WALL STREET 2
Starring: Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Shia LaBeouf, Javier Bardem
Director: Oliver Stone
Release Date: April 23, 2010
How do you follow up a movie that defined its decade? By trying to define another f–ked up decade. This time, the iconic trader Gordon Gekko emerges from a stint in jail to find a financial world even harsher than the one he left behind. Sequels are dicey propositions to begin with, especially when you're following in the footsteps of an original that was released to much acclaim and Academy Award validation (Douglas won his only Oscar playing Gekko). But considering what an unregulated stock market has wrought on the worldwide economy, it's easy to see why the always topical Stone decided to direct his first-ever sequel.
SEX AND THE CITY 2
Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon
Director: Michael Patrick King
Release Date: June 2, 2010
Also known as the Super Bowl for Fashionistas, SATC 2 features a detour to Morocco and (reportedly) a flashback to the '80s that traces the earlier years of these four quintessential New York gals. Three interesting questions deserve to be answered: (1) How many more problems can the creators throw in Carrie and Big's (Chris Noth) way? (2) Can costumer Patricia Field pull off "Me Decade" fashions without besmirching her fashion industry cred? And (3) How will these mature actresses portray the earlier years of their characters without, as Candice Bergen's Vogue editor put it, "the unintended Diane Arbus subtext?"
UNTITLED GABBY CONCEPCION-KC CONCEPCION FATHER'S DAY PROJECT
Starring: Gabby Concepcion, KC Concepcion
Release Date: June 2010
The problem with calendaring local releases is that local film producers don't believe in calendaring their releases. And because scripts are habitually tweaked as long as there is a set to shoot in, information about unreleased movies is notoriously unreliable. But you have to admit, that banner got your attention, didn't it? Can a Sharon-Gabby reunion movie be far behind? Or can Sharon, Gabby, and KC be a happy family at least onscreen?
THE A-TEAM
Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
Director: Joe Carnahan
Release Date: June 17, 2010
Yeah yeah, you've been pitched big-screen translations of television shows before. Some have been successful (Charlie's Angels), some have been execrable (Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle). But fans of the original series–which ran for five seasons over NBC from 1983 to 1986–can take heart in the fact that the remake doesn't stray too far from the premise: four ex-Special Forces veterans become soldiers of fortune, evading the American military as they try to exonerate themselves for a crime they didn't commit. The cast is eyebrow-raising: Oscar nominee Neeson takes over for George Peppard as leader John "Hannibal" Smith, The Hangover's Bradley Cooper assumes the mantle of Templeton "Faceman" Peck from Dirk Benedict, Mr. T's successor as B.A. Baracus is UFC light heavyweight fighter Rampage Jackson, and–most intriguingly–District 9's Sharlto Copley takes over from Dwight Schultz as the legally insane pilot "Howling Mad" Murdock. Here's hoping this reboot is as imaginative yet respectful of the source material as J.J. Abrams' take on Star Trek, because if this turns out to be another Mod Squad…well, I pity the fool.
