Top 10 Movies We Want to See in 2011

The Departed is based off a trilogy entitled Infernal Affairs. So why not a domestic trilogy? Here is what Mark Wahlberg had to say on The Departed 2…

“They’re [still] developing it, if it can be better than the first, then great. I’ll be all for it. I’m not interested in going for the paycheck. I love ‘Godfather 2’ but, then again, I don’t like ‘Godfather 3.’ We may do another one, because it’s based on a Hong Kong film ['Infernal Affairs'], and there is a trilogy. So we may do a sequel with a new cast, and a prequel and bring back the rest of the guys…” Martin Scorsese’s The Departed remake won the Best Picture Oscar in 2007 and grossed almost $300 million in worldwide ticket sales. The Departed writer William Monahan said that he already has ideas for a second installment. “I read the prequel and sequel to ‘Infernal Affairs’ for the first time a couple of weeks ago and there wasn’t anything I could use in Boston situation,” he said. “I’m not criticizing [Infernal Affairs 2 and 3], I’m saying that The Departed now points in its own direction. I know how the picture would open. With The Departed Tango and snow falling on the Boston Commons. I know every scene in the picture.” Needless to say, I NEED a sequel.  Make it happen somebody.

Based off of one of the most popular Anime series to date, this is a wet dream for fans of the genre.  I always wondered what a live action film of an Anime series would be like and now I have my wish. Only problem is…I haven’t seen it yet. 2011 will be the year my dream comes true. Budgeted at $45 million US, the film tells the story of a young Tokyo college student who is reanimated after a deadly subway accident. Kei Kurono and his friend Katou Masaru go on violent, seemingly endless missions at the behest of an unseen host.  See some footage below!

Hey, here is an idea, instead of bring back Avatar in theaters, they bring back animation classic and add on some 3D! My pick? Princess Mononoke. About 15 minutes of CG (Computer Graphics) were used in Mononoke Hime. Of those, 10 minutes are the scenes that used digital ink & paint only. The remaining 5 minutes used various CG techniques, such as texture mapping, 3D rendering, morphing, particles, and digital composition. The goal when using CG in Mononoke Hime was “CG which doesn’t look like CG”. An enormous amount of care was taken to blend CG and cel-animation seamlessly. Think if they used the new technology to enhance it without ruining the original? I say…in 2011, let’s make this happen!

In the early 1990s, Kodansha Ltd. was in negotiation with Sony Pictures to produce a live-action remake of the film. Talk circulated again a decade later, but the project has yet to materialize. Rumors circulated that the project was canceled in both instances when the projected budget for the film was upwards of $300 million! Leonardo DiCaprio is producing the planned live-action film adaptation through his Appian Way production company and there is even a website that is keeping tabs on project development. Could we see this film in 2011? Probably not. But I can dream.

It would be super cool if Takashi Miike wrapped up a Zebraman trilogy. Zebraman 2 was good enough to create a spin off which will eventually pave the way for a part 3 hopefully. The straight to DVD spinoff is directed by Miike’s assistant director Nishiumi Kenichiro. The sequel, with the title “Revenge of teh Zebra Miniskirt Police” will feature three pretty women who will be the members of the police squad. Their role in the sequel are bodyguards to the main character . They will all be wearing Zebra miniskirts, which just brings the weirdness factor up a notch. Color me excited!

James Cameron first confirmed the Battle Angel project’s existence in 2003, and in 2004 it was supposed to be his next film but for one reason or another it never took off. Now, with all the press junctions of the Avatar movie and the re-release coming up, he is speaking out more about it. Although no new information was revealed on the possibility of the production, Cameron says that the project is still on. You can take that statement however you want, but keep in mind he also stated, “I wrote the script back before I started Avatar. And again, we have to figure out where it lies. I don’t have infinite time.”

If you aren’t familiar with the source material, Battle Angel Alita, was a manga series created by Yukito Kishiro in 1990 and is set in the future and focuses on Alita, a cyborg who has lost all memories and is found in a garbage heap by a cybernetics doctor who rebuilds and takes care of her. In 1993, a two-episode original video anime based on the manga was released, and ADV Films licensed the anime. In 2011, this needs to happen. Forget Avatar 2!!

How about this Japan? Take all your crazy antics and ideas, and roll them all into one super film? I could have lived without Robotic Geisha’s and Ninjas fighting Aliens, but what I COULD use is a 3 hour epic with a good budget but keeps the same craziness. In 2011, lets step up our game and create the best film the splattercore genre has ever seen. This is high on my wishlist.

Wolverine travels to Japan to train with a samurai warrior. Need I say more? Finally, the movie addresses his Japanese story arc and I couldn’t be more excited. This needs to be released in 2011! With Darren Aronofsky directing, Jackman says that Wolverine 2 will not be a usual X-Men movie: “This is, hopefully for me, going to be out of the box. It’s going to be the best one, I hope,” he said, and then paused. “Well, I would say that, but I really do feel that, and I feel this is going to be very different.” Also, Jackman doesn’t think that Aronofsky’s penchant for dark drama is at odds with the big-budget action franchise. “This is Wolverine. This is not Popeye. He’s kind of dark.”

Few years ago Korean society was shocked by a horrible serial killer mayhem. Dozen of call-girls are disappeared and never returned when they visited unknown customer. The Chaser documents such killing and was one of the most bone chilling films I’d ever seen. So…uh…Sequel? Whether or not crime is the best motif for movie and this movie successfully held the breath of viewers, I am waiting another movie from this director. In 2011 I want to see a sequel or another movie similar. Make it happen 2011!

Last September, the writer of the project, Peter Craig, rewrote the script and it seemed the project was finally moving forward.  If you are unfamiliar with the hugely popular anime series, it follows a crew aboard a spaceship as it travels throughout space in search of bounty jobs. When Collider movie news website asked for an update, Keanu simply stated: “I haven’t heard anything back..  They turned in the script and it was very expensive.  I don’t know if they’re going to…it would cost, like, half a billion dollars to make that script.  So, I don’t know where it’s at right now.” That isn’t very reassuring.  However, the original anime studio behind the series, Sunrise studio and Masahiko Minami, are both acting as production consultants. In 2011, this is my most anticpated wishful thought. I’d love to see this film finally take off and I know it would be a box office smash if made. If anyone is out there listening, let’s make this dream a reality.