Most Anticipated Films of 2006

Given that tomorrow is New Year's Eve, I thought now would be the proper time to list the films opening next year (as of December 30th, 2005) that I am anticipating and providing a little info as to why that is ...

V for Vendetta (March 17th) - I am a bit weary about the quality of this picture since it was moved from its prime December 2005 release date to March 2006, a period at the box office which is usually catergorized as a dump, but the latest has me drooling. If the message of the graphic comic book series is translated to the screen correctly, it should be a good film.

Basic Instinct 2 (March 31st) - Okay, I'm pulling your leg on this one. I am however interested to see how badly this thing bombs that it took a lawsuit and more then ten years time to be produced.

The Benchwarmers (April 7th) - Despite the fact that the storyline has PREDICTABLE written all over it, it is a surprisingly original concept and should be hoot if done properly.

American Dreamz (April 14th) - This one is up in the air for me. You would have to be a complete idiot to not look at the president and the vice president of the United States in the trailer for this film and not realize they are mirror images of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Either this will prove to be quite insightful or illfully executed. But Mandy Moore is adorable, don't you admit?

Flight 93 (April 28th) - I am conflicted. On the one hand, I salute efforts to keep the memory of those horrible events which took place on September 11th, 2001, and the heroes who emerged that day to save countless innocent American lives. But on the other hand, I am disgusted as Hollywood's efforts to quickly capitalize on the blood of innocent Americans when they fail to support our troops in combat. That said, it will be intriguing to see the events which took place on Flight 93 (as best as experts can piece together) portrayed onscreen in real time, so long as there is no liberal anti-war/multi-culturalism propaganda message slipped in to balance things out.

Mission: Impossible III (May 5th) - I never really got caught up in the Mission: Impossible film franchise when the two previous films came out (it was a bit confusing to follow to say the least about it), but the fact that LOST and Alias creator J.J. Abrams is making his directorial debut with this film already has ass there.

The Da Vinci Code (May 19th) - This is kind of obvious, isn't it? However, I am interested to see if Ron Howard shakes thing up a bit in terms of story in order to make the adaptation less predictable for audiences, a majority of which have clearly read the book on which the film is based.

X-Men 3 (May 26th) - Please God, don't let Bret Ratner screw this up! Please, PLEASE!!

Cars (June 9th) - Alright, the story seems rather lame and the trailers haven't really done anything for me just yet, but it's PIXAR. How could it be bad? Biting my tongue, biting my tongue ...

Click (June 23rd) - Throw Adam Sandler, Christopher Walken, and the delicious Kate Beckinsale into a comedy and what do you get? We'll have to see this June but from what I can see from the trailer, it doesn't look half bad.

Superman Returns (June 30th) - I am pissed at director Bryan Singer for leaving the X-Men film franchise when he did (just as the Phoenix legend was coming up), but I am relieved to see that the Superman franchise is in the right hands. McG?! What the Hell was Warner Brothers thinking?! The teaser trailer alone has me drooling. Can't wait for the full-blown trailer.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (July 7th) - Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a pirate's life for me ... Geez, how can you not be excited for this film?!

Lady in the Water (July 21st) - I am willing to forgive director M. Night Shyamalan for his major screw up with The Village if his follow project is half as good as it appears to be (based on the teaser trailer and the premise). The selection of Paul Giamatti to the cast already has me excited.

Marie Antoinette (October 13th) - I greatly enjoyed Lost in Translation and I am deeply looking forward to Sophia Coppola's foolow up project. I am however a bit unnerved by the teaser trailer.