> October 2 - A Serious Man

Who even knows what to expect from a Coens movie? Except that it has a high percentage chance of being good, I mean.

> October 16 - Where the Wild Things Are
> Although the trailer looks kind of
> unappealing, I suspect that's simply because the movie is too complex and
> nuanced to sell in sound bites.

I like the trailer well enough, and I think it's a nice marriage of sound and image. That Jonze was originally a (very good) director of music videos probably helps.

But again, who knows what to make of this? Jonze's previous two features were both insane. I love both of them, but how well does he work without a screenwriter of Charlie Kaufmann's caliber?

> October 16 - The Road

A great novel that seems totally unfilmable. I really worry that the thought process behind this was, "The Coens turned No Country for Old Men into a Best Picture winner, so let's adapt an even more respected McCarthy novel into a movie!"

But the Coens were also really and truly willing to let the silence and open landscapes of McCarthy's writing live on screen. No Country is one of the least action packed thrillers you're likely to see. The trailers for The Road make it seem like they're trying to sell it as more of a typical post-apocalyptic movie.

It's also worth noting that the book is quite dark with an unrelentingly oppressive atmosphere. It does a great job of putting us into a world that is essentially dead. Will the movie be willing to go that far?

> "Return To Paradise" (1998) explored a variant of the prisoner's
> dilemma, which is also the crux of the game show "Deal Or No Deal."

Not to nitpick too much, but Deal or No Deal is a simple gambling game that is easily solved by calculating the expected value of the banker's offer, and has nothing to do with the prisoner's dilemma. The prisoner's dilemma is specifically about a situation where an unknown variable (the other player's decision) affects the consequences of your decision.

> What is it about the word "Iraq" that's such a turn-off?

It's because not enough people saw The Hurt Locker, which was the best action picture of the summer.

> November 20 - The Blind Side

> It sounds pretty dry to me, but then I'm not a sports guy, and I like football
> least of all. Sandra Bullock, however...that's another story.

This is a great story and the book was good, but it falls way, way too easily into movie cliches for me to get excited. It's the sort of "kid from the wrong side of the tracks is adopted by another family and shows crazy, hidden talents" story mixed with the "troubled teen finds redemption through sports" story. I predict one too many sappy montages and a lot of amber tones. Maybe even some sort of Big Game.

Also, roughly half the book is dedicated to chronicling the history and importance of the left tackle position in football, especially as it mirrors the prominence of the passing game in the West Coast offense and the blind side pass rushers. Something tells me that stuff will not make it into the movie.

Though how great would it be if they kept cutting from the movie to historical footage of Lawrence Taylor snapping Theisman's leg?

> November 25 - Nine

This is a prequel to District 9? Or a sequel to 9? Too confusing.

> November 25 - Ninja Assassin
>
> With that title, it pretty much HAS to be good, right?

This is what I thought about Ninja Cheerleaders. Boy was I wrong.

> November 25 - Old Dogs
>
> From the director of Wild Hogs comes Old Dogs (to be followed, I hope, by
> Bull Frogs). It's about Robin Williams and John Travolta, business partners,
> who suddenly find themselves caring for 7-year-old twins. Hilarity, or
> something, ensues. Prediction: This will be Stephen's favorite film of 2009.

My two favorite actors! Hooray!

Also, why couldn't they get one of the Gutenberg/Danson/Selleck triumverate into this?

> December 11 - The Lovely Bones

Jackson should alternate between huge action epics, insane fantasies like this, and splatter horror comedies for the rest of his career. That would be pretty sweet.

> December 18 - Avatar

I really want this to be good. T2 and Aliens are both in the running for best action movie of all time, and Cameron has proved he can do smart scifi action pretty well. Let's just hope this one works.

> December 25 - Sherlock Holmes
> And before you say that a faithful rendition of Sherlock Holmes isn't
> exactly a new idea, well, it is to a great many. "Sherlock, Stock, and Two
> Smoking Barrels" just attaches a familiar name to a contemporary filmmaking
> style to sell some tickets.

I'm sorry, I've been in a coma since late 2000, but I think you're off-base. How can a Guy Ritchie movie possibly go wrong? He made Lock Stock and Snatch! This guy is clearly headed for the history books as one of the great directors of his generation. (By the way, I can't wait to see what M. Night Shyamalan does. He's clearly the new Hitchcock/Spielberg.)