10 most anticipated films from the second half of 2009

June 25, 3:03 PMSalt Lake City Movie Events ExaminerDavey Morrison

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As we enter the second half of the year, here are my most anticipated films left in '09:

Avatar - James Cameron knows how to do science-fiction-action, and, while this may not blow my socks off like it will for some, I'm certainly excited to see the technological developments in moviemaking Avatar ushers in.

Bad Lieutenant: Port Call of New Orleans - Herzog making a semi-sequel-semi-remake-something-or-other of an NC-17 Abel Ferrara film he's never seen with the Harvey Keitel character now played by... Nicholas Cage? This sounds fascinating.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox - Any stop-motion animated feature is worth seeing (I'm also looking forward to this year's Mary and Max). A stop-motion Roald Dahl adaptation directed by Wes Anderson? Triple check. I've been looking forward to this since it was announced shortly after The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.

The Invention of Lying - The premise--"A comedy set in a world where no one has ever lied, until a writer seizes the opportunity for personal gain"--sounds either terrific or dangerously concept-heavy. But with Ricky Gervais writing, directing, and co-starring with Tina Fey, Patrick Stewart, Christopher Guest, and Jason Bateman (to name a few), I'm hoping for the former. Gervais is one of the best working comedic talents, and his turn in last year's Ghost Town made it one of the best romantic-comedies in years.

Ponyo - Miyazaki is one of the undeniably great artists making movies today. His films are beautiful without exception, always featuring marvelous storytelling, exceptional animation, and real, unabashed emotion.

A Serious Man - I don't know much about the Coens' latest film, but what little I've learned from its IMDb page--coupled with the fact that they've yet to make a film that isn't worthwhile (and yes, I've seen The Ladykillers)--has me as excited as I always am for a new Coen release.

Shutter Island - Every movie Martin Scorsese has made has been worth watching, and the vast majority of them have been amazing. I'm excited to see Scorsese doing something with some horror overtones (I suppose he dabbled in that with Cape Fear, which, while I think it's among his lesser works and has a fairly ridiculous if still effective ending, is still very worthwhile), and the whole lineup is great--an amazing cast (DiCaprio, who gets better and better, along with Ben Kingsley, Max Von Sydow, Patricia Clarkson, Michelle Williams, Mark Ruffalo, and Emily Mortimer), Scorsese's usual suspects in key crew positions (Thelma Schoonmaker editing as always, Robert Richardson back to do some typically terrific photography), and based on a book by Dennis Lehane, whose film adaptations gave us Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River (a film I didn't love, but which certainly has a lot of great elements). The minimal buzz there is from those who have actually seen it has been mixed, and the trailer seems like it may well be giving too much away (even if it's an otherwise great trailer), but I still can't wait.

Tree of Life - Who knows if the practically-75-million-years-in-the-making Terrence Malick flick will actually be released this year. If it is, it should be amazing. Sounds like the most ambitious thing Malick has done to date, and, with exactly four films under his belt in a four decade-long career, he's undeniably one of the great American directors in film history. Any release of his (even The New World, which, while probably his weakest film, was still very underrated, probably due to high expectations) should be considered something of a cinematic diamond--a naturally occurring rarity that takes ages to produce. Some of my favorite filmmakers (Allen, Scorsese) have a new movie every year or two; Malick has one every decade or so (though, with three films in 12 years, he's been relatively prolific of late).

Whatever Works - Despite mixed reviews, I'm excited to see anything from Woody Allen.

Where the Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak, Spike Jonze, and that amazing, amazing trailer--I can't wait. At least I've got a lot of these others to keep me busy in the meantime.

What else am I forgetting?