editorlisa

Last December, I reblogged a link to a story about the coming year’s slate, and listed some of the films I was most anticipating:

Excited about: 21 (I’m a sucker for Vegas/gambling movies), ADVENTURELAND (from the director of SUPERBAD), BURN AFTER READING (the Coen Brothers), SPEED RACER (the Wachowski Brothers), WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (Spike Jonze!), ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO (Kevin Smith!)

Not compelled: THE MUMMY, THE CHANGELING (I’m meh about Eastwood as a director), RAMBO, THE INCREDIBLE HULK (again?).

Almost a full year has past and I’ve only seen one of those, THE CHANGELING — a film from my least favorite of the directors mentioned.  Certainly it’s not all that surprising that I avoided the rest in that section, but what about the films I was dying to see?

• 21 - Felt like a wait-for-DVDer, despite hearing good things.
• ADVENTURELAND - Did this movie ever come out?  Was it released under a different title?
• BURN AFTER READING - Brad Pitt’s mawking in the trailer spelled desperation, a characteristic as off-putting in a film as it is in a potential date.
• WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE - Where are the Wild Things?  Release date, anyone?
• ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO - See 21.

And as I look ahead to the typically pre-Oscar-buzzy holiday season, little else thrills me. This time last year, I couldn’t stop talking about THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY and ONCE. This year, I’d rather watch TOP CHEF than trudge out to the movie theater (which happens to be on my block) and lay down $12 for two hours of Meh.

What happened, 2008? Where are you hiding the good stuff?