2010 Preview Part 2! Comedy, Horror and Comic Book flicks!

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with the next 2010 preview list. Yes, I’ve already overlooked some movies, as was pointed out in the last talkback. RED DAWN will make the next installment, hitting tomorrow, which features action flicks. If you see something missing let me know. I’ve intentionally not included movies that look horrid to me, but I am human and do fuck up a lot, so I’m always open to suggestion. Today’s 2010 preview covers Horror, Comedy and (non-sequel) Comic Book movies. There’s not much horror on this list as I’m taking some of the bigger entries done by the masters and putting them on the final 2010 list, which will cover Awesome Directors and span all genres. Also horror as a genre is open to low budget surprises as the year progresses. Let’s get started! Click here to read AICN’s 2010 Preview, Part 1: Remakes, Reboots and Sequels!

THE BEAVER (Late 2010)

2010 not only (hopefully) marks Mel Gibson’s return to badassitude (with EDGE OF DARKNESS, coming soon to the 2010 preview list), it also marks his return to comedy. People forget how good Gibson is at the funny and if it turns out right this project is going to blow people’s minds. It’s a dark dark comedy about a family man who loses everything. No therapy or medication can help him, but one day he finds a beat up beaver hand puppet and he starts using it to talk through. It allows him to be the man he wants to be and oddly enough starts putting him on the right track. Jodie Foster directs and stars as Gibson’s frustrated wife, Anton Yelchin stars as his embarrassed son and Kyle Killen (Austin represent!) delivered a script that feels like it came from the same crazy creative pool that Charlie Kaufman fishes from.

PAUL (TBD 2010)

Greg Mottola follows up his great coming of age tale, ADVENTURELAND, with this comedy co-written by and starring the dynamic duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The flick is about two British comic book geeks traveling cross-country who encounter an alien named Paul just outside of Area 51. An alien roadtrip movie with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and Seth Rogen as the voice of the alien? Sure. Add in appearances by Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Bateman, Jane Lynch, Sigourney Weaver, John Carroll Lynch, David Koechner and Blythe Danner and you have a must see.

DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS (July 23, 2010)

This should have been in the first article on remakes, reboots and sequels because Jay Roach’s comedy DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS is a remake of a French farce THE DINNER GAME by Francis Veber. If I’m going to be perfectly honest I totally forgot it was a remake until I got to the title here, having already put it in the “comedy” category. The original is about a weekly dinner held by an elite group of snobby friends. Each week one of them brings the stupidest person they can find as their guest, encouraging the guest to talk as much as possible at his or her own expense. The remake has a great cast including Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis, Ron Livingston and Bruce Greenwood to name a few.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

THE OTHER GUYS (August 6, 2010)

ANCHORMAN’s Adam McKay directs Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as two cops always overshadowed by the flashy duo of Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson. It sounds to me like a story about the other cops in a Lethal Weapon movie, which could be really funny. And it’s got a great cast. The movie also features Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Steve Coogan, Rob Riggle, Paris Hilton (?!), Derek Jeter (?!?!) and one of my favorite working comic actors: Craig Robinson.

GET HIM TO THE GREEK (June 4, 2010)

This one is also a quasi-sequel to FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, but it seems more in the vein of a Leone spaghetti western where we follow one character over and the rest of the movie is populated by the same actors playing different parts than they did in the first one. The flick’s about a record company intern (Jonah Hill) charged with escorting notorious British rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) from the UK to LA for the first show of his $100 million concert series. Of course if you saw Sarah Marshall you know what a character Aldous Snow is, so it has a kind of MIDNIGHT RUN vibe. Directed by Sarah Marshall’s Nicholas Stoller and produced by Judd Apatow.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

YOUR HIGHNESS (October 1, 2010)

I’ve had the pleasure of visiting this set and if it comes together it’s going to be the craziest, wildest most out there studio movie of the year. Danny McBride and Ben Best co-wrote this screenplay (to give you an idea of the style of comedy, they also collaborated on the great EASTBOUND AND DOWN) as a love letter to the ‘70s and ‘80s fantasy they grew up on. Directed by David Gordon Green the film stars McBride as a lazy Prince living in the shadow of his pure-hearted, do-gooding brother (James Franco). Natalie Portman plays a warrior woman (and super hot, too… but I can say no more!), Zooey Deschanel plays a sought-after damsel in distress, Charles Dance plays the King and Justin Theroux is going for the Robert Downey Jr. Award for “most memorable crazy, but damn does it work performance”. Can’t wait to see this one come together. From what I’ve seen it’ll be vulgar, hilarious and nostalgic. A great three-fer.

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE (March 19, 2010)

The R-rated comedy is still in full effect, thank the movie gods, and this year sees John Cusack’s return to good comedy (if you don’t count 2012) in HOT TUB TIME MACHINE about four friends who invent a time machine that takes them back to the ‘80s. The main four are all very talented comedy actors… Cusack, Clark Duke, Rob Corddry and, once more, my personal favorite, Craig Robinson. But also in this cast are Crispin Glover (returning to the time travel genre!!!!!!!) and Chevy Chase (!!!).

COP OUT (February 26, 2010)

Yeah, the trailer makes it look kinda bland, but I have it on good authority that the script for Kevin Smith’s newest flick is hilarious. I think Tracy Morgan and Seann William Scott are really funny cats and what can I say? I love HUDSON HAWK, so Bruce Willis in a comedy has my money.

I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS (March 26, 2010)

I’ve wanted to see this since I heard word coming out of Sundance last year. It’s a comedy about Jim Carrey falling in love with Ewan McGregor in jail. See the below trailer.

CEMETERY JUNCTION (US TBD 2010, UK April 7, 2010)

Ricky Gervais has had a bit of a rocky run with his US film appearances. I know there’s been a bit of a backlash against him, but all you have to do is watch one episode of the UK OFFICE and you’re assured this dude knows his shit. Especially when teamed with Stephen Merchant. This is their first feature film together and from what I understand it’s more of a drama. When I interviewed Gervais and Merchant about this film they name-checked Saturday Night Fever as more the tonal template of this film. Set in the ‘70s it’s about three young guys who start to work for a Gordon Gekko type (Ralph Fiennes) at an insurance company. I know this one’s high on my own personal list of flicks hitting screens this year.

DUE DATE (November 5, 2010)

Todd Phillips’ follow-up to his mega-hit THE HANGOVER will be DUE DATE, which could very well be funnier. The movie pairs Robert Downey Jr. with Zach Galifianakis as a high-strung man forced to hitch a ride with a slacker in order to make it to the birth of his first kid on time. If GET HIM TO THE GREEK feels a bit like MIDNIGHT RUN this film has the air of PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES. I just can’t wait to see Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis bounce off of each other. A road trip movie starring those two can’t be anything but great. Also in the cast is the lovely Michelle Monaghan, RZA, Jamie Foxx, Juliette Lewis and the great Alan Arkin.

DAYBREAKERS (January 8, 2010)

I saw this film at Fantastic Fest and can vouch for it. The real success of The Spierig’s futuristic vampire tale is how it balances realism with fantasy. You get the feeling watching this film that this is how it’d be. It’s not a supernatural soap opera (sorry True Blooders and Twi-Hards), but an honest (and entertaining) look at the consequences of a planet run by vampires. They keep their human traits, good and evil, and adapt to the new world. It’s a sharp flick, a fun flick and Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill kill it.

FROZEN (February 5, 2010)

I’ve seen this movie and the below trailer doesn’t do it justice. No offense to the marketing team, but that preview only serves as a way of getting the story across and it feels cheesy without any hint of the well-done character work from Adam Green, who takes a giant step forward from his fun, but cheesy callback to ‘80s exploitation HATCHET. Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers and Emma Bell are great as three people left behind on a ski lift as a storm winds its way in. It’s a smart, low budget flick having its official premiere at Sundance.

SEASON OF THE WITCH (March 19, 2010)

More Nicolas Cage! In a period horror movie! As a knight escorting a witch! I think this movie is going to be what they call fucking awesome in some circles. Co-starring Ron Perlman and Christopher Lee. Christopher. Lee. As a Cardinal, no less. If you remember his awesome turn as Rochefort in the ‘70s Three Musketeers movies then you know why that’s so cool.

LEGION (January 22, 2010)

While not a particularly religious man I love religious iconography and mythology imbued in horror movies. Demonic possession, pissed off angels… yeah, that’s up my alley. My hope is that Scott Stewart’s film, Legion, is small enough to be particularly brutal and fucked up, but big enough to have a lot of action, gore and fun. Paul Bettany is an angel (Michael) who descends to protect a small group of people holed up in a diner as the apocalypse begins. In that small group is a woman pregnant with mankind’s last chance at redemption. The flick also stars the great Doug Jones, Dennis Quaid, Kevin Durand, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson and Adrianne Palicki.

PRIEST (August 27, 2010)

Keeping the Scott Stewart and Paul Bettany connection going, let’s dip into our first comic book film on the list: PRIEST. Based on the graphic novel by Min-Woo Hyung Bettany plays a priest who breaks from the church to hunt down the vampires that kidnapped his niece. The cast is rounded out by Alan Dale (Charles Widmore himself), Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q, Karl Urban and the great Christopher Plummer.

KICK-ASS (April 16, 2010)

Yes, it’s as good as I said it was. A smart, fun deconstruction of the super hero myth that somehow also plays as a great super hero movie itself. It’s also fitting this film kicks off the 2010 preview as Nicolas Cage will feature pretty prominently in the line-up, thank God. He’s awesome in this movie as are Aaron Johnson, Chris Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong and, of course, Chloe Moretz.

JONAH HEX (June 18, 2010)

A revenge western with a supernatural twist starring a scarred up Josh Brolin, a corseted Megan Fox, Will Arnett, John Malkovich and Michael Shannon, Jonah Hex is based on a well known DC anti-hero. I saw some footage from the movie at Comic-Con and it looked good. Lots of talent in front of the camera that will hopefully deliver a super fun movie… Or it’ll be WILD WILD WEST minus a giant mechanical spider, but plus dudes puking up crows.

THE LOSERS (April 9, 2010)

Based on the comic by Andy Diggle and Jock, THE LOSERS promises to be a return to the tough, machismo men (and women) on a mission movie about a group of Black Ops soldiers who are betrayed and left for dead. They survive, of course, and plot their revenge on the people responsible. The comics end on a dour note and from what I found out on my set visit this first film doesn’t cover all the graphic novels out there, so it could be a franchise if successful. Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short and Oscar Jaenada round out the team seeking revenge and Jason Patric plays the mysterious heavy.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (TBD 2010)

Near the tippy top of my most anticipated films of 2010 is Edgar Wright’s next film, an adaptation of the super fun comic series by Bryan Lee O’Malley about a twenty-something that must battle and defeat the 7 evil ex-boyfriends of his dream girl. One of the best times I had on a set last year was this on. Granted, Edgar and I go back a few years, but the overall scope of what he’s doing here… well, let’s just say it’s an ambitious, crazy-ass project that if done right will be a classic, but if done wrong will be a trainwreck. Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Mark Webber, Johnny Simmons and Ellen Wong round out the core group with the evil ex-boyfriends including Chris Evans, Brandon Routh and Jason Schwartzman as the big baddie, Gideon.

That wraps up Part 2. Now it looks like there’ll be 4 total 2010 Preview articles. Tomorrow brings Drama, Action, Fantasy and Animation! -Quint quint@aintitcool.com Follow Me On Twitter