January-March:Oscar Season
The beginning of 2008 is tightly packed with prestige pics from big name directors, all vying for a chance at the Golden Baldy. Ang Lee's sexually explicit spy epic Lust, Caution should be worth a spin, as should Tim Burton's musical take on Sweeney Todd, with tunes from Stephen Sondheim and singing from Johnny Depp. Unmissable film:No Country For Old Men, a dazzling return to form from the Coen Brothers.
April-June:Blockbusters!
With the awards taken care of, it's time to settle in for some high concept, special effects-heavy action. Keanu Reeves is perfectly cast as an alien in the big-budget remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still, which is swiftly followed by a pair of smashing superheroes, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk (minus Ang Lee this time, which means no artsy shots of lichen). Then, it's back to Narnia for a second instalment of talking animals and thinly veiled Christian allegories in Prince Caspian.Unmissable film:Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Can Harrison Ford still cut the mustard? Find out in May.
July-September:Cartoons, Nazis and a Great Big Bat
Pixar returns with WALL-E, the heartwarming tale of a little robot (who looks worryingly like Number Five from Short Circuit). However, WALL-E's got some cartoon competition from the Kung Fu Panda, which if nothing else has the best title of 2008. August brings us a pair of sci-fi sequels: Hellboy 2, in which Ron Perlman beats up the bad guys with his red right hand, and the X-Files 2, in which David Duchovny searches the FBI database for his missing career. Look out also for Disney's new take on Brideshead Revisited, an odd combination if ever we heard one. Maybe they'll animate Sebastian's bear...Unmissable film:The Dark Knight. The hype has already begun for Christian Bale's second outing as Batman. This time he faces off with The Joker, spookily played by Heath Ledger.
October-December:Tis the season to be Harry...
Three movie superstars dominate the Christmas season: Harry Potter, James Bond, and er, Captain James T Kirk. The boy wizard returns for Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince (is it nearly over yet?), while Daniel Craig will strap on the beretta and bowtie for another crack at 007 in the as-yet-untitled Bond 22. If it's as good as Casino Royale, we'll be happy. Finally, Lost svengali (not literally, we know where he is) JJ Abrams applies his Midas touch to the ailing Star Trek franchise, taking us right back to where it all began...Unmissable Film:High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Nah, just kidding.
Written byPaul Arendt
