'Shrek 2' Already A Favorite
It's a brand new year and as always, Hollywood has dozens of "brand new" movie offerings vying for your box-office dollars. Jess Cagle, Early Show contributor and People Magazine senior editor, offers a sneak peek at what will be showing at the local multiplex in 2004.
The biggest surprise of 2003 was the return of Johnny Depp. Cagle notes Depp was making some pretty obscure movies for a while, until "Pirates of the Caribbean."
As for the year ahead, the sequels in 2004 are going to be a lot better than the sequels of 2003, which were pretty lackluster ("2 Fast, 2 Furious," "Matrix," and "T-3").
Sequels
The sequels of 2004 look like a lot of fun. "Shrek 2" looks like the one to beat. "Kill Bill: Vol 2" will do well, and you won't want to miss "The Ring 2." Then you've got the third Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," which already has a built-in audience. And, of course, there's "Spider-Man 2," a second "Bourne Identity" and George Clooney's "Oceans 12."
Animation
Besides "Shrek 2," you will see Disney/Pixar's "The Incredibles," which should do well; "Polar Express" with cutting edge animation; and Dreamwork's "Shark Tale."
Historical epics
2004 will also be the year of epics, starting with 2003 holdover "The Alamo," which got pushed back after some editing problems. Then Brad Pitt will don sandals in the film "Troy." Colin Farrell will be wearing sandals, as well, in Oliver Stones' "Alexander."
Remakes
There's a lot of interesting films that we've seen before. First up is "The Manchurian Candidate" with Denzel Washington taking over the part from Frank Sinatra. The late John Frankenheimer originally directed the political thriller. There is also have an update of the '70s hit, "The Stepford Wives" with Nichole Kidman, and TV's "Starsky and Hutch" returns with Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller in the lead roles.
Big star vehicles
There will be a number of big films with big stars, such as "Catwoman" with Halle Berry, "Van Helsing" with Hugh Jackman, "I, Robot" with Will Smith, "Closer" with Julia Roberts, and "Proof" with Gwyneth Paltrow. And of course "Oceans 12" with George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, and all the original cast members.
Cagle's big movie prediction is "Shrek 2." The preview footage and buzz is very strong. As for breakout star, he says, the buzz on Charlize Theron's work, as a serial killer in "Monster." Roger Ebert has said it is one of the best film performances of all time.