2009 Preview

Courtesy of USA Today, here is a list of interesting/promising movies to look forward to in 2009:

January-February
Bride Wars (Jan. 9). Hoping to tap into the growing power of female moviegoers, Fox begins the year with this Anne Hathaway/Kate Hudson comedy about two friends who become rivals when they schedule their weddings on the same date.

Coraline (Feb. 6). The 3-D animated parade gets into full swing with this cartoon about a young girl (voiced by Dakota Fanning) who walks through a secret door to discover an alternate version of her life.

Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (Feb. 27). It worked for Hannah Montana, so why not for the crooning teen idols?

March-April
Watchmen (March 6). No comic-book movie has more expectations on its shoulders than this dark Zack Snyder adaptation about a band of dysfunctional superheroes. (This movie may be delayed due to a recent legal battle between Warner Bros. and Fox...)

Race to Witch Mountain (March 13). Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson continues his transition to family film leading man with this remake of the Disney classic about two kids with paranormal powers on the run from aliens and shady government agencies.

Duplicity (March 20). Julia Roberts and Clive Owen team up as a pair of corporate spies plotting a con job on their respective bosses.

Fast and Furious (April 3). Vin Diesel and Paul Walker return to the franchise about men who just can't drive 55.

May
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1). Summer kicks into high gear with the latest installment of the mutant franchise, this time anchored by Hugh Jackman's hairy hero with long nails and a short fuse.

Star Trek (May 8). J.J. Abrams revisits the Enterprise with an origins story.

Angels & Demons (May 15). Da Vinci Code star Tom Hanks returns (with better hair) as inquisitive symbologist Robert Langdon.

Night at the Museum II: Battle of the Smithsonian (May 22). Ben Stiller just can't get enough of exhibits that come to life, and this time infiltrates the Smithsonian.

June
Land of the Lost (June 5). Hollywood loves dead TV shows, and Will Ferrell stars in this adaptation about a group that stumbles into a land of dinosaurs and Sleestaks.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (June 12). Denzel Washington and John Travolta star in this remake of the Walter Matthau caper about robbers who target a subway train.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 26). The shape-shifting robots are back and bigger than ever in this bombastic sequel.

July-August
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (July 1). Our favorite prehistoric ani- mals return for a third installment of a $1.2 billion franchise, this time with a film produced completely in 3-D.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 17). The book series may be finished, but the film series has a few installments still to go.

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (Aug. 7). Brendan Fraser stars in this story about the heroic squadron in constant battle with the arms-dealing Cobra organization.

September-October
Fame (Sept. 25). A remake of the 1980 musical about aspiring students at the New York Academy of Performing Arts.

Shutter Island (Oct. 2). Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed) reunite for this story about a U.S. marshal investigating a murderess who escaped from a mental hospital.

November
The Wolfman (Nov. 6). Benicio del Toro dons the furry costume in this action film about the monster with full-moon anger-management issues.

Sherlock Holmes (Nov. 20). Robert Downey Jr. becomes the plucky British detective whose sidekick Watson (Jude Law) remains by his side.

December
The Lovely Bones (Dec. 11). Peter Jackson leaves the Shire to direct this drama about a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family and her killer from the great beyond.

Avatar (Dec. 18). In his first feature film since Titanic, James Cameron returns with a sci-fi epic about a band of scientists and astronauts who discover a planet populated by diverse life and deadly ammonia-breathing life forms.

Which of these movies gets you excited for 2009?