First impressions of upcoming movies, based on trailer (Click on the title to watch the trailer: You may need QuickTime for most). Release dates are subject to change.

Jumper (dir. Doug Liman) I don't know what's more exciting: a Jedi-less Hayden Christensen teleporting through walls, Jamie Bell all grown up and smarmy, Doug Liman (Swingers, The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) directing, or Samuel L. Jackson's Demolition Man-'fro. (OK, maybe that last one not so much) Rachel Bilson even pops in as Christensen's girlfriend, and the visual effects (People jumping! Jumping everywhere!) are nifty. (Feb. 15)






Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (dir. Tim Burton) If Tim Burton had to direct a musical starring Johnny Depp (looking like Edward Scissorhands' Bizarro twin), there's none more apropos than Sweeney Todd, about an unjustly imprisoned man who returns as a ... barber, blade in hand, leering, "I will guarantee you the closest shave you've ever known." Gulp. With Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen. (That's right, Borat and Jack Sparrow in the same movie!) A blood-filled song-and-dance just in time for the holiday season. Hey, at least it's an alternative to The Nutcracker. (Dec. 21)

Grace is Gone (dir. James Strouse) A big hit at Sundance, and John Cusack's best contention for an Oscar nominee yet is this intimate drama about an Army husband who learns his sergeant wife has been killed in the line of duty and decides to take his two young daughters on a final-moments-of-innocence impromptu road trip to an amusement park before he has to break the news that their mother has died. Are you crying yet? (Dec. 9)





The Bucket List (dir. Rob Reiner) Why was Jack Nicholson bald at the Oscars? He was filming this buddy comedy about two terminally ill patients who decide to accomplish their wish list before they kick the bucket (hence the title). Nicholson plays a billionaire able to take fellow patient Morgan Freeman skydiving and to the Taj Mahal. So what does Freeman, as a working-class mechanic, contribute? Wisdom and sentiment, of course (Did you expect any less from Morgan Freeman?). (Dec. 25)






No Country for Old Men (dir. Coen Brothers) Why is Javier Bardem sporting Peter Tork's hairstyle? Why does he flip coins before killing people? There may not be answers in this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel, a huge hit at Cannes and Oscar contender (particularly for Tommy Lee Jones' aging sheriff). Josh Brolin, in probably the best role he'll ever have, stumbles upon a truck with dead bodies, loads of drugs and million in cash. As soon as he picks up the bag, trouble's a'lookin' for him, particularly in the form of Bardem's mysterious baddie. (Nov. 9)
--Ellen

Browse these movies and more at Movies Online. >>>