RIO – April 8
CAST: Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santor, Jake T. Austin
STORY: Small-town bird Blu (Eisenberg) must journey to Brazil to meet another bird of his kind (Hathaway) to save their species.
VERDICT: With Hathaway and Eisenberg involved, you can bet there will be plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.
RATING: 4/5
THOR – May 6
CAST: Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth, Kat Dennings, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard
STORY: After being sent away from his home planet, mighty warrior Thor (Hemsworth) becomes Earth’s defender against evil and powerful forces.
VERDICT: Go to get introduced to one of the main characters in the highly anticipated AVENGERS movie, but stay for the amazing effects and outstanding performances.
RATING: 4/5
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES – May 20
CAST: Johnny Depp, Ian McShane, Penelope Cruz, Richard Griffiths, Geoffrey Rush
STORY: Jack Sparrow (Depp) joins forces with a mysterious woman from his past (Cruz) on another swashbuckling adventure on the high seas.
VERDICT: This will kick off the summer movie see with a bang.
RATING: 5/5
KUNG FU PANDA: THE KABOOM OF DOOM – May 26
CAST: Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Jack Black, Jackie Chan, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dustin Hoffman
STORY: Now a kung fu master, Po (Black) and the Furious Five team up with a new group of kung fu fighters to defeat the evil Lord Shen (Oldman).
VERDICT: Twice the laughs + brand new characters = win
RATING: 5/5
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS – June 5
CAST: Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Kevin Bacon, James McAvoy, January Jones
STORY: A prequel to the three X-Men movies, this goes back to the days when Charles Xavier (McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (a.k.a. Magneto, played by Fassbender) were best friends discovering their powers.
VERDICT: Returning to the roots of the X series is smart, especially after the overdone X-MEN: THE LAST STAND. Director Matthew Vaughn may just lead this in the right direction.
RATING: 4.5/5
GREEN LANTERN – June 17
CAST: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard
STORY: Hal Jordan (Reynolds) becomes the first human selected to join a brotherhood of super-powered warriors who must now defeat a new threat to the universe.
VERDICT: Does 2011 really need another superhero movie? The jury is still out.
RATING: 3.5/5
CARS 2 – June 24
CAST: Jason Isaacs, Owen Wilson, Michael Caine, Michael Keaton, Emily Mortimer, Bonnie Hunt
STORY: As racecar Lightning McQueen (Wilson) travels across the globe to compete against the fastest cars in the world, his best friend and travel partner Mater gets caught up in a secret spy mission!
VERDICT: Expect nothing but the best from Pixar as the studio takes this cast of cars to new, eye-popping locales.
RATING: 4.5/5
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON – July 1
CAST: Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, John Malkovich, Hugo Weaving, Patrick Dempsey, John Turturro
STORY: It’s another classic battle between good and evil as the Autobots and their allies clash with the Decepticons when they get caught in a space race between the U.S. and Russia.
VERDICT: Director Michael Bay has promised a better story, a “really killer ending” and less bad jokes.
RATING: 4/5
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART TWO – July 15
CAST: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Bonnie Wright, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman
STORY: It’s the end!!! Enough said.
VERDICT: This will be The Movie to End All Movies. Seriously.
RATING: 5/5
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER – July 22
CAST: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Hugo Weaving, Stanley Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell
STORY: In the 1940s, eager soldier Steve Rogers (Evans) undergoes experiments to become a super soldier, and in the process, the famed Captain America.
VERDICT: This may just get you excited for THE AVENGERS with an origin story that comes straight from the comics and relies on realistic action and WWII references.
RATING: 4/5
COWBOYS & ALIENS – July 29
CAST: Olivia Wilde, Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Sam Rockwell, Noah Ringer
STORY: A stranger with no memory of where he came from (Craig) and the residents of an isolated town find themselves dealing with some hostile aliens as they try to save themselves from annihilation.
VERDICT: It’s WAR OF THE WORLDS meets WILD WILD WEST (but way, way better) in this comic book adaptation led by IRON MAN’s Jon Favreau.
RATING: 4.5/5
THE SMURFS – August 3
CAST: Neil Patrick Harris, Sofia Vergara, Jayma Mays, Anton Yelchin, Alan Cumming, Katy Perry, Hank Azaria
STORY: Everyone’s favourite blue characters are chased out of their magical world and into modern day New York, where they must find their way back before Gargamel (Azaria) gets to them.
VERDICT: We’re all for retro cartoons, but this could either be pure amazingness or pure… un-amazingness.
RATING: 3/5
SPY KIDS 4: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD – August 19
CAST: Jessica Alba, Danny Trejo, Antonio Banderas, Alexa Vega, Jeremy Piven, Daryl Sabara
STORY: Retired secret agent Marissa Cortez Wilson (Alba) steps back into action to fight a villain determined to stop time (Piven), but she’ll need the help of the Spy Kids Carmen (Vega) and Juni (Daryl) to save the day.
VERDICT: The original SPY KIDS was fun, but this has a little bit of been-there-done-that to it.
RATING: 2.5/5
THE THREE MUSKETEERS – October 14
CAST: Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Logan Lerman, Matthew MacFadyen, Mads Mikkelsen, Christopher Waltz
STORY: Young D’Artagnan (Lerman) goes to Paris to become a Musketeer, but ends up helping the original trio regain their former glory as they try to prevent a plot against the king of France.
VERDICT: Look for PERCY JACKSON’s Logan Lerman to steal scenes in this 3-D action/adventure.
RATING: 3.5/5
PUSS IN BOOTS – November 4
CAST: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis
STORY: The courageous, sword-wielding cat takes us back to his first adventure, where he attempts to steal the Goose that lays golden eggs.
VERDICT: Better than SHREK FOREVER AFTER?
RATING: 3/5
HAPPY FEET 2 – November 18
CAST: Elijah Wood, Pink, Elizabeth Daily, Sofia Vergara, Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Hank Azaria
STORY: Not much has been revealed about the plot, but word has it that Mumble (Wood) has a kid…
VERDICT: We’ll take any chance to see these cute penguins and their singing friends back on the big screen.
RATING: 4/5
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART ONE – November 18
CAST: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Dakota Fanning, Taylor Lautner, Michael Sheen, Jackson Rathbone, Ashley Greene, Anna Kendrick, Maggie Grace, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, Elizabeth Reaser, Peter Facinelli, Billy Burke
STORY: The relationship between Edward and Bella blossoms, but the threat of the Volturi looms closer, putting the couple, the Cullens and their friends in a position to defend their loved ones—even if they die trying.
VERDICT: The first part of the book could be tough to translate onto film, but if award-winning director Bill Condon can find a balance between the romance and the violence, all will be well.
RATING: 4/5
THE MUPPETS MOVIE – November 23
CAST: Amy Adams, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Cooper, Ricky Gervais
STORY: To save their studio, Kermit and the gang must pull out all the stops and put on the show of their lives.
VERDICT: How can you not like The Muppets?
RATING: 4/5
HUGO CABRET – December 9
CAST: Chloe Moretz, Jude Law, Emily Mortimer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Christopher Lee, Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield
STORY: A young orphan living in Paris tries to pick up his recently deceased dad’s work in unraveling the mystery of a robotic invention.
VERDICT: Totally worth the price of admission to see director Martin Scorsese going 3D for the first time with this adaption of a best-selling novel.
RATING: 4.5/5
SHERLOCK HOLMES 2 – December 16
CAST: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace
STORY: Sherlock Holmes (Downey Jr.) and Dr. Watson (Law) team up to try to outwit their greatest enemy yet, Professor James Moriarty.
VERDICT: RDJ and Jude Law had perfect chemistry in the first outing. Expect them to make the sequel even better.
RATING: 4/5
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN – December 23
CAST: Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, Jamie Bell, Cary Elwes, Andy Serkis
STORY: Fearless reporter Tintin (Bell) finds a map that leads him and his friends on an adventure to find treasure.
VERDICT: Perfect for the holiday season, this 3-D, motion capture movie will dazzle and earn new fans for the beloved comic strip character Tintin.
RATING: 4/5