MUST-SEE || BIG MAYBES/NO WAY

MUST-SEE

Quantum of Solace
Release Date: November 14
Hell, Yeah: Casino Royale was a jolt of adrenaline that woke the Bond franchise out of a good decade or so of sleepwalking, and Quantum—head-scratching title aside—looks to be a Bond rarity in that it's a direct sequel that carries on exactly where Casino left off. Judging from the trailer, the action is bigger, more intense, and at least four shades of jaw-dropping, have-to-see-this cool.
Oh, No: Although director Marc Forster has a prestigious résumé (Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball, The Kite Runner), he's an action movie noob. We're sure he can handle the talking, but can he really deliver us the booms? At least he inherits the most kick-ass Bond (Daniel Craig) since early Connery.

W.
Release Date: October 17
Hell, Yeah: Only a cool-headed, logical, emotionally detached filmmaker could tackle the life story of George W. Bush without turning it into a burning effigy. Luckily, we got Oliver Stone instead. Stone loves nothing more than to stir the shit, and the fact that he whipped this little movie up in a matter of months has us extremely intrigued. And Josh Brolin (who plays Dubya) is on a Michael Phelps–level winning streak right now.
Oh, No: To be fair, though, we have no idea what this movie is going to be. A straight biopic? An impressionistic portrait of a man and his politics? A comedy? It's hard to tell, and it would be just like Stone to confound our expectations and give us something like a dainty wrist slap rather than a full-on evisceration.


Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Release Date: October 31
Hell, Yeah: The public has spoken—they prefer foulmouthed, depraved, Clerks II Kevin Smith to sappy, emasculated, Jersey Girl Kevin Smith. Zack and Miri is certainly a hefty dose of the former, but it might have enough hint of the latter to keep it from becoming a donkey show retread. We know Seth Rogen is funny, but we're always happy to have more of the hot and hilarious Elizabeth Banks.
Oh, No: Maybe this movie should be called Kevin Smith Makes a Judd Apatow Film. Despite the appearance of Clerks' Jeff Anderson, it has Rogen, Banks, Craig Robinson… It's one Rudd and half a Baruchel away from being Knocked Up 2. Smith has generally been a lazy filmmaker, but this smacks of Apatow ass-kissing.


Max Payne
Release Date: October 17
Hell, Yeah: After The Happening, we can understand why Mark Wahlberg has some aggression to get out; and, frankly, we like him better when he's scowling. Max Payne may not be breaking barriers in the plot department—cop on the edge and hot assassin (Mila Kunis) kill the criminal underworld—but sometimes you don't have to reinvent the wheel to blow it up in creative ways.
Oh, No: Quick—name one video game adaptation that was ever worth a shit. Exactly. Plus, the movie appears to go into some Constantine-like (the Keanu Reeves movie, not Maroulis) supernatural realms that a) are not needed and b) increase the movie's chances of being laughably bad by at least 40 percent.



RockNRolla
Release Date: October 31
Hell, Yeah: Like Kevin Smith, Guy Ritchie pretty much functions on one gear. But unlike Smith, Ritchie understands there's more to a movie than people talking. With RockNRolla, the Brit removes his head from his ass (which holds executive producer credits on Swept Away and Revolver, by the way) and returns to flashy London crime yarns that are fast, funny, and set to an awesome soundtrack.
Oh, No: Has Ritchie really shed Madonna's idiotic Kabbalah influence and gotten back to his roots, or is this another Trojan horse that lures us in with coolness only to hand us a steaming piling of ponderous naval gazing? We can only trust the trailer, which so far seems to be on the side of total coolness.


Body of Lies
Release Date: October 10
Hell, Yeah: Russell Crowe. Leonardo DiCaprio. Ridley Scott. You don't even have to know what this thing is about, do you? Us, neither. We'll pretty much sign up to see this trio in anything that isn't a global warming documentary. (We kid, Leo. You rocked the shit in The Departed.) Body of Lies has political intrigue, spy-vs.-spy showdowns, and our full attention.
Oh, No: The only real knock against Lies is how familiar it feels. We're sure Scott has some tricks up his able sleeve, but you could intercut this trailer with The Bourne Ultimatum, Syriana, The Kingdom, and a few others and you probably wouldn't notice the difference. But again, we have faith in the players involved.


The Spirit
Release Date: December 25
Hell, Yeah: Frank Miller is all, "Thanks for the filmmaking lesson, Robert Rodriquez, good luck with Sin City 2" as he goes solo behind the camera to adapt his version of the classic Will Eisner comic book hero. Hotties like Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes are fully on display (remember, this is the guy who wrote Sin City, in which every woman is either a stripper or a prostitute), and the scenery should be sufficiently chewed by villain Samuel L. Jackson.
Oh, No: Our hero is…Gabriel Macht? Who with the what, now? This could either be a home run or a tragic misstep. We don't know Macht from the guy in the next cubicle, so his ability to embody the dashing, forthright, and charismatic Spirit is a big question mark. Plus, can this really hope to be anything more than a Sin City retread?


The Road
Release Date: November 26
Hell, Yeah: A violent, bleak, postapocalyptic road movie based on a Cormac "No Country for Old Men" McCarthy novel is a pretty good starting point, but when you throw in the likes of Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, and Charlize Theron, you might as well just reserve us a seat now.
Oh, No: The winter months already have us one extra shot of eggnog away from a cold razor and a warm bath, so do we really need to be reminded of how much mankind sucks and how we're all doomed? Especially during an election year? And especially when one side considers "war with Russia and Iran" a sound foreign policy platform?

MUST-SEE || BIG MAYBES/NO WAY