30 Must See Movies for '09 (15-11)

15. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 26)
Plot: In the highly-anticipated "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," debuting June 26, 2009, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) again joins with the Autobots® against their sworn enemies, the Decepticons®. Michael Bay directs from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman.

Personal opinion: Most people know that I was not crazy about the first Transformers movie. And unlike some sequels, I highly doubt that they will be correcting any of the flaws that I identified in the original. But regardless of what I think, this will undoubtably do big business this summer and I know a lot of people are really excited for it. And even for all my complaining, I'm sure I'll see it as well, even if the overrated Shia LeBeouf and dead-behind-the-eyes Megan Fox are back.


14. Land of the Lost (June 5)
Plot: Space-time vortexes suck! Will Ferrell stars as has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall, sucked into one and spat back through time. Way back. Now, Marshall has no weapons, few skills and questionable smarts to survive in an alternate universe full of marauding dinosaurs and fantastic creatures from beyond our world - a place of spectacular sights and super-scaled comedy known as the Land of the Lost. Sucked alongside him for the adventure are crack-smart research assistant Holly (Anna Friel) and a redneck survivalist (Danny McBride) named Will.

Personal opinion: Usually Will Ferrell movies are guaranteed winners in my book, but I have my reservations about this one. I never saw the original Land of the Lost TV show, so I don't have a strong connection to the source material. In addition, Will is lacking a decent supporting cast. I am not fond of McBride and I'm not real familiar with Friel's work. Still, if the movie is as zany as the TV show supposedly was, this could be a fun romp.


13. Shutter Island (TBA)
Plot: From Oscar®-winning director Martin Scorsese, "Shutter Island" is the story of two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the cost of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island's fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.

Personal opinion: Man, this has the makings of a great film. Directed by Scorsese and has an all-star cast led by Dicaprio. The film is also based on a Dennis Lehane novel, who also wrote Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River. My only concern is that it was originally scheduled for release in October, but is now listed as To Be Announced. Let's hope this doesn't get pushed back to 2010. If it comes out this year, it sounds like it'll be the perfect fall movie: dark and suspenseful. And if it lives up to its pedigree, it also sounds like it could be an Oscar contender as well.


12. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1)
Plot: Leading up to the events of "X-Men," "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" tells the story of Wolverine's epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe.

Personal opinion: I really enjoyed the first two X-Men movies and the third would have been all right had Brett Ratner not been directing it. But as for this Wolverine prequel, I'm not as excited for some reason. Even the trailer didn't get me all that excited for this. Hopefully there will be enough other interesting characters to make this movie worthwhile because I don't want two hours of Hugh Jackman grunting and baring his claws. I will say that I'm excited to see Gambit finally appear, but is it a case of too little, too late?


11. Up (May 29)
Plot: From Disney•Pixar comes "Up," a comedy adventure about 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 9-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. From the Academy Award-nominated director Pete Docter ("Monsters, Inc."), Disney•Pixar's "Up" invites you on a hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least likely duo on Earth.

Personal opinion: If Pixar has a new film out, you know I'll be excited about it. Those inventive computer animators have come up with yet another unique idea here and I have no doubt that it will be just as funny and heartwarming as their previous entries. At this point, I really don't need to say too much more. The Pixar name pretty much sells itself. I will just say that, given the flying across the globe plot, this looks to be another gorgeous film that will be as much to watch for its visuals as it will be for its story.