Loads of thrills, a couple of superheroes and a dash of fantasy — that’s Hollywood 2010
LEO and MATT
After taking an on-screen break in 2009, Leonardo DiCaprio returns with two releases this year. First up is Shutter Island, Leo’s fourth outing with Martin Scorsese. Then, there’s the Christopher Nolan-directed Inception, which is one of the most anticipated films of the year because the plot is being kept hush-hush.
Matt Damon has four releases slated for 2010. He plays a US army officer hunting for WMDs in Paul Greengrass’s (The Bourne Ultimatum and Supremacy) The Green Zone, which has led to it being called ‘Jason Bourne in Iraq’. The actor also teams up with Clint Eastwood for the second time in Hereafter. His other projects include Margaret and The Adjustment Bureau.
Super Hero
Jon Favreau will follow up 2008’s Iron Man with its sequel, in which Robert Downey Jr will have Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke and Samuel L Jackson for company. Then, there’s The Green Hornet with Seth Rogen, who famously (and unwillingly) shed about 30 lbs to play the title role. Set for an April release is Kick-Ass, about a high school student who decides to become a superhero even though he has no powers and no training.
Be kind Rewind
The ’80s will get a facelift with the film version of The A-Team and next instalment of Karate Kid. The A-Team stars Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson and Sharlto Copley in a film about a group of Iraq War veterans who are suspected of committing a crime for which they were framed. Karate Kid stars Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, and is along the same lines as the original films made in the ’80s.
FANTASY 2010
The entertainer of the last decade is set to kick-start the current one with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One. This film will present a challenge that no Harry Potter director has been faced with before — setting the action primarily outside the confines of Hogwarts. And if the trailers of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland are anything to go by, the director’s fans will get more than their fair share of his trademark bizarre and twisted on-screen visions.
Romantic comedy
The year will also showcase the Jennifers doing what they do best — romcoms. Jennifer Lopez stars in The Back-Up Plan, about a woman who conceives twins through artificial insemination and meets the man of her dreams the same day. Jennifer Aniston plays a woman who escapes bail and must also escape her bounty hunter ex-husband (Gerard Butler) in The Bounty Hunter. The pressures and expectations of Valentine’s Day set the tone for Jennifer Garner’s next on-screen outing, aptly titled Valentine’s Day.
