7 More Movie Releases for 2008 from Star Wars to Hellboy

The following information was compiled using the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) and the Wild About Movies web site (http://www.wildaboutmovies.com/index.php).

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars"
(Lucas Film Animation) Release date 15 August 2008
PG-13, for animated violence and language

Director George Lucas says he realized that "there were a lot more Star Wars stories left to tell." (I think maybe George has forgotten all the wonderful material written by some fine genre authors that, in my opinion, deserve more screen time than the Clone Wars.) Produced by Lucasfilm Animation in conjunction with Warner Bros and Turner Broadcasting, look for this new animated adventure in the theaters this summer and on television this fall (as a new weekly series to be seen on Cartoon Network and TNT). This will be the first animated "Star Wars" feature film in theaters. And be sure to catch all the wonderful tie-ins for this movie / series extravaganza; such as the clone captain Rex T-shirts.

"Fanboys"
(Trigger Street Productions) Release date UNKNOWN but reportedly Spring 2008
PG, for language and adult situations

The stroy goes like this, five friends decide at a Halloween party in 1998 to break into Skywalker Ranch and steal a copy of the Star Wars I - The Phantom Menance before its released. The original plot had one of the friends having cancer and dying before the movie would be released, which made for a great reason for you to cheer thyese guys on. But rumor has it that Weinstein trashed this part of the movie and made it just a stupid comedy flick with lots of sexual innuendo. I don't think that the Star Wars vs Trekkies fight or the Shatner does Shatner bit can save a movie who has had its heart left on the corporate cutting room floor.

"The Punisher II"
(Lions Gate Films) Release Date12 September 2008
R, for violence and language

This is the sequel to the Punisher (2204) and is based on the "Welcome Back, Frank" comic which re-introduced the Punisher. It is being produced by Lions Gate Films, as was the 2004 movie. However, there any resemblance to the first movie will end. New actors (including the Punisher himself, which is to now be played by Ray Stevenson), new writers and new directors are steering this project. Not to speak out of hand, but sequels in Hollywood, with very few exceptions (Scream, for instance), are not as good as the first. We will have to wait and see what may come with this one.

"City of Ember"
(Playtone) Release date 10 October 2008
PG, for mild violence and language

Based on the 2004 Jeanne DuPrau novel of the same name, City of Ember is about a lighted city that is the only light in a dark world. Inside the city, the lights give rise to a wonderful society. Outside there is only darkness that goes on forever. But there is a problem, the lights are beginning to flicker and the generator beginning to fail. From the idealistic teenagers Lina and Doon, who must piece together an ancient message to save their city, to the corrupt mayor (played by Bill Murray), City of Ember offers parallels to our world today. Global warming, a dying planet, corrupt governments and apathetic citizens. One may walk away from this fantasy adventure with a sense of hope or one of despair. Guess we'll have to see how audiences react in October.

"The Mutant Chronicles"
(Edward R. Pressman Film) Release date listed only as 2008
R, for extreme gore, language violence and nudity

This epic techno sci-fi fantasy set millennia in the future is based on a popular role playing game system and online gaming world. It has big time star power in the form of John Malkovich, Ron Perlman and Thomas Jane (which may explain, along with his other two projects, why he didn't do Punisher 2). It also has the cutie Devon Aoki (from 2 Fast 2 Furious and Sin City fame) and relative newcomer Anna Walton (look for her in Hellboy 2). What it doesn't really have is a whole lot of promise. The setting is dark (ala Doom and Pitch Black), the plot is rehash (like Ghosts of Mars, complete with mutants rising up when a seal is broken) and the premise is based on a role playing game (can anyone say Dungeons & Dragons movies?). It may look slick, but I don't give it any more chance in the mainstream theaters than many of its predecessors had. Probably should wait for the DVD (which shouldn't be too much longer than whatever date they decide to release this).

"Push"
(Infinity Features Entertainment) Release date listed only as 2008
PG-13, for violence and laguage

This sci-fi thriller with Camilla Belle (10,000 BC), Dakota Faning (Charlotte's Web) and Chris Evans (Johnny, Fantastic Four) is about a group of young people with telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities, hiding from a super secret government agency and banding together to escape said bad guy government types. Not the most original of concepts (the reported Maximum Ride movie based on the James Patterson novel is a better story line), I'd almost say wait for the DVD or when it comes out OnDemand on cable.

"Hellboy 2: The Golden Army"
(Dark Horse Entertainment) Release date 11 July 2008
Not yet rated (but mjost likely PG-13 like the original 2004 Hellboy)

Ron Perlman (gee he's been a busy boy lately), Selma Blair and Doug Jones are back, with the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), to save the world. Seems the Woodland King, of the mystical world, wants to raise the Golden Army once more and rule the Earth. Hellboy and crew, including the newest member of the team (an ectoplasmic spirit in special suit), must travel to the mythical world to stop him. Problems along the way include a slip-up at the FBI revealing the existence of the BPRD to the world, Hellboy not playing nice with the public, the new guy upstaging him with both the public and Liz (Selma Blair) and, well, all hell breaking loose. Unlike most, I was a fan of the original movie and look forward to this one as well. (I really liked Ron's portrayal of this rough and tumble comic book icon.)

Sources:
Wild About Movies
http://www.wildaboutmovies.com/index.php

Internet Movie Database
http://www.imdb.com