TOP 10 MOST ANTICIPATED FILMS OF 2010

10- YOUR HIGHNESS

This one is directed by David Gordon Greene, the independent director that sold out by making Pineapple Express in 2008. I don't particular mind that he sold out, mainly because Pineapple Express was his best film and this new one should be hilarious. First off, it's about knights in medieval times. Secondly, it stars and was co-written by Danny McBride, the hilarious star of Eastbound and Down and The Foot Fist Way. Not only does it have a terrific setting, writer, star, and director...but it has an excellent cast. Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, and James Franco turn up. Why is this not higher on my list?

9- PAUL

The duo that starred in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz re-team as stars and writers in this flick about two sci-fi geeks that go to Area 51 to check it out and run into an alien voiced by The Rock. It's directed by Greg Mottola, who did Superbad and Adventureland. It sounds hilarious, right? And Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are great together. This should be a cult-hit, sure, but also a very, very fun film.

8- ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Tim Burton made his best film in years the last time out (Sweeney Todd). He's following that up with an adaptation of the famous novel by Lewis Carroll. It has Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway and it's in

3-D. Yes, it might turn out to be a special f/x disaster, but it's definitely one of the most intriguing films coming out this year. The dark, hallucinogenic world of Alice with the dark sensibilities of Burton and the wry, Gonzo humor of Depp. It'll be interesting no matter what.

7- THE WOLFMAN

Honestly, this looks like the greatest movie ever made. It was bumped from the Fall to the Spring which means that it might be a train wreck, but it looks ferocious and fun and it's rated R. The Wolfman is Benicio Del Toro, who rarely works, and the young minx is played by Brit hottie Emily Blunt. Anthony Hopkins also shows up. It's foggy London in the late-Nineteenth century and it has babes and blood. What more could you ask for?

6- THE GREEN HORNET

They wrote Superbad, which had a lot of funny lines it but had a typical story. Then they wrote Pineapple Express which had a lot of funny lines and a bizarre story. Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen's latest script is based on the masked superhero, The Green Hornet. It was radio serial in the 40's and then a TV show in the 60's. Can you even imagine this duo writing a super hero script? And on top of that, Michel Gondry, the uber-weird maestro behind The Science of Sleep and director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind, is directing this. It also has Seth Rogen as the hero and Christoph Waltz as the villain. Yes, it might be a mess, but the elements of a great, wild, amazing film are there. This should be a wild ride.

5- HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1

This certainly wasn't the best book (it was the second worst), but it does have three or four really huge action spectacles that could be exciting on screen. I read the book two years ago, but I do remember that there's a big action sequence with a dragon inside Gringott's bank, there's a melee at Draco Malfoy's house, and there's the big war at the school. This film is only half of the book, so expect to see the wedding of Ron's brother and the sequence at the cute blonde girl's house. Will this film be any good, though? Since it will abruptly end...and there's a lot of boring camping scenes, not to mention the whole deathly hallows plot that never goes culminates in anything exciting or revelatory, it's up in the air at this point. I did think that the last film was excellent and this has the same director. There's two films left. After that, it's over forever. I eagerly expect this to be a great beginning to a stellar finish.

4- SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

Well this series of graphic novels is awesome. It's funny and perfect and it might be impossible to translate to a film. The actor Michael Cera is not a good fit to be Scott, but he's the “it” guy these days. If he does his quiet, nervous schtick than the film is ruined. Scott is annoying, a jerk, obnoxious, sweet, and loud at times. The story has Scott meeting a new girl that he falls in love with. To get her he has to defeat her evil ex-boyfriends. Yeah, it's odd. It's also hilarious and quirky and amusing. The film is being directed and co-written by Edgar Wright, who co-wrote and directed Shaun of the Dead and hot fuzz. The one problem that I have with Wright is that he loves the fast-cut edit. This means that the fight scenes might be horrendously over-stylized. Like Watchmen, at least it'll be cool to see it come to life.

3- GULLIVER'S TRAVELS

I'm have an English degree and I've never read this book. I know the story, though. I've seen the adaptations. This one is different because it stars Jack Black. Yes, it should be an awesome film.

It's coming out around Christmas. That means that it's a big-budget, special f/x picture. That means that besides the comedy it should look stunning. The cast also includes Emily Blunt and Jason Segel. This might be the most entertaining and most fun film of year.

2- CEMETERY JUNCTION

Ricky Gervais and Stepen Merchant wrote and directed this film. It stars Ralph Fiennes and takes place in the 70's. It supposedly a drama with comedy. These two have made some of the funniest TV shows in the past decade. It will be interesting to see how they pull off their first film together. They've said that they tried to make a film akin to Saturday Night Fever. Does that mean we'll see a hilariously cool dance number? These two could write a film about paint drying and it would be an instant classic. I can't wait to finally see this.

1- TREE OF LIFE

This was on my list last year. It probably won't come out until next Fall because of the Oscar potential. This is writer/director Terrence Mallick's fifth film. Sadly, he wrote a script about Che Guevara but had to toss it when Steven Soderbergh made a Che film first. Mallick made two films in the 70's then took a twenty year break for no good reason. I'm glad that he came back because The New World was his masterpiece. A lot of people don't like his films because they're slow. He focuses on landscapes and nature more than actual story or characters. He has a unique, beautiful vision, though, and his films transcend the multiplex and become works of art. This film apparently takes place in the 50's and currently. It stars Sean Penn and Brad Pitt. It should be another stellar work.