The List: 2/12/10

Somehow I've managed to survive the snowpocalypse we've been buried under for the past week. The best thing about it was that I got to introduce my girlfriend to about half a dozen flicks she hadn't had a chance to see. After starting to get a little stir crazy, we finally managed to get out of the house yesterday to catch a flick, the wonderful coming of age film, Fish Tank. Actually, I pretty much completed my List from last week with the exception of The Last Station, proving that not even 3 feet of snow can keep me away from the theater for long. This week sees the return of a classic movie monster, a star studded date flick every guy will get dragged to, and a potential Harry Potter-esque franchise on the rise. Let's get to it...

I've been waiting for The White Ribbon to hit DC for over a month now. I've come to expect the best out of controversial director/writer Michael Haneke, and he rarely if ever disappoints. Haneke's last film, Funny Games, which was a remake of his earlier film, was in my Top 10 of 2008. Just as in his film, Cache, Haneke seems to revel in the tearing down of facades. The White Ribbon tells the story of a small, Protestant German town just before the beginning of WWI. Cruel , mysterious accidents start occurring without rhyme or reason, and nobody knows who's the culprit. Haneke describes the story as "the origin of terrorism, be it religious or political". It's up for two Academy awards this year, including Best Foreign Language film.

It's going to be hard knocking out the big dog, Harry Potter, but if Percy Jackson succeeds in gaining any sort of foothold it won't have to wait long until has the fantasy playground all to itself. Based on the young adult series of novels by Rick Riordan, it tells the story of a boy who discovers he's the demigod son of Poseidon, Greek god of the oceans. Along with his buddies, who also happen to be the children of Greek deities, he's tasked with helping prevent an all-out war among the gods. I've been pretty amped about this one for awhile, mainly due to the fact that I love Greek mythology, and the idea of using it as a basis for this type of story is long overdue. My only worry is director Chris Columbus, who's hacky approach got the Harry Potter franchise off to a rocky start(he directed the first two Potters). Let's hope that's not the same model employed here.

While the constant changes in release date have me worried(it's been pushed back since 2008!) the studio lacks confidence, Joe Johnston's vision of the legendary movie monster looks like a surefire hit. Especially if Benicio Del Toro, who sorta looks like a werewolf anyway, can rekindle some of the Hollywood heat he used to have after films like Traffic and The Usual Suspects. A remake of the original 1941 film, director Joe Johnston has brought together an A-list crew to surround Del Toro, including Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, and Emily Blunt, who is quickly becoming an actress I look forward to seeing in just about anything.

No...a thousand times no!!!

Guys, you might as well just be prepared to take this one on the chin. Fortunately for me, I've already taken my medicine and know what you're in for.  Basically, it's a more crowded version of He's Just Not that Into You, sprinkled with a dash of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

The trailers for this look so bad, my girlfriend thought they were a joke at first. Based on a Belgian stop-motion TV series, Panic appears to be about nothing in particular. It stars an Indian, a horse, and a cowboy. Weird crap happens to their house. That's all I know. It looks awful. I'm all for foreign films hitting our shores, but can we leave the creepy, vaguely hallucinogenic stuff over there? Wherever there may be?