Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge Of The Sith
Nothing really needs to be said about this... Undoubtedly gonna be the best movie of the prequel trilogy, this is what people have been waiting for... The fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of Darth Vader. Boasting some jaw dropping fight and action scenes this could quite possibly be the biggest movie of the last few years.

King Kong
LOTR trilogy helmer Peter Jackson, who can do no wrong tackles the classic story of King Kong, a giant Ape who escapes his captors, develops a crush for the beautiful Ann Darrow and runs amok in New York. With Andy Serkis as the giant ape (Gollum style), Jack Black as Carl Denham, Adian brody as Jack Driscoll and Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow. This is my prediction for second biggest movie of the year.

Fantastic Four
The longest running comic book finally comes to the silver screen. When an experimental space voyage goes awry, four people are changed by cosmic rays. Reed Richards (Iaon Grufford) gains the ability to stretch and elongate his body becoming Mr Fantastic. His girlfriend, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) gains the ability to turn invisible and create force fields, calling herself the Invisible Woman. Her younger brother Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) gains the ability to control fire, including covering his own body with flame, becoming the Human Torch and pilot Ben Grimm is turned into a hideously mishapen but super-strong rock creature calling himself Thing. Together, they must come to terms with their new found powers and fame and use their unique powers to foil the evil plans of Doctor Doom (Julian MacMahon).

I am really looking forward to this. Director Tim Story (Taxi, Barbershop) would seem like a wierd choice but he was committed to keeping the feel of the original comic and making this the best and most fun comic book movie ever. With a lot of comic movies been all dark and gritty this is gonna be the first true comic book movie - a fun, popcorn, entertaining movie with kickass fights. This movie has also done what X-Men failed to do - bring us a big group fight scene. One thing that I'm concerned about is that to the general public, this may seem like a rip off of The Incredibles when actually, F4 was one of the many inspirations for The Incredibles.

Batman Begins
Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city

Christian Bale stars as the Dark Knight aswell as Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Ken Watanabe, Gary Oldman, Tom Wilkinson and Katie Holmes.

War Of The Worlds
Tom Cruise and Steven Spielburg team up again for a retelling of H.G. Well's classic. As Martians invade Earth, Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) a working class man living in New Jersey heads the fight back as he stands to protect his family.

Another big release this summer, also starring pre-teen phenom Dakota Fanning, Mirando Otto and Tim Robbins. A lot of people were worried, saddened and angry when they heard that it would be an updated version of the story but as pictures of trailers became available people loosened up about it and began to look forward to what will surely be a smash hit. Bring on the Tripods!!!!

Kingdom of Heaven
From director Ridley Scott (Alien, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator) and years in the making comes the story of a blacksmith who becomes a knight during the 12th Century Crusades and rises to protect his people from foreign invaders. Orlando Bloom headlines in his first solo star film and it also stars David Thewlis, Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons.

This movie looks set to the break the trend in Epic movies not being as good as and not doing aswell as people had hoped (Alexander, Troy, King Arthur)

The New World
From Terrence Malick comes a drama about explorer John Smith (Colin Farrel) and the clash between Native Americans and the British in the 17th century. Also staring man of the moment, Christian Bale.

The Machinist
This was suppose to come out in 2004 and I think in some places it did but as I understand it it has still to come out in a lot of places. This is the story of Trevor Renzick (Christian Bale), a lathe-operator who hasn't slept in a year and begins to doubt his own sanity.

Christian Bale was reportedly amazing in this and even risked his own health, loosing 8lbs for the role of the sleep depraved Renzick, just one of the many things which is making him the internet communitys wet dream. But who can blame them, he is amazing...

The Island
From director Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor, Armageddon, Bad Boys) comes the story of Lincoln Six-Echo (Ewan McGregor), a resident of a seemingly utopian but contained facility in the mid 21st century. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to the "The Island" - reportedly the last uncontaminated spot on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie. He and all of the other inhabitants of the facility are actually human clones whose only purpose is to provide "spare parts" for their original human counterparts. Realizing it is only a matter of time before he is "harvested," Lincoln makes a daring escape with a beautiful fellow resident named Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlotte Johansson). Relentlessly pursued by the forces of the sinister institute that once housed them, Lincoln and Jordan engage in a race for their lives to literally meet their makers.

This is the first Michael Bay film without producer Jerry Bruckheimer so it will be interesting to see what he has cooked up. Bay, who IMO is a good popcorn director (I liked Pearl Harbor and Armageddon) is gonna direct the new live action Transformers film. Perhaps not the best choice to get the much needed characterisation of the 'Formers across but there should atleast be some interesting visuals and ace fight scenes - (as long as the script is good bay will make it good)

Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy
Everyone has bad mornings. You wake up late, you stub your toe, you burn the toast...but for a man named Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman of The Office), this goes far beyond a bad day. When he learns that a friend of his is actually an alien with advanced knowledge of Earth's impending destruction, he is transported off the Earth seconds before it is exploded to make way for a new hyperspace motorway. And as if that's not enough, throw in being wanted by the police, Earth II, an insane electronic encyclopedia, no tea whatsoever, a chronically depressed robot and the search for the meaning of life, and you've got the greatest adventure off Earth.

Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire
Mike Newell helms the fourth Harry Potter film taking over from Alfonso Cuaron. Much to Harry's dismay there will be no Quidditch this year at Hogwarts but that is to make way for the Triwizard tournament, an epic 3 stage tourney where 3 'champions' from 3 different Wizarding schools compete for the Triwizard Cup. Only kids of a certain age can compete so everyone is shocked, suspicious and jealous when Harry, underage, is chosen as Hogwarts champion. As Harry has to compete he must also put up with the return of Volermort.

Boasting some epic scenes including the Quidditch World Cup, the Triwizard Tourney stages - a huge maze, an underwater sequence and a brush in with some dragons and the return of Lord Voldemort, this movie is sure to be the grandest of the movies so far. Granted, much will have been cut but (without wishing to get into this argument here) this is the movie not the book, the movie's purpose is to get the main plot - the Harry plot into each movie... everything else, if you want that, read the books. New cast members include Brendan Gleeson as Mad Eye Moody, Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter and Ralph Fiennes as Voldermort.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
Based on the classic novel by CS Lewis. Four London children are sent to a professors country home in order for protection during World War II. There they find a magic wardrobe which leads to a mystical land called Narnia, which is being ruled by an evil witch (Tilda Swinton). Here they learn of their destinies and with the help of the lion God, Asland (voiced by Brian Cox) they must defeat the White Witch and take their rightful roles on the 4 Thrones of Cair Paravel.

Directed by Shrek and Shrek 2 director, Andrew Adamson who marks his debut in live action film with Narnia, this film boasts some stunning visuals, especially the great battle. I haven't seen the trailer yet but it is suppose to be really good, one of them 'just wow' things... You can download the trailer here (right click and save as)

Charlie and the Chocalate Factory
A little boy, by extrodinary luck, finds the last golden ticket for the chance to tour the mysterious Wonka Chocolate Factory with 4 other golden ticket winners. When they get inside they find that things are stranger than what they could have ever imagined.

Can they match the original? I say they can out do it. True the original is a classic and Gene Wilder made a good Wonka but that film was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and this one will be Charlie and Chocolate Factory. Tim Burton and Johnny Deep's first outing of this year, this looks good. Supporting cast Helena Bonham Carter and Christopher Lee (as Wonka's dentist Dad)

Unleashed
From Luc Besson (Fifth Element, Taxi, Leon, The Transporter) and Transporter director Louis Leterrier comes the story of Danny (Jet Li) a slave who has lived his whole life without any sort of normal human education, with the mind and personality of a young child, the one thing he knows best is how to fight. Treated like a dog by his owner, Bart (Bob Hoskins) which includes having to wear a collar, Danny has been raised to be a lethal fighting machine who fights in illegal gladiator-style fight clubs, where he earns money for Bart. After a car accident lands Bart in a coma, Danny goes on the run and meets a kind elderly blind piano tuner(Morgan Freeman) with his own dark secrets that uses music to teach Danny some things about the world and about being human...

V For Vendetta
Matrix brothers, the Wachowskis adapt Alan Moore's graphic novel - powerful story about loss of freedom and individuality, V for Vendetta takes place in a totalitarian England following a devastating war that changed the face of the planet. In a world without political freedom, personal freedom and precious little faith in anything comes a mysterious man in a white porcelain mask who fights political oppressors through terrorism and seemingly absurd acts. It's a gripping tale of the blurred lines between ideological good and evil.

A Scanner Darkly
Based on the Philip K. Dick novel, set in a future world where America has lost the war on drugs, undercover cop Fred (Keanu Reeves) is one of many agents hooked on the popular drug Substance D, which causes its users to develop split personalities. Fred, for instance, is also Bob, a notorious drug dealer. Along with his superior officers, Fred sets up an elaborate scheme to catch Bob and tear down his operation.

Also stars Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson and Robert Downey Jr star and directed by Richard Linklater (School of Rock, Waking Life, Before Sunrise, After Sunrise) this film has a style which some may not like. It uses rotoscope animation over live action film (or something like that) to give it a surreal animated look which imo looks cool.

Mr & Mrs Smith
Brad and Angelina are a bored surburban couple who are secret assassins who's next targets are each other. Good for some light, popcorn entertainment.

The Corspe Bride
A tale of a 19th Century groom who accidentally marries an undead bride.

This stop motion tale is Co-Directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson (The PJ's and some work on Nightmare Before Xmas) it has the voice talents of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter and Emily Watson.

Madagascar
At New York's Central Park Zoo, a lion (Ben Stiller), a zebra (Chris Rock), a giraffe (David Schwimmer) and a hippo (Jada Pinkett-Smith) are best friends and stars of the show. But when one of the animals goes missing from their cage, the other three break free to look for him, only to find themselves reunited on a ship en route to the island of Madagascar. When their vessel capsizes off the coast, however, the friends, who have all been raised in captivity, learn first-hand what life can be like in the wild.

Imo this looks really good. The animation is a little edgy and different but it has a nice charm to it, I'm not sure if it will do Shrek numbers at the box office which is a shame because Shrek is over rated but as the trend for animated flicks for children and adults alike continues, this is sure to be another big one. The Penguins, who look set to become classic characters, look awesome.

I'm definately looking forward to, above all else, Goblet of Fire this year. Easily my favourite book, the movie is sure to blow the rest right out of the water.

Great list! I cant wait for Hitchhikers, or Goblet of Fire! And of course star wars.......this year kicks ass with films.

Me too Cap'n Burns. It was my favourite book, but I wonder what the dragon will look like when it's put into the movies for the first time

Others to look out for but not neccasarily make an effort to see at the cinema include:

Night Watch
Been described as LOTR meets The Matrix. Set in contemporary Moscow, 'Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)' revolves around the conflict and balance maintained between the forces of light and darkness -- the result of a medieval truce between the opposing sides, so as not to interfere with normal humans. As night falls, the dark forces battle the super-human "Others" of the Night Watch, whose mission is to patrol and protect. But there is constant fear that an ancient prophecy will come true: that a powerful "Other" will rise up, be tempted by one of the sides, and tip the balance plunging the world into a renewed war between the dark and light, the results of which would be catastrophic.

Outgrossing LOTR's in its native Russia, Night Watch is the first installment of a trilogy based on the best-selling sci-fi novels of Sergei Lukyanenko entitled Night Watch, Day Watch and Dusk Watch. To say that it didn't have a hollywood budget and was made in Russia, who you don't think of when you think of good film making, this is already creating a lot of a buzz and is said to be better than some hollywood movies in this or similar genres.

A Sound of Thunder
Based on a short story by Ray Bradbury, about a game hunter (Edward Burns) who goes on a time-traveling safari owned and operated by big business man Charles Hatton (Ben Kingsley) to hunt dinosaurs in the prehistoric era. When he accidentally kills a butterfly, he unknowingly sets off a chain reaction that will send ripples through time and threaten to erase humanity from existence. A team of experts must return back in time and replace the butterfly.

Ong-Bak: Thai Warrior
"No stunt doubles, no strings, no CGI". Ong Bak: Thai Warrior is the story of a young martial artist who goes to the big city to retreive a stolen sacred statue and finds himself taking on the underworld to get it back.

Fall a bit flat in the story department but story is not what you want fro mone of these films. As long as the basic premise is good, what you want is lots of good ass kicking action and Ong Bak has lots of this.

Kung Fu Hustle
A Gangster Kung-Fu comedy. In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while an obnoxious landlady and her apparently frail husband exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf

From the makers of Shaolin Soccer, this movie was China's highest grossing movie of 2004 and is creating a huge ammount of buzz. Where american kung fu movies are trying too hard to create 'ultra cool' fight scenes, the eastern ones that inspired them are cheerily spoofing themselves silly. With a huge fight scene spoofing the Matrix's Burly Brawl, this is sure to be good.

The Legend of Zorro
The cast returns for this sequel to the 1998 hit, The Mask of Zorro.

The Brothers Grimm
Terry Giliam (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Twelve Monkeys) brings us the story of folklore collectors and con artists, Jake (Heath Ledger) and Will Grimm (Matt Damon), travel from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures and performing exorcisms. They are put to the test, however, when they encounter a real magical curse in a haunted forest with real magical beings, requiring genuine courage.

Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit, set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest

Revolver
From Guy Ritchie comes the story of Jake (Jason Statham), a hotshot gambler, who gets caught up in a gang war when he beats a dangerous mafia boss in a game a chance, who despite been a lousy gambler, always wins because people are too scared to beat him.

Dark Water
If your a fan of The Ring and The Grudge then this is for you. Another americanisation of a Japanese horror, Dark Water stars Jennifer Connely as a mother who with her daughter, still wounded from a bitter custody dispute, hole up in a run-down apartment building. Adding further drama to their plight, they are targeted by the ghost of former resident

I included all the movies with all the buzz and the ones I know, from reports and whatnot, that will be good. But I'm mostly looking forward to:

Star Wars
Fantastic Four
King
Kong
War of the Worlds
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Chronicles of Narnia: LWW
Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy
Kung Fu Hustle
Night Watch

All of those movies sound awesome. I can't wait for Star Wars Ep. 3, that one's gonna redeem the series. I actually got to see Hitchhiker's Guide last night, and lemme tell you, it was no dissapoinment.

I cant wait for Goblet of Fire. It's my favorite book also. I think all the movies listed should be good, but I'm especially looking forward to War of the Worlds, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Corpse Bride, Star Wars, and Kingdom of Heaven.

I went to see Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy yesturday, and I have to say the visual effects were amazing, and it was a fun film, but overall I wasn't to impressed with it. But, all the movies you listed in the first post look like they will be good (especially Star Wars, Fantastic Four, King Kong, War of the Worlds, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and the Chronicles of Narnia).

I cant wait for Star wars and War of the worlds, they are the two most anticipated movies for me at the moment!

How does that work? Britain didn't exist until the 18th century.

The director just decide to rewrite history?

On top on that list for me is either Unleashed or Star Wars, then Harry Potter. most of them sound great otherwise tho.