man used to make decent films? On the plus side, this is the first film Craven has both written and directed since A New Nightmare, so there's a chance, however slim, that The Speculative Scotsman's negligible expectations might yet be pleasantly thwarted.

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

Release Date: March 26th (UK)

Anticipation: 6 out of 10

Summary: Nanny McPhee arrives to help a harried young mother who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war, where she uses her magic to teach the woman's children and their spoiled cousins five new lessons.

Commentary: Breaking news! There will be no Professor Trelawney in either part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. British national treasure Emma Thompson opted out of the last entries in that franchise in favour of a sequel to the little-seen but apparently much-loved 2005 YA fantasy Nanny McPhee. She returns in the title role with a few Harry Potter regulars to wreak more magical havoc, this time on theories of evolution. I can't say this is must-see big screen material for me, but it's perfect fodder for the younguns or the adults whose kids demand a new Harry Potter every other week.

Never Let Me Go

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 9 out of 10

Summary: An alternate history story of a woman who, as she reflects on her private school years in the English countryside, reunites with her two friends to face the dark secrets tied to their communal past.

Commentary: Mark Romanek, director of the superlative One Hour Photo, helms this adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's startlingly original Booker-shortlisted novel from a screenplay by 28 Days Later and Sunshine scribe Alex Garland. Starring Keira Knightley, who demonstrated in Atonement that yes, she can act. I see no weak links in the cast and crew of Never Let Me Go. Thus: I am rather excited. The book has a special place in my heart, and it looks for all intents and purposes to be done justice with this version for the silver screen. In fact, given the caliber of the attached talent, I'll go all out and say this could even be a candidate for the Oscars come 2011.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Release Date: April 30th

Anticipation: 5 out of 10

Summary: A group of teenagers find their dreams haunted by a figure, a badly burned man with razor knives for fingers. His name is Freddy, and if he kills you in the dream then you die in real life.

Commentary: After remakes of Halloween, Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it was only going to take so long before A Nightmare on Elm Street received the dubious honour of a retooling for contemporary audiences. And here it is. The first mark against this remake has to be Samuel Bayer in the director's chair; a man with no more experience of filmmaking than a few music videos. The next: John Connor from the short-lived Terminator TV series leading a cast of nameless nobodies whose only purpose, I presume, will be to die, very likely in a horrible fashion. Jackie Earle Haley is the only real plus, and from the sounds of a few set-reports, he didn't have a fine time underneath the spaghetti-face prosthetics Robert Englund wore so memorably. Expect an absolute disaster of a film that nevertheless wins the box office for a single weekend before word of mouth spoils its chances of a second.

Ondine

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 8 out of 10

Summary: The story of an Irish fisherman who discovers a woman in his fishing net who he believes to be a mermaid.

Commentary: This exquisite-looking fable for all the family comes to us courtesy of the director of The Crying Game and Company of Wolves, and despite Neil Jordan's patchy track-record since, I'm psyched about Ondine just looking at that picture. (Not Keira Knightley, by the way.) A year ago you'd have had to convince me about Colin Farrell, but as a recent convert - the glorious In Bruges saw to that - there's nothing stopping me from falling for this very promising film now, and its ongoing tour of the festival circuit has only compounded my great expectations for Ondine. Expect something like The Lady in the Water, except good.

Paul

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 8 out of 10

Summary: Two British comic-book geeks traveling across the U.S. encounter an alien outside Area 51.

Commentary: Written by and starring Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz chums Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, with an impressive supporting cast including Sigourney Weaver, Seth Rogen and Jason Bateman, Paul is nevertheless lacking a single thing: Edgar Wright, who directed the hilarious British duo in the films that made their name. What Paul will be without Wright - who's keeping busy with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - remains to be seen, but I'm optimistic. With comedy, the words on the page and the delivery are what count, and with Superbad director Greg Mottola on the case, there's really nothing to fear. Here's hoping Pegg and Frost can do for sci-fi what they did for horror with their fantastic British take on the inevitable zombie invasion a few years back. One to watch.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Release Date: February 12th

Anticipation: 4 out of 10

Summary: A teenager discovers he's the descendant of a Greek god and sets out on an adventure to resolve an on-going battle between the gods.

Commentary: Hmm. Could that be... Harry... Potter? No? Well, off you go, then. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief can certainly boast about Chris Columbus, director of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but it's only encouraging what are sure to be unfavourable comparisons. For all J. K. Rowling's failings, her narratives had character, adventure and charm. This has Greek gods; better left to the likes of Clash of the Titans and God of War if you ask me. A derivative cash-in adaptation of a derivative cash-in book, I saw the trailer for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief attached to Avatar and it certainly looked... derivative.

***

For fear of film coverage overwhelming all the talk of books, glorious books, I mean to spread the fifth and final parts of The Speculative Scotsman's exhaustive preview of genre film in 2010 throughout the first week of February.

I did warn you this was set to be an crowded year for SF&F at cinema... but rejoice, readers, we're well into the home stretch now!

For the moment: enjoy, discuss, and please, feel free to disagree. I am but a humble highlander, and I'd be interested to hear other perspectives on the landscape of speculative cinema stretching out before us.

Speculative Cinema in 2010: Part Three

Heartless

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 7 out of 10

Summary: Jamie Morgan's life has always been blighted by the large, heart-shaped birthmark on his face. He lives in an urban world dominated by a terrifying gang culture, where random violence has convinced him that the world is meaningless and ugly - but then Jamie meets someone who tells him the truth, and the world reveals itself as a thing of great beauty. That's when his real nightmare starts.

Commentary: The writer of British gangster thriller The Krays takes a turn in the director's chair for a quiet, clever festival favourite featuring rising star Jim Sturgess in the lead role that stands to do for demons what Let The Right One In did for vampires. Heartless doesn't look like much from the outside, and there's not a lot of buzz behind it outside of film critics dabbling in art-appreciation, but this is nonetheless one of the more exciting 2010 movies that most people haven't heard of.

Inception

Release Date: July 16th

Anticipation: 10 out of 10

Summary: In a world where entering dreams is possible, a single idea from the human mind can be the most dangerous weapon or the most valuable asset.

Commentary: If it weren't for the alphabetical order this extensive article has followed thus far, I'd hold off talking about Inception till the very end to ratchet up the tension, but alas. Despite the rarity of available information, this is without a doubt my most anticipated film of the year ahead. Christopher Nolan has been among my favourite directors since Memento, and he's surpassed his own incredible achievements with each successive feature. The publicity will no doubt make a great song and dance about Inception being the next film from the director of The Dark Knight, but I'd warn fervent Batfans to expect something tonally more similar to The Prestige; a labyrinthine narrative, brilliant cinematography, special effects that stand a chance of exploding your head and a plot that'll have you thinking yourself in circles for weeks afterward. Can't. Effing. Wait.

Ironclad

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 5 out of 10

Summary: It is the year 1215 and the rebel barons of England have forced their despised King John to put his royal seal to the Magna Carta, a noble, seminal document that upheld the rights of free-men. Yet within months of pledging himself to the great charter, the King reneged on his word and assembled a mercenary army on the south coast of England with the intention of bringing the barons and the country back under his tyrannical rule.

Commentary: Hottie Kate Mara leads a very strong cast of British thesps under the director of Johnathan English who... I'll confess, I've never heard of. Nonetheless, there are only two reasons the likes of Brian Cox, Richard Attenborough and James Purefoy would sign up for a project such as this. The first is money. Let's cross our fingers and hope the truth lies somewhere closer to the second such explanation: a brilliant script.

Iron Man 2

Release Date: April 30th (UK)

Anticipation: 7 out of 10

Summary: With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to give up his creations, Stark, along with Pepper Potts and "Rhodey" Rhodes, must forge alliances and confront powerful new enemies.

Commentary: Probably the surest bet of the year in terms of box-office, Iron Man 2 will nevertheless have a hard time topping the first film, which, speaking for myself, won me over mostly by catching me so off-guard. Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are onboard as the villains of the piece, great choices both, and after his brilliant performance in Sherlock Holmes I've finally forgiven Robert Downey Jr. for his turn in Ally McBeal. If the humour's there and director Jon Favreau can capture lighting twice, Iron Man 2 should be a great bit of fun when it hits early this Summer. But they're a big pair of ifs; this is by no means a sure thing.

Jonah Hex

Release Date: June 18th

Anticipation: 3 out of 10

Summary: In the Wild West, a scarred bounty hunter tracks a voodoo practitioner bent on liberating the South by raising an army of the undead.

Commentary: The latest in a long line of comic book adaptations that have missed more often than they've hit, you have to wonder what a dearth of inspiration there must be in Hollywood to keep execs coming back for more. Certainly with Jonah Hex, "the fastest gun in the West", they're scraping the bottom of the barrel. I could have tolerated a script by the fun-loving twits behind Crank and Gamer, but Robots animation director Jimmy Hayward's first turn at the helm of a live-action feature has reportedly proven disasterous, with the man behind I Am Legend called in to save the day. I'd expect Jonah Hex firstly to be delayed, and then, eventually, to drop like a steaming clod from the wrong end of a horse. Then again, it has Megan Fox in it; perhaps I'm being too kind...

Kick-Ass

Release Date: April 16th

Anticipation: 7 out of 10

Summary: Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan who one day decides to become a super-hero, even though he has no powers, no training nor any meaningful reason to do so.

Commentary: Nicolas Cage and Andy Garcia lookalike Mark Strong star in the next, much ballyhooed-about feature from Stardust director Matthew Vaughn. Given that latter's involvement, I would be anticipating Kick-Ass more highly were it not for Mark Millar, whose comic book series the film is based on. Hopefully his participation has been kept to a minimum, because I'd hate for that gregarious asshat to ruin a perfectly good adult satire of the superhero genre. The points for nevertheless far outweigh the arguments against: the buzz on the script way back when was stellar, Vaughn's track record is exemplary and the director has even sourced his own funding, meaning studio interference will be kept to an absolute minimum. Watch out for this one.

The Last Airbender

Release Date: July 2nd

Anticipation: 4 out of 10

Summary: Aang is the young successor to a long line of Avatars who must put his childhood ways aside and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations.

Commentary: You have to laugh at the notion anyone might have confused James Cameron's stellar Avatar with The Last Airbender, which comes from M. Night Shyamalan, the greatest ego in all the lands. All the same, The Last Airbender dropped the original title of its animated inspiration for precisely that reason. I might watch the Nickelodeon cartoon one of these days, but I'm not at all hopeful for the film - we all loved The Sixth Sense, but how long can one man glide on a single film's success? Bearing in mind the string of duds including Lady in the Water and The Happening that have come and gone since Shyamalan's debut, better to expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised than to have your high hopes shattered and shat on. Also: the multi-ethnic cast of the cartoon seem to have had their faces painted white. How about that for respectful?

The Last Word

Release Date: December 10th

Anticipation: 7 out of 10

Summary: The story of a couple falling in love as the world falls victim to a pandemic that causes people to slowly lose their sensory perception.

Commentary: Score one for the home team - we have a Scottish film! From the director of indie successes such as Young Adam and Hallam Foe comes a story that brings to mind the likes of 28 Days Later and Children of Men. Little is known beyond the involvement of Eva Green and Ewan McGregor, yet the impressive pedigree of the cast and crew means I'm already sold. Predictable, perhaps, but cannot The Speculative Scotsman indulge a little bias regarding one of maybe three films coming from his home country this year? It's even a bit sci-fi... come on. Please?

Legion

Release Date: January 22nd

Anticipation: 3 out of 10

Summary: When God loses faith in Mankind, he sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. Humanity's only hope lies in a group of strangers trapped in a desert diner, the Archangel Michael, and the unborn child of one of their number.

Commentary: One of two films in 2010 directed by newcomer Scott Stewart and starring Paul Bettany - the other being Priest - I was reasonably interested in this one until I heard word of the first advance reviews. Pretty effects, apparently, cannot save a camp and clunky take on the war in Heaven. Probably best to watch The Prophecy again, all things considered.

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Keep your browsers locked on to The Speculative Scotsman for the fourth part of this extensive rundown of the year ahead in genre film on... I should think Sunday, if all goes to plan.

For the moment: enjoy, discuss, and please, feel free to disagree. I am but a humble highlander, and I'd be interested to hear other perspectives on the landscape of speculative cinema stretching out before us.

Speculative Cinema in 2010: Part Two

The Crazies

Release Date: February 26th

Anticipation: 4 out of 10

Summary: When a mysterious toxin contaminates their water supply, the inhabitants of a small Iowa town are plagued by insanity and death soon comes to call.

Commentary: I'd love to be looking forward to this remake of zombie mastermind George Romero's underappreciated 1973 feature, but the recent rash of classic horror movies retooled to appeal to a modern audience - the very same viewers who have made the likes of Saw and Hostel such a success - has left me with little hope. I like the cast, Timothy Olyphant and Rahda Mitchell, though with Sahara director Breck Eisner at the helm, well... The trailers, at least, have been promising; there's an outside chance The Crazies could be a pleasant surprise.

Daybreakers

Release Date: January 8th

Anticipation: 6 out of 10

Summary: In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival. Meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of bloodsuckers on a plan to save humankind.

Commentary: This one's already out, though speaking for myself, I don't think I'll be seeing it on the big screen; Daybreakers is a surefire rental if ever I saw one. Boasting a surprisingly strong cast, the Spierig brothers' first mainstream feature could breathe new life into the vampire film after its soap-opera sufferance at the hands of the likes of Twilight and True Blood. Here's to a pleasant riff on From Dusk Till Dawn, although I fear an Underworld-esque western is distinctly more likely.

The Descent: Part II

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 3 out of 10

Summary: Sarah emerges alone from a cave system following an expedition with her five friends in the Appalachian mountains. Distraught, injured and covered in the blood of her missing companions, Sarah is incoherent and half-wild with fear. Skeptical about her account of events and convinced her psychosis hides far darker secrets, Sheriff Vaines forces her back into the caves to help locate the rest of the group.

Commentary: Here in the UK, The Descent: Part II has already been and gone, and thank the dead. With no greater claim to fame than as editor of the so-so Eden Lake, Jon Harris takes the directorial reins from fellow Scotsman Neil Marshall, whose brilliantly horrific story of spelunking gone wrong certainly did not need a sequel built around the very weakest aspect of the original. I'm sure morbid curiosity will drive me to suffer through The Descent: Part II at some point, but I fully expect to wear my mean face through the entire advantageous affair.

The Eagle of the Ninth

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 7 out of 10

Summary: In Roman-ruled Britain, a young Roman soldier endeavors to honor his father's memory by finding his lost legion's golden emblem.

Commentary: As is so often the way with Hollywod, there are two feature films due in 2010 toughing it out over the same intellectual property. Last year's theme seemed to be the notion of surrogate bodies. This year, curiously enough, it's the Ninth Legion. The Eagle of the Ninth takes place some time after the aforementioned Neil Marshall's Centurion, which if you've read part one of this extensive feature you'll know I'm terribly excited for; you might approach this effort, from The Last King of Scotland and Touching the Void director Kevin Macdonald, as an unofficial sequel of sorts to Marshall's more kinetic take on the infamous Roman legion. I'm psyched, and though I suspect I'll enjoy the balls-out Centurion more, The Eagle of the Ninth is likely to be the more authentic experience of the pair.

Enter the Void

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 6 out of 10

Summary: A drug-dealing teen is killed in Japan, after which he reappears as a ghost to watch over his sister.

Commentary: Far and away the most avant-garde of all the films included in this look ahead at speculative cinema over the next 12 months, Enter the Void is the long-awaited next release from Irreversible director and arthouse favourite Gaspar Noe. It's been called a "wild, hallucinatory mindfuck" and honestly, I'd expect no less. The premise is certainly far enough removed from the norm that Enter the Void can be considered speculative fiction of a sort, but don't see this film expecting swords or sorcery. A single-take nine minute murder scene is more likely. Nonetheless, compulsive viewing if you're at all interested in European film.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec

Release Date: TBD

Anticipation: 5 out of 10

Summary: Adèle Blanc-Sec is an intrepid young reporter in 1912 who will go to any lengths to achieve her aims, including sailing to Egypt to tackle mummies. Meanwhile, in Paris, a pterodactyl egg in the natural history museum has hatched, and the bird subjects the city to a reign of terror.

Commentary: Though it sounds a little too Night at the Museum for my tastes, the next film from Luc Besson could mark a return to form for a director whose recent efforts have disappointed many. This whimsical alternate-history franchise in the making is as likely to fall flat on its very French arse as it is to recapture the beauty, innocence and adventure of the like of Amelie. An attractive heroine, a serious budget and The Fifth Element director at the helm means... well, either or, really.

The Green Hornet

Release Date: December 22nd

Anticipation: 6 out of 10

Summary: By night, debonair newspaper publisher Britt Reid fights crime as a masked superhero known as The Green Hornet. At his side is martial arts expert Kato who drives a car equipped with advanced technology.

Commentary: I don't usually get all worked up about superhero movies, but Kevin Smith's involvement in the early stages of development and latterly the announcement of Michel Gondry as director of this latest incarnation has rather won me over where The Green Hornet is concerned. Seth Rogen has very nearly worn out his welcome to my mind, but it's difficult to overlook the pedigree behind the scenes. With Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind under his belt, Gondry's apparently mind-blowing angle on the age-old vigilante narrative. I'm a clean slate as far as The Green Hornet is concerned, but from the buzz, this could be one to watch.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole

Release Date: December 10th

Anticipation: 7 out of 10

Summary: Soren, a young barn owl, is kidnapped by owls of St. Aggie's, ostensibly an orphanage where owlets are brainwashed into becoming soldiers. He and his new friends escape to the island of Ga'Hoole to assist its noble, wise owls who defend against the army the wicked rulers of St. Aggie's are creating.

Commentary: I still haven't seen Watchmen - I know, I know, how late to the party can you get? - but I took great pleasure in the lush 300 and Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead was one of the few retooled horrors I could stand, so I've high hopes for Guardians of Ga'Hoole, despite the baffling involvement of owl armies. My feelings on most family-friendly CG affairs aren't suitable for publication even on TSS, but second only to Toy Story 3 I'm looking forward to this one.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

Release Date: November 19th

Anticipation: 8 out of 10

Summary: With dark forces everywhere, Harry, Ron and Hermione set off on their mission to locate and destroy the remaining Horcruxes containing pieces of Voldemort's soul and learn along the way of the three mysterious Deathly Hallows which they also require.

Commentary: I'm skeptical as to the reasons behind Warner Bros decision to split Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows down the middle, but this is a franchise I was sold on the long ago, firstly because of the books, of course, and latterly because of Alfonso Cuaron's brilliant take on the third volume of J. K. Rowling's zeitgeist-grabber. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the only book in the series I haven't yet read, for one reason or another, so I'm a little disappointed to see it divided and my hopes for closure drawn out yet another year, but I'll be there at the cinema, make no mistake - if not necessarily on opening night. Director David Yates has proved up to the task thus far, and between the change of setting from the coddling environment of Hogwarts to the wider world and the darker tone I've been told permeates Rowling's last Harry Potter novel, I'm hoping for a fitting finish - or at least the first part of such a thing - to a multi-part narrative that however imperfect has kept me entertained for more than a decade, all told.

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Keep your RSS readers tuned to The Speculative Scotsman for the third part of this extensive rundown of the year ahead in genre film on... Thursday, probably.

For the moment: enjoy, discuss, and please, feel free to disagree. I am but a humble highlander, and I'd be interested to hear other perspectives on the landscape of speculative cinema stretching out before us.