The countdown begins with something unexpected. 6 months ago nobody had even heard of this project and when it was announced everybody scoffed. Drew Barrymore as a director?! It’s so crazy it might just work! And work it looks like it has done. Whip It! stars Ellen Page in her first real role since her Oscar nominated turn in Juno. It is about a brutal all-female roller derby set in the past. The trailer was positively wicked, showing some awesome roller derby smackdowns and clashes. Whip It! is one-part Dodgeball and (going obvious) one-part Juno, it is a coming of age story like no other and all you indie kids out there should jump all over this like a rash. This and Adventureland could very well be the indie highlights of the year

Whip It! will be released in cinemas from October 8

Looking at the poster and title and you could think I’ve gone crazy and put a straight-to-dvd lame action film on the list by accident. But this is no accident! Ninja Assassin re-teams V for Vendetta director James McTeigue with his V for Vendetta producers the Wackowski brothers. McTeigue is an Aussie, so we get behind him, but he also has an insanely good eye for far-out action sequences. One look at the trailer and you’ll see what I mean; Ninja Assassin is the action romp of the season. Is that all you say? Nope that isn’t all. The film has also been rated R, making it the only hyper-violent film on the list (although I’m sure Zombieland is a tiny bit violent) and we all love our hyper-violent, super-gory, slow-mo violence.

Ninja Assassin will be released in cinemas from November 25

Last year saw the start of something terrible. It was a girly phenomenon for the ages. Females all around the globe fall in love with a pale sparkly emo looking vampire called Edward Cullen. Whilst New Moon won’t get anybody on this website hot under the collar, it will however rise the blood pressure of the women on the planet. New Moon’s inclusion on the list is due to the fact that even though all of us dislike the Twilight Saga and all the crap it contains, we will all end up seeing it because after all we are film fans and due to this we see anything that resembles success (after all we did see Transformers 2). New Moon also could pull the rug and be a good movie! The trailer certainly looks promising and stranger things have happened!

New Moon will be released in cinemas from November 19

ZOMG Zombies! What the world needs right now is an original, funny and damn right awesome Zombie movie. I present to you Zombieland! Now I could write a whole freaking article on why you should see this movie, but I have this tiny box the length of a poster to convince you. Firstly, the cast. Woody Harrelson working all the comedic genius he was born with, Jesse Eisenberg doing everything he can to become a star, mmmm Emma Stone and Little Miss Sunshine herself. You also have Bill Murray as a zombie. More? The original story man! How often does a zombie movie with an original concept come out? Never is the correct answer! Zombieland is the US version of Shaun of the Dead, promising lots of laughs, lots of gore and a massive dose of originality. This is a must see movie for all!

Zombieland will be released in cinemas from December 10

Personally I couldn’t really care for this movie, mainly because I’m not a fan of Carrey. However it will in the end be one of the best films of the year. I recently saw the trailer in IMAX 3D and it was amazing and judging from the trailer alone, A Christmas Carol could be the surprise hit of the Christmas season. What is working against it is the fact it looks very dark and rather gothic in tone, turning parents off of taking their little ones to see it. However, with a sharp advertising push, Christmas Carol should, could make lots of dough for the distributors. It is also looming as the only worthy challenge to Up for the animation Oscar next year and don’t be surprised if it also picks up some awards for effects and visuals.

A Christmas Carol will be released in cinemas from November 5

As you can probably tell from the list so far, I have tried to include a film for every single person. Instead of making it a list of what would be the 10 biggest films, I have gone through every release and picked films that will stand-out in each genre. The Time Traveller’s Wife is a romance/drama and I couldn’t decide upon this or The Lovely Bones to put here. In end I choose this film for 2 very important reasons, Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. Whilst Lovely Bones does have a good cast, a well established cast, I think it is more important to see 2 young(ish) actors absolutely owning a film and making it theirs. Bana and McAdams apparently do that here! Add that to the completely original story and the winning direction of Robert Schwentke and you have a film really worth seeing on the big-screen.

The Time Traveller’s Wife will be released in cinemas from November 5

One trailer can change everything! Where the Wild Things Are is proof that marketing is a very important tool for films. Before the films epic first trailer, many suspected the film was a dud. Originally meant to be release December last year, Wild Things was pushed back to December this year and the director was told to re-edit and re-shot if needed to make the film more “family friendly”. Family friendly? The trailer certainly didn’t look family friendly, it in fact looked damn epic and damn awesome. Unless you’ve seen the two trailers currently circulating the web, then you may bypass this as silly kids fare, but it isn’t. It is a heath-breaking, beautiful and harrowing vision into the child’s imagination and this should easily take home lil gold men next March. Go and see this!

Where the Wild Things Are will be released in cinemas from December 3

If this top 10 was my top 10 then (500) Days of Summer would be numero uno. This stems from the fact that my love for quirky, well-written, well-acted indie cinema runs incredibly deep. But this isn’t my top 10, but this film is has been so well received from critics and the American public that it can’t not be on this list! The winning factor for (500) Days is its cast. Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have amazing chemistry. It has been shown by dozens of films in the past that if the leads have amazing chemistry then the film will be great. Another highlight factor is the fact it’s a romantic comedy that isn’t familiar. It’s a film that you won’t be able to guess the finale and that is rare for this genre. What to expect here? Well expect laughs, tears, great acting, winning direction and a film for the ages!

(500) Days of Summer will be released in cinemas from September 17

The only thing holding Avatar back from prime position is it’s marketing campaign. Whilst the world waited for something amazing, Fox was building a trailer, a trailer which has caused more negative press than positive, causing fans to wonder what all the fuss is about. The fuss is that this is James Cameron, the director has never done anything incorrectly in his entire career and this film is 12 years in the making. The technology is also key here. 3D without the glasses? Oh yeah that is awesome! And our man Tano has told us that it looks amazing in IMAX. All signs point this being a must see in IMAX 3D, perhaps the very first must-see using this technology. Avatar definitely is going to be an epic film experience and it will end the decade with a bang!

Avatar will be released in cinemas from December 17

So here it is, the film I think everybody must, should, will see before year’s end! I was always going to put this here for the right fact that it will literally be a film everybody will enjoy. Kiddies will love the fun slap-stick comedic humour, adults will love the dark over-tunes and the grown-up story-line, the arty crowd will love it cause of the history it represents and because its Guy Ritchie’s Hollywood debut and well I could go on but I don’t need to because I know for a fact everybody will love it. The trailer has had an over-whelming positive effect on the internet community and when they start showing it in cinemas I think word-of-mouth will have this on the tip of everybody’s minds. If this doesn’t sell you then the cast should, Robert Downey Jnr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong, man that is a great cast! Sherlock Holmes will be one of the best films of the year and it will be the best way to finish the year. Go see it!

Sherlock Holmes will be released in cinemas from December 26

Article by: MMGN 113Kudos 08/09/2009

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