Who's Directing It: Wes Anderson
Who's In It: Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Angelica Huston
What's the Plot: Angry farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with a sly fox, look to get rid of their opponent and his family.
What's the Deal: Once again banking on the reputation of a director, The Fantastic Mr. Fox comes in at 21 on the list. After classics such as Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, this looks to be his most interesting production to date. Here he forays into the same style of stop-motion animation used in The Nightmare Before Christmas to tell the famous Roald Dahl story with a tint of a darker tone. There is a great cast for the voices of the characters that could contribute to making this one of the year�s top animated features.
When to Expect It: November 6th
Who's Directing It: John Hillcoat
Who's In It: Viggo Mortenson, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Robert Duvall
What's the Plot: A post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible.
What's the Deal: The Road is widely said to be one of the top novels of the past decade and I can�t think of a more inspired choice than John Hillcoat to bring author Cormac McCarthy�s vision to the big screen. Hillcoats 2006 film The Propostion was a fantastic bleak and bloody western set in the Australian outback. If he can bring that type of daring to this film then we could be looking at one of the best films of 2009.
When to Expect It: TBA 2009
Who's Directing It: Joel and Ethan Coen
Who's In It: Mostly unknown actors
What's the Plot: A black comedy set in 1967 and centered on on Larry Gopnik (Stuhlbarg), a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother (Kind) won't move out of the house.
What's the Deal: After No Country For Old Men anything that the Coen brothers direct would rank on a most anticipated list made by me. Their films are never boring and even their minor efforts like last years Burn After Reading are good. This looks to be an even darker comedy than Reading was.
When to Expect It: TBA 2009
Who's Directing It: Robert Zemeckis
Who's In It: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth
What's the Plot: An animated retelling of Charles Dickens classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.
What's the Deal: Finally a Christmas movie that won't suck! The same creative team that brought The Polar Express, one of the last great Christmas movies to come out of Hollywood, are using the same animation style to bring this classic tale to theaters. Jim Carrey stars as Scrooge and, just as Tom Hanks did, plays multiple characters. This will be the holiday movie to see in late 09'.
When to Expect It: November 6
