2010 is undoubtedly gonna be a great year for movie fans! Aside from the anticipated blockbusters: Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (March 2010), Iron Man 2 (May 2010), and the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (November 2010) - and fine, the next Twilight sequel, Eclipse (June 2010) - there are a couple of releases that can tide moviegoers over till those big ones come out.

First off are the films that have already been released in the US.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, and the lovely Rachel McAdams portrays the popular detective with a fresh twist.

RDJ as Sherlock Holmes

Jude Law as Dr. Watson

The film is directed by popular crime film director, Guy Ritchie, who most people might know as the ex-husband of Madonna, and whose credits include Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and RocknRolla.

From the trailers I’ve seen (and other reviews; it’s been released since Christmas last year in the US), it looks to be a fun, action-packed movie. The casting of Robert Downey, Jr., the star of the Iron Man films, will no doubt attract even more viewers. The film also features Mark Strong (of Stardust fame) as Lord Blackwood, the main antagonist of the film.

Next up is Zombieland, a zombie comedy starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin.

Zombieland (2009)

I’ve wanted to watch this ever since I saw the trailer. The foursome are survivors of a zombie apocalypse who band together to get to a sanctuary. I loved Simon Pegg’s zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead, and while Zombieland looks to be a bit different, it still looks promising. I’m turning into a sucker for zombie films (might be an effect of the Left 4 Dead 2 gaming sessions!)

Next up is something more serious and lesser-known, the upcoming fantasy-horror film Legion.

Paul Bettany stars in Legion.

Paul Bettany stars as the archangel Michael, who descends to Earth to stop the apocalypse when God decides to wipe out humanity. The trailer is properly scary, and the premise of the film is quite interesting, pitting Michael against other angels as he protects a pregnant young waitress whose unborn son might be the second coming of Christ.

The film features a solid ensemble cast, with Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, and Lucas Black, star of Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, rounding out the human leads, and Adrianne Palicki as Charlie, the young waitress who Michael protects. Kevin Durand, most recently featured as Frederick Dukes/The Blob in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, plays the archangel Gabriel, leader of the angel army.

Another upcoming film that I’m interested in is the Ethan Hawke-starrer Daybreakers.

Ethan Hawke stars in the vampire sci-fi/horror film, Daybreakers.

Daybreakers is a science-fiction/horror movie, where the majority of the population of the world has turned into vampires (no, this ain’t Twilight anymore!). But with normal humans now a minority, the food supply of the vampires is drying up (pun not intended), with scientists like Edward Dalton (played by Ethan Hawke), a vampire himself, looking to find a blood substitute before they go extinct. He encounters a group of fugitive human survivors who wish to find a “cure” for vampirism and restore thue human race. Sam Neill, Willem Dafoe, and Isabel Lucas round out the main cast of the movie.

I like the concept of Daybreakers, although I’m not sure if it’s going to be released in the Philippines. I saw a poster for it in SM North EDSA, but the poster was a horribly botched job that looks more like a cheap B-movie than the international poster. It’s just been released in North America and will come out in Australia in a few weeks, so I’m hoping that the local distributors get it right for this promising film.

*****

Lost under the media hype of Iron Man 2, which will star Scarlett Johansson as the anti-heroine Black Widow and Mickey Rourke as the supervillain Whiplash, is another May blockbuster release, Robin Hood.

Robin Hood (2010)

Russell Crowe stars as Robin Hood in the Ridley Scott-helmed epic. The movie presents a more historical Robin Hood (as 2004’s King Arthur, featuring Keira Knightley and Clive Owen, attempted to do). Crowe plays Sir Robin of Loxley, who returns from the Crusades to find his home oppressed by the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Russell Crowe stars as Sir Robin of Loxley, aka Robin Hood.

Cate Blanchett plays Lady Marion, Robin’s love interest, and Danny Huston, Mark Strong, and William Hurt are just some of the cast members in this feature that, from the trailer, felt like a sequel to the other Crowe-Scott collaboration, the Oscar-winning epic Gladiator. Which isn’t a bad thing at all.

Don’t sleep on this one, as it is one among the many challengers to Iron Man sequel for the biggest big blockbuster May release, along with Disney’s Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, chick flick Sex and the City 2, and the last (allegedly) sequel to the Shrek animated film franchise, Shrek Forever After. We’ll talk about more releases in the upcoming weeks, including upcoming fantasy/action films Clash of the Titans (March) and Prince of Persia (May), and a couple of family-friendlier films such as The Lightning Thief (February), How To Train Your Dragon (March) and Toy Story 3 (June).

“Sherlock Holmes” and “Zombieland” are released today, January 8, in Philippine cinemas. “Legion” comes out on January 22, while “Robin Hood” is slated for a May release.