Upcoming 2008 movies

On this New Year's Eve, to get us geared up for the 2008 run at the theaters, Yahoo released a list of most-anticipated movies for the coming year. After reviewing their selection, I find my reaction unexpectedly mixed. Some entries leave me intrigued, some rather puzzled, and others not as excited as I had hoped to be.

The first thing I noticed was the very conspicuous absence of Indiana Jones 4 from this list. Despite any misgivings I have with this sequel being made, I would nevertheless think it'd be at the top of most-anticipated movies to see this summer!

But going in chronological order of release date, Rambo IV Rambo will be hitting the theaters on January 25, and I'm crossing my fingers that it's much like Rocky Balboa: a worthy conclusion to the long-running series. It's been ages since I've seen Rambo III, and if I remember correctly, I enjoyed it—though I'm now told that it's an eerie experience to watch it in a post-9/11 world.

On March 14, we'll witness the release of Horton Hears a Who, one of Dr. Seuss's most cherished tales. Honestly, I'm not sure what to think of this yet. My hope is that it stays true to the original story, and keeps that unique Dr. Seuss magic.

Somehow I knew a chick flick would enter the mix, and on May 30, we'll apparently have the biggest chick flick since Ya-Ya Sisterhood entering the fray: Sex and the City. I never saw a single episode of the series, and I don't expect I'll see this one—unless of course I'm dragged to it, much like I was to Mona Lisa Smile.

Pixar releases its newest film WALL-E on June 27, though I had a hard time gleaming what it was about. The character on the movie poster actually reminded me of the robot character Number Five from Short Circuit. But knowing Pixar, this won't disappoint in terms of originality.

And lastly, The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's sequel to Batman Begins, hits the theaters on July 10. This I'd be very interested to see, as I was quite impressed with Batman Begins, and really enjoyed Nolan's interpretation of the comic book series. Granted, to me Michael Keaton will always be Batman, not to mention Jack Nicholson as The Joker, but Christian Bale is a damn fine actor who brought a lot to the character of Batman. And I'm very interested to see Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker. From what I hear, it's a scene-stealer.