Most Anticipated Films of 2007 (2nd half)

The first half of the year has not yielded a large crop of great movies (I'll post my top picks next week), but the second half seems promising. The following are ranked in order of my anticipation, with the actors/directors/writers causing my anticipation in bold:

1. There Will Be Blood (November 21). Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia). Starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano. Plot: A story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century Texas prospector in the early days of the business. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYW2ltW5SPo

2. No Country For Old Men (November 9). Written and Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem. Plot: Llewelyn Moss, while hunting antelope near the Rio Grande, stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRNxZKisSC0

3. American Gangster (November 2). Directed by Ridley Scott. Written by Steven Zaillian. Starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. Plot: True story of Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, who smuggled heroin in the caskets of soldiers killed in Vietnam and was eventually caught by NY detective Richie Roberts, who used Lucas to catch the cops and drug dealers who profited from his scheme. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOSOYSLDuQE

4. The Bourne Ultimatum (August 3). Directed by Paul Greengrass (the other Bournes, United 93). Written by Tony Gilroy. Starring Matt Damon. The third in the series. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmqbY39kuV4

5. Fred Claus (November 9). Directed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers). Starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, and John Michael Higgins. Plot: Santa Claus' deadbeat & jealous older brother, Fred (Vaughn), must put his bitterness aside when he is forced to move into Santa's home at the North Pole. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d94SlI54e2Q

6. The Darjeeling Limited (Christmas Day). Directed by Wes Anderson. Written by Anderson and Jason Schwartzman. Starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Schwartzman. Plot: The death of their father sends three brothers on a journey through India.

7. Charlie Wilson's War (Christmas Day). Directed by Mike Nichols. Written by Aaron Sorkin (boo). Starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Plot: Based on the life of Texas congressman Charlie Wilson, who survived a scandal that almost ruined his career and went on to oversee the largest CIA operation which funded and armed the mujahideen in Afghanistan.

8. Shine a Light (September 21). A documentary about the Rolling Stones from Martin Scorsese.

9. Sicko (June 29). Documentary about the US healthcare system by Michael Moore. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joaAfBr9tAE

10. Walk Hard (December 14) Directed by Jake Kasdan, produced by Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up). Written by Kasdan and Apatow. Starring Jenna Fischer (Pam from the Office), John C. Reilly, and Kristen Wiig. Plot: The second half of the 20th Century is given a send-up in this eye-opening romp, as we witness the rise and fall of music great, the wonderfully conceived Dewey Cox.

11. The Mist (November 21). Written and directed by Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile). Starring Andre Braugher and Marcia Gay Harden. Plot: Everyday-guy David Drayton is caught up in a freak storm that unleashes a species of blood-thirsty monsters in his small town.

12. Reservation Road (November 9). Directed by Terry George. Written by George and John Burnham Schwartz. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, and Jennifer Connelly. Plot: A compelling tale of the lure of revenge and the power of redemption. The drama revolves around two fathers whose families and lives tragically converge with the death of a child. In the aftermath, Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix) and Dwight (Mark Ruffalo) each react in unexpected ways as their families struggle to cope and an emotional reckoning looms. Jennifer Connelly plays Grace, Ethan's wife; Mira Sorvino plays Ruth, Dwight's ex-wife.

13. Lions For Lambs. Directed by Robert Redford. Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan. Starring Redford, Tom Cruise, Michael Pena and Meryl Streep. Plot: Injuries sustained by two Army ranger behind enemy lines in Afghanistan set off a sequence of events involving a congressman (Cruise), a journalist (Streep) and a professor (Redford).

14. The Heartbreak Kid (October 5). Written and Directed by the Farrelly Brothers. Starring Ben Stiller, Michelle Monaghan and Jerry Stiller. Plot: Single and indecisive, Eddie (Ben Stiller) begins dating the incredibly sexy and seemingly fabulous Lila. Upon the urging of his father and best friend, Eddie proposes to her after only a week, fearing this may be his last chance at love, marriage, and happiness. However, while on their honeymoon in sunny Mexico, Lila reveals her true beyond-awful nature and Eddie meets Miranda, the woman he realizes to be his actual soul mate. Eddie must keep his new, increasingly horrid wife at bay as he attempts to woo the girl of his dreams. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-I6oRjR4LQ

15. 3:10 To Yuma (October 5). Directed by James Mangold (Copland, Girl Interrupted and Walk the Line). Written by Stuart Beattie and Michael Brandt. Starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Plot: A small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeroJ1BK6GQ

16. The Assassination of Jesse James (September 21). Written and Directed by Andrew Dominik. Starring Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck and Sam Shepard. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91mg2zgfI8M

17. Michael Clayton (September 28). Written and Directed by Tony Gilroy (writer, Bourne Identity/Bourne Supremacy). Starring George Clooney, Sydney Pollack, and Tom Wilkinson. Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house "fixer" at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. A former criminal prosecutor, Clayton takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen's dirtiest work at the behest of the firm's co-founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack).
Trailer: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809423158/video/3095320

18. Superbad (August 17). Directed by Greg Mottola. Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Golberg. Starring Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill (Knocked Up), and Michael Cera (George Michael Bluth). Two co-dependent high school seniors are forced to deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes awry. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP74GjzgfdM

19. King of Kong. (August 17). I saw this earlier this year (see review here: http://dlpreviews.blogspot.com/2007/03/king-of-kong.html) and loved it. It is a documentary about the video game subculture and the personalities therein. Trailer: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809834006/video/3053794/