Ones to Watch...

So, in terms of movies, the first half of 2007 has been pretty forgettable so far. With the possible exception of 'Zodiac' (which I still haven't seen, dammit), cinema audiences haven't had much to get excited about yet this year... unless the 'third instalments' on show (Pirates, Shrek, Spiderman, Ocean and later this year the third Rush Hour for bejayzis sake) are doing it for you... But come on, surely the blockbuster production line can do better?

Well fear not folks, for popcorn movie assistance is on its way, with PCMR's preview of some of the big guns to be unleashed on cinema screens in the second half of this year. Yes, that's right, H2'07 baby, it's judgement day!! (Good lord... I'll be in the other room - Ed) Here's five big ones for ye!


Transformers
The internet's true purpose is currently, and possibly always was, to propagate information on this movie. Hugo Weaving will add to his status of 'Overlord of all Nerds' as he voices Megatron in this mega-budget Michael Bay explosions-and-effects-fest. Autobots take on Decepticons, and we drool into our popcorn as the carnage ensues... ex-cellent! I have to confess though, this trailer does look mighty impressive..






Die Hard 4.0
Why not the american title 'Live Free or Die Hard'? Is that any less ridiculous? Aanyway, so this one sees McClane trying to get his daughter back from terrorists and... well you know the deal... the trailer looks waay over the top, and Bruce even saw fit to go on message boards and tell fans this one is better than the first. Well jeez, that's not saying much is it? The trailer speaks louder than my words though:




American Gangster

This one couldn't have more pedigree, even if it were a thoroughbred racehorse named 'Chum'. Directed by Ridley "you may have heard of me" Scott, written by Stephen "Schindler's List" Zaillian, and starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, this one has the weight of expectation to deal with, so lets hope its as good as it promises to be. Telling the tale of gangsters in the 70's and with Denzel as the bad guy, Ridley Scott's Martin Scorcese impression has got to be worth watching.

Day Watch

Are you going to argue with a Russian billionaire!? The stylish and enjoyable 'Nightwatch' is Roman Abramovich's favourite film, so the benevolent baron may even have been involved in funding this, the sequel to Russia's answer to 'Blade' (that's how rumours start - Ed). Given that this is part two of a trilogy, and it's already done a roaring trade in the land of vodka and bread queues, I'll be lining up to see this one... (review coming soon by the way.)


3:10 to Yuma

The fact that Russell Crowe and the always excellent Christian Bale are in this one draws my attention, even though it's my least favourite genre, the western... unless it's a musical western... and okay, so director James Mangold did make Identity, but he also made 'Copland' and 'Walk the Line', so on balance you get those two hours of your life back, see? Also, it's penned by Stuart Beattie, who also wrote 'Collateral', and Tom Cruise would have been in it, but for an unfortunate case of being completely nuts (you mean 'troubled' - Ed).