2008 Up-and-Coming Movies: Part 1

Every year, people flock to movie theaters to see the latest flicks. This year will be no different. There are big movies coming out this year with big stars. Everything from horror films to die-hard action flicks. With Indiana Jones returning, as well as Hellboy, the Dark Knight, and Harry Potter, as well as newcomer The Happening, you will have a variety of options. This is a one-stop guide for 2008 movie releases. So buy your popcorn, grab the Milk Duds, and get ready. This is the 2008 Up-and-Coming Movie Guide: Part 1. This information was gathered using www.wikipedia.org.

1.) "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," 2008 Paramount Pictures

Indiana Jones is back in the next installment of the series made popular during the '80s. This sequel to "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" has actually been in talks since it came out in 1989. Changes in the script and the direction of the story as the reason for the delay but now the movie is good to go. This movie brings together some of the big boys in Hollywood. Steven Spielberg is directing, George Lucas is producing, and Harrison Ford is back in the leading role that help make him famous, Indiana Jones. Cate Blanchett plays Nazi special agent Irina Spalko, who will also be a love interest of Indiana Jones in the movie. Newcomer Shia Lebouf plays Indiana Jones' sidekick though it is rumored that he is the lovechild of Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood, who is playing the same role she played in 1981 "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark". The story is set in 1957, and shows Indiana Jones going up against The Nazi's for the precious crystal skull which is rumored to have special powers. I expect this to be a big film, particularly because of its $125 million budget. It comes to theaters May 22, 2008, so make sure before you see "Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of Crystal Skull", you check out all of the previous Indiana Jones movies to bring yourself up to speed. You can go to www.wikipedia.com for more information about the plot, cast, and other articles about his film. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Kingdom_of_the_Crystal_Skull

2.) "The Dark Knight," 2008 Warner Bros. Pictures

With the Batman franchise retooled by the 2005 "Batman Returns", director Christopher Nolan brings most of the cast back for the big summer sequel, "The Dark Knight". As far as the plot, www.wikipedia.com states the Dark Knight, Gotham's Lt. Gordon, and D.A. Harvey Dent have rounded up most of the criminals and things are seeming to look up for the city until a new mastermind steps on the scene, the Joker. The Joker will be played by Heath Ledger in one of his last roles. Christian Bale will reprise his role as the caped crusader, as well as Michael Caine as his butler. Morgan Freeman also returns as Lucius Fox, the guy who invents all of Dark Knight's gadgets and transportation as well as Gary Oldman as Lt. Gordon. The only big star not returning is Katie Holmes. Replacing her in that role is Maggie Gyllenhaal as stated by www.wikipedia.com. This sequel will also see the unleashing of the new Batpod, which is a motorcycle with an amazing amount of fire power. With its $150 million dollar budget, as reported on www.wikipedia.com, and the recent, tragic death of Heath Ledger, this movie will be a fan favorite. "The Dark Knight" comes out July 18, 2008, so make sure you check out "Batman Returns" before hand to bring you into the new story of the Dark Knight and also go to www.wikipedia.com for more about the movie, cast, and article links about this film.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Knight_%28film%29

3.) "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army," 2008 Universal Pictures

Hellboy returns in this sequel to the 2004 "Hellboy". In the last movie, the comic book hero Hellboy went up against an evil sorcerer and mythical monsters. This time, we see Hellboy take on supernatural gods in an attempt to save earth once again. Directed and written by Guillermo Del Toro, who also directed the first Hellboy movie, we see the return of most of the original cast. Ron Perlman will be playing Hellboy, the red Demon with the stone hand, again. Selma Blair and Doug Jones will be playing Liz Sherman, the fire shooting beauty, and Abe Sapien, the fish like, intelligent sidekick to Hellboy, respectively. This will be another big movie seeing that the first Hellboy grossed $60 million in the U.S. and $100 million worldwide, as stated by www.wikipedia.com. Make sure you check out the first Hellboy movie if you see this blockbuster. There is also talk of a third Hellboy movie in talks. So hopefully we will see more of the Dark Horse Comics character Hellboy created by Mike Mignola. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army hits theaters July 28, 2008.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellboy_2

4.) "Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince," 2008 Warner Bros. Pictures

The sixth of the Harry Potter movies will be hitting movie theaters on November 21, 2008. The book sold 9 million copies in 24 hours after its release and was broken only by the following Harry Potter book, 2007's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", as stated by www.wikipedia.com. With the book selling over 95 million worldwide, this movie is sure to be a hit. All of the major characters are returning and making nice paychecks. The only people to change position were behind the scenes. David Yates director of the fifth film is back though it was rumored that several people were asked to direct the film, including M. Night Shyamalan, as stated by www.wikipedia.com. Steve Kloves is back as the screenplay writer, as he didn't on the fifth film. Production started back on September 21, 2008. The plot shows Lord Voldermort becoming more and more powerful. Harry is sensing that the school is not as safe as it has once been. Dumbledore has been building up Harry to fight against this menace and enlisting some outside help from an old friend. We also see the young adults at Hogwarts growing up and starting to develop romances. This is sure to be a crowd pleaser, so make sure you check out the five other Harry Potter films and go see one of the biggest films this year, "Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince".

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Half-Blood_Prince_%28film%29

5.) "The Happening," 2008 20th Century Fox

Get ready for the next movie by acclaimed director and writer M. Night Shyamalan. The film was filmed in Philadelphia and tells of story about plants turning on humans, releasing toxins into the air, which when inhaled, causes people to commit suicide. I guess they are getting us back for what we do to the earth. Www.wikipedia.com states that Mark Walberg will play the hero, running to save him and his family. Zooey Deshanel will be playing his wife, with John Leguizamo playing Mark's best friend. Production of "The Happening" began in August of 2007, as stated by www.wikipedia.com. M. Night is known for writing stories with twisting plots and crazy endings. So this should be no different. "The Happening" will be in theaters June 13, 2008, which also happens to be Friday the 13th. Be sure to check out other good films from M. Night Shyamalan and members of the cast.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Happening_%282008_film%29

Whether you like Indiana Jones, Batman, the Dark Knight, Harry Potter, M. Night Shyamalan, or Hellboy, they are going to be some of the biggest movies this 2008. If you are going to hit the movie theater for these block busters, make sure you get your tickets early esp. for Indiana Jones, which should bring out the older crowd of devoted Indiana Jones fans, The Dark Knight, which should bring out a lot of Batman and Heath Ledger fans, and Harry Potter, which should bring out a lot of kids and adults alike. Fandango.com is a good place online to order tickets but also most movie theaters have an automated program through the phone which you can order tickets.